It's phrasing I usually see when teenagers are complaining/boasting about how much sheer labour went into achieving their latest magnum opus (as opposed to "Okay, I did this in only ten minutes so it may not be up to much") -- but looking at the work to which this one was supposedly a sequel I think the author actually *is* writing in English as a second language, in which case all bets are off as to precise nuances of usage, and you may well be right.

("She gets discouraged, one of the few escapes from her is to workout but now she can't, but that's the least of it, she can't sing")