Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
This delightfully quirky romance from Yardley (Ex Appeal) finds divorced, biracial Asian American Maggie, 48, embracing a reclusive lifestyle after her son goes away to college. Emotional trauma--including the death of her parents in a car accident when she was two, being raised by her prejudiced grandmother, and suffering through a loveless marriage--leaves Maggie uncomfortable with IRL relationships. Instead, she finds solace in online gaming, where she can be herself under the screen name BOGWITCH. Like Maggie, 50-year-old Aiden (screen name: OtterLeader) has a fair amount of familial baggage. He lives a solitary life devoted to caring for his elderly, widowed mother. When Maggie joins Aidan's online gaming guild, they quickly become virtual friends, though they have some comical misunderstandings about who exactly is on the other side of the screen. A chance meeting in real-life topples the wall of protection provided by online anonymity--and sparks new feelings. The older leads and their unconventional meet-cute set this rom-com apart. The result is a charming celebration of the many ways connections can develop. Agent: Tricia Skinner, Fuse Literary. (Apr.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
In Yardley's (Ex Appeal) latest, two middle-aged gamers form a friendship online that turns into love in real life. As her son struggles to make friends while away at college, divorced editor Maggie Le finds herself agreeing to get out more if her son will do the same, leading her to join an online video game guild, where she meets Aidan, a nurse with a hospice business who has moved back to his small hometown in East Washington State to take care of his aging parents. After circumstances cause Maggie and Aidan to finally meet in person, their friendship only grows deeper, but a fake date to a wedding helps them realize their true feelings. Yardley does an excellent job writing realistic characters who still manage to be swoonworthy in this romance full of gaming and nerdy pop culture references. The book also successfully explores sexual identity and the need to create boundaries with anyone who doesn't accept that identity. VERDICT Full of funny and heartfelt scenes with fierce yet kind protagonists; readers who love fandoms and geeky romances will adore this one.--Melissa DeWild
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Two online gamers develop a friendship that morphs into the possibility of more when they meet in person. Since 48-year-old Maggie Le's son left for college, she's become more of a hermit than ever, so she joins an online guild of local gamers in an attempt to be more social. Fifty-year-old Aiden Bishop, a former nurse and hospice worker, moved back to Fool's Falls, Washington, a few years ago to care for his ailing parents. As Otter, he leads the gamers and quickly makes friends with newcomer Bogwitch. Due to misunderstandings, she thinks he's a young college student, and he believes she's an octogenarian. Once that gets cleared up after they meet in real life and they've gotten over the shock, their friendship grows deeper and attraction blossoms. Both have family dramas to contend with, though, that put barriers in their path to happiness. Humor and drama are deftly balanced throughout, making the story compulsively readable. Maggie and Aiden are well drawn, appealing characters; they're both nerdy and introverted, but Maggie is grumpy, with a no-nonsense attitude, whereas Aiden is genial, always putting others before himself. Aiden's growing understanding of his sexual orientation is thoughtfully and realistically woven into the story. A good amount of time is spent building up their friendship as they learn to lean on each other before inviting in a romantic attachment. It's so cozy and warm to witness them open up and bring out the best in each other through mutual support. Singular characters and genuine emotion make this a broadly appealing romance. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
