Role Playing – ARC review

Role Playing
by Cathy Yardley
Release Date: July 1, 2023
Publisher: Montlake
Number of Pages:  336
Source: ARC from NetGalley
Contemporary Romance
Ages 16 and up
CW: homophobia, xenophobia
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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?

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This is a new-to-me author and now I want to read all the books. I didn’t know what to expect as I’m not a gamer but my kids and husband are, would I connect with these characters? The answer is – instantly! I felt Maggie to my very soul. Then I got to know the huge cinnamon roll that is Aiden and I couldn’t wait for them to meet in person, or IRL.

As much as I was anxious for that first IRL meeting, I am also glad I got to know both Maggie and Aiden separately and in-depth. When there were any misunderstandings between them or with others, it helped me to know where they were coming from. Yet, for the most part, these two got each other on a level few (if any) others did. Definitely not Aiden’s family.

Speaking of Aiden’s family, that’s a whole thing. His mom is terrible and it breaks my heart how much Aiden feels responsible for her and tries to take care of her in such a respectful way. His brother isn’t bad, per se, but he’s quite useless. And the cherry on the sundae of this terrible family is his sister-in-law. The way the situation with her was handled in the past all the way to the present, over 10 years, is despicable. How Aiden still has love left in his heart for any of these people is beyond me. On top of their treatment of him, he somehow felt he deserved it since he wasn’t what they wanted him to be.

Maggie’s family wasn’t better, but she no longer has to deal with them. There are those in town that insert themselves into her life though, and not in a good way. The audacity of some people. Just because you don’t understand someone’s life choices doesn’t mean they are wrong. Maggie is an introvert and does not want to socialize at book clubs or football parties. Not because she’s depressed but because that is not her personality. Let her be!

Once Maggie and Aiden meet in person they click. So much so that Maggie is the person who recognizes that Aiden may be ace or demi and explains those definitions to him. I love that Maggie admits she’s not an expert and that Aiden doesn’t need to have a label, but she wanted to help him understand there is nothing wrong or other about him.

Although there are more now than there used to be, I don’t often come across romances with mature adults. These characters are 48 and 50 years old and I love how this story shows that, even when you have your life together in many ways when it comes to career and goals, it’s never too late to learn more about yourself. In doing so, Maggie and Aiden didn’t have to change who they are. Their relationship brought out the best in both of them and gave them the peace they hadn’t yet found in their personal life.

I didn’t want to put this book down and only did when I had no choice. It is fantastic.

5 stars

**I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely**