I wanted to like this book. I love Critical Role, and though my favorite characters are in the second campaign and not the first, I entered this book with an open mind and an open heart. However, as much as I love Vex and Vax, I cannot overlook the glaring issues with the plot. At one point I realized that I was 10 out of 40 chapters into the book and the plot had still not yet begun. Another red flag for me is that there was little promotion about this book from the Critical Role Company. It reads more like fanfiction on AO3 than an actual published book. Sadly, I can only rate this book a 6/10, because I love the characters and the show it’s based on, but this mediocre book did not do it justice.

If you enjoy books with extreme world-building that are heavy on character development, then this is the book for you! You do not necessarily have to listen/watch the Critical Role podcast to understand the characters. I would recommend watching The Legend of Vox Machina on Amazon Prime Video to understand a little more about the Critical Role world and following. Again, I would recommend it for someone who has little knowledge of the series, and then it is easier to watch the series later on and fall in love with the characters.