Kelsey S's Reviews > Single Player

▹My ⭐ Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3/5)
▹Format: 🎧Audiobook
▹TL;DR Review: Not quite for me, but I see the appeal.

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💬 Summary:

Cat, a romance writer, lands her dream job creating swoony storylines for a popular video game. But sparks fly (and not the romantic kind) between her and new boss Andi.

Andi, who is nonbinary and would rather code bugs than love stories, soon finds that Cat is now dating Andi’s ex. Awks! But there’s more to it than what it seems.

Cat’s relationship is surface-level. But what’s worse is that there are workplace politics that uncover a plan to sabotage one of their careers.

Can Cat break Andi’s hard exterior and get to their gooey center? How will they set aside their differences to ensure equality for all? What is Dungeons and Dragons?

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○★○ What to expect from this book: ○★○

– Dual first-person POV
– 1-2 spicy scenes
– Cat is on the search for love but can’t move past the “friends” stage
– Andi is rough around the edges, but has a heart of gold
– A lot of gaming references
– Tropes: workplace romance, “enemies” to lovers, slow burn, forced proximity, fake dating
– Triggers: Doxxing, misogyny, sexism, workplace tension, online dating
– Representation: queer, nonbinary, gaming culture, Asian MCs, sapphic romance

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↻ ◁ || ▷ ↺ 1:05 ─────ㅇ─── 2:41

Now Playing: Nintendo Game by Alessia Cara

❝Baby, baby, baby, this is getting too crazy; I don't have the training; Baby, baby, baby, this love ain't a game; So we should stop playing❞

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★○ If You Like the Following, You Might Like This Book ○★

➼ Two Can Play by Ali Hazelwood
➼ The TV show Mythic Quest
➼ Playing games with your crush

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⍟»This or That«⍟

Character Driven——————✧—————Plot Driven
Insta Love/Lust————————✧———Slow Burn
Sweet——————✧—————Spicy
Light/Fluffy—————✧——————Heavy/Emotional

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🎯 My Thoughts:

First off, the fact this is a debut novel is amazing. Kudos to Tara Tai for putting this out there. I know it will spark creativity in the gaming culture.

Something about the execution didn’t quite click for me. The romance didn’t land as I’d hoped. The gaming industry setting was a bit much for me—it was rife with detail, which I know some will respect and love, but it was a bit too much for my taste.

I appreciated reading about more diverse characters than I typically do, and the new view into topics like doxing and harassment was eye opening.