She’s Got Game

Great Game. If Hefferman’s friend Maggie Dallen’s latest book was a Hallmark Movie of the saccharine sweet variety, this one is closer to one of the rocky road jalapeno ice cream variety. Still mostly funny, but deals with some weightier issues in a mostly sweet manner with a hint of burn-your-mouth spice. Hefferman takes several risks with her characters that are rare, and that is much appreciated by this particular reader. The narrator is a gamer – and not a video gamer, which has gained a degree of acceptance in mainstream modern society. No, this narrator is a *board* gamer. And bi. And one of her best friends is demisexual – an orientation I’ve literally only seen used in *one* other book. And the driving narrative force is a board game tournament. And there are several weighty issues that could drag the book down, but Hefferman deftly keeps the focus on her primary couple as they haltingly get together. Excellent work, I’m very much looking forward to the next one. Very much recommended.

Since my kiddos are tired of playing board games, I decided to read about them instead. Even though Gwen, the main character made me mad at times for her tendency to assume the worst about Cody, the way they came together through competition was so real and the humor made me feel as if I were hanging out with dear friends. This was a treat.

A little young for me. This is about game players.

This book gives you a glimpse into the world of people who play games for fun and tournaments. The intensity, thrill and agony all rolled into one. Gwen feels like this is her last chance to make the final round. Standing in her way is the last champion for the past 4 years. Cody is a good guy but Gwen is having a hard time believing that. Every time the chips are down, Cody seems to be there for her. Now can she step outside her comfort zone? Can she let go and let true love in?

She’s Got Game
Laura Heffernan
A first for me by this author, I really enjoyed the book. It was funny, entertaining, and had Romance.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

She’s Got Game is the first book I’ve read by Laura Heffernan, and it was so delightfully different that I’ve thought about the story and its characters quite a bit since finishing. In Gwen Williams, we have a heroine who’s bisexual (I can’t recall ever reading about a female protagonist who digs both guys and girls in a RomCom before), a travel blogger (what a cool job!), and in her spare time, she games at a competition level. All of these qualities add up to one very unique and compelling character.

When the story opens, Gwen’s got her eye on the prize, winning the American Board Game Championship in Vegas, but she has to get through a lot of smaller tournaments first. One of her main competitors, Cody McKay, is gorgeous and more than a little cocky about his prowess at the gaming table, and sparks fly from the moment he and Gwen meet. Fearing he’ll be a major distraction, Gwen tries to keep her distance, but you know what they say about best-laid plans. Can Gwen trust Cody, or is he playing her? He does seem to have secrets, but then so does Gwen.

Romantic confusion isn’t the only issue Gwen has to deal with when she realizes that her job might not be sustainable and the lives of several people close to her implode. She thinks she can fix everything by winning the big game in Vegas, but what lengths is she willing to go to make that happen? Win or lose, the stakes have never been higher for Gwen.

I rode an emotional roller coaster with Gwen throughout this book. She brought me to tears several times and made me want to shake her a few others, and I loved every minute of it! She felt real to me, with strengths and flaws like all of us have. I really liked that not all of the issues in her life were easily resolved and she had friends who called her out when she was messing up, but were still always there to support her. Speaking of her two besties, Holly and Shannon, they were both really interesting in their own right and I’m jazzed that they’ll get their own stories in this series. I never thought I’d root for a twenty-something character to get smoochy with her friend’s father, but after reading She’s Got Game, I am ‘shipping Holly and Gwen’s dad, Nathan, hard! They are both in dire need of some good lovin’, and I am here for their romance.

As for the central relationship in this book, I thought Gwen and Cody had great chemistry on the page and their romance developed in a believable and organic way. The love scenes in the book were just the right amount of steamy for me, hot, but never raunchy, and leaving just enough to the imagination. Although Gwen and Cody both made mistakes along the way, I never doubted that they would be really good for each other.

She’s Got Game is an original, entertaining, and briskly-paced book with well-defined characters and a romance I won’t soon forget. I’m excited to see what else the author has in store for this series.

I received a copy of She’s Got Game in exchange for an honest review.

I am still deciding how to feel about the story. I truly loved the writing and the story per se but sometimes I just could slap the main character until the lightning stroke her brain.

As the title says the book is about playing games, about attendance in national competition of board game called Explorers of Islay.

Gwen is competitive, loves to travel and grew up without a mother but with a loving father who taught her the love for board games. But growing up without mother left her with deep scars of not understanding and feeleing unloveable.

She doesn´t date gamers, she´s been burned badly in the past but when she meets Cody she wants to change her mind and is willing to try.
Except Gwen has got so many issues she needs to sort out first that it seems almost impossible task.

Like I said I loved the plot, the competition, the love and attraction which was feelable through the pages but Gwen´s personality was quite difficult to understand sometimes.
So for me it´s just 3,5*