Reviews with content warning for Outing - Role Playing

Reviews tagging 'Outing'

Role Playing by Cathy Yardley

89 reviews

cheye13's review against another edition

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.

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jourdanicus's review against another edition

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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.

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beepbeep101's review against another edition

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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!!

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juffnstuff's review against another edition

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emotional 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

3.75

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rickireadss's review against another edition

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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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kylieqrada's review against another edition

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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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jax_b_reading's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

5.0

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katydidinoz's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful informative lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

A delightful and gentle read with older protagonists who come to a relationship with their own baggage and personal growth. The pacing occasionally struggled, and I would have preferred a stronger reaction to the conflict.

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unusablebooklore's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

Ohhh lovely middle life romance - our wonderful MCs are in their 40s

I devoured this book, being on a bit of an audio binge finding this had audio available via KU was a treat.

There was strong Bisexual/Demi/Ace MMC rep. I appreciate seeing a bisexual MMC in a mixed gender relationship and the SUPPORT from his leading lady was top notch.

Low heat but I didn’t notice until the “Are we going to have sex?!” at 79%.

TW: LOADS of Biphobia, an outing, and mild Asiaphobia

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reign_kaur's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective relaxing sad 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? No

5.0

Oh my goodness, the family drama is on point. So accurate and inspiring. I'm in a similar situation to the main characters and this helped me to confirm I am doing the right thing and to ignore the gaslighting.

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