Was like the author was playing a game of diversity bingo. I’m all for supporting margianlized groups but books like this aren’t the way.

I had read one from this author before so I thought I would give another one a try. This one you are given a male that had the magnetizim to capture us. Ethan also has some wall that will come down especially after coming up against Lissa. You rise with these two as they play with your emotions while the relationship builds. You want to help him along too at times. Watching stubborn go down also one of my favorites to read. Adored this from beginning to end.

I've only read one other book from this series, but I absolutely adored it so I grabbed this one when I had the chance. Megan Erickson can spin a tale like no other, and I'd read the phone book if she wrote it. I love Lissa and Ethan so hard. They're some of my favorite characters she's ever written.

I found this one only okay. I always enjoy Megan Erickson, but this wasn't a favorite of mine.

Leveling the Field by Megan Erickson is book four in her Gamers series and it doesn't disappoint. Filled with romance, heat, drama, and emotion, Ms. Erickson gives us her own modern spin on the classic tale of Beauty and the Beast, with two characters who have both experienced loss and find strength in each other.

The story is about Lissa Kingsman, a photographer, who is hired to take a photo of a reclusive magazine executive, Ethan Talley, for an upcoming article. However, he proves to be more than just camera shy. With scars as a reminder of a tragic past, Ethan has been holding himself from getting close to anyone. That is until the lovely, sassy, and absolutely likable Lissa comes into his world.

Leveling the Field is a great story that had strong characters, humor, lots of heat and also just pulls at your heartstrings at times. I also loved the family relationships between Lissa and her family, and Ethan with his sister. Plus, my favorite scenes involved glitter. You'll have to read to find out more. Overall, I happily recommend and can't wait to read more by Ms. Erickson.

(I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book I received from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.)

3.5+ Stars

Leveling the Field is one heck of a hot book. Ethan used to have his own YouTube channel where he would commentate on video games. He had thousands of followers and more money than he knew what to do with. When a tragic accident leaves him scarred and costs his sister her life he drops off the earth.

Over a decade later, he finds himself forced in front of a camera again by his business partner. Luckily the girl behind the camera is hot enough to take his mind off the actual thing.

When a second chance encounter gets them alone in a room, their chemistry combusts and there’s nothing they can do to fight it. Ethan believes he’s in no place to have a relationship, even though Lissa insists that just sex (and amazingly good sex at that) is all she is after too.

Even though neither is seeking a relationship, they find their way to each other time and again. But Ethan’s personal issues, as well as Lissa’s work and her own problems will get in the way of them building anything lasting.

I freaking loved Lissa. While she was a little bit too aggressive sometimes for my personal taste but she was one hell of a woman. After tragedy touched her family, she found a way to make her work worthwhile and helpful to others. She was upfront and brutally honest, full of life and she didn’t back down when she felt something was important.

Ethan was a mess. He closed himself off from the world after his accident, and no one and nothing could get through to him. That is until a sassy photographer pushed all his buttons. I really liked how Ethan unfolded from his hermit ways.

While Lissa’s and Ethan’s chemistry was explosive and their sex really, really hot, Ethan’s own aloofness from his own feelings made it difficult for me to fully connect with him and in extension with Lissa and their feelings. I could understand the type of trauma he suffered is not a minor thing to overcome, but his constant knee-jerk reactions got increasingly annoying until I wanted to conk him on the head with something.

That said Lissa’s ability to inspire him to go back to the land of the living plus the emotional quality of her work project were my favorite aspects of the story.

Leveling the Field had lots of scorching hot sextivities, some harsh truths and two people going head to head in the pursuit of happiness. A really good story I enjoyed reading.

3.5 Stars

I haven't read the other books in this series. I didn't feel lost but maybe I would have had a better idea of who Ethan and Lissa are.

Ethan used to be a famous YouTuber before he fell off the face of the earth. After experiencing a tragedy, his goal is to stay behind the scenes of his gamer magazine. When he shows up to the office for an interview, he's both intrigued by photographer, Lissa, and horrified. He absolutely doesn't want his picture taken. Lissa went to the interview hoping to get Ethan to participate in her project honoring her sister but quickly realizes that he is not someone who want his story told. Will the secrets these two are hiding eventually push them apart?

I loved the dual POV and heat. These two had immediate chemistry and I loved how much they helped each other grow and overcome their tragedies. I haven't read the other books in this series but they are definitely being added to my TBR!

*This is my voluntary review of an Advanced Reader Copy*

Since I discovered the wonderful writing of one Megan Erickson I have made it my mission to read every single one of her books, so this is me catching up on this series.

It had everything that I love in a book, a tortured character in need of a good doses of . . . laughter and love and characters with real pain and emotions willing to try at being happy and living a better life.

The relationship between Ethan and Lissa was explosive from the start, the way Megan wrote their first encounter was both hot and frustrating and that stands for pretty much every interaction these two have, of course there are some sweet romantic moments but the hotness was too hot to contain.

I also liked the fact that we get small little glimpses into the other couples lives, how they are doing and some mile stones in their relationships.

To sum up, this book made me very very happy and took my mind away from the anxiety inducing world that we are living.

Sad to see the Gamers series come to an end. Megan Erickson's sexy, tortured gaming guys and gals have been everything but nerdy or geeky.

So many surprises came with Lissa and Ethan, some good and some not so much. I loved that Lissa was cool and sexually confident, more than able to hold her own with Ethan in and out of bed. She didn't need Ethan to fix her; if anything, it was Lissa who saved Ethan from his self-imposed purgatory after the accident that killed his sister and left scars on his neck and jaw.

At first, Ethan is reluctantly but irresistibly drawn to Lissa because of some damn powerful sexual mojo. Seriously, these two can't be near each other without getting naked. The problem isn't when they are in bed together, but what happens when they aren't in bed together. Ethan, full of doubt and self-incrimination, repeatedly walks away from Lissa and this gets old very quickly. For her part, it drove me bonkers that Lissa failed to tell him about her personal photography project highlighting scarred survivors. Her reasons for doing so were weak, and I didn't blame Ethan for walking away (that time).

Happily, Lissa and Ethan take a good look at themselves in the mirror (literally and figuratively) and realize that they can overcome past hurts to be together. The ending with Ethan's parents was really too pat, IMO, but it was good to see everyone in the Gamers-verse get their HEA.

Ethan Talley is a man who has let his past torment him to a point where he is difficult to be around. A recluse by choice and isolated from his family except his sister Chloe. No friends, nothing except his life as partner of Gamers with Grant. Grant and Chloe are now engaged. Chloe is concerned about her brother and Grant about his best friend. This comes to a head after a magazine interview where a photographer is also present. Lissa Kingsman. Ethan becomes defensive, adamant about no photos and leaves the interview cold.

Ethan bears the scars from an accident which took the life of his sister, he blames himself. Lissa's sister was in an accident also and scarred and because of that and despite the close family bond, she took her own life. Lissa has been working on a project to photograph people with scars and tell their story. The money from the project goes to a scholarship fund she set up to honor her sister. It's been a labor of love for her and very difficult. When she she's Ethan, she's tempted to ask, but puts that aside knowing it's not a good idea. And then the two of them start steaming up the car, closet, wall, bed and any place else that is convenient for them. Mainly Ethan. Ethan demands. He doesn't ask.
It seemed to me every encounter with these two ended with Ethan getting angry and leaving Lissa to figure out what the hell.... yet she seemed to accept Ethan as he was. Not just the sex. Until the
proverbial crap hits the fan and no one bothers to shut the fan off. Ethan loses it when he sees her project and says things I would find hard to tolerate. He walks out on her. Like he always does.
Ethan is great at walking away. Lissa, for what it's worth seems to stay with it, despite her own hurt and pain.

I had problems with Ethan. Regardless of what happened in the past, didn't give him a free pass to treat not only Grant, but Lissa like they were disposable. I lost count of the times they had sex and he simply shut off and walked away. This went beyond being shuttered. Man, get off the pity pot and flush for pete's sake. Grow a pair. Lissa was pretty casual about their sexual relationship and that worked for her character and it was obvious when things shifted for both of them. Once again, something Ethan almost wrecked, stops himself, then wrecks it in the long run. Ethan worked in this story but I didn't like him.

Megan did a great job with this series and I think she did a good job writing this story. Ethan wasn't likable and she did a great job capturing that. Great story Megan!!!

**arc from NetGalley and Entangled in exchange for a fair review***