I now understand why one of my grandsons love DnD. Filled with great descriptions of battles. Loved the story and characters. Thanks #Netgalley and #BooksGoSocial for the eARC in exchange for a honest review. All opinions are mine.

I think my biggest complaint with this book is the writing itself. There was very little if any showing in this story, and instead it consisted almost entirely of telling. For example, at one point the mc thought to himself, "'Gaming is my happy place. I'm going to look at it more from a roleplaying flavor point of view. I absolutely love getting into character and roleplaying.'" It's not like it's bad to tell the reader something every now and then, but the mc's entire character arc and backstory were told through sentences like the one above rather than scenes that demonstrated the love for the game or the determination to look at things through a roleplaying perspective, and it made it really hard for me to stay connected to him or any of the other characters.

Speaking of the characters, I struggled to connect to any of the characters in this story. I wanted to like the mc, but I never really felt like I understood him as a person or saw into his character. I was told things about who he was and what motivated him, but the information presented was sometimes contradictory and left me even more confused about his motives. The supporting characters weren't much better. They all seemed to exist for the sole purpose of helping the mc along his character arc, and I was never able to figure out their personalities or motivations either beyond stock identities like "the friend" or "the love interest." Sometimes I couldn't even tell whether they actually even liked him.

Finally, I really struggled with understanding the danger the main villain posed to the story. This one legitimately might be my fault. Age of Behemoths was my first LitRPG, and I just don't know a lot of the terminology or genre features well. I know that I was distracted by my previous two points and so struggled to really understand the worldbuilding elements that I needed to grasp the main villain's motivations and the stakes of the game. So I may or may not have actually understood this better if the writing and characterization issues were different.

All that being said, I was very impressed by the actual world itself. The behemoths were highly creative and imaginative, and I could always picture the terrain very clearly. It takes a lot of imagination and skill to be able to create that many different kinds of unique creatures, and I really enjoyed the texture they added to the environment. I'm hopeful that the writing and characterization will continue to improve as the series progresses, but I'm unlikely to continue on.

Thank you NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for providing me a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

As a DND, Monster Hunter, and Sword Art Online fan--I found this book quite the interesting read! Gaine doesn't hesitate to jump into the action, which I thoroughly appreciate. I can see where other reviewers may be frustrated though, as there's a lot of info and stat dumping at the beginning. However, the descriptions given really added to my experience and helped to create a more immersive world. I really think that this book would benefit from some sort of illustrations! I also really appreciated the diversity with player creation, such as the inclusion of nonbinary for gender selection.

3.5 stars!