Fair Gameby Taylor Lunsford
Publisher: Entangled: Amara
Publication Date: April 23, 2018
Genres: Romance
Pages: 345
Source: NetGalley
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.
In her designer shoes and power suits, Vivien Monroe couldn’t be more out of place in the video game company she inherited from her eccentric father. Not only does she have to sort out her father’s last request and deal with a younger sister she barely knows, she has to go toe-to-toe with her father’s protégé—a man who makes her think about the last thing she should be thinking about right now.
With his thick-framed glasses and graphic tees, Liam Bennett is the exact opposite of what she needs right now. His relaxed, out-of-the-box attitude reminds her too much of her father’s more exasperating quirks, but his dedication and quiet stubbornness begin to drive her crazy in a completely different way. All Vivien wants is to get back to her life in New York, but someone is stealing the company’s best game ideas, and an FBI agent is sniffing around. She’ll save her father’s legacy for her sister and then she’s out of there—if she can leave Liam behind.
A nerdy romance involving a video game company? Heck yeah! This simultaneously cute and angsty romance between an Ice Queen and her Nerd Boy was so much fun to read.
“She knew where she stood in the corporate setting, knew how to stay in control and get shit done. But here? In the place that had eaten up every waking moment of her dad’s life from the day her mother died? She’d spent so long resenting this place she didn’t know where to begin.”
Vivien was angsty and troubled, and with good reason, as she’s being forced into temporarily taking over the family company as CEO after her father’s death. Returning to Texas for two weeks to appoint a new CEO was a hardship for her, both because her job in NYC couldn’t seem to understand the purpose of bereavement leave and leave her alone and also because it brought back bad memories of being ignored by her father, Jed, in favor of the company or her sister, Greer. The last thing she expected was to fall for Liam, the creative director and her father’s star employee. Liam was such a cute, nerdy cinnamon roll. He’s handsome, smart and he knows how to cook – how could anyone resist? I certainly can’t – I married one! I thought he was also exceedingly patient with Vivien, especially given her tendency to run away when things get uncomfortable for her (one of my personal pet peeves).
As the story progresses, we find out more about Vivien and Jed’s relationship. One of my favorite parts was the revelation of how differently the main characters viewed Jed – Vivien, Liam and Greer have each had such different experiences with him, and each experience is treated as valid. I also liked watching Vivien and Greer try to figure out how to have a real relationship.
While the character development was great, the weakest part of the story was the mystery. It was hit-you-over-the-head obvious who the villain was. I also didn’t care for the fact that Liam kept a very important bit of information from Vivien. I understood his reasons – and even Vivien agreed with them in the end! – but I’m not a fan of the keeping-things-from-the-hero/heroine trope, and I was glad that it didn’t play that much of a part in the big misunderstanding.
Overall, though, I enjoyed this very much, and I’m hoping that there will be a sequel with Greer! If you like nerdy cinnamon roll heroes and lots of angst, you’ll love this book!
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