J. J. Kochmanski did an incredible job in building such a beautiful world. All the way from introducing the dynamic of how to play the game to understanding the fun world of solving mini puzzles within your quests, you could still find you way in enjoying the thrill of the journey. Any fans who love a good RPG would fit right in. There were characters that I wish I could have learn more of such as the assistant in the interlude scenes but I understand not wanting to have veered too off course from the main protagonists. I'm happy I had the opportunity to run across this title!

HUGE thanks to NetGalley & the publishers for a chance to review this arc!

This book was a love letter to gamers. I had extremely high expectations for this one because the synopsis made me reminiscent of Wreck it Ralph (one of my favourite movies) and I read it almost immediately upon receiving it for that reason. It managed to smash my expectations and I couldn’t put it down. I loved every second of this novel.

Anya is a NPC that seems to be the only one that remembers her (multiple) past resets. Her interaction with the players triggers a cutscene, and although she longs for more… she doesn’t really know what it is she would want exactly. The whole adventure starts when she gets replaced by Cyrus, another NPC that surprisingly enough… remembers his resets as well. They end up unlikely allies. It was extremely easy to root for them.

I had the absolute best time reading this. As a long time gamer, I just felt completely immersed in this novel. It’s very well written & the author succeeded in capturing the different contradicting emotions in the characters we follow. The characters had depth & were fleshed out. I was rooting for Anya right from the start and really adored her (I also really loved Cyrus).

I have a specific type of humour and I rarely laugh out loud when I’m reading - but some scenes made me genuinely laugh out loud. There’s even one scene I recounted to my brothers and my boyfriend because it was just too funny.

I deeply felt for the characters and the ending made me tear up because it was absolutely fitting. I couldn’t recommend this enough. (And the cover is absolutely perfect).

🎶 Hello, hello
Let me tell you what it's like to be a zero
Let me show you what it's like to always feel ; Like I'm empty and there's nothing really real
I'm looking for a way out
Hello, hello
Let me tell you what it's like to be a zero
Let me show you what it's like to never feel ; Like I'm good enough for anything that's real
I'm looking for a way out 🎶

I really enjoyed The Side Questers because it felt different from a lot of fantasy books I’ve read lately. The idea of following NPCs instead of the “main heroes” was actually really refreshing, and the humor landed well without making the story feel shallow. Anya was easy to root for, especially with how she struggles to figure out who she is outside the role she was programmed to play. The whole world had that cozy RPG vibe that reminded me of spending hours in a game just talking to side characters and exploring random quests.

What I liked most was how the book balanced comedy with deeper themes about purpose, change, and being replaced. The banter between the characters kept things entertaining, but there were also moments that made me stop and think about identity and free will in a surprisingly emotional way. It’s definitely a good pick for anyone who enjoys fantasy mixed with gaming culture, especially if you like stories that don’t take themselves too seriously while still having heart.

A fun litRPG-adjacent story about a couple of NPCs in an MMO. If you're a fan of video games or just game references in general, you'll probably like this one. The characters were well-written and the story remained engaging throughout.