I very much enjoyed this quick cozy read! If you are in-between campaigns and are craving that DnD dynamic with some fun tension or simply want a nice nerdy read I would highly recommend checking this book out.

So for about 75% I was absolutely in love with this book. I've been looking for a book like this for a while and now I finally found it. It's like a love letter to MMO(RPG)s - specifically WoW, and while I never got into that game in particular, some things are universally applicable in that niche of the gaming world.
If you ever played an MMO, you'll be laughing a lot because the situations, interactions and experiences are absolutely spot on and it brought up so many happy and wonderful memories that I felt almost nostalgic. Especially the ingame intimacy was incredibly well done, and overall it reflected many of the great (and hilarious) experiences I've made in online games.
There's also tons of references to all sorts of other games and franchises, including books, movies, series and memes.

All that probably also means that if you've never played an MMO, you'll probably be super confused by 90% of what's going on. There's a glossary explaining most terms and abbreviations (with the most incredible and REAL describtions and definitions) but aside from the fact that having to check the glossary every sentence is a hassle (especially in ebooks) even I wasn't entirely sure what was going on at parts. For example, the characters aren't really introduced, and everyone has a RL and an ingame name (and sometimes two ingame names) so figuring out who is who is... really hard, especially with the chat logs format.
(there were also several formatting mistakes, on that note)
So... I'm not sure how much fun this book is for people who don't play. Probably not much fun at all.

What really bothered me about the book was the main conflict. I have some personal issues with the topics of whether ingame relationships are as valid/important as RL ones, game addiction, what's "real" and what isn't, and so on, and it brought up some really bad memories for me. That aside, I felt like it was really sloppily executed. The entire resolution was rushed and didn't feel real or profound, and while of course a book doesn't necessarily have to be either, in this case it really bothered me. It also made me realize that I really dislike basically all of the characters - who don't have much personality or depth, or at least seem lacking in both because of the rushed ending. I'm also a bit sad that it had only one POV character - I feel like there was a lot of potiential in the protagonist's love interest who would have made a good second POV character. Having his thoughts accessible first hand would probably also have lead to the conflict and issues being discussed more in depth and more seriously, rather than quickly flitted over and easily brushed aside.

Ultimately, I don't like this book because of it's plot or it's characters, I like it because it's an ode to gaming and captures a lot of what makes MMOs so dear to me.

I read the original version of this, long enough ago that I'd forgotten about it and thought this was an entirely new book. Which made me slightly disappointed that I spent money preordering the Audible version, but c'est la guerre. At any rate, I got approved on NG for it yesterday (having forgotten I requested it there—I'm a bit scattered right now; sue me) and figured I'd dive back in and see how it held up.

Reader, I loved it.

I'm a huge AH fan but have been disappointed a time or two, so the degree to which I felt wrapped up in cozy flannel by this story was a treat. I'm not a gamer (though I did live with a version of one for a while), and I had no difficulty following the action and the emotional journey through this story. I even found myself highlighting passages I particularly loved, which I rarely bother to do. Overall, this was a joy to revisit.

My thanks to the publisher/NetGalley for a complimentary copy of this book.

This was a super sweet MM romance!! If you’re looking for a romance with something different I recommend this. It focuses a lot on gaming and RPG games too so if you’re a nerd like me you’ll love this

Now THIS is cuuuute (and also really funny).

Drew is a gamer. He plays an MMORPG and has just joined a new guild after a falling out with his longtime crew. He forms a crush on another member and they spend a while flirting in-game ... until Drew realizes that Solace the Hottie Elf is actually Kit (another BOY). Drew has never questioned his sexuality before, but he really likes Solace, so he figures, "Why not go on one date and see...?" No surprise for a romance novel, they hit it off. But Drew is worried that he's spending too much time online, and inadvertently starts displacing his insecurity onto Kit.

These characters are two traditionally-aged university students, and they feel like it (and not in a bad way!). They're both learning how to be adults and fully-formed humans AND how to be in a relationship. I loved Kit's age-appropriate self-possession and Drew's confusion about oh-so-many things.

The book is written in the third person but from a tight single POV, Drew's. Like most Alexis Hall books, it's HILARIOUS, but also feels really authentic - as in, Drew felt like he could really be the sweetest, most confused, most open-minded college student trying to figure out life.

Do note that the book is HEAVY on the MMORPG culture and vocab; there's a glossary that I needed to consult (and honestly, I still didn't understand whole sections of the dialogue while the guild is raiding). There are also dozens of gaming in-jokes that I 95% did not get. But I still had a great time reading it!

This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the novel.

Did not finish book. Stopped at 10%.
I just picked this based on author and had no idea what I was getting in to. I didn't realize it was written in gaming chats w specific lingo. I'm a casual gamer but never mmorpg. I think this one is fun for a specific audience but just not for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Alexis Hall's books are always fun and even when they miss the mark are still enjoyable. This YA novel about gamers only missed the mark for me because, I think, at least to this non-gamer, the raids could get a little repetitive. Still, I enjoyed Drew's very new-adult (he's 19) journey toward understanding more about himself and what he wants from life. There's no insight into Kit other than what he says out loud, and I think that some of the raids could've been curtailed to get a little more about Kit.

Drew is a well-rounded guy: he plays sports, hits the pub with his friends, goes to uni, and plays video games. But he's not one of those people who their whole life is video games. That is, until he starts flirting in-game with a cute elf, and seems to want to spend every moment online. When Drew learns that his paramour is actually a man using a woman's avatar, he discovers that he may not care about the gender of his partner, after all. The bigger problem is Kit's reclusive nature and reluctance to venture offline, into the real world.

I really, really wanted to love this book. I love Alexis Hall, I loved the premise and the cover and the blurb--I was primed to enjoy it. But... it was SO hard to get into. I tried, but I ended up DNFing this one maybe 20% in? The main issue is that so much of the book is in-game. Which, I don't mind an epistolary romance--in fact, I love them. I had bigger problems with the lengthy gaming segments over which I had no interest and limited knowledge. Unless you're a huge gamer, I can't imagine being able to follow and become engrossed in this book. I kept hoping I would finally make it to the "real world" part but lost interest before I did.

Thanks to Sourcebooks for my eARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

2 stars - 4/10

Fans of LitRPG might enjoy this book. The use of so much chat formatting made this book inaccessible for me using text-to-speech. DNF.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

I thought - foolishly perhaps - that I was a big enough nerd to parse this but oh my god. After I’d flicked back to the glossary for the 4th time (bear in mind this was in the first chapter alone) I had to cut my losses. I love a book about a topic I don’t know loads about, but I think this was just too much jargon for me. Reading the introduction and seeing this was originally written specifically with the intent of being sold at a con with an explicitly gamer audience, I can see how this would have absolutely SMASHED there. However, for this DnD casual, it was a bit too hard to follow.

If you love (and I mean LOVE) games, particularly MMORPGs, then this is perfect for you. But if you’re like me, you’ll need to plug a LOT more hours into WoW before you can follow the plot!

A sweet romance amidst the gaming. Like a lot of gaming. I don't play a lot of MMOs so it was took a minute to parse through the terms, but fun. The nerdy tone really sold this novel for me. Picked this for the title, description and cover. The description felt a little misleading for a bit because it took a while to introduce Kit, but I liked the conflict and plot. The pacing was quick; I liked the snappy dialogue whether it was in the game or out of the game between Kit and Drew. Some of the characters got on my nerves and I wanted more interactions between some characters. I did enjoy Drew's POV throughout the novel. Online community! Nerds having fun! I especially enjoyed the bonus scene of introducing Drew to D&D.

I absolutly loved thsi Story! I was so cute and relatable to me as a Gamer! Loved both of the MMCs I just feel like i was left wanting more like the story wasnt over yet personaly!

+ MM Romace
+ Gamers
+ Gay awakening
+ Online Meet Cute

Oh, I DEVOURED this.

First of all, thank you Alexis Hall and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the ARC.

I want to preface this by saying that I’m not a huge gamer — the closest I ever got to a guild was a fashion game on my phone (and I got kicked from it, so I could def relate to Drew’s betrayal there)

That said, there is a glossary of gaming terms and I glanced at it maybe once. Sure, I had to use context to piece together some of the more technical terms, but I have to do the same with hockey romances and anything that takes place in a legal office.

It’s the emotions that make all of Alexis Hall’s books, and oh, they are lovely here. Kit and Drew are both exactly how I remember 19 to be — full of doubt, relying on their friends, bruising other people without trying.

I would have liked the conflict to have been delved into a bit more, but I suspect that’s just because I wanted the book to be longer.

This was such a perfect cozy read. For those expecting spice, I want to note that it’s a closed door romance. I think it worked well here. The side characters, both in the guild and Drew’s friends, are all perfectly written. It’s a story about friendship, being true to yourself, and the arbitrary labels we put on the very nature of reality…why can’t a sunset in a video game be as beautiful as one in our own sky?

What a read. Highly recommend

Going to start this off by saying that if you are not a gamer, or at the very least close with someone who is a gamer, especially this kind of guild-oriented MMO kind of gamer, this book will make absolutely no sense and bore you to tears. Even with the glossary (which, don’t get me wrong, is an incredibly helpful and fun appendix that I really appreciated) I think someone with no experience with this world would find most of the descriptions of gameplay and the chats completely impenetrable.

However, if you ARE a gamer or close to a gamer, there is a lot here to love. Guild dynamics and drama is very serious and I love that so much of this book is about how the friends you make and the conflicts you have within the world of the game are just as important and have similar stakes as the ones in the “real” world. Drew’s journey of disliking the person he’s becoming as a result of HoL and then applying that standard to himself and to Kit made a lot of sense to me (especially for someone so young who is still figuring out how to just like what he likes and do what he wants) and I empathized with the shitty situations he kept finding himself in. I think Alexis Hall writes characters who are very immature with a lot of growing to do, and while I think that can make the reading itself frustrating, it does make the payoff of the ending all the better.

I do think the best part of this book is what justifies the re-release, and that is Alexis’ footnotes. I absolutely loved reading his thoughts on the games he loves and the choices he made in creating HoL, especially in what he decided to keep from the 2010s and what he decided to change (I’m so deeply in favor of the removal of the HP references, thank you Alexis.) Having read a lot of Alexis’ works, this definitely stands out as one that he feels very passionately about and that makes it very special.

This book was entertaining and really sweet. Still, i have to admit it was confusing and hard to read / understand at various points. The computer messages were good to understand what the book was going to be about before reading it but that format of dialogue was not something most readers are used to. As well as some other people on the review section, the concept the book was trying to transmit is very well needed in society due to an increase of online chatting and less face to face communication. Overall, the book deserves 3.5 stars because of the sweet relationship between characters and plot.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for providing the ARC.
From the USA Today bestselling author of Boyfriend Material and Husband Material, this New Adult LGBTQIA+ romance offered a different experience than I expected, but I ended up enjoying it.

The premise seemed fun—an MMORPG romance where the characters' virtual selves turn out to be more than just avatars. Drew's journey of discovering his feelings for Kit, who turns out to be a boy in real life, was sweet but didn't quite hit the emotional depth I was hoping for. The characters are charming, and the virtual world aspects were well-done, but the connection between Drew and Kit felt a bit rushed.

Overall, it was a light and enjoyable read, though I wished there was more exploration of their real-world challenges. Still, I liked it more than I anticipated!

Looking for Group by Alexis Hall takes a bit to get into but the story turns sweet once you get into the story. The book drops you straight into in-game chat and guild drama, and if you’re not fully fluent in WOW lingo, it can feel a little disorienting. That said, once we shift to Drew’s real-world perspective and the relationship between him and Kit starts to unfold, I found myself more invested.

The romance is low-key and sweet, more of a slow emotional unraveling than a typical rom-com arc. I appreciated how it explores gender, identity, and online intimacy in a way that felt thoughtful, even if the actual relationship moved a little fast for me. There’s also a chosen family arc with the guild, though I wish we got to know the rest of the group better outside of game dialogue.

If you’re deeply into gaming culture, you’ll probably enjoy this even more. For me, the format (half chat log, half prose) felt nostalgic but a bit uneven, I liked it, but didn’t love it. Still, a solid read if you enjoy quieter, character-driven stories with a queer coming-of-age thread woven in.

3.5 stars, rounded up because the ending was genuinely sweet.

In honesty, I don’t know if this book is good or bad…for me, it was unreadable. The in-game text style conversations and the terminology as well as the subject matter made the story make no sense to me. I’m clearly not the target audience as a non gamer who is also not a teen.
I picked this book up because I’m a big fan of Alexis Hall, and I still am, this just wasn’t the book for me.

This started off a bit confusing for me, throwing readers right into the middle of a LARP scenario but eventually the story switches to the perspective of a contemporary British college student and his growing affection for one of his fellow LARPers. When the two grow closer through chatting online and decide to meet up he discover the 'girl' he thought he knew is actually a boy. Part coming of age/bi-awakening story, part found family, gamer fan fic, this was a cute story with heart that was good redone on audio with a full cast of narrators. Recommended for fans of books like Playing flirty or Roll for romance. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review. I especially enjoyed all the references to many of my fav tabletop board games!

I generally love Alexis Hall books, which probably meant I went in with too high expectations. Even so, I left disappointed and wanting more.

It’s a sweet story, and I like the idea of the message behind it. It all felt a bit bloated; it could have easily been a very lovely novella, but as a full novel it was a bit much, mostly being devoted to gameplay. I don’t mind that as a device, but I didn’t feel like we as the reader got to know the gorup of gamers particularly well, which meant the emotional arc felt a bit hollow.

I wasn’t even hugely fussed on the romance. Everything felt quite surface-level, and their relationship moved WAY too quickly, especially given the emotional journey we were supposed to feel that they went on. Lots of interesting ideas were touched upon but never fully fleshed out, leading the whole book to fall flat.

I’m disappointed that this book wasn’t a hit with me, but they can’t all be winners!

I received a free copy for an honest review.