e-Audio, 09:51:11
Narrated by: Natalie Naudus
Release Date: March 5, 2024
Published by: Simon & Schuster Audio (Atheneum Books for Young Readers)
Read from: March 6-7, 2024
Stand-alone
Source: Simon & Schuster Audio Influencer Program (I received a copy of this e-audiobook from the publisher in exchange for a just and honest review. This did nothing to influence my review.)
TW: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Body shaming, Sexism, Transphobia, Toxic relationship, Death
For Readers Interested In: Contemporary, Romance, 2SLGBTQ+, Gaming, Neurodiverse (Anxiety), Fat Leads, YAJulie Murphy meets Casey McQuiston in this unforgettable queer romance about a teen girl whose foray into fantasy tabletop roleplaying brings her new confidence, true friends, and a shot at real, swoon-worthy love.
Hollis Beckwith isn’t trying to get a girl—she’s just trying to get by. For a fat, broke girl with anxiety, the start of senior year brings enough to worry about. And besides, she already has a Chris. Their relationship isn’t particularly exciting, but it’s comfortable and familiar, and Hollis wants it to survive beyond senior year. To prove she’s a girlfriend worth keeping, Hollis decides to learn Chris’s favorite tabletop roleplaying game, Secrets & Sorcery—but his unfortunate “No Girlfriends at the Table” rule means she’ll need to find her own group if she wants in.
Gloria Castañeda and her all-girls game of S&S! Crowded at the table in Gloria’s cozy Ohio apartment, the six girls battle twisted magic in-game and become fast friends outside it. With her character as armor, Hollis starts to believe that maybe she can be more than just fat, anxious, and a little lost.
But then an in-game crush develops between Hollis’s character and the bard played by charismatic Aini Amin-Shaw, whose wide, cocky grin makes Hollis’s stomach flutter. As their gentle flirting sparks into something deeper, Hollis is no longer sure what she wants…or if she’s content to just play pretend.
*MY THOUGHTS*
I’m not even gon lie to you, I added this to my TBR as soon as I saw this cover. Read the synopsis? What’s that? lol Simon & Schuster knows how to get me because this cover was adorable. And I was not disappointed. I loved almost everything about this and I really hope more people read this!
Ok so the thing I hated about this book was obviously some of the characters. Listen, these kids were TERRIBLE. And her “boyfriend”??? I was seriously yelling at her to kick him and his misogynistic, idiot friends down some stairs. I hated that he was like that because she did not deserve this. But I couldn’t be too mad because she never would have found this awesome family she has without those idiots. The rest of the characters were amazing. I really loved them. They all had their own personalities and somehow they all gelled together immediately. And this may be the nerd in me, but their gaming sessions?! So freaking cool! I felt like I was immersed in two different worlds and that just blew my mind. I can’t really explain how cool it was to be in both worlds. And the way they just made those things up? They were all so creative and cool and I wish they were my friends lol
The rep in this was also amazing. I can only account for one part of it, as I’m not 2SLGBTQ+, but I can say the anxiety rep was done well. The way she got anxious about talking and different things that came up and just simply trying to make friends. I’m an adult and I still get this way, so I can say with certainty the rep is accurate. (Please note that I know everyone is not like this with their anxiety, so I’m only talking about what the rep meant to me.) As for the 2SLGBTQ+rep, I don’t belong to that community, so I won’t talk on that rep. But I thought it was done ok for someone just realizing they were queer. And I was SO HAPPY there isn’t a forced outing in this book. (I hate those) The fat rep I also felt was done well. Although there was one comment where I wanted to bust in on those guys when someone called her “cute for a fat girl” and let me just say I lost my shit. All of those little rotten shits were disgusting and I hope when they get grown a woman punches them in their mouth.
I did have some reservations about the gaming before I read it. I’m not a D&D player, so I just knew this was going to confuse me. But it acutally didn’t. The author didn’t go too much into detail and when they did, it was never clunky or info dumpy. It was actually pretty informative and gave me a better understanding too. So if this is something you’re worried about, don’t. I promise you it won’t be hard to get into!
The romance was so stinking cute too! I LOVED how Randall incorporated it into the game too. SA-WOON! I am a sucker for taking up things because your love interest enjoys it, but in this case they both already liked it so the logical next step was to take it over to the game. And it just worked so well. This was very THEM and I loved that so much. I don’t think I would have believed if it manifested in any other way tbh. And the way Gloria gets anxious about this too was just super sweet and I really enjoyed watching the two of them fall for each other twice.
The audio version of this was perfection. I LOVE Natalie Naudus and honestly she can do no wrong lol She gave all the characters their own voice (even if they did kind of all sound the same) but she also packed every scene with raw emotion. I don’t know the last book I read where I could feel the anxiety that the character had from the way the narrator was narrating lol It was just a wonderful experience that I really liked. She’s one I will wait for the audio to come out now even if I do have the ARC because I would rather listen to her tell the story lol
This story was raw, real, and funny, but will also make you want to flip some tables. In short, it was a good time and I couldn’t believe this was a debut. Make sure you tell anyone and everyone to read this. This book has some of everything, so no matter what they’re looking for, I’m sure you can find it here!
Overall, I give this