Haven't read anything set against the gaming world before. Not that this goes into it in any detail, or that I understood what it did show me about that world. But the enemies to lovers cross country ride that brings Conrad and Alden together was well done. Both were interesting characters.

Conrad, who hid the disappointments of his life behind being a charming popular guy, was a good match for the serious, overly anxious Alden. The tables were turned and the vulnerable Conrad found a protector in the steady, wise devotion of Alden.

The heartwarming part of the story was how much each of them grew into more mature versions of themselves through the unexpected connection they found on the road.

Ah, road trips, they are hard to beat as an arc for a story.

I didn't think this was a brilliant book but Annabeth Albert - wow, is she a reliably good read. Luckily, she has written a gazillion books - over 80 from what I see listed on Library Thing. I've gobbled up 11 so far. ( )

Sweet love story between two geeky young men. It plays with so many tropes - road trip, enemies to lovers, there was only one bed, and more.
Made me want to rewatch The Gamers: Hands of Fate ( )

I finished reading this frenemies to lovers romance, and I enjoyed it. I appreciated the work put into making this fictitious game seem reasonable to anyone familiar with Magic: the Gathering, which is what it reminded me of. I liked each character. That's important to me. The plot is serviceable.

Those things are offset by the slow pace due to each character detailing reactions and thoughts all the time. It's something this author does and I knew that, but it's newly low-grade annoying every time. I would have liked this pair sooner than I did if there was less unfounded hate being thought and acted on, before they're forced to come to understand each other. But that's okay, part of the trope.

What really ground my gears were the stupid actions of adults before this trip, that endangered these boys, and that could've left them potentially stranded. You don't loan a car without a spare. You put money on a card you can add money to. This was contrived plot device nonsense that made the adults seem super-careless. It felt out of character.

I knew they'd avoid thinking about the tournament conflict, but it's still a dorky plot device. But the worst is an edit fail: basing a scene on three little words not yet said, when hey, they had been, in the previous chapter. Editing is hard, y'all. That's a heck of a fail in a romance.

Still & all, I did enjoy this one. If it interests you, don't let 3 stars slow you down. Also, my library had it in kindle. ( )

I won a copy of Out of Character, book #2 in the True Colors series from Goodreads late last year and I didn't want to read it until I had read book #1, so I finally made this happen.

I like that Conrad and Alden both had misconceptions about each other that were proved to be incorrect. I also like that they looked past each others "flaws" and got to know one another during their cross country drive.

I am looking forward to Out of Character to see more from the secondary characters in this novel. ( )

Took a chance and found an interesting story

Very good writing. I came across this book by chance and really got into reading about gaming, something I’m quite unfamiliar with. The dynamic of enemies lives taking a new direction was intriguing. I am looking forward to another book in 2021. ( )