A review by thestorydragon
Single Player by Tara Tai

funny hopeful 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

3.5

2 🌶️ 

Pros:
✨Fun Concept
✨Social Issues Tackled
✨ Queer Representation

Cons:
✨Slow Pacing
✨ Inauthentic Romance
✨ Lack of Character Growth
✨ Contrived Conflicts
✨ Plot Holes / Dropped Plot Lines
✨ Flat Secondary Characters 

 

When Cat Li gets her dream job writing romantic storylines for Compass Hollow, a superstar name in the gaming world, she never imagined she would find herself fighting to then do her job, thanks to pushback from the game’s narrative director, Andi Zhang. Andi loathes the idea that love needs to make its way into a storyline about survival and grit. In their experience, the two don’t go hand-in-hand, and the push in Compass Hollow brings forth traumatizing memories from a previous project with a corrupt mentor.

I was starry eyed during the first few chapters of this novel. Not only was this concept awesome--a romance between two game writers who can’t stand one another due to their opposing views on love--but the protagonists’ personalities leapt off the page. We had motivations for each of them individually, and these in turn fueled the main conflict. It was a story set up right!

25% in, though, things started to drag. The secondary characters were flat, we get very little character growth in our protagonists, and, despite spending so much time together, Cat and Andi really only talk about the game, opening up no more than they would to a friend. They don’t get to know one another on a deeper, more intimate level. And, yes, this is a slow burn, but that should mean amazing tension and a relationship built on understanding. Instead, it seems like Andi and Cat pivot around one another until, eventually, they pivot into one another. One personal conversation in Vegas that leads to a kiss and ... WABAM. They’re in love.

Though conflicts remained the same, little-to-no forward movement happened until the very end, and we don’t really learn more about the characters. The story gets stuck in a loop and becomes repetitive, or drops plots altogether. Cat’s main personal conflict was rooted in her inability to stand up for herself, emphasized by family tension and her parents coming to visit over the holidays (giving us a timeline for her to resolve this problem). This is why she fake dates Sally to begin with. But the family doesn’t come, so Cat never grows through her main character flaw via its catalyst. It made the whole setup seem pointless. Perhaps Tai wanted another obstacle between Andi and Cat, and a fake relationship was an easy way to get one? I'm not certain, but it felt contrived.

I saw the potential here. The commentary about isolation for women and nonbinary peoples in male-dominated fields, especially when part of a marginalized group, was well done. The social issues touched upon were appreciated. But the overall execution of the novel fell short of what I thought it would be, based on the first few chapters. 

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