Musings and Ramblings

Critical Hit-On

The Games of Love, #1

Deanna Dee

Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Deanna Dee
Date of Publication: February 25, 2015
Number of pages: 187

Roll for attraction.

Molly Moreau used to be a geek with the best of them—role playing games, multi-user dungeons, trading cards—the works. Then she found her long-time boyfriend in a dark corner with a girl dressed as Lara “boobs and guns” Croft. That was it for the relationship and for her geekiness. After moving back home, she got a job at a normal bar and grill with normal people to live a normal life. That is until Craig shows up with his RPG character sheet.

Craig Lawrence has been rolling 1s on the relationship front ever since his last girlfriend broke up with him because he apparently spent too much time playing guardian to his rebellious little sister. When he meets Molly, he wants more than anything to win her heart, and this time he’ll do anything to keep his family problems from interfering.

When fate (Molly’s best friend) brings Craig and Molly together (sets them up on a date), will this relationship roll yet another 1? Or will it score a critical hit?

I am not a huge New Adult fan, sometimes it's entirely too close to YA for my taste. However, I do identify with Geek, so I decided to take a chance on this book when I was offered the chance from the author. After all, these are my peeps, even if they are younger than I prefer to read about. This book was PG-13, more for language and adult situations, then for anything else, which I felt meshes nicely with the New Adult genre.

For me, this was a book about feeling comfortable in your own skin. Molly tries to deny who she is and it causes her nothing but problems. Once she actually embraces her own inner self, does she find the strength and self-confidence to move forward in life. This is something that someone of any age can identify with and learn from.

As far as the Geek-ness goes, the author did a great job of staying true to the Geek culture. There were a few times that some of the slang and abbreviations were over-explained, but I realize that this isn't just for those "in the know". Besides there were plenty that weren't, so if you don't get something, be sure to ask your friendly neighborhood geek. :) I enjoyed this book and gave it 3 stars.

Thanks to the author for the opportunity to read and review the book.