Scan barcode
relin's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Outing and Sexual content
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Alcohol
Minor: Death of parent
Divorce is a large importance to the story.mels_reading_log's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
This is a friends to lovers romance where the people in the couple are 50ish year old introverts who met through an online gaming guild. I love a romance novel that gives me a couple that’s not just young, hot and cis! This book is all about accepting yourself and finding your people who will love you no matter what.
Graphic: Death of parent, Outing, Homophobia, Biphobia, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Grief
annahamburger's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Biphobia, Mental illness, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Homophobia
Moderate: Outing, Cursing, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, and Xenophobia
Minor: Violence, Death of parent, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Cancer, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Dysphoria, Medical content, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Car accident, Dementia, Pregnancy, and Racism
amy_in_the_city's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
As someone on the ace spectrum, I appreciated that this book had a main character, especially an older character, discovering that they were demisexual. However, the book got some things wrong about asexuality. At one point, Maggie explains that "Ace is also called 'graysexual.'" A quick Google search would have confirmed that those two terms don't mean the same thing and that "graysexual" is actually just one of many different types of asexuality. It's clear from other terms used in explaining asexuality that the author did research various terminology. It just seems like she got confused at some point with a couple of terms, but I wish there had been a sensitivity reader or an editor that could have caught this before it made it into the final book. I also thought Aiden seemed pretty clearly demiromantic as well, but this was never brought up and his demiromantic traits were lumped in with his demisexual traits. Terminology issues aside, I thought the demisexuality was represented well, and Aiden felt authentically demi in how he experienced the world and in how he reacted to learning there was a word for how he was.
Overall, this was a cute romance, and I had a great time reading it!
Graphic: Homophobia, Biphobia, Outing, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Bullying, Cursing, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Sexual content, and Xenophobia
Minor: Infidelity, Acephobia/Arophobia, Addiction, Alcohol, Car accident, Drug abuse, and Grief
danie_faye's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Sexual content
gondorgirl's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Moderate: Alcohol, Body shaming, Outing, Sexism, Sexual content, Infidelity, Misogyny, Cursing, Dementia, Mental illness, and Homophobia
ta2dlibrarian's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Calling all MMORPG fans! This is the romance you've been waiting for. The author has done their gamer research and it shows!
My only gripe is the quick resolution between the protagonists and their toxic past, which is anything but realistic.
Graphic: Biphobia, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Outing, and Sexual content
the_vegan_bookworm's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Sexism, Biphobia, Acephobia/Arophobia, Outing, and Sexual content
Minor: Racism
garbage_mcsmutly's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Biphobia, Toxic relationship, and Sexual content
petite_madeline's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
- Black cat / Golden retriever pairings
- Queer representation (Bi/demi)
- Mature characters
- Friends-to-lovers
- Dual POV
- Slow Burn (like really slow)
- Pop culture references
- Third Person narrative
- A smidge of spice
I picked this up because I was excited to see a romance between two mature characters (not your usual 20-somethings). AND they're gamers?! Love!
Overall, I enjoyed this book. It was a fun and easy read. I wish there was more romantic tension spread throughout. Most of that delicious tension happened in the last 1/4 of the book. The mutual pining in the beginning and middle just didn't hit the way I usually like it to. Perhaps that made it more realistic? It did allow for a more natural friendship to bloom first.
Moderate: Sexual content, Acephobia/Arophobia, Outing, and Biphobia
Minor: Death of parent