Name: Role Playing
ISBN: 9781662503979

Cathy Yardley

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

3.5 stars, honestly a really nice change of pace. gen x couple, biracial FMC, and some themes of lgbt+ representation that are almost never touched on?? im not a gamer girl, but it was cute to see genuinely nerdy people fall in love. it was cute. 

big ab

Really loved this book! It took a while for things to ramp up..... as in, I was almost halfway through the book before our main characters even met face to face.... but once it was there, it was so sweet. Loved reading a romance where the main characters are older. Loved the queer representation. Loved the personalities of the characters and the relatable relationship issues. The story seemed a lot more... real. 

Paige Carter 

alya adlina

after two weeks finally i finished it!! this one was an enjoyable read. it was a bit slow in 25% in but after that its getting so good and we got to see a lot of characters devlopment. this book is very hilarious and sweet. the main characters in here both are middle-aged couples. thd guys is 50 and the woman is 48. so yes we got to see the very mature couple. aiden is very cinnamon roll while maggie is very grumpy. i could relate to both of these characters. they are very introverted people. they are the main couple who are kind of against the world type of romance. they really have each other when they’re sad or need a shoulder to cry to. there’s a lot of my fav tropes in this one, reverse grumpy x sunshine, middle aged couple, defending the honor of the couple, badass female character, small town romance and slow burn. i don’t want to spoil anything YOU need to read this book when it release. the coomunication in this book >>> i love when the book gave us the feel of sad, happy, and angry. this just felt right. but there something missing in this book that couldn’t give me butterflies and we need more spice. BUT overall i did enjoyed this and i love it!!!!

legitimately a lovely store, with good communication and clarity. tho it did have its cringey moments but it is what it is. loved it tho. 

Cici Pearson

Single mother, Maggie, aka Bogwitch for online gaming, is dealing with living alone since her son, Kit, went off to college. She decides to join a virtual gaming guild because her attempts at making friends in real life have been such a disaster, and she wants to set a good example for her introverted son. The co-leader of the guild is known as Otter and they strike up a friendship even though Maggie suspects that he about the same age as Kit.  Aiden, aka Otter, likes cantankerous, Bogwitch but believes her to be a senior citizen.  Aiden uses his online gaming as an escape from dealing with his family drama, but when he fractures his foot and Bogwitch volunteers her help, their first in-real-life meeting changes everything. 

Role Playing is a very unique romance with older characters and a friendship based in gaming.  The realistic banter adds authenticity to the characters and their relationship. Furthermore, there is a lot of talk about sexual identity, which builds another layer to the narrative, but the explanations and the number of times the topic is raised is a bit of a distraction. Also, most of the conflicts occur between the protagonists and supporting characters, taking some of the steam out of the romance.  Overall, however, Role Playing is an unusual, entertaining romance that is well worth the read.

Lynn Braden

Single mother, Maggie, aka Bogwitch for online gaming, is dealing with living alone since her son, Kit, went off to college. She decides to join a virtual gaming guild because her attempts at making friends in real life have been such a disaster, and she wants to set a good example for her introverted son. The co-leader of the guild is known as Otter and they strike up a friendship even though Maggie suspects that he about the same age as Kit.  Aiden, aka Otter, likes cantankerous, Bogwitch but believes her to be a senior citizen.  Aiden uses his online gaming as an escape from dealing with his family drama, but when he fractures his foot and Bogwitch volunteers her help, their first in-real-life meeting changes everything. 

Role Playing is a very unique romance with older characters and a friendship based in gaming.  The realistic banter adds authenticity to the characters and their relationship. Furthermore, there is a lot of talk about sexual identity, which builds another layer to the narrative, but the explanations and the number of times the topic is raised is a bit of a distraction. Also, most of the conflicts occur between the protagonists and supporting characters, taking some of the steam out of the romance.  Overall, however, Role Playing is an unusual, entertaining romance that is well worth the read.

This book is wonderful. Maggie and Aiden are such great protagonists. They are older(by contemporary romance standards 48/50) and nerdy and real. I loved them. I loved the LGBTQ+ representation and their communication. This is such a delightful read, it brought me a lot of joy even through the hard conversations and realizations. 

Megan BV

The only thing that could’ve made it better was stumbling upon it sooner. 

Chey

This book has everything:

-snarky and powerful woman MC

-LGBT rep that’s not forced or fetishized

-Older people having genuine interests

-Nerdy women who aren’t manic pixie dream girls

-Romance and hints of smut without being straight porn for 800 pages

The only thing that could’ve made it better was stumbling upon it sooner. 