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3.08 AVERAGE
3.08 AVERAGE
You can't call it an LGBTQ book in all seriousness, and then turn around and deadname your trans woman character within the first few pages of the book, and repeatedly quote poisonous TERF Rowling. You also can't expect me to finish your bigoted book, even if it was granted to me by #NetGalley and the publisher as a digital advanced copy. There's literally no one I would feel comfortable recommending this book to, and I am so disappointed, as I was pulled in by a cute cover, and was so excited to read a book that involves the confluence of queerness and geeky gaming--But this book is not it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Thanks to NetGalley and University of Iowa Press for the digital galley of this book.
Welcome to Thursday night role playing club. Celeste is the dungeon master; Valerie, who works at the store, was roped in by default; Mooneyham, the banker, likes to argue; and Ben, sensitive, unemployed, and living at home, is still recovering from an unrequited love. This book follows their ups and downs both in real life and in game. As life gets messy, they may decide the group just doesn’t work anymore. Growing up is the worst.
I 100% picked this one for the title and its cover. It looked like it’d be fun, and it didn’t let me down.
The story follows the only queer DnD group in Cleveland heights, their ups and downs as friends. Some relationships end and some begin, and the members may decide they’ve just outgrown each other. And all the while, they meet on Thursdays and jump into a fantasy world where they can be heroes.
If you’re a DnD fan or just want to read more queer stories about friendships as well as romantic relationships, def check this one out.
It’s an excellent balance of fantastical adventure plots and real life drama. I liked how the story jumped back and forth and we got to know the characters’ alter egos as much as we followed them. It’s like reading a DnD novel light. The perfect addition to your Pride month reading list.
Did not finish.
I wanted to like this book a lot more than I did. As a queer Ohioan who likes RPGs, the title obviously stood out to me. I read 35% of the book, but I just couldn't get myself to fully engage with the story. I liked the concept of having sections of the story being the character's D&D game and an all LGBTQ D&D game is realistic and my personal ideal. However, I did not find the overall story very engaging or the characters very likeable.
I wanted to like this book a lot more than I did. As a queer Ohioan who likes RPGs, the title obviously stood out to me. I read 35% of the book, but I just couldn't get myself to fully engage with the story. I liked the concept of having sections of the story being the character's D&D game and an all LGBTQ D&D game is realistic and my personal ideal. However, I did not find the overall story very engaging or the characters very likeable.
I received a free ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
DNF at 46%
I really wanted to like this one. I am queer and I play D&D so I was super excited about it!
Unfortunately it fell really short for me. One of the first signs that this book and I weren't going to get along was when the narration dead named the trans character, but I see that a lot with Cis authors so I was like if that's the only time/the worst thing, then I can deal...
But unfortunately there were just a lot of things with this book that didn't work for me.
For one thing, none of the characters felt like they had any real depth. Part of this might have been because there were so many, but even Ben, who I feel like we spent the most time with in the half of the book I made it through, didn't feel really all that developed. They all felt like archetypes rather than fully created characters. Also they all just really annoyed me.
Another thing that frustrated me was a lot of the dialogue felt unnatural. There's some great writing in this book, some really good descriptions when setting the scene that truly bring things to life, but the dialogue was often awkward and didn't feel like how people really talk. Also some of the writing in other sections felt like a completely different style to those scene setting bits and it was very jarring.
The last thing that frustrated me was the D&D itself. Speaking only as someone who plays, not as someone who has ever been a DM, I felt like Celeste wasn't really the best about DMing. I also found it weird when they let Huey join them in the middle of a battle?? Like that is a lot of information to throw at a first time player and I feel like "why don't you watch for a bit and if you're still interested we can work on a character/how to introduce them next session?" makes way more sense.
I don't know. This book just didn't feel fully formed to me. It was a lot of ideas thrown together and none of them really felt like they got the proper attention.
DNF at 46%
I really wanted to like this one. I am queer and I play D&D so I was super excited about it!
Unfortunately it fell really short for me. One of the first signs that this book and I weren't going to get along was when the narration dead named the trans character, but I see that a lot with Cis authors so I was like if that's the only time/the worst thing, then I can deal...
But unfortunately there were just a lot of things with this book that didn't work for me.
For one thing, none of the characters felt like they had any real depth. Part of this might have been because there were so many, but even Ben, who I feel like we spent the most time with in the half of the book I made it through, didn't feel really all that developed. They all felt like archetypes rather than fully created characters. Also they all just really annoyed me.
Another thing that frustrated me was a lot of the dialogue felt unnatural. There's some great writing in this book, some really good descriptions when setting the scene that truly bring things to life, but the dialogue was often awkward and didn't feel like how people really talk. Also some of the writing in other sections felt like a completely different style to those scene setting bits and it was very jarring.
The last thing that frustrated me was the D&D itself. Speaking only as someone who plays, not as someone who has ever been a DM, I felt like Celeste wasn't really the best about DMing. I also found it weird when they let Huey join them in the middle of a battle?? Like that is a lot of information to throw at a first time player and I feel like "why don't you watch for a bit and if you're still interested we can work on a character/how to introduce them next session?" makes way more sense.
I don't know. This book just didn't feel fully formed to me. It was a lot of ideas thrown together and none of them really felt like they got the proper attention.
TW/ deadname.
Around page 15 a deadname for a trans character is included... I hope this is removed in the final version.
Unfortunately this one was not for me.
I was intrigued by the premise, as someone who has never played D&D but has seen a few play-throughs and found those fun, and as someone who is queer.
I really enjoyed the descriptive writing style and also the way the story inside of a story was told.
I found the tone clashed in the 1st half (sometimes YA sometimes New Adult); the book gets more solid in the 2nd half and i became more invested in the "real-life" plot then.
Other CW: homophobia, religious trauma, mental illness depiction, sexual & violent content.
Thank you to NetGalley and the Iowa University Press for an eARC
Around page 15 a deadname for a trans character is included... I hope this is removed in the final version.
Unfortunately this one was not for me.
I was intrigued by the premise, as someone who has never played D&D but has seen a few play-throughs and found those fun, and as someone who is queer.
I really enjoyed the descriptive writing style and also the way the story inside of a story was told.
I found the tone clashed in the 1st half (sometimes YA sometimes New Adult); the book gets more solid in the 2nd half and i became more invested in the "real-life" plot then.
Other CW: homophobia, religious trauma, mental illness depiction, sexual & violent content.
Thank you to NetGalley and the Iowa University Press for an eARC
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming, Homophobia
Moderate: Hate crime, Mental illness, Sexual content, Violence, Religious bigotry
funny
lighthearted
medium-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
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
DNF at 20%.
This story follows a rag-tag gang of adventurers who are actually characters in a Dungeons & Dragons session.
This story is very dialogue-heavy and fast past, not allowing for much in the way of descriptions of backgrounds and characters. When there are descriptions, it's...sex heavy.
There were a lot of problematic elements in this book, odd, considering you'd think this book targeting the LGBT+ audience would make the extra effort not to include said elements. Alas! The constant sex jokes were grating at a certain point, Mooneyham was incredibly infuriating, Ben the narrator, even more so.
An overly chaotic and confusing story with unlikable characters just made me put it down.
Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced reader's copy, though I apologize for not being able to finish it.
This story follows a rag-tag gang of adventurers who are actually characters in a Dungeons & Dragons session.
This story is very dialogue-heavy and fast past, not allowing for much in the way of descriptions of backgrounds and characters. When there are descriptions, it's...sex heavy.
There were a lot of problematic elements in this book, odd, considering you'd think this book targeting the LGBT+ audience would make the extra effort not to include said elements. Alas! The constant sex jokes were grating at a certain point, Mooneyham was incredibly infuriating, Ben the narrator, even more so.
An overly chaotic and confusing story with unlikable characters just made me put it down.
Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced reader's copy, though I apologize for not being able to finish it.
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Thank you to @netgalley and Iowa University Press for the early copy of The Cleveland Heights LGBTQ Sci-Fi and Fantasy Role Playing Club in exchange for an honest review!
⠀
The absolute best part of this book was how wonderfully nerd centric it was! Role playing, D&D, cosplay, comic books, action figures, video games, Ninja Turtles. It was all oh so wonderful.
⠀
And I really loved the way the book would move between reality and the game. We would be in the game play watching the characters go through it. Which was a really fun way to incorporate the fantasy element!
⠀
I enjoyed the beginning and most of the middle of the reality part of it. The characters were cute and I enjoyed getting to know them. But somewhere just past the halfway point we started getting chapters about more and more of the characters in the club and while I wanted to learn about them it felt a little like taking snippets of lots of things instead of big chunks of a few.
⠀
Basically we only got to scrape the surface of everyone instead of really learning about them. I felt like some of the characters were cheated out of a real story. And then the ending kind of wrapped up too perfectly and too quickly and by focusing on only a couple of the characters.
⠀
I enjoyed the read but it felt like the author was trying too hard in places. But it also had some really fun moments!
⠀
TW/CW: deadnaming, some anti-gay behavior, talk of sexual activities, objectification of women, fantasy fighting ⠀
⠀
The absolute best part of this book was how wonderfully nerd centric it was! Role playing, D&D, cosplay, comic books, action figures, video games, Ninja Turtles. It was all oh so wonderful.
⠀
And I really loved the way the book would move between reality and the game. We would be in the game play watching the characters go through it. Which was a really fun way to incorporate the fantasy element!
⠀
I enjoyed the beginning and most of the middle of the reality part of it. The characters were cute and I enjoyed getting to know them. But somewhere just past the halfway point we started getting chapters about more and more of the characters in the club and while I wanted to learn about them it felt a little like taking snippets of lots of things instead of big chunks of a few.
⠀
Basically we only got to scrape the surface of everyone instead of really learning about them. I felt like some of the characters were cheated out of a real story. And then the ending kind of wrapped up too perfectly and too quickly and by focusing on only a couple of the characters.
⠀
I enjoyed the read but it felt like the author was trying too hard in places. But it also had some really fun moments!
⠀
TW/CW: deadnaming, some anti-gay behavior, talk of sexual activities, objectification of women, fantasy fighting ⠀
DNF at 15%
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the gifted review copy of this book.
I really wanted to love this book--Queer D&D sounded right up my alley! But I was immediately brought down by the blatant transphobia about 5 pages in, when the author decided to deadname a trans character for no apparent reason except to explain that they are trans? No. Uh uh. You do not do that. There was no purpose to this deadnaming at all except transphobia, whether intentional or not. I truly hope that line is removed from this book before the finished copy comes out.
The characters were also flat and uninteresting to me in the parts I read, and the weird emphasis on sex in all of the scenes and with the characters for no real reason felt... a little stereo-typy to me. I frankly find it unrealistic that this people who aren't even friends would be so blatantly talking about sex with each other, especially around someone brand new. It kinda felt like the hyper-sexual-queer stereotype in action.
I hope these issues with the representation are fixed before the final copy.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the gifted review copy of this book.
I really wanted to love this book--Queer D&D sounded right up my alley! But I was immediately brought down by the blatant transphobia about 5 pages in, when the author decided to deadname a trans character for no apparent reason except to explain that they are trans? No. Uh uh. You do not do that. There was no purpose to this deadnaming at all except transphobia, whether intentional or not. I truly hope that line is removed from this book before the finished copy comes out.
The characters were also flat and uninteresting to me in the parts I read, and the weird emphasis on sex in all of the scenes and with the characters for no real reason felt... a little stereo-typy to me. I frankly find it unrealistic that this people who aren't even friends would be so blatantly talking about sex with each other, especially around someone brand new. It kinda felt like the hyper-sexual-queer stereotype in action.
I hope these issues with the representation are fixed before the final copy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming
Moderate: Homophobia, Sexual content
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A touching story of finding your way through life and love. The story follows a group of nerds who meet weekly to send their paladins, wizards and bards on magical adventures. Each player has real life issues of loneliness, acceptance and terrible awkwardness that seem to follow them through the adventures in the game. When a new handsome player enters the game, it shakes up the friends in unforeseen ways. The characters in the game have enemies to contend with and that mirrors events in the real world for the players.
Even though I am not a gamer, I've had enough exposure to it to appreciate the love the players have for the game and truly did find myself laughing out loud numerous times. There is a wonderful mix of humor and longing that feels very much like the gang in the movie The Breakfast Club. I enjoyed the story of the game and really would have loved more of it, and it was woven into the larger story very effectively. It doesn't matter if you have never been a gamer or are unfamiliar with D&D, you can find connections to these characters and their struggles with discrimination and intimacy.
My rating was 3.5 and rounded up. ARC provided by NetGalley and U of Iowa Press
Even though I am not a gamer, I've had enough exposure to it to appreciate the love the players have for the game and truly did find myself laughing out loud numerous times. There is a wonderful mix of humor and longing that feels very much like the gang in the movie The Breakfast Club. I enjoyed the story of the game and really would have loved more of it, and it was woven into the larger story very effectively. It doesn't matter if you have never been a gamer or are unfamiliar with D&D, you can find connections to these characters and their struggles with discrimination and intimacy.
My rating was 3.5 and rounded up. ARC provided by NetGalley and U of Iowa Press