"It's Only a Game" by Kelsea Yu is a thrilling and suspenseful novel that combines the excitement of online gaming with the tension of a high-stakes mystery. The story follows Marina Chan, a young woman living under a false identity, as she navigates a dangerous game that threatens to expose her past and destroy everything she has built.

Yu's writing is fast-paced and engaging, drawing readers into Marina's world of online gaming and real-world danger. The novel's premise is intriguing, with the murder of the game's creator setting off a chain of events that forces Marina and her friends to play a deadly game of their own.

One of the novel's strengths lies in its well-developed characters, particularly Marina, who is a complex and relatable protagonist. As Marina and her friends are forced to confront their own fears and secrets, they must rely on each other to survive, adding depth to the story and creating a sense of camaraderie among the characters.

"It's Only a Game" is a gripping and suspenseful novel that will keep readers on the edge of their seats until the very end. With its blend of mystery, intrigue, and adventure, Kelsea Yu has crafted a compelling story that will appeal to fans of both gaming and thrillers. Dive into this thrilling tale and discover the dangerous game that Marina and her friends must play to survive.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for an advanced copy to review for my honest opinion.

This book has a fantastic premise! I love the idea of puzzling out a mystery in real life to get further in a game. The gang of friends is fun too, and the descriptions of food were delightful! I especially enjoyed the short flashback chapters which build and leave me intrigued. I wish there was a higher sense of urgency to complete the levels given the tight timeline, but the characters seem mostly relaxed and confident they’ll be able to complete the challenges after food, sleep, and bonding.

I think my video gamers in class who enjoyed Slay and Ready Player One might really like this!

I'm don't read a ton of thrillers and now I'm wondering why not! This book grabbed me immediately, and I was so engrossed I ended up staying up late to finish it. I loved the video game aspect and while I THOUGHT I had figured out who the villain was, the final twist took me completely by surprise!

Marina left her life and has created a new life from the new home to the new gamer friends. She is always resistant to put herself out there in case her past catches up to her. She goes on a tour and the tour guide is murderer during the tour. Her and her friends and being framed. Can they play the game to save themselves?

There is some game language that was above this non gamer. The twists wouldn’t stop coming! I was able to figure out parts of the twists but loved the book overall.

Thank you to Kelsea Yu, Bloomsbury, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Speechless. I am just speechless. So so many twists and turns. I had no clue about most of them. I'm shocked. I had to read it all in one sitting. It's that good. I literally LOVED the friend group and Bette & Jimmy. Plus Slate 🥹🥹 I'm so glad I read this, truly suspenseful, and makes you on the edge of your seat. Also, bonus points if you're into gaming this is gaming related. Loved all of this. So many parts had me gasping, then worried, then stressed, then sad, then strong alongside the characters. Just so many emotions, I can not put them into words. Go pre-order this!!! It's definitely one of my top 3 favorite books that I've read this year.

I received this ARC from NetGalley and Bloomsbury to read/review. All of the statements above are my true opinions after fully reading this book.

Wow thank you, NetGalley! This had me hooked almost immediately. Don’t let the fact that it’s YA turn you off from giving this book a try. It’s completely fast paced and layered. I was totally entertained.

A sapphic runaway, video games and murder... Need I say more?

Fine, I will.
Marina Chan ran away from home a year ago. And things are not great but she could be worse. She found good people who took her in and a good group of friends thanks to a video game. And now, they've all won a tour of that video game company, so she gets to meet her friends irl for the first time. And then, shit happens... and then, things somehow get worse.

I had a great time reading this. I was captivated from beginning to end. The plot enthralled me from beginning to end and I just adored the main character. It was very original and stressful and so good. I had an idea on who was the big bad quite soon but I didn't mind, all the twists still took me by surprise. I really loved this. The relationships between the main character and everyone also else kept me on my toes the entire time. I was just as captivating as the mystery plot to me.
I could not recommend this more.

Thanks to NetGalley/Bloomsbury YA for the ARC and the shot of adrenaline! w/o spoilers this book is a finely layered rollercoaster of a thriller. I loved Marina/Night and rooted for her through every single new revelation, and game play, and was taken with each and every one of the other characters as well. The pace of the story had my heart racing and I could not put this down! Definitely going to reread when I get my paper copy in July!

My heart is still beating rapidly from the book. If you're looking for a fast paced, mildly traumatizing, but in a good way, tale, this is it. Kelsea Yu is an incredible writer and drags you headfirst into her story, trapping you there through the whole dastardly thing. Her characters are easily loved or hated, her writing is perfection, and the story as a whole was incredible.

While the overall pacing was fast and sharp, the characterization was not and this took me longer to get through because of that. There a few chills and thrills but didn't quite meet the mark.

Loved this book and can't wait to see more from the author. Thanks to the author and the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read an ARC.

I really enjoyed reading this, it had everything that I was looking for from a young adult thriller novel. The characters had a great overall feel to it and enjoyed the danger element going on. The concept worked well overall and had a story that you were hooked from. I enjoyed the way Kelsea Yu wrote this and left me wanting to read more.

4.5

Another YA thriller for the win! Mariana Chen is running from her past and finds solace in video gaming where she meets her online squad. They become fast friends conquering level after level of the popular game Darkilect, until the game becomes a reality. There’s murder lies and secrets. They all work together to try and figure out who killed Ethan Wainwright, a big video game developer. As the mystery progresses, it starts to hit closer to home to Mariana and what’s she’s hiding from her friends.

This was fast paced, thrilling and I just loved the mystery so much. Past and present timelines and I love when everything just connects so perfectly. I finished this in one sitting I couldn’t stop reading! This was so so good!

The whole base of the plot was interesting to say the least! The idea of being locked in a gaming development building with a dead body and threats at hand? Wow! The forced competition that every night they have to complete this level to survive is so thrilling! The levels become so interesting to me and the fact that we know our main character but also don't is intentional I feel like to the story. Mid way through I had an idea of what was going on and it ended up that I was right but the way that Marina/Lia came into contact with this information was so heartbreaking, I mean realizing that her father was already dead and that she didn't get to have a clear conversation with him hurts you can tell and then her going to her friends about it. The ending and the fallen dominos falling into place makes the final pages exposed and exploded with emotions. I am sad about the parents being dead and everything that happened but glad that it ended happily.

Favorite quote: "the world was out of focus, like water spilled over an oil portrait."

Rated it: 5/5 stars!

Unfortunately this one wasn’t for me. I really really tried so hard to like it. But with it being video games (which I knew going into this) I just couldn’t.

This book has a really cool video game/mystery concept. It's what (obviously) sets the story apart from other books of this particular genre. Overall, I liked the story. I just didn't love it but that's probably just a me issue when it comes to thrillers (they always seem to fizzle out at the end).

This is a twisty-turny YA thriller that had me guessing almost until the last page. Gamers especially will enjoy “Darkitect” and all of the beautiful imagery described in the different levels that four friends have to beat—or else. If they don’t, the mysterious creator of said game levels has a a very specific threat for each of the four teenagers, and these are not tame or idle threats.

We go back and forth between Marina Chan’s earlier life and the present day, with clues and hints being dropped along the way. Marina, or “Night”, as she’s known in the game, has a lot of secrets to hide from her three new friends. As you read more and more about her childhood, you come to understand why she acts the way she does.

The four buddies only have 24 hours to beat each level, but some of the information needed must be obtained by dubious means.

Will they get caught? Is their mysterious foe actually going to harm those they love? And why them?? Find out this July!

I received an eARC from NetGalley and Bloomsbury YA (thanks!), and I am leaving a review voluntarily.

I don't know actually know how I feel about this book. On one hand, it was okay, but on the other hand, I just didn't like it. I requested this book for the mystery aspect, but it fell flat for me. This book didn't deliver. It was all over the place as it went from past to present, which ultimately confused me since it added more mystery to the equation that it was taking forever to wrap up. I just couldn't get past that. This wasn't as thrilling as I would have hoped.
Someone else may find this enjoyable, but I didn't.

i really tried to like this, but i couldnt. i knew this book was about gaming before i requested it and that didnt really bother me, but as i was reading it, i ended up not liking it mainly because of that. i think this book might be enjoyable for other people

This book was pretty good, good enough that I finished in one sitting I felt the plot was pretty predictable in some points but over all this was a good boom and I would recommend.