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ajalexanderreadsromance's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- 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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Homophobia, and Outing
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Death of parent
Minor: Car accident, Racism, Cancer, Grief, and Acephobia/Arophobia
dreezy's review
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- 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
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Outing, and Biphobia
Minor: Acephobia/Arophobia
meganzahn's review
- Loveable characters? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Outing, Biphobia, and Homophobia
bookobsessedmommy's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- 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
Ugh how many ways can I say I loved this? The banter is top notch, particularly for Maggie and Aiden, but also with Maggie and absolutely everyone else. Her son, her friends, and just about anyone else Maggie talks to has great repartee. I heard there was queer rep, and I love to see it. Watching this relationship blossom was just so beautiful, and I just wanted to hug the both of them. There is just something about following characters that have lived so much life and read as regular instead of "Sage and wisened" that is super relatable. I want more nerdy middle aged romance!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Biphobia, Toxic relationship, and Outing
Moderate: Gaslighting
Minor: Death of parent
kaceyjoy's review against another edition
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- 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
5.0
This is a perfect book. I have no notes! I could not put it down! I love the perspectives of both of our main characters. And pretty much had a smile on my face the entire time I was reading it!
She's a single mom who's son just went off to college, happily living the hermit lifestyle up in the hills of Fool's Falls, WA. Maggie is 48, divorced, doesn't take anyone's shit, and just wants to play video games and eat good food. She's Vietnamese American, and I especially love her descriptions of reconnecting with her lineage through food.
He's single, never married, moved back to Fool's Falls to take care of his dying father and ageing mother. Aiden sold his half of the hospice business back west to take care of them, but is definitely getting a lot shit from his mother who refuses to listen and accept help, after his father passed. There's some family drama, an upcoming family wedding that he desperately needs a date to... But he'd rather play video games with his online guild that just got a new player.
Grumpy/Sunshine, she's the grump, he's a cinnamon roll, slow burn, super nerdy, older MCs (48 & 50), queer (demi & bi rep), small town romance, friends to lovers. Seriously, I loved this and all these tropes were perfect. The perfect cozy read!
TW: racism, homophobia, parent death, outing without consent, toxic family drama
She's a single mom who's son just went off to college, happily living the hermit lifestyle up in the hills of Fool's Falls, WA. Maggie is 48, divorced, doesn't take anyone's shit, and just wants to play video games and eat good food. She's Vietnamese American, and I especially love her descriptions of reconnecting with her lineage through food.
He's single, never married, moved back to Fool's Falls to take care of his dying father and ageing mother. Aiden sold his half of the hospice business back west to take care of them, but is definitely getting a lot shit from his mother who refuses to listen and accept help, after his father passed. There's some family drama, an upcoming family wedding that he desperately needs a date to... But he'd rather play video games with his online guild that just got a new player.
Grumpy/Sunshine, she's the grump, he's a cinnamon roll, slow burn, super nerdy, older MCs (48 & 50), queer (demi & bi rep), small town romance, friends to lovers. Seriously, I loved this and all these tropes were perfect. The perfect cozy read!
TW: racism, homophobia, parent death, outing without consent, toxic family drama
Content Warnings
Moderate: Outing and Homophobia
Minor: Racism and Death of parent
inkandmuses's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Outing, and Homophobia
Minor: Sexual harassment and Cancer
libraryghost's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Outing
Minor: Toxic relationship
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 masculinityjourdanicus's review
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
I liked a lot about this book: the main characters were kind to each other, their interactions were cute and realistic, they were older adults which doesn't seem so common in rom-coms, and gaming was treated as a legitimate hobby. The sex scenes were fun and sweet.
Unfortunately some parts missed the mark for me. I think the plot and pacing could have used some tightening. But what bothered me the most was the way the explanation of Aiden's identity was handled. It felt like Maggie was telling him who he was rather than giving him the space to discover, describe, or label himself. There was also a little too much Feminism 101 in here for me. For example, I know what demisexuality is - *I* am demisexual... That's why I picked up a book with a demi main character. I don't need it explained to me like I'm reading a glossary page on the GLAAD website. :\
I'm still waiting to find a good queer romance that isn't so heavy handed with its inclusivity. I think this would be good for someone who is newer to queer romance, or is straight but wants to read about a het couple who aren't... But for those of us comfortable in our queer identities and looking for characters who aren't new to theirs, this might not be worth picking up.
Unfortunately some parts missed the mark for me. I think the plot and pacing could have used some tightening. But what bothered me the most was the way the explanation of Aiden's identity was handled. It felt like Maggie was telling him who he was rather than giving him the space to discover, describe, or label himself. There was also a little too much Feminism 101 in here for me. For example, I know what demisexuality is - *I* am demisexual... That's why I picked up a book with a demi main character. I don't need it explained to me like I'm reading a glossary page on the GLAAD website. :\
I'm still waiting to find a good queer romance that isn't so heavy handed with its inclusivity. I think this would be good for someone who is newer to queer romance, or is straight but wants to read about a het couple who aren't... But for those of us comfortable in our queer identities and looking for characters who aren't new to theirs, this might not be worth picking up.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Biphobia, Homophobia, Outing, and Sexual content
Minor: Death of parent and Alcohol
beepbeep101's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Heck yes demi representation!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Outing, Biphobia, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Dementia, Abandonment, Cursing, Homophobia, and Body shaming
Minor: Car accident, Panic attacks/disorders, and Death of parent