40
I'm about a third of the way into the first book. A friend of mine has been reading the series, and he said it'd be right up my alley. Between that and everyone on the internet talking about these books, I figured I'd give it a shot.
Immediate regret. From the moment I started reading, I was getting flashbacks to reading Stephanie Meyers twenty years ago: the repetitive language; mundane grammar; weird, heavy-handed characterizations. The presentation was similar to the bad fanfics and YA novels that were coming out when I was in my 20s.
I keep trying to give it the benefit of the doubt. I get the impression that the main character is supposed to be a little dim, so maybe the first-person narration is supposed to be reflecting that? But even that only explains some of it. It's otherwise so trope-y and winking. Reading it honestly feels like watching Spielberg's Ready Player One again, where the point is not a good story, interesting characters, or even good craft, just nodding at the in-jokes.
I'm going to finish this first book this weekend, because I made the mistake of buying it. But unless something substantially changes in the next couple hundred pages, I will not be continuing the series.
So, yeah, I'm glad people are reading it and enjoying it. Just wanted to provide a different opinion from all the comments glazing it, because it doesn't have universal appeal.