Heat Factor: It’s a satisfying slow burn

Character Chemistry: My poor heart just could not take the sincere sweetness of these two

Plot: Maggie is a cranky, introverted, divorcee whose son has just departed for college. Aiden is a gentle, giving family man who has sacrificed huge parts of who he is to be who his family wants him to be. Together they are…adorable and confused.

Overall: This book was absolutely incredible, both because of how complex and relatable the characters are and also because of how deeply satisfying all the many little resolutions were.

First of all, welcome to a book about two characters who are over 45. Let me tell you, it was a true joy seeing a book with older characters who WEREN’T acting like they were decrepit and scared.

But I’m getting ahead of myself–in this absolute charmer of a book we have Maggie, whose whole life has been upended by her son’s departure for college. Her ex-husband pretty much left her with her son when he decided her son wasn’t “masculine” enough for him–which resulted in a strong, happy, healthy relationship between her and her son…but also meant that she spent all her time focused on Kit and very little on herself, and as a raging introvert, Kit has very real worries that Maggie is withering away at home by herself.

Aiden is taking care of his (horrible) elderly mother. In the beginning of the book it’s pretty difficult to understand why Aiden has sacrificed EVERYTHING for his parents. When his father was diagnosed with cancer, Aiden sold his part of an elder care company he founded and moved home to care for his father. After his father died and it became abundantly clear that his mother was declining, Aiden continued to stay on in an attempt to convince his mother (and useless brother and awful sister-in-law) to take some proactive steps to care for her future…only to be verbally assaulted and used at every turn.

Then Maggie joins Aiden’s online gaming guild and the two of them hit it off–anonymously and with avatars, of course. When they finally meet in person and realize Maggie’s not 80 and Aiden isn’t 21, the two of them become best friends. And that’s where it starts to get interesting. (Really, it’s not even a euphemism!!)

This book is amazing for several reasons–one, I loved that it deals with mature characters who are complicated and utterly relatable. Both Maggie and Aiden are introverts who are struggling to find a place in the small town they’ve ended up in. While Maggie knows EXACTLY who she is and doesn’t particularly care what anyone thinks about her, Aiden has survived by being whoever his loved ones want him to be, in a really quiet and deeply sad way. It just flat out made sense–you get through the nutty 20’s, child-rearing and career absorbed 30’s, and into your 40’s and some of these things just haven’t gotten sorted out yet. I liked that Maggie never had to soften or loosen. I loved that Aiden not only enjoyed her the way she was, but appreciated the ways her honey badger ways made his life better.

I also loved the representation in this book, and how it felt seamless and comfortable. Aiden is bi and demisexual (honestly, I’ve really tried to understand demisexuality before with mediocre success and Maggie made it make sense in two paragraphs) and I have to be honest, I LOVED the way this played out on the page. It was deeply satisfying to have Maggie calmly and clearly accept and support Aiden with examining who he is, and it was also just…exceptionally satisfying to watch Maggie and Aiden fiercely advocate for Aiden being Aiden. Like, when I say that the way it played out was as satisfying as the two of them finally sealing the deal, I’m not lying. Watching people be who they are (with ferocious cheerleaders!) is the best. And watching them fall in love…that’s even better.

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. We disclose this in accordance with 16 CFR §255.

This review is also available at The Smut Report

This small town, slow burn romance between two middle-aged introverts who "meet" while gaming is the book I didn't know I needed. She's 48, divorced and grumpy. He's 50 and the kindest foil to her antisocial hedgehog self. They slowly get to know one another while gaming, then texting and finally have a humorous in person meet-up. Their online friendship becomes one in real life and eventually blossoms into a love neither was expecting. They are mature people who come to one another with baggage but who communicate openly and honestly to work through it all. I applaud this book for its representation of not only Get X aged characters but social anxiety, demi /bisexualty, and other life issues.
The only reason this book isn't a 5 star read for me is the abundance of toxic side characters. Their actions and storylines dominated the end of the book and took away from the basking in the joy of this newly minted couple.

Thank you Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

“If you can’t handle me in sweatpants, you don’t deserve me in stilettos.”

Maggie is a middle aged, self proclaimed introvert. Suffering from a case of empty nest syndrome since her only son has gone off to college, she’s taken refuge in the world of online gaming, one place where she can truly be herself.

Aiden, meanwhile, is a 50 year old man who’s never been married. Taking care of his aging mother, and avoiding interacting with his brother and ex fiancée take up most of his time, the rest enjoying the escapism the gaming world provides.

One day, Maggie and her son make a bet- each challenging the other to branch out of their self imposed comfort zones. That’s how Maggie ends up stumbling upon a connection to join an online guild of gamers. The players, led by the friendly Otter aka Aiden, are more than welcoming to Bogwitch, Maggie’s online alter ego. Bogwitch and Otter hit it off instantly, each feeling awkward about the connection, each also assuming things about the other without any real proof.

So when Maggie and Aiden meet IRL they are shocked to find they are in the same age group, and living slightly similar circumstances. Before long, their love for gaming spills over into real life friendship. But if either catches feelings and the friendship blossoms into something more, would that mean it’s game over?

Amazingly, Role Playing is the first book I’ve read by @cathyyardley. I found this story to be refreshing as it followed two “seasoned” individuals rather than the majority of love stories that focus on younger characters. Then there’s the frank discussion of sexual identity, and how one can find more about themselves at any age.

The bulk of the side characters were deplorable people though. (I’m mainly looking at you, Aiden’s mom and ex fiancée.) Yardley kept it real throughout though, not making any of these characters change too much for the sake of the sought after HEA. That being said, I would have wanted a little more out of how things all shook out peripherally stated in the epilogue.

Despite these minor glitches, Role Playing is still a GG in the end.

Meet Maggie. Maggie is a divorced, single mom who works from home and recently her son left for college. Her hermit-likeness is strange to those around her who don’t understand her. She is socially awkward and trying to get herself out of the comfort zone, especially since Kit left. When she’s given the idea to join a video game guild to “meet” people, she finds herself able to relax and actually be herself with them.

Enter Aiden. Aiden has grown up to be exactly what his parents would never want him to be. He’s a nurse, he’s not married, and he’s trying to help his mom out since his dad died. Awful, right? When he has a bit of down time when the nosy neighbor isn’t overstepping to get him out of his shell, he plays an online guild.

The slow burn for these 2 mature, Gen X MC’s who have battles of their own to overcome, and find solace in each other, is unreal.

This is the second book of this nature (Gen X) and it did not disappoint. The obstacles that Maggie and Aiden have to overcome separately and how they use the strength of each other to build their lives together is so special. Their dynamic is a hit and I need to read more like this. Aiden is a teddy bear and Maggie, although she’s told to be grumpy like a troll, she’s really inspiring for how blunt and open she is given most situations. I identified with Aiden a lot due to him being demisexual and never truly understanding his sexuality until Maggie. And with Maggie, she is such a spitfire, but she opens herself up for Aiden and she finally lives her life, again, she’s inspiring.

You will find:
🎮 Gen X romance
🎮 online friends to lovers
🎮 miscommunication trope done right
🎮 self identity
🎮 grumpy x sunshine
🎮 family obstacles
🎮 some kickback from a parent
🎮 AAPI representation

This is now the second Cathy Yardley book I’ve read and I really have to make time in my reading schedule to dive into her backlist. Her voice is sharp and funny and I love how she writes her MCs and the way her characters communicate like adults, no game playing. Well, no mind games, at the very least. Her author’s voice really works for me and this book just hits perfectly on every note.

First of all, rare is the romance that features MCs in their 40s and 50s. Here, Maggie is a 48-year-old divorced single mom, her kid just gone off to college, at loose ends and basically hibernating from the outside world. I adored Maggie in all her grumpy, cantankerous glory. Maggie takes no crap, gives no fucks, and five years out of a toxic marriage to a husband who by all counts, sounded like a misogynistic prick, she is living her life for herself, on her own terms. Men and dating are off the table.

Aiden, a retired nurse turned full-time caregiver to his mother, is 50. He’s never married and is resigned to a life where he gives and gives and gives to his family, without expecting anything in return. His family is legitimately awful, with his hypercritical mother, an absent brother who doesn’t want to deal with any of it, oh, and his brother also happens to be married to Aiden’s ex-fiancée who chooses to blame Aiden for the demise of their relationship.

Both Maggie and Aiden happen to be gamers and meet online, playing online video games and after an initial confusion about their identities, finally meet. Much of the book is very slow burn and while the two develop a close online relationship, they don’t actually meet face to face until about the 40% mark. From there, their friendship deepens, with Aiden relying on Maggie’s help to get around when he fractures his foot, which leads to them spending more and more time together.

However, Maggie has sworn off men and relationships and Aiden has a lot of family drama to contend with. So, it’s reasonable that these two people can totally just maintain a platonic relationship and not let romantic feelings get in the way! I kid. Obviously, their friendship leads to a slow burning (verrrry slow burning) romance. I think the reason the slow burn in this book works so well is because both Aiden and Maggie are older, they have lived a life full of experiences and heartbreak and grief. They understand the cost of impulsively jumping into things. Also, they’re both at a point in their life where they each know who they are and refuse to settle for people who won’t accept them exactly as they are.

This book employs several tropes and micro-tropes that I love. First of all, this is a classic grumpy/sunshine romance: Maggie is the eternal grump, swears like a sailor, and is unapologetically, authentically herself. What you see is what you get, take it or leave it. (Maggie would urge everyone to leave it, to be perfectly honest, she doesn’t mind being alone, hates social situations where she has to make awkward small talk with near strangers, and would genuinely rather hide out in the guest room with the dog than mingle with the other guests). Aiden for his part, isn’t so much a sunshine hero as he is calm and even-keeled, always willing to shoulder the blame for things that are nowhere near to being his fault, inherently kind and compassionate. I would describe him as more good-natured than perpetually cheerful.

Secondly, in the latter part of the book, there is a scene when the two attend a wedding that plays into a particularly favorite micro trope of mine. This is when one of the MCs goes into absolute feral beast mode to protect the love interest from being hurt by someone. In this case, it’s Maggie going full-on scorched earth to stand up for Aiden in a scene that is so full of righteous fury and indignation, I literally startled my puppy awake by clapping with glee.

I should also add that Aiden is bisexual and in a frank discussion with Maggie, it is revealed that he is also demisexual, meaning that he only feels sexual attraction with people he has formed a strong emotional bond with. It is a revelation even to Aiden who has lived much of his life hiding who he is because of his awful family and his previous two relationships, both of which ended badly.

There are a lot of heavy themes in this book, from difficult family relationships to caregiving for an ailing parent to a toxic marriage but all of that is balanced beautifully by the slow growing relationship between Maggie and Aiden. These are two people who have mostly given up on the idea of romantic relationships and watching them slowly fall for each other and grapple with the idea of being emotionally vulnerable and laying it all out is so incredibly sweet to see unfold.

I will also add that the book isn’t heavy on steam, there are basically two sexy times scenes, the first is slightly more graphic than the second one which is very vague. But they are also incredibly charming, with two people finding so much joy in expressing their feelings for each other with their bodies. It’s sexy in its own way and sweetly funny and tender.

I absolutely adored this book, adored watching these two fall in love, the way they communicated so directly with each other but also took such care of each other, and found in each other a sense of safety and comfort and belonging, and above all else, unconditional love and acceptance.

Content Notes: toxic family, toxic past marriage, toxic past relationships, queerphobia, nonconsensual outing, disowned by family;

Maggie's son has just gone off to college and shes worried that he's being antisocial like herself. So she makes a deal with him. If she does something social he needs to also. She finds an online guild for a video game. She makes friends with the guild leader Otter aka Aiden.
Omg I loved this book. Maggie is the perfect bogwitch. Grumpy but protective just like a mama bear. I totally related to her. I love that she stood up to the haters. I'm a total gamer so I understood all the jargon. I loved that it was LGBTQia friendly.

Thanks to NetGalley and Montlake for this read. What an easy read. It was so smooth and HEA,,but of course. I like reading this and even more loved the cover of the book as I like any book that this illustrator does the covers to.

Fab read, the story of Maggie and Aiden, who live in the same town but have never met. They meet online and don't know each others true identities and make assumptions about who the other person is. They both have their own reasons for not wanting to be social, but will this bring them together. Great that it was told from both points of view.
Loved this book!

Two years ago, Aiden, a 50-year-old cinnamon roll, returned to Fool's Falls, Washington, to care for his dying father. After his death, he stayed to help his mom. Overwhelmed by family drama, he creates an online-gaming guild as an outlet. Maggie, a 48-year-old outspoken, grumpy introvert, joins the guild after promising her son to be more social. A deep friendship builds between their online personas, but things get interesting when they meet face to face.

The best part of Role Playing was Aiden and Maggie's love story. Their unending support for each other was such a pleasure to read. I loved reading about the relationship between people with underrepresented bodies and ages. When we were with them, I loved this book. I enjoyed their banter, their serious conversations, and their kindness. They are the definition of soulmates.

I also adored the setting. It is no secret that I love small-town romances, but drop the town into my home state, and I may squeal. Washington State University and the Cougars (my alma mater) came up several times. I smiled every time, and it made me a little homesick. Go Cougs!!

Unfortunately, I struggled with a few things.

Aside from Maggie's son, every other character is pretty heinous. Racism and homophobia play a role in the plot, especially in Aiden's family. Honestly, the toxicity took its toll on me. At times it became overwhelming. Further, the author tackles so many themes and plot points that I had whiplash by the end.

I also had minor issues with the writing and the pacing. Sometimes, Maggie's inner monologue didn't work for me. The first two-thirds of this book is slow, and I mean the definition of a slow burn. However, it works. Both characters are trying to figure out where they fit in their new realities. Yet, the back third was rushed and felt unbelievable to me. I needed 20 to 30 more pages of Aiden and Maggie exploring themselves as a couple.

I can see a lot of people liking this. The couple is super sweet, and I enjoyed getting to know them.

Perfect for fans of:
Slow burn romance
Small town romance
Grumpy x sunshine
Middle-aged characters
Dual povs
Actual communication between the leads

Thank you to Netgalley and Montlake for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book explores an intriguing blend of MMO (Multiplayer Online Video Games) concepts and chat, particularly in the first third. While this adds depth to the story, readers unfamiliar with gaming or MMO culture might find it initially confusing. Even as an avid gamer with extensive MMO experience, I encountered an unfamiliar acronym that required a quick lookup. This aspect could potentially deter those who prefer a seamless reading experience without interruptions.

Beyond that, this book offers a charming romance storyline. However, it delves into complex family dynamics that many readers can relate to, albeit not appealing to everyone. The main characters, representing the mature Gen X generation, bring relatable life experiences to the table. Additionally, they present realistic and positive body representations, reflecting a commitment to inclusivity. Moreover, the book boasts a diverse cast of characters, including individuals from different ethnic, racial, and LGBT+ backgrounds.

Furthermore, the book entertains readers with humorous and spirited in-game chat sessions. The female main character showcases her wit and resilience, holding her own against her male guild-mates. This adds an enjoyable dynamic to the story and highlights the FMC's strong personality.

In summary, this book offers a cute romance storyline alongside its exploration of MMO concepts and chat. While the gaming references might pose a challenge for some readers, the book features relatable family dynamics, mature protagonists, body positivity, and a diverse cast of characters. The lively in-game chat sessions inject humor and showcase the FMC's spirited nature.

I was a little nervous going into this one. I'm not a gamer - tried and failed - but have no fear if you are a duck hunter only fan, like me - then you will enjoy this also. Loved that it’s Gen X which we hardly get- loved that it was an older romance. I’m going to need more of Aidan and Maggie type romances soon!! Maggie is my hero and just loved her so much! Aiden is a big teddy bear that needs to learn to stand up for himself better and ask for help. We also got bi and demi rep with this one. I really enjoyed Yardley’s plot, characters, small town parts- I get all too well, and she knocked it out of the park for me for older 40s/50 romance!
This one will have you laughing so hard and so happy for them both!

48 year old Maggie is now an empty nester, divorced, and trying to find a life again. She's basically a hermit at this point barely leaving the house and her son makes her a deal - he'll be more social if she is. She loves gaming and finds a new guild to join she found out about through a friend.
Aiden is a 50 year old who is also in the guild. He and Maggie begin chatting (him thinking she is an 80+ year old and her assuming he's 20 something) and their friendship begins. When they meet IRL and realize they aren't that different in age, they become even closer and start to realize maybe they're feeling more then friendship.

Loved the older MCs, that you can find love in your 40s/50s, demisexual/bisexual representation. Recommended!

I expected to love this. I go through phases where I'm dying for the heroine to be over 30 and gobble up every book I can find so I expected this to be perfect. And it was and wasn't.

They meet on a gamer's guild and think radically different things about each other's age. She thinks he must be in his 2os and he thinks she's 80. What a surprise when, after weeks of getting to know each other online, they're both the same age. I loved their banter of getting to know each other and the angst of 'if only' they were age appropriate because they've ended up being best friends.

To be clear, I think the couple was the best part of this whole book. They got each other, respected each other, and didn't think there was a single thing wrong with the other. Maggie likes to be at home be away from people and turns out, he's really into that. They don't drain each other's social batteries so being together is easy.

BUT.

He is bisexual and demisexual and his family has demonized him for it for 20 years. This was some of the most insane ish I've read in awhile. He went decades letting that ex-fiance/now sister-in-law roast him when he didn't do a single thing wrong? Then the entire family jumped on board? I hated it. I hated them. The brother 'might' be salvagable but the rest of them especially his mother are not. The racism was subtle toward Maggie from his mother until it wasn't.

I do very much appreciate that the author didn't choose to have them reconcile. Sometimes you have to save yourself and I'm so glad they bounced from that small town and seem to have cut everyone off.

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are my own.

Role Playing is a heartwarming love story. I stayed up way too late finishing. Mix GenX introverts with a love of online gaming who are dealing with societal & familial pressures in a small town and you get the premise for the story.

Maggie is an empty nester who is an unapologetic grumpy introvert. In order to convince her son in college to be social she agrees to do social things in her small town. She meets Aiden (Otter) in an online gaming guild whose players live local. With a misunderstanding of ages she believes Otter is a college kid and Otter things Maggie (Bogwitch) is an octogenarian. With no pressure they hangout online all the time. What happens when they meet in real life?

I am a nerd, so I thought I would jump right into this book. I was actually a bit confused by terminology and the aspects of the gaming world. Thankfully it's not vital to the plot. There were some wonderful nerdy easter eggs in the book.

This book was much deeper than a fluffy romance novel. The family that both main characters come from are the worst humans. Aiden's mother is a bigot and the hate is loud. Some trigger warnings to be aware of are homophobia, someone being publicly outed on the page & racism. In most small town romances the small town becomes a loving side character, that was not the case in this book. While the town didn't rise up to be mean it certainly didn't give the characters the freedom to feel like they could act like themselves.

If you are looking for a nerdy romance with an asian & LGBTQIA+ characters you should check this out.

Thank you to Montlake, Cathy Yardley and Netgalley for my advanced reading copy! All views are my own.

I've enjoyed what I've read so far from Cathy Yardley and I'm a fan of nerdy type romance, so I felt this one was right up my alley. I'm also in my 40s, so it's nice to see a romance that isn't centered around MCs who are much younger than I am.

I kinda love the idea that is played with in this book. That without meeting someone, we take cues from others to figure out what a person is going to be like, which can completely lead to misconceptions.

I'm a big fan of strong female characters and Maggie is super feisty and she knows how to handle herself in the gaming world. She's had to deal with boys/men who don't think women can handle themselves in online gaming. And of course Aiden isn't like one of those guys. He's super patient and super helpful; just a cinnamon roll of an MMC.

It's definitely a slow burn, but I liked the pacing of strangers to friends to lovers. They're very good together, whether it's friends or more.

I really enjoyed this book and love seeing, not only older MCs (he’s 50, she’s 48), but diversity represented. You don’t get many demisexual MCs in books and I think there may be some who read and think they identify with the character, and some who get a better understanding, which is important. The only complaints I have are I would have like to see more of the gaming aspect after they got together, as I feel it was what connected them and also a bit more resolution at the end with his family.

Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake. I voluntarily read an early copy of this book. 4.25 Stars.

This was good! I wasn't expecting anything since I impulsively requested the arc when it was on 'Read Now' on Netgalley. But is good :D

I'm very picky with romance and usually I strongly prefer for the two MCs to meet within the first 2 chapters. But Maggie and Aiden are interesting enough that I don't mind having to wait a lot longer for them to finally meet each other. I can see this being a point of annoyance for other readers though.

Oh and I would've liked this even more if the MCs have more tension between them since their dynamics felt a bit tame throughout most of the book for my tastes tbh BUT other than that I like this story a lot :>


Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free digital copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

I wasn't feeling well and started this book yesterday and it was just what I needed.
I was telling my husband about this book and when they were going to meet each other in person and told him I had to wait cause I needed to read the hilarity and it did not disappoint!! I love these books for the rep and the people that just don't people.

Also, I love how you can tell the difference between late 40 year old characters and young 20 year olds when in relationships. This book about a divorcee hermit who's son has just gone off to college. She hasn't dated and doesn't want to leave the house. But the offer of joining a online gaming guild with some junior college kids is her way back into socializing. There she connects with Aiden who has come back to town to take care of his Mom who is not listening to him. She assumes he's a college kid and he assumes she's a grandma. Omg I just love these two as friends especially as they try to protect each other from the ones that one to date them and their toxic families. I just loved everything about how they communicated with each other and accepted each other.

So many real life issues talked about and learning about your sexuality later in life and that you aren't broken. None of us fit into boxes. There are endless combinations of things we can be. I'm still learning about myself and I'm more like Bogwitch than Deb or Sheryl for sure! Omg there's some weeks I leave the house once a week. Ok hubs takes the kids to school, I've embraced the WFH life. Socializing can be exhausting unless you are with people who get you.

‼️Please go read these books! I don't see them enough in my feed! I just love them all!! ♥️♥️

Thank you montlake for the e-ARC for my honest and voluntary review.

This is the first book I’ve read by Cathy Yardley and it definitely won’t be the last. I had such a blast reading reading this and the cover is just so cute.

Role Playing is a lovely read that pulled me in right from the beginning. I’m sure that I could be Maggie without the gaming, and Bogwitch is such a great online name. Who wouldn’t want to get to know her? I spent some of the beginning of the book, wondering whether I should actually give gaming a go. Then when I realised that yes, the majority of players probably are teenage lads, then I decided it maybe wasn’t the best idea!

I loved that both Maggie and Aidan (Otter) escaped the real world by running into a fantasy one. If they found themselves getting angry or annoyed with those around them, they’d disappear to fight the online baddies!

Aiden’s Mum is a narrow-minded bigot, and she didn’t deserve the help he was giving her, never mind that his life was on hold because he was trying to be such a kind and caring son. Still, she got her comeuppance and, to be honest, I wanted to just slap her across the face many times!

Cathy Yardley raised some good issues surrounding sex and sexuality and I actually wasn’t aware what demisexual was, so that was a lesson learnt. I also didn’t know what ‘cinnamon roll’ was, and I wonder if that’s just me?! It's only recently (within the last hundred years) that asexual and demisexual have been recognised and accepted.

Overall, this is a book I’d recommend. Just check out the trigger words and subject before you delve in to make sure it’s for you.

Thank you to NetGalley, Montlake and Cathy Yardley for the opportunity to read and review Role Playing.

I adore Cathy Yardley - I’ve been a fan since she first joined Smartypants Romance (her book in that series is still one of my very faves), and I literally just finished binging her Ponto Beach Reunion series (another incredible one), so it came as absolutely no surprise to me that this is another winner. This is going to sit near the very top of my faves this year, I think!

A lot of books I read in June dealing with difficult topics of identity and sexuality, and Cathy Yardley did this demi storyline of a 50-something man so beautifully. Made me question if that is me, too…?

Not only that, but I’m loving that so many more romances are coming out right now for Gen-X, with characters closer to my own age (Maggie is just a few years older and Aiden is nearly a decade, but with most books having characters in college, 20-somethings or early 30’s, this is far more “me”).

Maggie and Aiden have an extremely unique meet-cute and hidden identity (secret identity?), online gaming relationship but had an extremely brief real-life encounter, until so many things and people bring them together for real and they have a lot of real-life battles to get through together - not just in their game.

I totally loved everything about this book, even though gaming isn’t my thing at all, I can fully appreciate it (my bro and his mid-40’s friends that he’s kept since grade school still online game all the time, male and female, so it’s still a very social thing and was great during lockdowns). I one thousand percent recommend it to absolutely everyone, and the smaller demisexual storyline makes it even that much more special.

I received an advance copy from NetGalley and Montlake, and this is my honest review.