Eight books in, "A Parade of Horribles" is the course correction "Dungeon Crawler Carl" needed after the bloat of book seven. Chapter 57 — Carl and Donut dueting to A-ha's "Take on Me" — is the most purely joyful sequence in the series.
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This Inevitable Ruin – Matt Dinniman
Six books of buildup, and the Faction Wars arrive with a whimper. "This Inevitable Ruin" is overstuffed, repetitive and 300-pages too long — a GoT "Long Night" moment for the Dungeon Crawler Carl series. The emotional beats that define the series are still here, just buried under dungeon mechanics and escalating conflict from gods.
The Eye of the Bedlam Bride – Matt Dinniman
Book six of “Dungeon Crawler Carl” doesn't match the highs of its immediate predecessor, but the emotional core — Carl's devastating backstory, character sacrifices and Donut's vulnerability — keeps the series humming. An off-kilter audiobook narration and a slow first third test patience, but the back half delivers.
The Butcher’s Masquerade – Matt Dinniman
Five books in, "The Butcher's Masquerade" is the entry that finally earns the series' promise. As a literary fiction reader who came in skeptical and stayed cautious through four uneven installments finally found the payoff — cohesive, thrilling, genuinely funny and more emotionally sophisticated than the ridiculousness would suggest.
Ranking the Couples in the “Game Changers” Series
One of the more interesting side effects of reading the entire “Game Changers” series straight through is that you stop thinking about the books individually and start thinking about the relationships as if they exist in the same ongoing world. Here’s my take on the best couples in the series and if they’ll make it to their tenth anniversary.
Why the “Game Changers” Series Works (Even When It Shouldn’t)
This is not my genre. I don’t read a lot of MM romance, and I definitely don’t seek out books where I know there are going to be extended, explicit sex scenes. I usually find them awkward at best and unintentionally funny at worst. And yet, after finishing the show a second time and immediately diving into Rachel Reid’s “Game Changers” series, devouring the books —plus the bonus content on her blog – in about two weeks.
Reviews of the “Game Changers” Series and Bonus Material
I came to Rachel Reid’s “Game Changers” series backwards – starting with the TV adaptation of “Heated Rivalry” and then working my way through the books and every piece of bonus content I could find. What started as curiosity quickly turned into a full two-week binge. Here’s my take on the world Rachel Reid created and Jacob Tierney perfected.
The Gate of the Feral Gods – Matt Dinniman
“The Gate of the Feral Gods” is probably the most video game entry so far, in both good and bad ways. For once, it feels like there’s an actual structure holding everything together – even if everything inside that structure is, naturally, pure chaos. I’m also increasingly convinced that the even-numbered books are just better.
The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook – Matt Dinniman
Overall, this feels like a step back from book two’s momentum. Dinniman is inventive and occasionally brilliant, but he could use a firmer editorial hand. If not for Donut – still the emotional and comedic engine of this series – I might have tapped out here.
Carl’s Doomsday Scenario – Matt Dinniman
While picking up exactly where “Dungeon Crawler Carl” left off, it almost immediately becomes clear that Matt Dinniman had settled into this world. This was a better book: better paced, better structured and more willing to let scenes breathe instead of sprinting from gag to gag.
Dungeon Crawler Carl – Matt Dinniman
It’s hard to judge “Carl” as a standalone, because it barely wants to be one. This is a long opening act. Still, I’m impressed by Dinniman’s imaginative reach and curious how many of the seemingly throwaway details will later reveal themselves as deliberate groundwork. As the first entry in an eight-book (and counting) series, it’s clearly doing foundational labor but that doesn’t always make it enjoyable.
Teacher of the Year/Husband of the Year – M.A. Wardell
I still had a few annoyances, but they felt minor because the overall tone is charming in Marvin and Olan’s love story. This is a low-stakes romance that doesn’t pretend to be anything else. I’m still not ready to say I “read M/M romance” as a genre category, but this was a good test case of what works for me and what doesn’t.
Sunrise on the Reaping – Suzanne Collins
I don't give five stars easily and almost never to a series book, or a YA novel, but “Sunrise on the Reaping” earns it. Propulsive, gutting and almost unbearably tense, it takes the familiar structure of the series and makes it feel more personal, more political and more devastating than ever.
Run: Book One – John Lewis and Andrew Aydin
While “Run” may not yet match the polish of “March,” it lays a promising foundation for future installments. For now, it earns a place on my shelf as a testament to Lewis’s legacy and a reminder that the fight for equality – though officially decades past – continues to reverberate today.
The Glass Hotel – Emily St. John Mandel
Expectation: A ripped-from-the-headlines story of monied greed and comeuppance.
Reality: A nuanced and contained story that proved to be my favorite of the author’s even though it’s less beloved than “Station Eleven” and “Sea of Tranquility.”
A Man and His Cat, Volumes One - Six – Umi Sakurai
As a whole, I found the series sweet but slight. At times it was repetitive and boring – especially when the human characters were the focus instead of the cats – but Sakurai completely nails the understated joy and endorphin boost of sharing your life with a quirky cat.
The Winners – Fredrik Backman
Expectation: A crowd-pleasing finish to a beloved series.
Reality: Uneven, but ultimately satisfying, fans of the series shouldn’t skip this one as it is a closer cousin to the first novel than the second.
The Sixth Wedding: A 28 Summers Story – Elin Hilderbrand
Expectation: “28 Summers, Part II,” also known as a quick cash grab by Hilderbrand.
Reality: An effective and rewarding mini sequel that honors the original while giving the reader closure to the rushed ending of “Summers.”
Ready Player Two – Ernest Cline
Expectation: Another trip down memory lane with hefty doses of geek culture.
Reality: Enjoyable and more accessible – from a pop culture perspective – but missing the energy that propelled the first novel.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes – Suzanne Collins
This Hunger Games prequel serves as a decent queue-up to the original series, but the President Snow baggage does make it difficult to connect with him the same way you could with Katniss and crew.