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books4susie's review against another edition
4.0
This was a super cute romance between the shy guy who discovers that the smart, popular girl he has crushed on for years is also a gamer. Pushed by her parents to academically succeed, no one knows Emilia plays GLO. When her team is tapped to play in a tournament, she is shocked to discover that Jake, the boy she met at a birthday party years ago at an arcade, is on a rival team. What happens when Emilia’s cover is blown is a surprise that she never expected.
ms_greenjeans's review against another edition
3.0
I felt old twice this week. Once while watching Kim Kardashian host SNL and realizing I didn’t know 3/4 of the pop cultural references and then again while reading the video game sections of this book. Anyhoo, the book is fun, Emilia is a smart badass and you know she’s going to love the shy cute gamer instead of the soccer star and yeah, it’s a good YA novel.
gayathiri_rajendran's review against another edition
4.0
Don’t Hate The Player by Alexis Nedd is set in the world of online gaming. Emilia Romero is a high school student by day but a professional gamer by night. She loves playing video games and has to play it in secret since her family frowns upon them. She plays with a professional team in the league.
Her closely guarded secret threatens to spill out when one of the players,Jake from a rival team recognises her. We also get to know that they’ve met each other before when they were kids. What happens to both of them and the fate of the league forms the rest of the story.
This was a really cute and adorable read. The technical jargon in gaming threw me off a bit but I enjoyed reading about it nevertheless. The romance was sweet and the friends to lovers trope was well done.
This book also touches upon important issues like sexism and online harassment. It was very thought provoking. A very enjoyable and fun read!
Her closely guarded secret threatens to spill out when one of the players,Jake from a rival team recognises her. We also get to know that they’ve met each other before when they were kids. What happens to both of them and the fate of the league forms the rest of the story.
This was a really cute and adorable read. The technical jargon in gaming threw me off a bit but I enjoyed reading about it nevertheless. The romance was sweet and the friends to lovers trope was well done.
This book also touches upon important issues like sexism and online harassment. It was very thought provoking. A very enjoyable and fun read!
samstraws's review against another edition
5.0
The intro of the book was in third person and didn’t match the tone of the rest of the book (which switches perspectives between the two protagonists) so I had low expectations going in. But the romance was healthy and well-written, and I loved the buildup! Definitely the best YA I’ve read in a hot second.
emmalizz's review
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
booklover160's review against another edition
3.0
I think there were a few things that really knocked a star (or two) off but overall, this was fairly good.
‘Don’t Hate the Player’ follows star high schooler Emilia Romero, an excellent student, a star field hockey player, and all around perfect preppy girl. Or so she wants everyone to think. In the dark of night, she’s an excellent gamer, so good that she is on track to be pro.
Along with Emilia, we meet Jake, another player and boy who’s flitted around Emilia‘s circle since they were kids. He comes from a broken family and when they meet again, it on opposing sides of a gaming tournament.
I really loved Jake. I think he was so sweet and how Emilia helped him with his trauma was so sweet. I liked Emilia enough. At the very start she seems to look down on the other nerds, despite being one herself. I didn’t like that but her attitude definitely changed so I think she learned from it.
The plot was pretty good, all things considered. I liked the twists and how it all resolved. I found the ‘enemies’ pretty despicable and it absolutely infuriated me that this is all real stuff that happens to women, people of color, and LGBTQ+ members on the daily in gaming communities. It makes me so. Mad. Especially since I am a gamer and have met my fair share of awful players who judge you based on factors that have nothing to do with my playing.
Overall, a great read for teen gamers. Romance is super cute and the game descriptions are really neat.
‘Don’t Hate the Player’ follows star high schooler Emilia Romero, an excellent student, a star field hockey player, and all around perfect preppy girl. Or so she wants everyone to think. In the dark of night, she’s an excellent gamer, so good that she is on track to be pro.
Along with Emilia, we meet Jake, another player and boy who’s flitted around Emilia‘s circle since they were kids. He comes from a broken family and when they meet again, it on opposing sides of a gaming tournament.
I really loved Jake. I think he was so sweet and how Emilia helped him with his trauma was so sweet. I liked Emilia enough. At the very start she seems to look down on the other nerds, despite being one herself. I didn’t like that but her attitude definitely changed so I think she learned from it.
The plot was pretty good, all things considered. I liked the twists and how it all resolved. I found the ‘enemies’ pretty despicable and it absolutely infuriated me that this is all real stuff that happens to women, people of color, and LGBTQ+ members on the daily in gaming communities. It makes me so. Mad. Especially since I am a gamer and have met my fair share of awful players who judge you based on factors that have nothing to do with my playing.
Overall, a great read for teen gamers. Romance is super cute and the game descriptions are really neat.
littledeerbythecreek's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Stalking