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Book Review: Role Playing by Cathy Yardley

Dini @ dinipandareads19 Comments

Role Playing
Publisher: Montlake
Pub Date: 1 July 2023
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Panda Rating:

(4.5 pandas)

📖 SYNOPSIS

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?

⚠️ CONTENT WARNINGS

Homophobia, racism, bigotry, forced outing, toxic family, parental death

TL;DR: If you’re looking for a cosy, heartwarming and hopeful story about older characters finding their people and being accepted just as they are; for a story where people find joy and comfort in gaming and online connections; and for a story that’s equally entertaining but that’s not without it’s heavier moments, I would 100% recommend this book!

This book reeled me in from the first page! I loved that Maggie and Aiden were both older characters (48 and 50 respectively) because you don’t see it often in romances and clearly, finding your person can happen at any point in life. Also, as someone who takes comfort in gaming and finds it easier to connect with people online thanks to social anxiety, I 100% relate to both of them.

Maggie was the grumpiest FMC in a romance that I have ever read but it didn’t even make her unlikeable, to me at least, because I understood her position. She was raised by a family who never acknowledged her Asian heritage and was married to a controlling ass who made her feel less than and unworthy of being loved. She’s so incredibly awkward in social situations—which, again, is relatable—but I loved how she tried simply because she wanted to set the best example for her son, who she believes gets his social awkwardness from her. I adored the mother-son relationship she had with Kit! It was so precious and I loved the way they would do anything for each other when it came to their happiness and well-being.

In contrast, Aiden was the sweetest and most precious MMC who deserved to be protected at all costs! He wasn’t necessarily more social but he wasn’t abrasive like Maggie, though mostly because he didn’t have the heart to let others down, even at the cost of his own happiness. Ugh, I loved this bear of a man so much 😭 and I loathed his family for all the awful ways they treated him and the cruel things they said to him. He deserves the world and I’m glad that with Maggie, he finally had someone who would stand in his corner unconditionally and treat him with the same care he treats others.

They were both such easy characters to root for and my heart went out to both of them; neither deserved to be made to feel as worthless as the people who were meant to love them made them feel. Just like Maggie, I was ready to throw down, lol! Their romance was also a terrific slow burn and I adored seeing their friendship bloom and naturally turn into deeper romantic feelings. I thought the exploration of queer identity (ace and demi rep) was fantastic, and even more so for the fact that they were older and figuring it out. Aiden’s arc really was the most precious and gosh, I get teary just thinking about it again! Honestly, the relief and joy he felt at being seen and accepted for who he is after a lifetime of confusion was so palpable and it was wonderful magical delightful.

I will admit that at times the somewhat low stakes made the pace feel quite slow in the middle and I wished that we got to see more gaming throughout because it played less of a role as the story progressed. But I didn’t mind overly much because I loved Boggy and Otter and their story so much. 💜 I’m definitely looking forward to reading more by Yardley in the future!

Have you read Role Playing or is it on your TBR?

19 thoughts on “Book Review: Role Playing by Cathy Yardley”

  1. Great review!! Sam recently did a post featuring books with older MCs. I feel like we’re slowing seeing more of these, and it makes my heart happy. No one’s too old to find love. 🙂

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    • Ooh, I must’ve missed Sam’s post about the older MCs but I’m gonna have to go look for it cos I’ve read one or two and have really enjoyed them! 😍 I love seeing more romances with older MCs as well—I hope we keep getting more!

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    • YES! It doesn’t look like it from the covers but both are late 40s/early 50s and it was fantastic. I also have pretty much all of Yardley’s books on my KU wish list and I also keep saying that I’ll read them soon and just haven’t got around to it. Definitely more eager to now that I’ve read one of her books 😃 If you do pick this one up, I hope you enjoy it, Sam!

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  5. Yessss! 💚😀 I’m so happy you loved it! Maggie is a total mooooood! And I normally roll my eyes at the whole “the dude is HUGE!” trope but Aiden is a big ol teddy bear and we love him for it.

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