If you haven't read Jake's Magical Market by J.R. Mathews stop reading this post and go buy it, it's definitely worth reading.

Major spoilers & end of book discussion below. I really enjoyed this book but it did leave me with some questions.

I wish I knew why this book was published this way. There's such a stark contrast between act 1 and act 2 that they really should be separate books. To go from small shopkeeper slice-of-life to god of time in the same book felt like a change in genre that could have been handled more gracefully.

More importantly, what happened to the Ring of Telekinesis??? Jake specifically buys it at a premium, recognizes that it fills a gap in his defense, then we never hear about it again. It's gone. When he was tied up and masked, the pivotal scene, guess what item would have been useful? At least lament not having it, don't just never mention the item.

The accumulation of so many powers. People of all races have been "playing the game" for all this time, but somehow only Jake thinks of or is capable of collecting time, mental, and dimensional cards. It's even mentioned that Jake doesn't understand why no one even takes mental defense cards, but never explained!

Why did they bother torturing Jake instead of killing him? Jake wondered but I don't think it was ever explained.

Why create an emergency portal device that works for anyone? Someone like Jake getting through the portal really hasn't happened before?

Loved the unique take on the magic system and the main character's development, but I hope the sequel is not as hampered by the common tropes of the genre. I think the author's process could really benefit from beta readers that point out plot holes and dropped plot lines.

I'll give a special prize to anyone who can explain why Jake never just froze time and stabbed people.