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3.08 AVERAGE
3.08 AVERAGE
Someone told me that I could skip the DND parts, which I didn't like, because they have no impact on the rest of the book. Life's too short to read a book that I can skip half of.
adventurous
hopeful
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
I liked the incorporation of a tabletop roleplaying scene. I could envision this being made into a tv show.
The roleplaying scenarios really reminded me of my first d&d group right down to how messy and confused it was.
The roleplaying scenarios really reminded me of my first d&d group right down to how messy and confused it was.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Violence
It was a fun, geeky view of Coventry and a Cleveland Heights. The idea of an LGBTQ+-centric story set in Cleveland was a delight, and the nerdiness over Dungeons ‘n Dragons and other subcultures of geekdom seemed genuine and written by someone who was/is an active participant, not an observer.
The main plot wasn’t really that exciting for me. It’s essentially a gay meet-cute, but the descriptions of the record store, the comic book store, and some shoutouts and references to real Cleveland places with personalities and histories made it worth the read!
The main plot wasn’t really that exciting for me. It’s essentially a gay meet-cute, but the descriptions of the record store, the comic book store, and some shoutouts and references to real Cleveland places with personalities and histories made it worth the read!
Thank you to NetGalley and University of Iowa Press for providing me an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.
There was a lot I liked about this book. It was fun and fast paced. I really liked having both the real-world story line and the in-game one, especially when the players would invariably metagame, just like in a real campaign. I loved seeing D&D queered the way it was in Celeste’s game and the narration around the game play felt very realistic. The real-world topics that Mooneyham and Ben and Albert dealt with are relevant to the young adult queer community and it was great to see them in a work of fiction. Also, the ability of D&D to bring together people who otherwise might not be in the same social circles was well reflected here.
However, as a D&D player, I would have liked to see the mechanics of the book’s game better reflect the current D&D rule set. But the problem I felt, and the reason I had to knock off some stars, was the under-utilized vampires. I seemed like I was missing the last 1/3 of the book or something and not all the story lines got resolved.
Over all this book was enjoyable and definitely worth the read as a queer ttrpg-er.
There was a lot I liked about this book. It was fun and fast paced. I really liked having both the real-world story line and the in-game one, especially when the players would invariably metagame, just like in a real campaign. I loved seeing D&D queered the way it was in Celeste’s game and the narration around the game play felt very realistic. The real-world topics that Mooneyham and Ben and Albert dealt with are relevant to the young adult queer community and it was great to see them in a work of fiction. Also, the ability of D&D to bring together people who otherwise might not be in the same social circles was well reflected here.
However, as a D&D player, I would have liked to see the mechanics of the book’s game better reflect the current D&D rule set. But the problem I felt, and the reason I had to knock off some stars, was the under-utilized vampires. I seemed like I was missing the last 1/3 of the book or something and not all the story lines got resolved.
Over all this book was enjoyable and definitely worth the read as a queer ttrpg-er.
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a great book that introduces an idea for a great book. There are some positives--I liked the story within the story and a few of the characters interested me enough to want to know more about them.
I wanted to love this book, but I didn't. It seemed a bit scattered, rushed at the end, and didn't develop any of the characters within the club enough to make it a story about the club as the title suggests. The romance(s) was awkward and seemed dumped at the end to attempt to have a point for the story arc involving those characters.
Overall, I see potential but was left feeling lacking and disappointed.
Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for the dARC of this work in exchange for my honest review.
I wanted to love this book, but I didn't. It seemed a bit scattered, rushed at the end, and didn't develop any of the characters within the club enough to make it a story about the club as the title suggests. The romance(s) was awkward and seemed dumped at the end to attempt to have a point for the story arc involving those characters.
Overall, I see potential but was left feeling lacking and disappointed.
Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for the dARC of this work in exchange for my honest review.
1.5 stars. Oh boy. So two things about me: I'm really gay and I really love D&D. (Well, I've never played it myself but I'm obsessed with Critical Role, which counts, do not @ me.) So a book about a bunch of queer nerds in a role-playing club? I wanted to love this. And I really think I could have, because somewhere in the middle of this mess is a really cute, campy, silly, but heartfelt story. But this needed some serious doctoring.
First, this wasn't the book's fault, but the copy I received was really badly formatted in terms of the line and paragraph spacing, which made it really difficult to read. Secondly, the plotting was all over the place. There were several threads of the story that just came in at awkward times, plots that got too much or too little screen time, a few points that were just nonsensical/unneeded, even in a light-hearted romp of a story. The whole vampire thing was unnecessary, and didn't ever work into the story in a coherent way. The characters all had arcs, but some were given more precedence than others, and none of them felt particularly fulfilling. The little bits of character development weren't very satisfying, and even though some things changed for some characters, it just didn't feel that way, beyond the obvious. There are a few romances, but none of them, not even the main one, made me feel anything in particular. The story spread wide enough, I guess, but it felt really thin and shallow.
The subplot within their D&D campaign was fun? But again, disjointed and a bit all over the place. The silliness got to be a bit too much for me at times. I did like how the scenes played out, and how their real life discussions/arguments bled into the game sometimes, but reading it as a whole... it just wasn't cohesive. I didn't mind that not all the rules and terms were what I'm used to (they could have been using another edition or homebrew rules) but I just wanted there to be more structure.
There's also a super clumsy moment in the vein of, 'hmmm, how do I let readers know this character is trans EASY I'll deadname her almost immediately.'
I liked this story's potential more than I liked anything about the way in which it was executed. The bones of something good are here! I love D&D, I love silly, I love campy, I don't mind a lot of innuendo and comedy, but none of these really got pulled together in a way that made for a satisfying story, which is a pity.
☆ Review copy provided via NetGalley.
First, this wasn't the book's fault, but the copy I received was really badly formatted in terms of the line and paragraph spacing, which made it really difficult to read. Secondly, the plotting was all over the place. There were several threads of the story that just came in at awkward times, plots that got too much or too little screen time, a few points that were just nonsensical/unneeded, even in a light-hearted romp of a story. The whole vampire thing was unnecessary, and didn't ever work into the story in a coherent way. The characters all had arcs, but some were given more precedence than others, and none of them felt particularly fulfilling. The little bits of character development weren't very satisfying, and even though some things changed for some characters, it just didn't feel that way, beyond the obvious. There are a few romances, but none of them, not even the main one, made me feel anything in particular. The story spread wide enough, I guess, but it felt really thin and shallow.
The subplot within their D&D campaign was fun? But again, disjointed and a bit all over the place. The silliness got to be a bit too much for me at times. I did like how the scenes played out, and how their real life discussions/arguments bled into the game sometimes, but reading it as a whole... it just wasn't cohesive. I didn't mind that not all the rules and terms were what I'm used to (they could have been using another edition or homebrew rules) but I just wanted there to be more structure.
There's also a super clumsy moment in the vein of, 'hmmm, how do I let readers know this character is trans EASY I'll deadname her almost immediately.'
I liked this story's potential more than I liked anything about the way in which it was executed. The bones of something good are here! I love D&D, I love silly, I love campy, I don't mind a lot of innuendo and comedy, but none of these really got pulled together in a way that made for a satisfying story, which is a pity.
☆ Review copy provided via NetGalley.
The boys' voices are stronger than the girls. The D&D characters almost steal the show. I liked it!
** This book was provided to me by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review **
I’ve been thinking a bit about how to approach reviewing this novel. Let me be very clear, I absolutely loved it, and I really enjoyed the very raw and emotional struggles and triumphs Mr. Henderson very smoothly navigates in it.
My quandary comes from approaching this book without discounting the very heartfelt issues presented within. Yes, this is a LGBTQ+ focused story, but, while the viewpoint is presented from and about largely homosexual characters, the core story presents situations and feelings that are far more inclusive.
Plus, its about the amazing glue that a game of Dungeons & Dragons sticks people together with.
Ben is a young man of twenty-five who lives in his parents basement with his cat — Onigiri — and spends his time thrifting and selling old toys and collectables online. Ben is openly gay, but has never really had a real relationship. Ben is also a member of a gay gaming group at a Cleveland-area local comic book and gaming shop along with the other primary characters of this story.
This is the annoying part of any of my reviews where I tell you that I’m not going to tell you anything more about the story, but, in this case, I think that it is particularly important not to. The primary charm for me, aside from the amazing role play that happens during the gaming sessions, is how each character, and their story, unfolds in the context of where everything opens.
The Cleveland Heights LGBTQ Sci-Fi and Fantasy Role Playing Club (a title that I absolutely love and is an utter mouthful) is about how each of these individuals set up their personal orbits: how each of the characters sees themselves, and the whos and whats they surround themselves with.
Everything in this book seems so incredibly personal to me, and, while I started out trying to identify with it as a gamer, I realized very quickly that the identification really came from being a normal human with human doubts, fears and desires. This story loops way out into the day-to-day hopes and angst of just being a member of society in a harsh reality, and then circles right back in to the semi-controlled comfort of the Thursday night gaming session. There is even a little jab at discrimination that doesn’t exactly land where the reader thinks it might land.
This was a hidden gem for me. I really thought there might be more “in-world” parts of the book, but I found myself turning more from that aspect being the core of the story to seeing as the neutral ground each of the characters could work out their inter-personal issues with. Kudos to Mr. Henderson for presenting probably the most realistic — to my experience — gaming session presentation I have ever read about in a work of fiction.
This one is a real winner.
I’ve been thinking a bit about how to approach reviewing this novel. Let me be very clear, I absolutely loved it, and I really enjoyed the very raw and emotional struggles and triumphs Mr. Henderson very smoothly navigates in it.
My quandary comes from approaching this book without discounting the very heartfelt issues presented within. Yes, this is a LGBTQ+ focused story, but, while the viewpoint is presented from and about largely homosexual characters, the core story presents situations and feelings that are far more inclusive.
Plus, its about the amazing glue that a game of Dungeons & Dragons sticks people together with.
Ben is a young man of twenty-five who lives in his parents basement with his cat — Onigiri — and spends his time thrifting and selling old toys and collectables online. Ben is openly gay, but has never really had a real relationship. Ben is also a member of a gay gaming group at a Cleveland-area local comic book and gaming shop along with the other primary characters of this story.
This is the annoying part of any of my reviews where I tell you that I’m not going to tell you anything more about the story, but, in this case, I think that it is particularly important not to. The primary charm for me, aside from the amazing role play that happens during the gaming sessions, is how each character, and their story, unfolds in the context of where everything opens.
The Cleveland Heights LGBTQ Sci-Fi and Fantasy Role Playing Club (a title that I absolutely love and is an utter mouthful) is about how each of these individuals set up their personal orbits: how each of the characters sees themselves, and the whos and whats they surround themselves with.
Everything in this book seems so incredibly personal to me, and, while I started out trying to identify with it as a gamer, I realized very quickly that the identification really came from being a normal human with human doubts, fears and desires. This story loops way out into the day-to-day hopes and angst of just being a member of society in a harsh reality, and then circles right back in to the semi-controlled comfort of the Thursday night gaming session. There is even a little jab at discrimination that doesn’t exactly land where the reader thinks it might land.
This was a hidden gem for me. I really thought there might be more “in-world” parts of the book, but I found myself turning more from that aspect being the core of the story to seeing as the neutral ground each of the characters could work out their inter-personal issues with. Kudos to Mr. Henderson for presenting probably the most realistic — to my experience — gaming session presentation I have ever read about in a work of fiction.
This one is a real winner.