I liked the first book and although it definitely leaned towards harem style it stayed flirtatious. Overall Jeff Hays is a wonderful Narrator and the underlying plot of what was going on with the ship and what would happen next with the outside world had me purchasing the second and third book at the same time.
However, this book turns almost immediately into the MC suddenly being the coveted by any and all women he meets as well as him realizing that he actually likes all of his group mates and woe is him that they just might like him too. Again i tried to get past it for the underlying story line but I returned because at SPOILERS
Chapter 8-19:41 the MC uses a brainwash spell to control an elf woman (who is under his command and indebted to him) which makes him have complete control over her actions (hop on one foot, asks her to give him her bow, and make a lifetime vow) and he considers making her strip “Runner grinned briefly considering having her strip, fondle herself, or maybe tell him her darkest secret. Nadine’s curious face caught his attention and he dismissed the idea immediately.” He proceeds to make her pick her nose to prove that he does have control over her (which he also secretly screenshots). The MC stops himself from using mind control in this sexually violent way because someone else is looking. The joke could have been that she had to pick her nose all along. It could have been on a male character in the first place. The author chose to have this scene of what will become a main female character (he nicknames her at this point) as a private sexual power fantasy which is presumably put there for the reader or the author.