Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Role Playing by Cathy Yardley

52 reviews

rickireadss's review against another edition

5.0

i LOVE maggie and aiden so much. i want to give aiden the biggest f*cking hug because he put up with way too much from his family. ughhhh they all made me so mad, but especially his brother

like how can you just sit there and be so ignorant and oblivious or simply just not give a flying f*ck what your brother is doing and putting up with. like GROW TF UP bro.

but omfg, aiden realizing that he's bi and demi?!?!? MY HEART WAS SO FULL. i think this is great rep, it made me cry, and i just loved how they talked about it together. ALL THE FEELS!!!! i loved the gaming aspect of this a LOT and love that that's what brought them together. i think the miscommunication/misunderstandings of each other's true ages was hilarious! i also just loved that they were older MCs, 48f 50m, and actually acted their ages. hands down a great book and i honestly want to reread it again!

⚠️: biphobia, homophobia, outing, emotional abuse, death of parent (cancer), acephoba/arophobia, racism, cancer, grief, misogyny, gaslighting, bullying, death of parents (car accident), religious bigotry

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Biphobia, Homophobia, Emotional abuse, Racism, and Outing

Moderate: Acephobia/Arophobia, Misogyny, Cancer, Grief, and Gaslighting

Minor: Bullying, Religious bigotry, and Car accident

kylieqrada's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted sad 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

4.5

Pure trope candy for me. Nerdy romance, Asian unlikable female character, demi bi fat MC, older protagonists, low spice. I'm LIVINGGGGGGGGGG

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Biphobia, and Outing

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Death of parent, and Acephobia/Arophobia

Minor: Cancer, Grief, and Racism

lovejasmine's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing 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

Oh. Oh, this was so good. This book is like the reading equivalent of a massive, soft cable knit sweater and wooly socks.

I loved that the MCs were a bit older, it gave them a lot of depth in a very different way than you see in other books. The representation was great, without being performative and weird, and I just loved the journey, honestly. To me, this book is like ...the romance equivalent of Tolkien - food references and all. 

Utterly amazing read, I couldn't recommend it more - and it would be great for someone who hasn't read loads of romance but wants to get into the genre!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Acephobia/Arophobia, Biphobia, and Death of parent

krystalanddogs's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective 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

5.0

I'm not sure if I actually feel this is 4 or 5 stars but it's so sweet. It's fun to read a story that isn't about 20 somethings and I really liked the journeys of both MCs. Aiden is chest clutchingly sweet and I identify a lot with Maggie. This was just nice. It's been on my shelf for a while and I'm glad I finally picked it up. 

Be aware there is some homophobia/biphobia and ace/aro denying/shaming, as well as some family tension around those facts. Mostly hinted at being in the back story but there is a little bit of direct dialogue. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Acephobia/Arophobia, Outing, and Biphobia

Moderate: Grief, Fatphobia, Terminal illness, Acephobia/Arophobia, Biphobia, Medical content, Death of parent, and Homophobia

Minor: Racism, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

kathrynok's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Biphobia, Outing, and Acephobia/Arophobia

Moderate: Sexual content

Minor: Death of parent and Grief

megj23's review against another edition

funny hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Cursing, Toxic relationship, and Outing

Minor: Acephobia/Arophobia, Biphobia, Cancer, and Death of parent

ourxstorybegins's review against another edition

funny hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia

Moderate: Sexual content, Outing, Biphobia, and Death of parent

Minor: Alcohol

bookwyrmknits's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful 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

I really enjoyed this book, enough that it might be my favorite read of the month—and for a contemporary romance, coming from me, that's really high praise! (I usually read mostly SFF, and very little contemporary.) This book had very relatable characters that I wanted to root for, including some of the side characters. It was wonderful seeing older main characters in the romance spotlight, and the gaming aspect of the relationship part of the book also resonated with me. I loved seeing introverts presented so accurately and positively here. This is going to be a book I return to for comfort reading. (And it has some GREAT quotes!)

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Homophobia

Minor: Death of parent, Outing, and Racism

sharebear431's review against another edition

emotional informative lighthearted tense fast-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Biphobia, Emotional abuse, Outing, Death of parent, Sexual content, Body shaming, Homophobia, and Toxic relationship

teniamonet's review against another edition

emotional funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Unexpected LGBTQ+ rep that was handled beautifully!

A slow-burn romance story with an older cast (Maggie being a divorced single mother of a college aged son and Aiden being a 50 year old man.) The characters were well developed and likeable. 

I found Role Playing through Amazon’s First Reads. I went into this book not knowing what to expect (full disclosure i was judging books by their covers). This was a cute read and opened my eyes up to some things and felt very affirming. 

I would definitely read again and recommend to friends. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Biphobia and Homophobia

Minor: Death of parent