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cheye13's review
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
The book fails to deliver its premise. Despite meeting "through the game," there are nearly no scenes of the game, no descriptions of their characters, and no presence of the game in their offline lives. The characters practically meet through mutual friends over email. That being said, many scenes read as "too online." Dialogue grew soap-boxy or wikipedia-like, as if the author was communicating something rather than giving a perspective to a character.
There's a fatal flaw of focusing on the negative at the expense of the positive. All of the side characters are loathesome, creating endless conflict for both leads and edging out the supportive voices in their lives. Maggie's bffs get barely a page each, and Aiden's closest friend isn't even on-page once.
As a simple romance story, it's decent. I appreciate the older characters and the unexpected queerness. I have been begging for a woman!grump/man!sunshine forever, and this does deliver that well enough. But those tropes aren't enough to carry the story for me.
If you're dipping a toe into the romance genre, want to read about older characters, and know next-to-nothing about online communities, you'll probably enjoy this. If you read a lot of romance, have firsthand experience with online communities, and/or picked it up for the RPG angle, you'll likely be disappointed.
There's a fatal flaw of focusing on the negative at the expense of the positive. All of the side characters are loathesome, creating endless conflict for both leads and edging out the supportive voices in their lives. Maggie's bffs get barely a page each, and Aiden's closest friend isn't even on-page once.
As a simple romance story, it's decent. I appreciate the older characters and the unexpected queerness. I have been begging for a woman!grump/man!sunshine forever, and this does deliver that well enough. But those tropes aren't enough to carry the story for me.
If you're dipping a toe into the romance genre, want to read about older characters, and know next-to-nothing about online communities, you'll probably enjoy this. If you read a lot of romance, have firsthand experience with online communities, and/or picked it up for the RPG angle, you'll likely be disappointed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Outing, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Biphobia
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Body shaming, Death of parent, Classism, Cancer, and Racism
emotional blackmail, broken bone, toxic masculinity
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