I received an eArc from the publisher through Netgalley for an honest review.

This is a solid 4.5 book in my opinion. Emilia Romero is a junior in high school leading a double life between what her parents want, a star field hockey player with flawless academics heading to an Ivy League school for business, and being an top tier DPS player for a prominent eSports team. She has done a great job balancing her two separate worlds until her team is part of the first ever eSports Tournaments in her city. There her two worlds collide in rival team member Jake, who she used to play video games with as a kid and now goes to her school. Jake who is sweet and easy to talk to unlike her popular boyfriend. Emilia will have to decide if she wants to continue being the person she is expected to be or giving it all up for who she wants to be.

The author does a great job of representation in this novel without making it feel forced. I think everyone can connect to Emilia's struggle of being who they want to be and feeling like they have to fit a certain mold. And everyone is going to want to just wrap Jake up into a hug. The author touches on issues that happen in the real world when it comes to gaming including, sexism, racism, transphobia, and doxxing. The game aspect is written in a way that makes it accessible to gamers and non-gamers alike. The addition to group chats was very on point for the gaming community and teenagers.

I enjoyed every minute of Don't Hate the Player. Popular smarty, Emilia, is leading a double life as a gamer-girl and is ripping apart at the seams trying to hold it all together. When a childhood gamer friend, Jake, recognizes her at a gaming tournament, her bubble is threatened to burst. It was a funny, nerdy, and heartwarming story full of witty and intricate characters. I wasn't sure how I felt about Emilia, as she had a hard and snobby exterior at first, but she really grew on me as she let her guard down to Jake, who was one of the most endearing characters I have ever seen. The book was mostly told from Emilia's POV but was intermixed with lively chat logs from Jake's teammates and a few chapters from Jake's perspective that really elevated the storytelling to another level. The plot was fast-paced and exciting while still being entirely character-driven, and the twist at the end was fantastic. This book had me literally laughing out loud the entire time with its dialogue, earning me a few questioning looks from my boyfriend. I found myself thinking about it whenever I wasn't reading it and couldn't wait to get back to these characters. Don't Hate the Player was an enchanting YA contemporary and I am really looking forward to more books from Alexis Nedd.

I loved the diversity in this book and thought it was particularly well written. The gaming community is not known for being particularly diverse and it was great that the story addressed this and the difficulties some players have being shown basic respect and courtesy, while also showing characters that were supportive and welcoming. It felt like a pretty realistic view while also overall being a happy story. I also appreciated the diversity in the high school realm of the book. Emilia and Penny’s friendship and power duo dynamic was so cool. I loved seeing them rule the school and the initial plan of being schools first Black President and Latina Vice President and how much that meant to Penny. I also appreciated the ADHD representation for Jake. His character avoided the stereotypical presentation that is unfortunately often seen in books but had some details I really identified with as someone who also has ADHD. The plot was well done and had some great twists. The romance was really sweet and supported their character development well. Overall I thought all the characters were well written. This is a great geeky romance.

Don’t Hate the Player by Alexis Nedd, 384 pages. Bloomsbury YA, 2021. $18. CENTERING ME LGBTQIA
Language: R (167 swears, 12 “f”); Mature Content: PG13; Violence: PG
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH
Only a junior in high school, Emilia and her mother have her entire life planned out -- her mother just doesn’t know about how Emilia squeezes in time to play Guardians League Online. Emilia keeps her gamer life completely separate from her student-athlete life for both safety and sanity. When Jake catches her not only playing GLO but advancing in a regional competition, Emilia’s two lives collide, and she doesn’t know which one she wants to survive the damage.
I hope everyone finds their Jake or Emilia. I love this book for how Nedd portrays their uplifting and encouraging relationship -- a positive, healthy relationship that readers can actually look up to. Both Emilia and Jake make plenty of mistakes and make their lives far more complicated than necessary, but they move forward through the hard parts together. Turns out, life becomes easier and happier when you are true to yourself. The mature content rating is for alcohol use, sexual harassment, and mention of rape and sex.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

I really enjoyed this book. It was a great beach read with hilarious story points. I loved the characters

4. 5 stars = I loved it! Would re-read.

This was so fun! I loved the main characters, and the romance is sweet. The humor in this is fantastic and added to the enjoyment of the story. (Language, LGBTQ+, TW: online harassment, doxxing, etc.)

Don't Hate the Player is a unique, immersive, and entertaining young adult novel about gaming, identity, and pursuing your dreams. This YA novel centers a Latina protagonist and an endearing love interest. It also takes readers into the thrill of online gaming and esports, with witty banter, hilarious side characters, and a spotlight on the dark side of gaming. If you enjoy YA with strong female protagonists, this is one to check out.

This was such a fun read that also took a serious look inside the world of gaming. Emilia Romero lives a double life. By day, she is an extremely popular field hockey star with a good-looking boyfriend and perfect grades. At night though she is the only female member of a highly competitive esports time for the game GLO. In order to maintain her double life, she has to keep her identity completely hidden. When a major eSports tournament is announced, Emilia is determined to prove herself to her team and the male-dominated gaming community. But her perfectly balanced life is thrown for a loop when a member of a rival team-Jake-recognizes her. Jake is a charming geek with bad grades and a rotten home life. Playing GLO is his outlet.

Honestly, when I originally read the description I thought I would pass on this book but after seeing a talk with the author and receiving a digital ARC I figured I would give it a try. I AM SO HAPPY I DID. I know nothing about the world of competitive esports and gaming but I learned so much about the issues of toxic masculinity that surrounds the gaming world. In addition, it would have been very easy to have the scenes where they were playing the game be boring...I mean we were reading about 10 people battling in a video game...But they weren't at all. I found myself in some of the fight scenes holding my breath. Overall, I did find the plot predictable but I am able to forgive that because exactly what you want to happen happens!

I also just loved the characters in this book. Many were so supportive and caring for one another.
Beyond that, they were diverse and broke many of the typical tropes we see with this genre normally. In particular, the character of Matt. You kind of got the feeling that he was going to play the role of dumb jock, and he wasn't a good student, and he was an athlete but he also turned out to be an awesome guy who was loyal, kind, caring, and overall an awesome friend.

The last thing that I will mention is that I liked the format of the book. Emilia got the long prose sections but they were interspersed with Jake's team's chat logs from their practices. This added an interesting dimension to the book.

A romance story about GAMERS? Now that is what I call UNIQUE. I LOVED THIS BOOK. All the characters were very well-written. Matt and Penny need their own spotlight, because of the way they supported Emilia. However, even though Matt is dreamy, WHAT ABOUT JAKE HOOPER? I love geeks, and this boy stole my heart right from the very start. I love how caring he is, and the advice he gives Emilia about following her heart, really made me feel so many emotions. Emilia is a role model for a lot of ethnic women around the world. As a Latino American, who struggles with being a coloured female in the gaming world, she really knows how to kick those haters. I have never met anyone so determined and talented, no matter how much hate she is forced to deal with. The meet-cute of Jake and Emilia.... CAN WE TAKE SOME TIME TO FANGIRL OVER THAT? They met at an arcade, and bonded over reaching the high scores. It was love at first sight. 10-year-old Jake finally met someone who didn't judge him for the awkward gaming person he is. The fact that they run into each other all these years later at a tournament, AND Jake being enrolled in Emilia's high school? THAT IS FATE RIGHT THERE. LOVED THIS BOOK.

Thank you to netgalley for providing an e-galley for review. I enjoyed this book about girls in the gaming world. It's harsh and exploitive and from most of the books I've read, it doesn't seem to be getting better anytime soon. What I also appreciated about this book was that it showed Emilia having a life, a successful one, outside of the game world. She wasn't the stereotypical nerd, or failing her classes, nor was she losing her GLO battles. Did she have to work very hard? Yes. Did that pay off? In a manner of speaking, yes. This book included different relationships, races, genders, and families without that being the main focus of the plot and had them just be part of everyday life which was refreshing and uplifting to read and something to aspire to as a society.

With major RomCom movie feels, Don't Hate the Player is a witty and wonderful foray into esports and online gaming that is so much fun. Combing group chat convos with a mix of high school drama and digital sagas, the story of Emelia and Jake is fast-paced, of the moment, and on point with its messaging. With strong feminist values and a push for acceptance of all, Alexis Nedd makes gaming approachable and exciting, while exposing how hard it is to be a strong female competitor in a "guy's" world.

Emelia is a gaming goddess who Jake has admired since they met a mutual acquaintance's arcade birthday party in their elementary years. When Jake transfers to Emelia's school, he can't wait to connect, but she's the high school queen bee, not the gamer he once knew. Or so it seemed. Emelia's got so many secrets that are bound to come out as both Jake and Emelia are called up to compete in the big leagues of gaming. With a chance to make it into national competition and win serious money, Emelia must keep her identity hidden. But Jake makes the discovery and, well, so do others who begin their campaign to take her down. But not on Jake's watch.

What this story does well is combat gender roles and pushes to normalize gaming in a way that makes me want to add a better graphics card to my computer. It is so well written that the pages turn and you wish there were more. I hope we get to see Emelia and Jake again because I love them together.

This book was so freaking cute. I think Alexis Nedd is touching on a topic that is super big right now which is eSports. eSports are definitely the future, or at leas that's what my husband says. The writing flowed so nicely and it was such a breezy read.

I love video games and I love books that truly understand video games and gamer culture and this one ticks all the boxes. Recommended for fans of SLAY and WARCROSS.

This was really good! I loved that it wasn't a nerdy boy wins over the popular girl trope. It was gaming, and talking about the darker side of online gaming if you aren't CIS white male. It's about friendship, figuring out who you are, and finding your space. I think this is a solid story that will have no problem finding its audience.

This book was so freakin' cute.

Emilia is a field hockey star, ivy-league shoe-in, with a popular jock boyfriend and Instagram following to boot ...but she's also a secret gamer queen, top of the charts in a competitive eSports league and part of a top-tier team. But she keeps these two parts of her lives completely separate--not even her parents or best friend know. But when a childhood friend, Jake, and fellow gamer resurfaces at the eSports tournament as member of a rival team, her whole dual world lifestyle could collapse.

I really, really enjoyed this story. I am not a gamer (it was a huge deal when I bought a Nintendo Switch during the pandemic), and I may have skimmed through some of the more lengthy descriptions of battle scenes, but I loved what it added to the book. It felt fresh, and new, and utterly real. You were really rooting for both Emilia and Jake--separate or together. They both had interesting and diverse backstories, and I totally loved all their friends too--they may have have even been one of the highlights. The group thread between Jake and his teammates was definitely a favorite aspect.

I think gamers and non-gamers alike would love this book, particularly those with a competitive spirit and teens looking to forge their own path outside their parents' wishes. I would definitely recommend this one.

Thanks to Bloomsbury and NetGalley for my eARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

5 stars - 9/10

I exceptionally loved this book. It combines my love of sweet geeky nerds, gaming, and being true to yourself.

Emilia is living a double life: popular straight-A student and field hockey player by day and MMO gamer by night. She’s struggling with living up to her parents’ expectations while trying to make time to play as the only female on her competitive MMO team. But she keeps that part of her life a secret from everyone. When a major e-sports tournament comes to her city, her team is invited to play in the competition. It’s there she meets back up with Jake, a sort-of friend from her childhood. And she immediately goes into panic mode. Once Jake knows, will he tell others at their school??

But Jake is one of the best characters ever. Sweet, geeky, and a truly nice person, we have to protect him! The friendship in between him and Emilia slowly grows and is so sweet to read about. They are so supportive of each other, it’s a beautiful thing.

I appreciated the author discussing the sexism that occurs in gaming. It’s an unfortunate thing that still happens, so I’m happy that it wasn’t ignored. The game chats felt realistic, and can I just say that Team Unity is the best team ever? Everyone was so inclusive and friendly and sweet, it makes me want to get back into gaming.

Don’t Hate the Player was an amazing read and I won’t be forgetting Alexis Nedd in the future.

I am not a gamer, but the story in this book is very compelling. Friendships, family relationships, Latina MC, LGBTQ+ side characters, and I especially liked the feminist slant and how this addressed misogyny. Great read alike for those who enjoyed Don't Read the Comments or Slay.

This is a favorite book of the year so far. Delightful gem that touches on terrible trolling of women in gaming and just shows the power and beauty and friendship that can come from virtual gaming despite the negativity. Love the way it was told throughout - funny and poignant. Already preordering it -you should too!!

I’m not a fan of video games, but I was completely drawn in by the action, fell in love with the characters, and hollered laughing on more than one occasion while reading.

Gotta read this!

**Review will be published May 27th, 2021**

ADORABLE GAMER ROMANCE.

It’s been a minute since I’ve read a book with virtual gaming at the forefront and I’ve missed it! This was a solid read that was quick to fly through and definitely had me smiling by the end.

Emilia was a strong heroine. Intelligent and geeky, with the perfect amount of snark and boldness. I loved her inner monologue. Em’s character felt high school appropriate, but not in the over dramatic way that can be too much. She’s a high schooler figuing it out. The pressure of parents wanting the best for her, wanting to choose something that’s only hers and finding her niche in the world. I love that Emilia was able to acknolwedge her mistakes and understand how she could improve. It was even better when she had that last tough conversation with her Mom and her parents understood her even better too. I love a good family chat.

Jake, bless his heart. He was SO DANG CUTE. Put him and Em together and it was the gamer romance I didn’t know I needed. They were adorable. I loved anytime Em and Jake were on the same page. The support and compassion was fantastic. No unnecessary miscommunications here. Just some great kissing scenes and young love flirtations.

My only eh thing was that sometimes the gaming aspects took up a lot of page time. Pages dedicated to very specific gameplay and breakdowns. I wanted more of the real-life characters over an extended play by play of the game.

All of the side characters were so fun and well rounded. They only added to the book and were perfectly placed throughout. Everything about this read was pretty fabulous. I found myself flying through it. The ending was great and worked out exactly like I hoped it would!

Overall audience notes:
- Young adult contemporary romance
- Language: some
- Romance: kisses
- Trigger/Content Warnings: racism, sexism, sexual harrassment of a minor, divorce, cheating (main characters + Jake’s parents), transphobia, doxxing, cyber-bullying