Scan barcode
tlwd's review
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This was a really cute book, but it feels like the author tried to do too much in too few pages. Readers who are unfamiliar with gaming terms will either be totally lost or constantly referring to the glossary.
lifeand100books's review against another edition
3.0
This had super adorable parts to it, that had me cheesing really hard. The gaming lingo kept throwing me off a bit and had me struggling with the dialogue. My overall biggest complaint was the ending. I wish there was more to it. That we got to see Kit and Drew just a bit further down the line to see how they were able to blend their lifestyles, friendships, and likes into something that worked for them.
jacehan's review
3.0
Chapters 10 and 11 were so painful to read the book lost one star for each, because I had been really digging it before then. And I know a romance needs to have a conflict for them to get over or whatever, but this was just such a bad choice of conflict and a bad way to write it.
recklessly_me's review against another edition
3.0
This is a really hard book for me to rate because I truly enjoyed it. This is a super cute romance between Drew and Kit balancing between an MMO setting and real life. My issue with this book is the accessibility. If you have never played a video game you are utterly at a loss during most of the scenes taking place in the MMO. If you've never played an MMO game and have played video games there are still things that could be considered hard to understand in respect to terminology. While I can appreciate the approach to a book taking place primarily in a video game i dont think this translated very well and is not a romance that can be perceived for all its cuteness by every reader, therefore I felt incline to give it 2 stars but had to up that rating to the stars for how much I enjoyed this romantic pairing.
tellingetienne's review against another edition
4.0
This was a delightful story about meeting someone online and learning how to be in a relationship. I don't know a thing about MMOs so the lingo was a bit off putting, and I didn't realize there was a glossary in the back off the book! If you aren't familiar with MMOs, read the glossary first, it will save you a lot of confusion. Even with all the lingo that I didn't understand, this is still a really solid and really sweet romance. It's also relatively sfw, if you are looking for a romance that isn't erotic.
teresab78's review against another edition
3.0
****Reviewed for Prism Book Alliance®****
2.75 Stars -
So Looking for Group was a super sweet geeky gamer novel.
However, it is definitely a niche book. If you aren’t into mmo video games (and don’t even know what that means) you will not enjoy this book. Even I, who has played many rpg games and understand the concept of mmo, found the jargon hard to understand and needed to skip to the end to read the glossary just to not be lost. Eighty percent of the book is spent playing some game or another and is written in chat logs. While I enjoyed the first few game battles, it became a little much.
I sort of liked and disliked Drew’s ability to easily switch from “I only like girls” to “I like this boy, I’ll take a chance”. There wasn’t as much issue with his sexuality as I expected. I liked shy Kit and understood his desire to immerse himself where he felt welcome. What I didn’t like is we didn’t see much of them together talking and getting to know each other, just them playing games, often alongside other people. I didn’t really feel any deep connection. We are told but not shown. Their passion and physical attraction was fade to black, which in itself is not bad but we don’t get to see the desire anywhere else either.
Some people will love this book. For me, it was lukewarm.
2.75 Stars -
So Looking for Group was a super sweet geeky gamer novel.
However, it is definitely a niche book. If you aren’t into mmo video games (and don’t even know what that means) you will not enjoy this book. Even I, who has played many rpg games and understand the concept of mmo, found the jargon hard to understand and needed to skip to the end to read the glossary just to not be lost. Eighty percent of the book is spent playing some game or another and is written in chat logs. While I enjoyed the first few game battles, it became a little much.
I sort of liked and disliked Drew’s ability to easily switch from “I only like girls” to “I like this boy, I’ll take a chance”. There wasn’t as much issue with his sexuality as I expected. I liked shy Kit and understood his desire to immerse himself where he felt welcome. What I didn’t like is we didn’t see much of them together talking and getting to know each other, just them playing games, often alongside other people. I didn’t really feel any deep connection. We are told but not shown. Their passion and physical attraction was fade to black, which in itself is not bad but we don’t get to see the desire anywhere else either.
Some people will love this book. For me, it was lukewarm.
8cht's review
5.0
An Alexis Hall binge read. I guess you have to be into MMO games to enjoy this book, but if you do like to play RPGs etc. you can really enjoy this book. Sweet story, funny lines, the right amount of drama and kitsch...just a bit too many in game fighting scenes - but well, I don't like raids in game that much - so it only makes sense I didn't like them in book either. So that's on me, not the book.
meryl_kate's review against another edition
4.0
This is...possibly?...the nerdiest book I’ve ever read. It’s sweet and funny and a great mental reset, but it’s also one inside joke about the world of MMO’s after another. If gaming isn’t really your thing, skip this one and read Boyfriend Material. If gaming IS your thing, read this one AND Boyfriend Material.
blandrea_reads's review
4.0
I have wanted to read this book for a while and now seemed like a good time.... in a context where we have experienced most of our connections online for the last few years and readjusting to whatever the new normal is supposed to be, it seemed timely.
Classic Alexis Hall exploration of identity, friendship and connections.
One thing that stood out to me: there will always be a friend who is a jerk. You know that they care about you, but they will still manage to tease you or hurt you or make you feel undermined. Yes, Sanee, I'm looking at you. What's interesting here is the juxtaposition between the "real freinds" who are IRL friends and are quite mean at times, and the "not real" online friends, who vary in ages and geographic location but are legitimately available and supportive of each other.
It's worth thinking about meaningful connections in the context of increasingly digital worlds, and how we decide who counts as a "real" friend.
Classic Alexis Hall exploration of identity, friendship and connections.
One thing that stood out to me: there will always be a friend who is a jerk. You know that they care about you, but they will still manage to tease you or hurt you or make you feel undermined. Yes, Sanee, I'm looking at you. What's interesting here is the juxtaposition between the "real freinds" who are IRL friends and are quite mean at times, and the "not real" online friends, who vary in ages and geographic location but are legitimately available and supportive of each other.
It's worth thinking about meaningful connections in the context of increasingly digital worlds, and how we decide who counts as a "real" friend.
ellelainey's review against another edition
4.0
Book – Looking For Group
Author – Alexis Hall
Star rating - ★★★★☆
No. of Pages – 294
Cover – Gorgeous!
POV – 3rd person, 1 character POV
Would I read it again – Yes.
Genre – LGBT, Gaming, Romance, Geekdom
** COPY RECEIVED THROUGH NETGALLEY **
Reviewed for Divine Magazine
I really wanted to give this one 5 stars, because it made me laugh out loud, cry and seriously feel for the characters. However, there were some issues that I feel, as a non-gamer, held me back from truly understanding/appreciating a lot of what happened.
So, my own personal Geekdom is for books and movies, not games, so I wasn't sure whether that would be an issue or not, going into this one. It was. Yes, there is a glossary, but I don't read the contents page (because, why do you need to, really?) and I didn't realise there would be one to help me navigate the Gamer Talk. At the same time, having it at the end of the book was kind of counter-productive, because it was all over by then and I didn't know I could have flicked back and forth to check definitions. Maybe if it had been mentioned somewhere that it was a must-read for non-gamers or if it had been at the beginning, to be studied beforehand, things would have made more sense.
Another thing that confused me was the 1st person blurb, only to delve into a 3rd person story that read more like a 1st person in the wrong tense. The flighty thought process of Drew's teenage-indecisive mind didn't belong in 3rd person the way it was used. If there's going to be a 1st person blurb, then the book needs to be 1st as well, otherwise you end up feeling how I did – confused and disappointed, because I'd set myself up for one thing only to be handed another.
We started off straight into Game Land (as I'll refer to it from now on, because it's simpler that way). We had a request for a new team member, then Drew, our MC, filling out the application and giving us a little history as to why he was moving teams. This was all fine (except for the jargon that didn't make any sense to me) but there was one big formatting issue – fonts. Now, normally I don't notice fonts when I read a book and this is honestly the first time I've ever mentioned them in a review. But it's necessary, because on page 1 alone we have 3 different fonts, two utilising bold. This was a problem in two ways – 1, it was one form for one application, so I don't understand why it had to be in three fonts in the first place and 2, because it messed with my eyes. Seriously, reading those first few pages made me tired and burned my eyes, because I'd just grown used to reading one font when another one made it's way into the page.
All throughout the book, (after the first few pages) there are only 2 fonts used – the one for Game Land and the overall story. I get why they have to be different and it works, mostly, but it was still a lot to take in, initially. Also, the intro to the Game Land characters wasn't easy or simple; about a dozen were thrown at us on the first go and it was hard to keep track of who went by what name and, later, which Screen Name belonged to which Real Name.
So, in these aspects, I found the book hard to read and follow. I'm only taking off one star because the rest of the story made up for it and, after a while, I stopped reading the whole [group] [Orcarella] stuff and trying to figure out who was who. It was far easier to jumble them all up into one [Team] and ignore the nuances. The only two I kept track of were the two MC's [Orcarella] Drew and [Solace] Kit. And, quite honestly, I would feel like even saying that would be giving too much away, but it's already given away in the blurb. Which is another thing that said too much.
So, quick run down of the Cons:
Game Land was confusing to navigate, for a non-gamer
too many fonts
the Lingo was confusing without the help of a glossary (which you can argue I was too blind to see, but really, who reads a contents page anymore? I didn't know that I had to be immersed in the gaming world to understand half the stuff talked about in the story, so I didn't know to read Gaming for Dummies beforehand.)
Chapter 1 took 11%, which is a little excessive, even for a 300+ page book.
The excessive use of 'noon' 'nerf' got irritating after a while.
Onto the Pros:
I loves the chapter headers and dividers and how they linked into the title.
The characters were fun and interesting to read about
the attention to detail in the Game (whether it's real or made up doesn't matter; it still took a lot of effort and attention to get it into that kind of detail) was incredible
Gamers would love it
When it comes to characters, I grew to like and then love Drew. He was geeky, fun and had a life outside of his gaming world, but he was also overreactive, emotional and grumpy, which made for interesting reading. On the flip side, Kit is his complete opposite. Still a gamer, he's shy, subdued and doesn't have a life outside of his gaming world, but he's okay with that. He's cool, calm and collected, but can be emotional when things pile up on him. Together, they were a cute couple and it was always fun to see them so self assured in Game Land but so nervous and uncertain in Real Life.
And, yes, this is a story entirely suitable for YA readers. There's no hanky panky on page. Which seemed to fit with both characters and was a nice change. There was some really cute flirting, good giggles and a lot of banter, with some super cheesy, geeky lines/jokes thrown in quite frequently at the beginning.
I'd say the book is a story of two halves. For the first half, Drew and Kit are finding their way in Game Land and with each other. That's where all the fun stuff happens, including a very nicely handled freak out about whether or not Solace was a boy or girl and then the realisation that Solace is a He and how Drew was going to handle that. However, on the flip side, the second half is much darker and more emotional. That's where things get serious, unsure and heavy; where the bad stuff happens.
~
Overall, if you're a gamer, then you're going to love everything about this story. If not, then maybe read the Glossary first. Without it, you'll feel like you're flailing through half the book and constantly wondering if you're missing out on some deeper/hidden meaning, because you don't know what the heck they're talking about.
On the plus side, the awkward teen part, the romance and the acting Game Playing was a lot of fun to read. The drama and the challenges not so much fun, but character building and just as important as the fun stuff.
A solid 4, but could have been a 5 without the confusion.
Author – Alexis Hall
Star rating - ★★★★☆
No. of Pages – 294
Cover – Gorgeous!
POV – 3rd person, 1 character POV
Would I read it again – Yes.
Genre – LGBT, Gaming, Romance, Geekdom
** COPY RECEIVED THROUGH NETGALLEY **
Reviewed for Divine Magazine
I really wanted to give this one 5 stars, because it made me laugh out loud, cry and seriously feel for the characters. However, there were some issues that I feel, as a non-gamer, held me back from truly understanding/appreciating a lot of what happened.
So, my own personal Geekdom is for books and movies, not games, so I wasn't sure whether that would be an issue or not, going into this one. It was. Yes, there is a glossary, but I don't read the contents page (because, why do you need to, really?) and I didn't realise there would be one to help me navigate the Gamer Talk. At the same time, having it at the end of the book was kind of counter-productive, because it was all over by then and I didn't know I could have flicked back and forth to check definitions. Maybe if it had been mentioned somewhere that it was a must-read for non-gamers or if it had been at the beginning, to be studied beforehand, things would have made more sense.
Another thing that confused me was the 1st person blurb, only to delve into a 3rd person story that read more like a 1st person in the wrong tense. The flighty thought process of Drew's teenage-indecisive mind didn't belong in 3rd person the way it was used. If there's going to be a 1st person blurb, then the book needs to be 1st as well, otherwise you end up feeling how I did – confused and disappointed, because I'd set myself up for one thing only to be handed another.
We started off straight into Game Land (as I'll refer to it from now on, because it's simpler that way). We had a request for a new team member, then Drew, our MC, filling out the application and giving us a little history as to why he was moving teams. This was all fine (except for the jargon that didn't make any sense to me) but there was one big formatting issue – fonts. Now, normally I don't notice fonts when I read a book and this is honestly the first time I've ever mentioned them in a review. But it's necessary, because on page 1 alone we have 3 different fonts, two utilising bold. This was a problem in two ways – 1, it was one form for one application, so I don't understand why it had to be in three fonts in the first place and 2, because it messed with my eyes. Seriously, reading those first few pages made me tired and burned my eyes, because I'd just grown used to reading one font when another one made it's way into the page.
All throughout the book, (after the first few pages) there are only 2 fonts used – the one for Game Land and the overall story. I get why they have to be different and it works, mostly, but it was still a lot to take in, initially. Also, the intro to the Game Land characters wasn't easy or simple; about a dozen were thrown at us on the first go and it was hard to keep track of who went by what name and, later, which Screen Name belonged to which Real Name.
So, in these aspects, I found the book hard to read and follow. I'm only taking off one star because the rest of the story made up for it and, after a while, I stopped reading the whole [group] [Orcarella] stuff and trying to figure out who was who. It was far easier to jumble them all up into one [Team] and ignore the nuances. The only two I kept track of were the two MC's [Orcarella] Drew and [Solace] Kit. And, quite honestly, I would feel like even saying that would be giving too much away, but it's already given away in the blurb. Which is another thing that said too much.
So, quick run down of the Cons:
Game Land was confusing to navigate, for a non-gamer
too many fonts
the Lingo was confusing without the help of a glossary (which you can argue I was too blind to see, but really, who reads a contents page anymore? I didn't know that I had to be immersed in the gaming world to understand half the stuff talked about in the story, so I didn't know to read Gaming for Dummies beforehand.)
Chapter 1 took 11%, which is a little excessive, even for a 300+ page book.
The excessive use of 'noon' 'nerf' got irritating after a while.
Onto the Pros:
I loves the chapter headers and dividers and how they linked into the title.
The characters were fun and interesting to read about
the attention to detail in the Game (whether it's real or made up doesn't matter; it still took a lot of effort and attention to get it into that kind of detail) was incredible
Gamers would love it
When it comes to characters, I grew to like and then love Drew. He was geeky, fun and had a life outside of his gaming world, but he was also overreactive, emotional and grumpy, which made for interesting reading. On the flip side, Kit is his complete opposite. Still a gamer, he's shy, subdued and doesn't have a life outside of his gaming world, but he's okay with that. He's cool, calm and collected, but can be emotional when things pile up on him. Together, they were a cute couple and it was always fun to see them so self assured in Game Land but so nervous and uncertain in Real Life.
And, yes, this is a story entirely suitable for YA readers. There's no hanky panky on page. Which seemed to fit with both characters and was a nice change. There was some really cute flirting, good giggles and a lot of banter, with some super cheesy, geeky lines/jokes thrown in quite frequently at the beginning.
I'd say the book is a story of two halves. For the first half, Drew and Kit are finding their way in Game Land and with each other. That's where all the fun stuff happens, including a very nicely handled freak out about whether or not Solace was a boy or girl and then the realisation that Solace is a He and how Drew was going to handle that. However, on the flip side, the second half is much darker and more emotional. That's where things get serious, unsure and heavy; where the bad stuff happens.
~
Overall, if you're a gamer, then you're going to love everything about this story. If not, then maybe read the Glossary first. Without it, you'll feel like you're flailing through half the book and constantly wondering if you're missing out on some deeper/hidden meaning, because you don't know what the heck they're talking about.
On the plus side, the awkward teen part, the romance and the acting Game Playing was a lot of fun to read. The drama and the challenges not so much fun, but character building and just as important as the fun stuff.
A solid 4, but could have been a 5 without the confusion.