Dahlia's Shadow

Puatera Online, Book 6

By: Dawn Chapman, Jess Mountifield

Narrated by: Suzanne Barbetta

Length: 3 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

Dahlia has spent her entire life in Lila's shadow. Being the quiet twin, Dahlia shied away from sports and never excelled in any of the ways her sister did. Yet, thrown into the glitch-filled world of Puatera, her sister is no longer there to protect her, forcing Dahlia to uncover hidden strengths or be buried by her weakness.

©2018 Dawn Chapman (P)2018 Dawn Chapman

Yay! Another Puatera Online hits the mark!

Sneaking into a building where computer games are being written, sisters Dahlia, Jessica, and Lila, illegally log into Puatera Online. Dahlia finds herself literally sucked into the game! Now, she's lost, alone, and scared... It's a do-or-die scenario and she can't log out...
She discovers that the game's AI is trying to help her get back to her family, but it can only do that within the parameters of the game, and the game is loaded with glitches. Glitches that seem to have their own agenda...
  Wow... Just, Wow!   
Now... Where's Lila's Story?!!?!?

Suzanna Barbetta has the perfect voice and style for narrating this story!

This isn't the Black Dahlia, way better

Dawn Chapman brings us one step closer to the end game for her putera series, as I think the next book reunites us with a full time Maddie MC. I do so hope anyway. One of the things that I love about this series is that while it has action it also has a lot of emotion, and I never feel like it is spinning its wheels. There is always forward motion and the story never stops or slows down. Up until now we have just been getting puzzle pieces, each piece has a nice shape and is interesting, but it weaves a much bigger picture once you let the pieces fall into place. This is the final solo story of the sisters, and it is a fun ride.

There were a couple of things that I really liked about this book. First, we stayed with the three hour format that has been the case in all of the books except Akilla, book four which was 9 hours. Which was understandable, as it broke away from the first three books of the series. I also love the glitch factor in this game, you don’t see that very often in many LITRPG books where the glitches give stiches, but in Putera it is par for the course. I also have to say that Chapman & Mountifield have really woven an intricate and detailed world for these characters to play in. What I think I liked best was Dahlia’s struggle to finally shine on her own. Even though she is a twin she has sort of been in her sister’s shadow for some time. A place that she essentially skulked about, never really trying to be her own person. Her time in Putera forces her to stand up for herself and actually take control of her life for the first time. This, my people, is how you write character development, and it is pretty impressive just how much character growth the pair of writers manages to get out of Dahlia in just over three hours of time.


Suzanne Barbetta returns for another stab at the Puatera universe, an she brings her A game. She makes the story interesting and fun, but at the same time lets you realize that Dahlia is in danger and that at any moment a glitch is gonna get her. The only umbrage I took with her work is that she very clearly made Jessica sound have a completely different voice and style than she did in the last book. It sort of threw me off. I wanted to stop and then go back and listen to the last book, but I didn’t. I waited until I finished and then double checked and I was right. Same character different voices used. Just needed a little more consistency. Otherwise, a great job.

Oh, and one more thing, I find that usually, books that are four hours and under in length are not as good as I would generally hope they would be, but that isn’t the case here. Chapman, and I’m giving her the credit here since she started this series and did so in 3 hour increments, knows how craft an excellent short story. I didn’t give a lot away on this because it is pretty short, and anything I say could impact your listening pleasure, so I tried to play this close to the vest and not give a lot of specifics here just to avoid any issues of spoilage.

The book has a nice pace, as solid foundation, excellent character growth and development, and a cool ending that looks to lead us into the final book of the series. As things go I say this is a solid 8.2 stars. I am really looking forward to the next book in this series, even though I am saddened to see it coming to a close.


Even though I did receive a promo code for this review it in no way influenced my considerations of the material, and in fact, inspired me to be more honest. Getting a code generally makes me harsher as a reviewer as I am more often concerned what someone like Me will decide based on my review.

If this review helped, please press the YES below. Thank you immensely!!!

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Fun Book!

I received a free review copy of this book.

I enjoyed the book. In it, Dahlia and her sisters sneak into a VR facility and log into the game. However, she has no idea where her sisters are, her interface is glitched, and she is unable to logout. She meets some friends and they help one another and work to solve another portal problem.

It was a fun read. It conveys Dahlia's emotions well, there is a budding young teen relationship, and the ways she deals with monsters and tries to survive was interesting. If you enjoyed previous books in the series, I recommend it.

Another good entry

The story continues to grow and add new elements. Each sister is unique and has a different set of powers.

good but short

Again I think the Magic Sequence books should have been combined into one book, These books are short so it makes it hard to recommend spending a credit on them

The story of these three books is the three sisters trying to reunite, while developing their powers and independence. Each sister has a strong and unique personality which shows itself in their powers and playstyles. There is a touch of romance in each of these books, which was a bit weird in Lila's case.

Dahlia is very introverted and the crux of her story is about her becoming self confident and better at handling people and difficult situations, she has the most character growth over this short story of the three sisters

All these books build on the lore that has been growing over the last four books, and adds layers and complexity of the main plot,

I find it hard to review these shorter books especially since they are so tightly linked to the main plot that reviewing them properly would be full of spoilers.

I really like Suzanne Barbetta here she is a real gem for these younger characters, her voice is youthful and super pleasant to listen to. She does excellent characterizations for all the female cast and is quite good with the male voices as well.

I was given a free copy of this book for review purposes my review is unbiased and voluntary

Dahlia’s installment

I would recommend this book for RPG book fans who can handle a young female lead; who are preteen and up; and have a love of detail.
18 yr old Jessica and her 13 yr old twin sisters, Dahlia and Lila, were pulled into the MMORPG world of Puatera and each has their own story. Due to a programming glitch, Dahlia and her sisters are separated and have to make their way through this world to find each other, and get back home. In this book, Dahlia befriends Jarvin, who becomes her traveling companion. Together, they search for Tomlinson, aka Teegan, to train and mentor them. They travel, meet characters, fight evil and find Jessica. Akillia and a few characters from previous installments join in the battle and upcoming trip. This installment ends where the group needs to make their way quickly to Hell’s Pass to meet up with Maddie and Lila. Dahlia finds she has a surprising connection to the Tromoal.
Barbetta has a good voice for this narration- young, female, YA/UpperYA. She does a fairly good job with her male voices.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

The Twin

story of a girl kinda growing up and finding her self worth.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Puatera!

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Not sure what else to say about this series. It is really good. I'm not sure I prefer the short stories route, but I'm optimistic that they will come together in a great finale.

Dahlia's Tale!

Dahlia’s story is the second up. As the girls used an unconventional way to enter the game, everything was not as it should be. The game was bugged, the tutorial character selection missing, and the interface ruined. We follow Dahlia as she overcomes the initial difficulties and learns how to navigate in the game. Dahlia discovers she has the natural ability to become a Summoner Mage. I had to laugh when Dahlia announced that she had managed her first in-game pee without difficulty. Finding her trainer Tomlinson, Dahlia manages to do very well for herself. Ultimately, she joined the war for Puatera as her sister before her. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Love the story but wish the book was longer!

"I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review."