Name: Conventionally Yours
ISBN: 9781728200293

Annabeth Albert

When two "big name fans" go head-to-head at a convention, love isn't the only thing at stake. Charming, charismatic, and effortlessly popular, Conrad Stewart seems to have it all...but in reality, he's scrambling to keep his life from tumbling out of control. Brilliant, guarded, and endlessly driven, Alden Roth may as well be the poster boy for perfection...but even he can't help but feel a little broken inside. When these mortal enemies are stuck together on a cross-country road trip to the biggest fan convention of their lives, their infamous rivalry takes a backseat as an unexpected connection is forged. Yet each has a reason why they have to win the upcoming Odyssey gaming tournament and neither is willing to let emotion get in the way--even if it means giving up their one chance at something truly magical.

Conventionally Yours

Clari

Steph L 

An enjoyable read

This book was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed the characters. I’m a fan of cons, and fandom, so I thought this story was interesting. The writing worked great for the story. I recommend this for fans of games, especially games like Magic the Gathering.

Sheena

Another dub. Well... not entirely. 
 
“Conventionally Yours” featured my favorite trope, enemies to lovers and it’s primary focus is on Conrad and Alden, polar opposites. The dynamic duo take a road trip to compete at a convention and in the midst of their adventure, emotions flare. 
 
It was sorta kinda cute I give it that and there wasn’t much to complain about with the characters but… everything else was kind of meh. There lacked sparks between the main characters, the gaming aspect left me yawning, the cross county road trip was boring and just about everything in between left me in a daze. The story just dragged on and wasn’t up to my speed. 
 
Sadly, this didn’t leave a lasting impression on me and was a complete miss.

Hanna peterson

This had me smiling like a child <3 10/10 reccomend

Bethers

It took me a longer to get into this story than I thought it would, but I enjoyed it over all. I enjoyed how Conrad and Alden gradually developed from enemies to friends to lovers, and especially enjoyed how patient Conrad was with Alden when it came to his mental health. A few things felt a bit TOO convenient at the close of the story however, which is why it's rated lower than it could have been.

Lauren Sullivan

Content warnings: (view spoiler)[homophobia, MC is kicked out of house by parent and forbidden from speaking with his family, verbal abuse (off-page), death of a parent in a plane crash (off-page, before book), anxiety, outing without consent, asthma, secondary character is injured in a fall and has to be hospitalized, financial insecurity (including homelessness) (hide spoiler)]

This is an adorably cute and geeky new adult enemies-to-lovers road trip romance, with a “just one bed!” appearance. While there’s some heavier content that both characters are dealing with, it’s ultimately perfect summer fluff.

The rivalry between players Conrad and Alden is a mainstay of the popular Gamer Grandpa Youtube channel, but when a chance to compete in a prestigious Odyssey convention in Las Vegas comes up, they have to put aside their enmity for the length of the road trip there. But as the trip goes on, they each discover that their perceptions of the other are off, and that maybe they could actually be friends – or something more.

“Life has a way of screwing people over regardless, so you might as well find fun where you can.”
I scoffed at that. “In my experience, a careful plan goes a long way to avoiding disaster.”

Conrad’s mantra has been to just make it til tomorrow – or just one more turn, if he’s playing Odyssey. He’s had a rough year and winning the tournament would be both the answer to his money problems and a chance to prove that he can make something of himself. In life as well as in Odyssey, Conrad’s strength is in coming up with strategies on the fly, rolling with the punches and eking a win out of impossible circumstances. Alden, on the other hand, is his complete opposite. He likes having a plan, even if right now he’s frustrated by his moms’ insistence on having him map out what he wants to do with his life – like becoming a doctor, if they have any choice in it. Alden’s neurodiverse, and his moms have been trying to put a label on him since he was a kid. He’s literal and misses a lot of jokes and subtext, which lead to him coming off as abrupt and causes a lot of social anxiety for him.

“In so many other ways though, he was far from my type—too prickly, too adverse to fun, too rule-driven, and too immune to my charm. I needed to remember all that before I went labeling him cute and making everything far more complicated than it needed to be.”

I think some familiarity with card games like Magic: The Gathering would be helpful, as it’s assumed that you’ll understand what they mean by scrolls and turns. The pacing is slow and gentle. There’s a lot of time spent on the mechanics of the road trip – driving to the next gaming store, playing a game there, finding food, finding somewhere to stop. It doesn’t really pick up until they get to the gaming competition. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, as it gives plenty of time for their relationship to change. Like the pacing, this is a very slow burn romance. It’s not that Alden or Conrad change who they are, but rather that the forced proximity makes them interact and overcome their prejudices. Alden thinks Conrad’s a party boy who’s not really serious about the game, while Alden seems unapproachable and rude to Conrad. They slowly open up to each other and become friends, before they both finally accept that some of their animosity stemmed from attraction to each other.

Overall, this is an enjoyable book, a great summer read if you’re looking for something fun and geeky.

I received an advance review copy of this book from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Caitlin Snyder

3.5 rounded up 

(+) Love the nerdy gaming aspect (although I can see how it might be too much for people that aren't into it) & the characters 

(-) The middle of the book dragged on a bit

JB Moore

Okay, first off I did NOT go into this assuming this would be a 5 star read but alas a huge "THANK YOU" to Annabeth Albert.

I want to read more LGBTQA+ stories like this.

It's adult without being over the top, it's sugary sweet, it makes you feel warm and fuzzy...and the characters are flawed but not the tortured broken souls of so much contemporary lit. 

AND IT'S NERDY.

As a high fantasy table top and video game nerd....this just checked a lot of boxes for me.

Tiffany Robinson

I thought this was a cute book and a fast read. I liked the illustrations that were peppered throughout.

Candyce Kirk

Nathalie Matsuda

Deborah Kerr

This was SO CUTE.

I really enjoyed the characters and the "road trip to a convention" atmosphere. Also, I'm always down for a good enemies-to-lovers storyline.

Super quick, light, and easy.

Tiffany Engler

I was so very hopeful I was going to love this book. Unfortunately, I did not. I blame it on all the game talk. There wasn’t enough romance to offset all the gaming that was happening. This book was also extremely slow to get in to. 

I will definitely read more from Annabeth in the future. This just wasn’t my favorite.

Manon van Heumen

This was a bit of a disappointment. I really wanted to love this, but it didn't quite work out for a number of a reasons: It was slow. It took about 70% to really get going, and by then it was a little late for me. I didn't really root for the main characters either. There were extremely cute and important moments, but overall it felt like it was a little forced. Despite that, I really enjoyed it!

When two "big name fans" go head-to-head at a convention, love isn't the only thing at stake. Charming, charismatic, and effortlessly popular, Conrad Stewart seems to have it all...but in reality, he's scrambling to keep his life from tumbling out of control. Brilliant, guarded, and endlessly driven, Alden Roth may as well be the poster boy for perfection...but even he can't help but feel a little broken inside. When these mortal enemies are stuck together on a cross-country road trip to the biggest fan convention of their lives, their infamous rivalry takes a backseat as an unexpected connection is forged. Yet each has a reason why they have to win the upcoming Odyssey gaming tournament and neither is willing to let emotion get in the way—even if it means giving up their one chance at something truly magical.