After successfully ranking up together with the rest of the Happy Sunflowers, Arek and his party are ready to kick back and enjoy some much needed relaxation. However, they can't can't seem to stay out of trouble for long. After mistakenly angering a ruthless guild, they are forced to flee Riverfall.
They set off for Red Mount, hoping to wait out the storm, but an even greater threat lies in wait for them. Arek's old life threatens to spill out into his new one as the magical runes he had destroyed slowly gain power once more, but he's determined to keep cooking for those in need - even if it costs him everything.
This novel also contains real recipes, and we highly recommend you give them a taste if you're hungry!
Actus has been writing fantasy stories since the age of twelve, and he's been telling them since he could talk. He's currently working on three main series - Morcster Chef, Steamforged Sorcery, and My Best Friend is an Eldritch Horror. You can find his works on RoyalRoad & Patreon as well as on Amazon.
In addition to his passion for writing, Actus is capable of clearing a two story building with a single jump. That isn't true, but writing about himself in third person gives Actus delusions of grandeur.
For me, book 2 started out slow, as I had trouble remembering who all the characters were and who did what. That changed at the 15% mark, and then the book began to pick up steam.
In book one it was the Starpiercer guild who caused them trouble. This time it’s a different guild that ties in with Arek the orc's past.
The book is still a lot of fun. There are recipes here as always, and we move into some new areas of the world that present interesting challenges. The changes of geography were the most welcome for me.
I thought it was a nice mix of action and fun. Recommended 5/5*
Good for what it is; an extremely easy, non-challenging read. I'll probably read the next one at some point, because they're good palate cleansers. 2.5⭐
More fighting and a lot of hidden players with shadowy tactics are coming to play! Seeing some of Arek’s background and why he is the way he is really is telling as to why he has grown the way he has now. Teams really change the way you view the world. Ming is so sweet and seeing Malissa grow and finding her path with the support of Arek. Finding their path, fighting hard and dealing with unknown blessings that double as curses. So much going on but to this time I still loved seeing the cooking recipes and the cooking challenges. It is somewhat Food Wars!
This was a highly enjoyable sequel to a really enjoyable first novel. It does a lot of things right, most notably, working on fleshing out the characters and the relationship they all share. The dynamic between the protagonist and the rest of his team is truly one of the highlights of this story and one that keeps me reading despite the major flaw I will get to in a minute.
I also like how those characters aren't just one-dimensional gimmicks as they so easily could have been. Things like Ming's one-track mind for food could have turned her into an annoying caricature rather than a fully fleshed-out character. However, opening up her back story even a little shows you that her focus on food might actually be more of a coping mechanism she uses to deal with her personal issues rather than a one-dimensional character trait. That level of complexity is seen in other characters as well, and I can really appreciate the surface-level story more knowing that there are deeper meanings behind every action.
However, as enjoyable as these things were though, I do have a complaint; the bait and switch.
It is quickly becoming my biggest pet peeve with this kind of story. What starts out as a fantasy story that has the promise to go in a unique direction turns out to be just a gimmick to draw readers in until the author can then get back to writing more generic action-led stories. This series was supposed to be the story of an orc who wants to leave his violent past behind him so that he could concentrate on cooking in a world where everyone expects him to be violent. This story has so much in-built conflict and potential that there was never a need to fall back on a more familiar adventure story, and could literally just have been about this.
Reading about Arek trying to first find teachers to improve his cooking, then trying to find the means to start a restaurant, then trying to open that restaurant and finally fighting for acceptance from potential customers who might not trust an orc chef is an engaging series in its own right. There's plenty of potential for conflict and even a little action if you just can't escape the need to write that.
Instead, the cooking side of things is quickly becoming a gimmick as the adventuring side of things takes over. It's becoming less a case of adventuring to further the cooking storyline, and more a case of cooking as a fun addition to the adventuring storyline. With curses and Areks' growing powers coming back into play, I can't help but feel like this will be pushed aside even further.
This means that yet again I started reading a series because it offered a unique fantasy story experience, and instead have to settle for a traditional action story instead. The worst part about it is that I am left unsatisfied by what is actually a pretty good action story were it not for the fact that I was lured in under false pretenses.
Overall, this story was really enjoyable. I will continue to hope that it falls back onto the storyline that made it interesting in the first place, but I highly suspect that it will get more action-packed going forward and the cooking will be forgotten.
This second book of the series picks up pretty much where the first one left off, as the Happy Sunflowers continue on their adventures, enjoying food and getting into more trouble as they end up getting on the bad side of a particularly ruthless guild. Overall, this book feels slightly less engaging to me than the first one, I guess in part because there's not as much cooking as there was in the first book, which is the main draw for me.
That dooesn't mean it's a bad book, though. On the contrary, it's a good one, it just gets a bit slow moving at times. There's still plenty of action to be had, and some nice slice-of-life moments, with supporting characters such as Betsy, Gernon and Grandma Bella being very welcome additions, each one likable and engaging in their own ways. As per usual, the food is the star and I love whenever they focus on cooking, it always feels very vivid and I can picture everything in my head. I definitely need a snack during the cooking parts, that's for sure. Arek is still likable and his relationship with Malissa is still my favorite character interaction in the book, as it was in the first. Their chemistry is fantastic and every scene where they interact is a delight, especially when they have to cook together.
On the downside of things, as I said, the story gets a bit slow at times. There's also Ming still being extremely annoying as a character, and there comes a moment in the book where her obnoxious goofiness goes out the window and we get a more vulnerable side to her, which was very welcome but sadly short-lived, and she goes back to being the same one-note cartoonish spaz as before. Likewise, Belmont and his extreme paranoia and persecution complex have gotten a bit stale, so it was a relief to see him loosen up and relax a bit in latter parts of the book, though I wish it had been a bit more prominent. The book also had inconsistencies during the writing that felt weird, like the author wasn't paying attention or wrote in a rush and forgot to check: a man being described as bald but then later he's being grabbed "by his hair", another man is described as having blonde hair but then later is said to be bald, a character is wielding an axe and suddenly it's a sword, and in a particularly noteworthy example, a wyrm is suddenly a wyvern and then a wyrm again in about the exact same page. Little things like that just feel rather jarring to me. Finally, and not to spoil, but I feel like a character got off and forgiven a bit too easily over something pretty hardcore, just like dust swept under a rug, out of sight and out of mind; I understand why it happened that way, it was just a little underwhelming in my opinion.
But still, it was an enjoyable book. Not as good as the first one but good enough to give it a 4 star rating and pick up the third and final book. I'm eager to see how the story ends.
The story starts right away after book 1. Arek has a Doomsday Clock within the Runes on his body from the Dungeon Portal. He is worried about losing control and possibly giving into his magic. The Runes on his body match the dungeon portal as well as Ming’s eyes. What had the dungeon portal done to him and Ming? The Happy Sunflowers are warned that the recent betrayal within the adventuring guild is not over and that the conspiracy goes deeper than was thought. Magus tells them to be on their toes, even some of the guild not in on the conspiracy might wish to cause them harm to keep the discord within the guild out of the public’s eye.
Before leaving town, The Happy Sunflowers decide to hit the auction house. They start to see some oddities at the auction house. The auctioneer seems to get upset when others out bid the high floors. Arek bids a hundred gold for a recipe from Yuri. They decide to bid on their own items to make the people trying to buy everything pay through the nose for their items. After the auction, they quickly collect their gold and Arek’s recipe. They take a winding path through back streets and alleys to escape.
I am really enjoying this series with it's brilliant orc chef Arek and the Happy Sunflowers who he has teamed up with. I love that all the characters are so quirky and there is so much humour in this series apart from so much action and lovely cooking and recipes included. Our team feel that finally they can take a break, however this is not to be as they are forced to flee because a dangerous guild is after them. They make their way to Red Mount, a distant city up in the mountains where they assumed they would be safe, however trouble seems to follow this group and Red Mount is under attack from a monster horde which seems to have gone berserk. Arek risks a lot in order to keep his friends, as well as the citizens of Red Mount safe as his secrets start coming to the fore. Their job complete and the Red Mount council know they owe their city's safety to them, so they are rewarded with a pass to the floating islands where people usually go for vacations like no other. But even here our group are followed and blessed one seem to be on their tail and a great danger to Arek. I love the thrill in this book as our happy go lucky group flit from one problem to another with non-stop action. I look forward to book 3!
This story is great, just an amazing fantasy story. The characters are afflicted with that classic bad luck that protagonists have that leads to misadventures but they deal with their challenges intelligently. Now this book is not a LitRPG, it's just a fantasy story, no levels, no xp or health points, the only real RPG elements are in 'True Sight Artifacts' which let you see how strong someone is and their name and Karma. The strength is in percentiles, and Karma is a number. And dungeons to clear, though this book in the series doesn't feature that. As for being realistic, the party isn't strong enough to be involved in world changing events, so the party just reports what they know and moves on. They care about it, but know that other people are better suited and them getting involved further is either explained well, or pointed out that the enemy is being strange in caring about them.
I loved book 1 and book 2 is a sequel that carries all the deliciousness of book 1 .
The saga of Happy Sunflowers rolls on as they somehow attract adventures and enemies far more powerful than them. Being forced to "travel for health" they still end up in middle of a monster surge with their past enemies nipping at their heels.
We get to see some backstory of Arek and Ming coming back to haunt them fleshing them out as characters more deeply. The action is crisp, pacing is excellent and as usual, we get to read some excellent recipes and imagine those drool-worthy dishes!
Okay concept, but largely forgettable I just can't put my finger on why this failed. It has all the elements of better books, in fact it lacks some of their flaws so you think it would end up being better, right? But all these elements never come together in a way that connects in a personal way. I wanted to like this book. I was rooting for it to win, But before the end I was trying to read faster to get it over with. Truly mystified why I don't like it better. Everything feels compelling in the moment, but everything that has come before is forgotten, and everything that is to come seems irrelevant. How could a writer even do that on purpose? Oh well, on with my life.
Into the Fire: A LitRPG Fantasy Cooking Adventure (Morcster Chef, Book 2), my second read/listen from Actus. Picking up seamlessly from the first book, an enjoyable read, especially for fans of LitRGG. I was given an Audible copy of this book & am voluntarily reviewing it. I also own the Kindle version and was able to read along while being read to. I look forward to my next read from this author. I especially enjoyed the narrative talents of Peter Berkrot whose voice again made an enjoyable book even better. (RIP Marley January 20, 2014 - July 24, 2018).
I fear this book runs into the problem a lot of non traditional character books run into. A lack of a clear call to action/goal.
Why does the main character continue to adventure and hang out with the party rather than settle down and open a restaurant/ just be a traveling chef? Because the story demands they be an adventurer.
The book was well written but not well plotted out, it feels like there was a clear character and starting point, a clear end point for the story but how to get from a to b was not really considered.
This book roughly had three parts: continuation from end of first book and two new locations. Both the new locations were cool in their own different ways - a city atop a mountain and a group of floating islands popular for vacations. The cooking and adventurous stuff continued to be an engaging combo. And Ming continued to be my favorite character.
While the series as a whole leans towards light hearted fun so far, the plot seems to be moving towards a larger conflict.
An amazing second installment in one of my new favorite series. Warning eat before listening or you will end up so hungry you have to make something immediately More amazing cooking recipes, more unraveled mysteries, new friends and enemies made. The action and fighting is as amazing as book 1 if not better due to natural progression. The cook-offs are really awesome funny and intense at the same time. We get to learn more about some of the team in this installment.
More of the last book, not entirely sure where the narrative is going, they just seem to be blown from one event to another with very little control or plan. It's all fine, and pretty well written, the story just doesn't do a great job of grabbing me. It's hard to get invested when it's likely they'll be pushed off to some random at any moment.
Lots of cooking in a fantasy world, from humble villages to magical cities, and we learn new things about Arek and the runes that have afflicted him. Looking forward to the next!
That is not as fun as the first book that was a mash up of weird, quirky characters. This has a similar feeling in the cooking sections, but it seems a bit forced.
Both books in the series have been great I have already pre-order book three. Fast paced page turner. With just enough of a difference from normal LitRPG books to make it even more interesting.
Absolutely love the characters in these books! They have depth to them, none of them are one dimensional, and are surprisingly complex, especially our favorite orc Chef.
I really enjoyed reading this book. The recipes are a nice touch. The story and characters were interesting and engaging. I had a hard time putting this down. I'm absolutely looking forward to seeing what happens next. This book is definitely worth reading.
I am enjoying this series, more than any other litrpg I have read. It's different in a very enjoyable way. AND it has recipes to look at. Curious ? Good.....get reading!
Story: Entertaining, but would have liked more cooking less of the other stuff. This one was way too involved on the fighting instead of cooking and adventuring, so I did not enjoyed this one as much as the first one.
The Happy Sunflowers are back for more adventures. Book 2 follows our favorite Orc chef and his companions as they continue to discover why the Howler guild is set against them. I am looking forward to reading book 3.
I had really high hopes for the second book the first one was amazing! This second book did not disappoint the blessed one curses is absolutely Epic can't wait to check out what happens next!