I don't even know where to begin with a review on a book like this one. Dungeon Crawler Carl follows Carl as the apocalypse begins and he finds himself with one real option: entering a mysterious dungeon, hardly clothed and with his ex-girlfriend's cat in hand. What follows is not like any book that I have read before. The LitRPG aspect was so fun - I loved the different achievements and the descriptions that we would get almost every time they came across a new type of creature, it really felt like playing a video game.  I liked learning the rules alongside Carl and Donut and I enjoyed most of the shenanigans that the two of them got up to.  I will say that I didn't like this as much as I see others liking it. Part of that may be due to the hype, I think I had it in my head that this book was going to be amazing & life changing and then it just ended up falling flat. The humor didn't always land for me and there were a couple of moments that horrified me (re: goblin babies). This all being said, I have already put the second book on hold at the library, so I wasn't put off enough to not continue on.

Synopsis:

The apocalypse will be televised!

You know what’s worse than breaking up with your girlfriend? Being stuck with her prize-winning show cat. And you know what’s worse than that? An alien invasion, the destruction of all man-made structures on Earth, and the systematic exploitation of all the survivors for a sadistic intergalactic game show. That’s what.

Join Coast Guard vet Carl and his ex-girlfriend’s cat, Princess Donut, as they try to survive the end of the world—or just get to the next level—in a video game–like, trap-filled fantasy dungeon. A dungeon that’s actually the set of a reality television show with countless viewers across the galaxy. Exploding goblins. Magical potions. Deadly, drug-dealing llamas. This ain’t your ordinary game show.

Welcome, Crawler. Welcome to the Dungeon. Survival is optional. Keeping the viewers entertained is not.

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