Review: Role Playing by Cathy Yardley

I received this book via the publisher Montlake Romance. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of this review.

Role Playing by Cathy Yardley
Published by Montlake Romance on 2023-07-01
Length: 331 pages
Reviewing eARC from the publisher Montlake Romance
Rating:

From Cathy Yardley, author of Love, Comment, Subscribe, comes an emotional rom-com about two middle-aged gamers who grow their online connection into an IRL love story.

Maggie is an unapologetically grumpy forty-eight-year-old hermit. But when her college-aged son makes her a deal—he’ll be more social if she does the same—she can’t refuse. She joins a new online gaming guild led by a friendly healer named Otter. So that nobody gets the wrong idea, she calls herself Bogwitch.

Otter is Aiden, a fifty-year-old optimist using the guild as an emotional outlet from his family drama caring for his aging mother while his brother plays house with Aiden’s ex-fiancée.

Bogwitch and Otter become fast virtual friends, but there’s a catch. Bogwitch thinks Otter is a college student. Otter assumes Bogwitch is an octogenarian.

When they finally meet face to face—after a rocky, shocking start—the unlikely pair of sunshine and stormy personalities grow tentatively closer. But Maggie’s previous relationships have left her bitter, and Aiden’s got a complicated past of his own.

Everything’s easier online. Can they make it work in real life?

Role Playing by Cathy Yardley is a GenX romance featuring online gaming, a grumpy single mom, and cinnamon roll love interest. After making a deal with her college-aged son to socialize more, Maggie joins an online gaming guild as Bogwitch, making it clear that she does not want friends and is there only to play. Otter, the healer and leader of the guild, quickly grows on her as they complete quests together. Maggie believes that Otter is a college-aged kid like her son, but when they finally meet in person, she’s in for a shock.

Maggie is a grumpy, introverted hermit living her best life after her son leaves for college. At forty-eight, she doesn’t want a man, and she has plenty of time to do what she wants with her life. But her son is worried for her. So she promises to try to make friends if he will. Her favorite pastime with him was an online game. Starting over with a new character named Bogwitch, she joins an online gaming guild that quickly becomes the highlight of her day.

Otter, the leader of the guild, aka as Aiden in real life, is not in fact a college student. He’s older than Maggie and uses the game as an outlet while he cares for his aging mother and attempts to get over his fiancé choosing his little brother over him. He tends to look on the bright side of things, making him the sunshine to Maggie’s grump. When he has an accident that leaves him somewhat dependent, Maggie makes her way over with food expecting a college kid. The shock that he is in fact not a child leaves Maggie feeling all the feels.

I had the biggest smile on my face reading this book. It is so much fun! Maggie and Aiden are easy to root for. They quickly move from online friends to more, but it moves naturally and feels true to life. Overall, I really enjoyed Role Playing and barely skimmed the surface of what to expect in the book. If you are a fan of contemporary romance, I highly recommend it.

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