Tag: Online personas

REVIEW: Don't Hate the Player by Alexis Nedd

REVIEW: Don’t Hate the Player by Alexis Nedd

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received a free electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Bloomsbury YA in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. This book releases on June 15, 2021.]

Summary

Emilia and Jake met in 4th grade at an arcade birthday party. They bonded over video games. And every year or so for a little while they would run into each other and hang out.

As a junior in high school, Emilia has carefully crafted her life. During the day, she is a diligent student and the captain of the field hockey team. She’s running for VP of the Junior class. If an activity could look good to a college, Emilia is doing it. But at night, she’s a member of Team Fury on Guardian League Online. No one in her real life knows about her gamer life. Her parents would have a fit that she’s wasting so much time that she could be putting toward her college prep. Her friends wouldn’t understand. So it’s a secret, and Emilia wants to keep it that way.

Jake has transferred to Emilia’s school, but she has no idea. She obviously doesn’t remember him because when she sees him, she looks right through him. He’d love to reconnect, but he’s just not sure how to approach her. All of his friends on Team Unity in Guardian League Online are shipping the two of them and urging him to talk with her.

When Wizard Games announces a huge in person GLO tournament, Team Unity and Team Fury are all in. But a public tournament will put everything in Emilia’s gaming life out in the spotlight if anyone finds out who she is. Considering the secrets she is keeping from her friends and family – not to mention the issues women put up with in the gaming world – publicity means nothing but trouble.

Review

What a delight! After a darling opener about Emilia and Jake as kids, there were a few chapters that were slow-going for me. I wasn’t vibing the game at the center of the story. But once Jake and Emilia re-connected, I was sold. The game descriptions made more sense to me as the book went on (I am not a gamer.). But it was the characters and their relationships that made this story special.

I am completely in love with Jake and Emilia – both the kid versions and the high school versions. Jake is the perfect guy for Emilia. He accepts her as she is without expectations. She can be fully herself, and he gets her. It’s lovely.

I adored the humor in this – and the great Marvel/Avengers/MCU references in the book. This was a FUN story, and I would definitely read it again. Readers who enjoy YA romance, gaming stories, and stories dealing with sexism – like Moxie, or Slay, or Don’t Read the Comments – should run right out and pick this one up! (Language, LGBTQ+, TW: online harassment, doxxing, etc.)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥½*

*♥♥♥♥½ = I loved it! Would read again!

REVIEW: What I Like About You by Marisa Kanter

REVIEW: What I Like About You by Marisa Kanter

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Simon & Schuster in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Nash is an artist and a graphic novelist. He’s active on Twitter where he has shared his graphic novel, Rex, with the world. That’s how he met Kels.

Kels is a baker and a book reviewer. Her blog and social media accounts – One True Pastry –  pair book covers with cupcake designs that Kels bakes herself. She’s built a big following online and a small inner circle of Twitter friends, including Nash. He’s become her best friend over the last few years online.

Halle has moved to Connecticut for her senior year so she can focus on applying for college and building on her other interests. She and her younger brother are living with their widowed grandfather while their parents are in Israel filming a documentary. Usually Halle and Ollie would go with them. That’s one of the reasons Halle has struggled to make friends IRL (in real life). The family has moved so much, Halle has never really gotten to put down roots. Add to that her anxiety and her general awkwardness, and it’s easy to see why face-to-face relationships are hard for her.

Halle’s expectations for finding friendship in her new home are low. And then she runs into Nash. He knows her grandfather from temple and says hello, knowing she’s new in town. But Nash isn’t new to Halle. She’s been best friends with Nash online for years. Only he has no idea that Halle is Kels.

Review

There are so many things I enjoyed about this:

  • All the book love – This is a book lovers book. There are book Twitter stories and Bookstagram examples that will be familiar to readers who frequent those spaces. The book signing, cover reveals, and book convention pieces felt like home to me. This was my favorite part of the book.
  • The baking – I loved Halle’s/Kels’ take on her book reviews. The cupcakes sounded amazing. (There were no recipes in the review copy of the book.)
  • The characters – I loved the characters in this. Halle’s circle of friends – online and off – were great. And her family was even more delightful than her friends.

I’ve read other secret identity sorts of books before, but this one was on the painful side at times. I couldn’t relax into enjoying Nash and Halle together because of all the angst on her side and the lying by omission. As painful as it was – as much as I was dreading the moment where it all falls apart – I was also craving that moment. I wanted the lying done! I wanted Halle to get to be wholly herself and not this divided character.

The end wraps things up well. I loved  where everything settles in the end, both for Halle and Nash as well as for the other characters. Don’t miss this fun YA romance! (Language, LGBTQ+, TW: anxiety/panic attacks)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥