Scott's Take: Time to Play by Erin Ampersand (Book 1 of the Apocalypse Parenting series)

Time to Play by Erin Ampersand is the first book in the Apocalypse Parenting series.  Meghan and her three kids are enjoying a typical day when aliens use some sort of technology to render most electronics and combustible materials useless. So, no cars, no internet, no cell phones, no firearms, etc. The aliens declare that all surviving humans will be forced to fight for their lives against monsters for alien entertainment. The kids will be forced to fight as well.

 

To accomplish this each person is given an ability is given a power. The youngest, Cassie, accidently turns her stuffed turtle into an alien AI. The boys go with magical powers.  Meghan is going to be forced to solo parent this apocalypse until her husband can make it back from Colorado. He was away on business when the aliens launched their take over. So, its mom and kids vs monsters while trying to rebuild the community of survivors and while hoping dad is alive and coming home.

 

This is action packed family drama is a LITRpg is recommend by the author who writes Dungeon Crawler Carl series. According to the acknowledgement pages, he played some role in getting this book published. This read was humorous while being darker than I expected. There are deaths of children, seniors, and more. This is a violent and dangerous apocalypse

 

Additionally, one of the support characters is named Scott. He is a guy training dogs to identify hostile mimics in the environment. Mimics are shapeshifters that can disguise themselves. So, points for naming a character Scott.

 

Apparently, there are five books in the series all of which are available through Kindle Unlimited. I got my copy in eBook form from the library system. There is a spinoff, Engineer's Odyssey: An LitRPG Adventure in the Apocalypse Parenting Universe, which is about the dad trying to get home to his family. The spinoff is available through Hoopla. The spin off takes place sometime from book one until book four or so of the main series.

 

The second book in the main series is titled Making Friends. Meghan is continuing to try to survive while taking care of her kids.  One son is now a wizard, one son has turned himself into a monkey, and the daughter keeps getting new magical alien friends. Sounds like Mom has her work cut out for her.

 

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4xGAD9i

 

 

I read this book through the Libby/Overdrive app by way of the Dallas Public Library System.

 

Scott A. Tipple  ©2026