A fun, light, and funny romance with plenty of moments that make you gasp in horror as messy relationships unfold in this sapphic romance between a young Asian woman who got an internship and her boss who also is a renowned Asian queer woman with she/they pronouns in the videogame world.

Rating: 5/5 stars
Steam level: Open-door scene; additional reference to steamy moments

Thoughts (some spoilers):
Whenever I find a book that fits me so perfectly, a book with characters that reflect some of the deepest, most hidden parts of myself, I can’t help but take a moment to sit with my feelings and bask in the uniquely gratifying and poignant experience of being seen. Single Player has easily become a favorite of mine due to the compassionate characterizations of the main characters. The way each personality intertwines with the romance makes for a gorgeous modern-day masterpiece. Trauma and culture are represented with care, and the writing is genuinely funny, endearing, and romantic. As a fellow gamer, the incorporation of gaming in all of it was the cherry on top.

Andi and Cat are such beautifully written characters. Cat is kind, somewhat starry-eyed, and incredibly outspoken, sometimes to a fault. She struggles with insecurities and living authentically for various reasons. On the other hand, Andi has their walls up. On the surface, they’re confident and sure, but they’re also introverted, awkward, and a bit emotionally unavailable, which makes sense due to the bone-deep trauma that they have.

When Andi and Cat are brought together in the context of work, it makes sense why they clash. Cat represents significant moments of grief in Andi’s life, which threatens their carefully constructed emotional walls. How could Andi not respond cautiously and defensively? In response, how could Cat not feel the all-too-familiar echoes of hurt and rejection from these perceived slights? After factoring in attraction and feelings, the resulting angst is magnetic.

Witnessing Andi and Cat come together to find growth and healing in the most precious slow burn was equal parts touching, romantic, and personally satisfying. Just when it seems like the book can’t get any better, the epilogue hit, which was also very rewarding.

I would recommend this book to any fan of romance novels and gaming. I couldn’t stop smiling when reading this, and I hope others enjoy it too.

I received an advanced reader’s copy. All opinions are my own.

Cat has finally landed her dream job, working at a gaming company, albeit as a temp. She's felt different and bullied her whole life, including classmates and her own family, but she should fit in here. Unfortunately, Cat's new boss, Andi, is well-known for her work and definitely acts like she's better than everyone. Cat's been hired on to add romance to the new video game they're building, but Andi is completely against it. Can Cat and Andi work together to build a video game that represents everything they value equally?

This was a great rivals to lovers/workplace romance about feeling different than everyone and trying to fit in. Cat goes through life pretending every conversation is a video game, believing how good her life goes depends on every interactions with MCs and NPCs. Andi hides her/their insecurities behind shields and pushes other people away. This had great queer representation and included some fun gaming and Dungeons and Dragons scenes. Great book for anyone who's ever felt less than and loves gaming.


*** I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. ***

I really loved “Single Player” by Tara Tai. This book is laugh-out-loud funny with relatable and loveable characters. As someone who doesn’t know a lot about gaming, I appreciated learning more about that world. I also appreciate that this is a queer enemies-to-lovers romance and one of the main characters is non-binary. Tai also deals with issues such as bias and bullying in the gaming industry. While I am not usually a fan of workplace romances, I appreciated this one. Great debut by Tara Tai. Looking forward to more. Thanks to Alcove Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

This was a good sapphic workplace romance. There were several references to games I have played or heard of in the past and I loved all of the gamer terminology. I will admit I didn't love Andi at first but over time she grew on me and I ended up liking her a lot. I also really ended up liking Andi & Cat as a couple.

I did get a touch of Tomorrow, Tomorrow and Tomorrow vibes from this book which was great because I loved that book as well.

Overall this was a fun read and if you are into workplace romance with gaming and fake dating, I definitely say give this one a try.

Thank you NetGalley and Alcove Press for access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

"Single Player" offers a refreshing sapphic romance set in the gaming world, where two Asian women go from competing against each other to finding love. The story blends rivalry and romance and it turns into a fun, entertaining romance story !

"Single Player" becomes multiplayer in this gamer-centric workplace romance from Tara Tai. On Cat's first day at Heartrender Studios as a temp writer she collides (literally) with Andi Zhang, a giant in the gaming industry and her new boss. Cat and Andi have different visions for the game they'll be working together on, and the tension grows ever greater between them. Can they work together to bring the game to new heights? Or will scheming executives and an ill-advised fake-dating scenario lead to game over.

While this didn't totally work for me, readers who are more drawn to workplace rivals-to-lovers romances (who are also gamers) will find plenty to enjoy.

I am mostly not a fan of boss x employee relationships, and was a bit annoyed that most of the good part of the relationship happened at the end - don't get me wrong, I get what a slow burn is, but maybe this was a bit too long of a burn?

I did like the story though, and I am a big nerd so I really like anything that references nerd culture!

"I believe hope is our beating hearts reminding us that there is still life in this world worth fighting for. That there is still love in this world worth feeling."

If the last 10% of the novel was replicated throughout all of it, this would have been an easy five stars. Unfortunately, it was confined to the last 10% (which meant the good stuff was super rushed).

There are some obvious pros to this novel. The own-voices representation is STUNNING, and I hope that this book is a sign to publishers that the world needs more Asian leads, more enby leads, and more sapphic romances. I appreciated how much of their own background they put into Cat and Andi, and the love of gaming is so clear. I am not a gamer, but I really liked how many metaphors were used throughout (like how Cat works through dialogue options, or how courage is described as taking initiative). The enemies to lovers was done FLAWLESSLY; the couple was believable both as enemies and as a couple, which I feel like is rare in this trope. Their emotions towards each other were palpable.

Alas, I was frustrated by how everything was thrown in to the last 10%. A slow burn is awesome, but not when everything about the relationship is saved for the end. While I understand the need for a final boss, there needed to be smaller enemies throughout the heroes' journeys. Don't just slow burn the relationship, slow burn the portrayals.

And maybe this makes me a terrible person, but I found Cat to be insufferable throughout most of the book. The 2012 gamer speak was just wayyyy too much...I mean, at one point she says "Self control? I haz it." The constant reference to "normies" left a bad taste in my mouth. The way that anyone who doesn't play games is seen as inferior and the way the minor characters (or NPCs, as the book constantly reminds us) felt really superficial. As if we must be constantly reminded how Nerdy our characters and how Important It Is To Be Nerdy. Can we leave that kind of language and rhetoric in the last decade?

Thank you to NetGalley, Alcove Press, and the author for an eARC in exchange for my honest review. Let's continue to write sapphic, enby romances, shall we?

Grumpy x sunshine
Queer
Workplace romance
Enemies to lovers
Fake dating
One bed!!! 🤭

This was a fun read exploring two seemingly opposite protagonists who start off on the wrong foot both wondering if they are capable of finding love.

Cat (she/her) who’s bubbly and sweet, gets her dream job as a writer to incorporate romance into an upcoming video game. While her boss, Andi (she/they) thinks romance in a video game or in general is overrated and unnecessary!

The two butt heads and constantly keep saying the wrong thing out loud to each other!

I enjoyed the insights into the gaming industry and the elements of incorporating romance into a character’s backstory. I’m not much a of a gamer but I can appreciate a good story!

Both protagonists are Asian and queer, but I liked how they were both already accepted by their families (with a brief history of how they overcome it but it wasn’t the main part of the story). The next most Asian thing was how Cat’s parents kept trying to set her up and kept asking when is she gonna get a girlfriend!! I guess it gets to a point where it doesn’t matter who as long as they get married and have kids 🤣

For Andi, she has a lot of past trauma from being named the token minority (as an Asian trans non-binary person) working in a white, male dominated field. While she’s working to overcome it — her closest friends (especially her ex) and mum never really got her. They kept telling her to just move on and basically gaslit her that being stalked and trolled online isn’t that much of a big deal.

Honestly, there doesn’t seem to be much of a plot until the very end. It’s definitely not a miscommunication trope type drama cause they actually don’t talk to each other at all 🤣 but overall, it was slow-burn romance at best.

As an Elder Millennial gamer who met my spouse and 80% of my friends while hosting a live-action video game panel at a gaming convention many years ago, this title resonates deeply with me, filling my little digital heart container. While readers don’t need to be gamers or fully understand nerd and gaming culture to appreciate Single Player, it offers a valuable perspective on an industry predominantly seen as "male-dominated." In reality, female and non-binary gamers have emerged as a significant force in console ownership and daily gameplay since at least 2015, according to a Pew Research study on gamers in the U.S. For those who are gamers, this book will likely feel like a homecoming!

Ok, there are a LOT of nerdy references. A LOT of game references. A LOT of D&D references. And every time I picked up the book it felt like I was returning to a group of my actual friends. People I would legitimately spend my time with and hope to be inviting over for pizza and table top games or a curl up on the couch session with our respective Nintendo Switches. There were times where I beamed at a reference. Yes, I did squeal outloud when Cat puzzled out her mystery, dropping a comment about Phoenix Wright because of course that's the puzzle game I was thinking of as she worked the first clues of her "adventure". And I'll admit, at first I wondered if the relationships felt so relatable because Tai has remarkable talent at understanding people and genuine connection over the fiction of Hollywood romance, or if I, as a Queer, nerd, romantic just recognize that type of relationship because of my involvement in gaming culture. I've concluded it's both...perhaps somewhat thanks to games like Fantasy DILF? Winning the lifelong effection of Daddy Doctor #1 is no easy feat without a keen sense and emotional intelligence! A charisma score only gets you so far....

The story is artfully handled as Tai addresses some of the dangers surrounding sexism in gaming, doxxing, how anxiety and fear impact even powerful people, supporting and showing up for partners/friends/coworkers in healthy ways, acceptance, culture and family in dating. They manage this with a punch while still upholding a lighthearted, charming, character-driven narrative and leaving out the bitterness so often associated with these challenging topics. Tearing down the patriarchy by using a ladder over the top.

I really enjoyed this title and I think those who enjoyed stories like Tomorrow Tomorrow Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin, Ali Hazelwood's books or Dungeons and Drama by Kristy Boyce could also enjoy Single Player.

I received Single Player by Tara Tai as an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I appreciate the opportunity to read and review this title and look forward to keeping an eye out for Tai's future projects.

Thank you Alcove Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review !

As someone who only reads romances once in a while, I really enjoyed this one, where Cat Li, a newly appointed temp at a gaming studio, needs to work with Andi 'Andz' Zhang on writing romances subplots for the next game the studio is going to publish, despite being wildly different from each other and quite confrontational over their stances on said subplots.

All the real games references were very enjoyable and, as a gamer myself, I found myself enthralled by them and smiling throughout each (especially Ace Attorney ! I was scared one of my favorite game wasn't going to make an appearence). The build up was very satisfying and I've grown quite fond of the characters (wether main or the others), which I find well crafted - despite the fact that I think Andz could've used a bit more depth (towards the end mostly but you'll have to read it to see if you agree with me or not ! Because it's still very much worth reading and this is my only qualm about it). The not-main characters being this fleshed out, considering they appear sporadically throughout the story (like Philo, for example) made me particularly happy - seeing they were not just plot devices.

The writing was funny, very touching at times and the pace satisfying, which made reading very enjoyable for me. I had a wonderful time.

If you like gaming (on all platforms), have anxiety, want to believe in romance even though you kind of don't or use text-to-speech to send texts, this one's for you ! Oh and, maybe if you like fake dating and the enemies-to-lovers tropes you'll get a kick out of it too... ;)

4.75 stars rounded up

Single Player made my queer gamer/writer heart so happy!

Cat is starting a new job writing romance for an upcoming video game, but her first run-in with her boss Andi leaves an impression on them and not necessarily a great one.

Normally, I am not a fan of boss x employee romance, but there was so much I loved about this book. Cat is a people pleasing plus-sized gamer with something to prove to her family about her love life and profession. Andi is nonbinary, traumatized, and super talented. This book balances plot and character growth pretty well, especially for a debut, and even more so given how messy these Sapphics are. Oh, and there's D&D in it!

I can't wait to see what else comes from Tara Tai!

Spice: 🌶🌶

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

YES. Yes, yes, yes. Yes. I am starved for sapphic romances with nonbinary leads/love interests, so when I got approved for this I jumped to read it— and I’m SO happy I did. Andi & Cat— they both have characteristics I can see other readers disliking, but genuinely? I can’t bring myself to feel anything but so much love for them both. I could have spent weeks just in both of their heads, watching them fall in love and fail and get up and, and, and. The only downside to this is that I’m both gen z and a gamer so some of the explanations of slang were a little, like, “yes, doesn’t everyone know that?” for me, before I realized that no, a lot of readers wouldn’t know that. So I can forgive that.

5 stars for this beautiful lil book.

This book was SO GOOD. I love me a sapphic romance and with video games? It was so cute. Perfect for fans of Ashley Herring-Blake and Helen Hoang.

I wanted to like this so bad! It started off as a really cozy read and I was hopeful it would continue on but unfortunately it just missed the mark for me and I ended up DNFing halfway through.

DNF at chapter 3. I really wanted to like this one. It reminded me of the show Mythic Quest which I loved, but I can't stand the writing style. It is written very colloquially which sometimes works, but the use of "normies" was the last straw for me. I can sense the seeds of an interesting plot but I have too many things on my TBR to wait around for this one to prove itself to me. That being said I could see this really working for a specific audience, I am just not part of that group.

Overall a really cute story in a great setting, I love reading about gaming (companies). For me the writing style didn’t manage to grasp my attention as much as I would’ve liked but this is definitely a great read and I hope to see more books like this in the future!

Overall this book just didn’t grasp my attention fast enough for me. I think it had a great plot, is a great book, and I’d like to try to re-read, but for now it’s a DNF for me. The plot started off great but very slow. I will still be buying when this releases though!

i went into this book knowing a LOT about the topic considering i was writing a very similar book with a similar premise lol

ANYWAYS... i thought this was a pretty fun read. there are some content warnings for stalking, misogyny, and transphobia that should be noted for readers.

i enjoyed reading about cat and andi's story. definitely a grumpy x sunshine trope going on here and i enjoyed reading about andi opening themselves up to love. cat was, at times, a bit of a pick-me gamer girl (calling people normies is a pet peeve of mine), but was otherwise demonstrated growth in terms of her self-esteem and breaking out of her masking. i am wondering if there was an intention from the author to make cat neurodivergent, as that's how she came across to me.

honestly, as a big nerd growing up, i appreciated the video game and anime references and felt called out by the author for my younger appreciation of shipping naruto and sasuke lol. the writing took a bit for me to get used to, but as this being tai's first novel, i think they did a a great job of creating a rom-com that featured some darker themes at times.

i recommend this for readers who were raised by the internet, who love a good dating sim, and for those who appreciate sapphic romance.