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alexelli's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Sexism, Bullying, Sexual content, and Cursing
Moderate: Chronic illness, Ableism, Murder, Hate crime, Grief, and Violence
Minor: Death of parent, Alcohol, Cancer, Racial slurs, and Stalking
slowburnsrus's review
emotional
hopeful
informative
medium-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
4.0
This was a totally delightful romance! It has the cultural commentary about feminist Black girls who love pop culture that I loved from the Love Con, and another pairing between two main characters who are super duper passionate and competent in their preferred realms of nerdom. I adored Love Con but I actually might love Game On more even don’t know anything about gaming. The racist bullies here aren’t glossed over but they appear infrequently. The story is more tightly focused on the slow building romance…Aron and Samara had a TON of emotional resonance and chemistry. They sucked me into the story and I devoured it in less than a day. The autism rep was really excellent too.
The only reason I’m not giving it 5 stars is because I thought the 3rd act fight was stupid and villain crushing took too long to resolve. Both were inconsistent with the excellent communication and problem solving skills the characters showed throughout their very low conflict relationship. I actually screamed out loud in frustration “just fire [villain]” multiple times, lol. Given the threats of violence from gamergate-esque bros that the book alludes to, I wish the bad stuff could have been dealt with sooner so I could enjoy more Aron and Samara time at the end. However, it was worth being angry for 15% of the book in return for being overjoyed for most of the rest.
I received an arc from the publisher in return for an honest review.
The only reason I’m not giving it 5 stars is because I thought the 3rd act fight was stupid and villain crushing took too long to resolve. Both were inconsistent with the excellent communication and problem solving skills the characters showed throughout their very low conflict relationship. I actually screamed out loud in frustration “just fire [villain]” multiple times, lol. Given the threats of violence from gamergate-esque bros that the book alludes to, I wish the bad stuff could have been dealt with sooner so I could enjoy more Aron and Samara time at the end. However, it was worth being angry for 15% of the book in return for being overjoyed for most of the rest.
I received an arc from the publisher in return for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Bullying
Moderate: Ableism, Racial slurs, and Violence
Minor: Cancer, Death of parent, Murder, and Violence
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