Seressia Glass impressed me with her first romance, The Love Con, and Game On continues her pattern of writing wonderful love stories in which modern people find true love through hard work on themselves and on the world around them.
Samara Reynolds knows all too well what it’s like to face harassment from all sides, being a Black woman who plays video games. By night, she’s @ReyofSun, and she plays games on a Twitchlike service for her audience. By day, she’s a DEIA consultant who tries to make the gaming world a friendlier place for non-white people. Her comments about the Anti-Blackness of the game Legendsfall end up changing her life, causing an earthquake among MMORP players. A groundswell to get Samara a job at Artemis Games, the parent company of Legendsfall, begins when the hashtag #LegendsFoul starts trending.
Aron Galanis, head of Artemis Games, is fascinated by Samara’s moxie. He’s been trying to get better disability representation into his games, and Samara’s comments cause him to realize he’s falling short in other areas as well. He decides to approach Samara at GamerCon, an upcoming convention where they’re both going to be in attendance.
After Samara’s panel, Aron tracks her down and offers her the job with Artemis. Samara is surprised by the offer – and to find herself instantly attracted to Aron, a man she ought to loathe.
Now colleagues, Samara tries to battle her attraction to Aaron while helping the company. But can two people in their situation manage to be lovers and co-workers?
Game On is fun, sprightly and lively, even if you’re worried that the subject matter will be too heavy for the romance. A lot of that has to do with the wonder of Samara, a smart and tough woman who knows what she wants but also likes having fun.
Aron is a technically-minded man with a warm, gooey, marshmallow center. The love they make together is one of two geeks meeting at the body, mind and heart. It’s beautiful and it’s complex, and easy to sink into as a favorite comfy chair.
It’s the details that make this one great, along with the wonderful romance. Samara arrives with two friends, and the entire friendship group feels properly fleshed out as a set of complex adults. The geekiness, as always, is perfectly accurate in a Glass novel. I have lived the Con life, and this is just fun and spot on from top to bottom.
Overall, Game On is a beautiful love story with a touch of geeky joy and a perfect quest for justice. I loved it.
Sensuality: Warm
Publication Date: 12/2023
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Me too! Can’t wait.
By the way, we watched Diner last night. In general, it held up wonderfully. Very fun.