Aster's Reviews > Single Player

for they gaymers! And I mean it, this book is full of video games and nerdy references, cosplay and D&D. "Holy Palutena" did not annoy me as much as all the pop references in Here We Go Again but please take that into account when reading, I'm not sure why so many references are all the rage in romance, we could do without.

Cat (she/her), is a video game romance writer, having recently worked on the book equivalent of Hades (Charon's Scythe), she is hired to join the team for the book equivalent of Baldur's Gate III as the executives are pushing for romance arcs to break into the young female demographic. The problem is the project lead: Andi or Andz (they/she) who made a name working on a critically-acclaimed, gritty video game and was harassed and doxxed for not being a white cishet man in the industry. Andi hates romance. They think it's unnecessary, don't like executives meddling, and have a different vision for the project. Cat will need to convince them that her romantic vision for the companions is worth shipping with the game.

Andi is a character that I know some reviewers will hate. She lacks people skills, is abrasive, not good at apologizing, and is clearly aromantic-spectrum (and maybe autistic) coded (not canon just my reading). It's also a character who went through a traumatic doxxing, and has to constantly prove their place in their industry, as an Asian queer trans person, especially when it comes to more gritty and "serious" writing. Andi feels like not everything needs romance, that the aforementioned female gamer demographic doesn't need to be baited into a game by romance storylines, and she knows that her job is a precarious one. They are jaded and suspicious of the rookie who wants to prove her place and change everything. She's also a cool masc with a bike and nice arms if that will sway you?

Meanwhile, Cat is your awkward character (seriously, me on first dates) who wants to make her family happy by (fake) dating a nice girl because they can't bother to value her work. She's a dating sim lover (peep the Dream Daddy or rather Fantasy DILF mention) who struggles with dating but loves her friend and while she can lack confidence, she knows how to find it in times of need.

It's an enemies to lovers (or rather hate to love) that doesn't get solved immediately and requires both characters to grow as people and see each other's side before working together.

Also, the book makes a point of telling you that the Traitor Baru Cormorant is a really good book, and that's enough for five stars