Welcome to my tour stop for Level Up by Cathy Yardley. This is a romantic comedy and the tour runs January 4-22 with reviews, interviews, guest posts and excerpts. Check out the tour page for the full schedule.
Level Up (Fandom Hearts #1)
by Cathy Yardley
Contemporary, Romance
Geeky introvert Tessa Rodriguez will do whatever it takes to get promoted to video game engineer– including create a fandom-based video game in just three weeks. The only problem is, she can't do it alone. Now, she needs to strong-arm, cajole, and otherwise socialize with her video game coworkers, especially her roommate, Adam, who’s always been strictly business with her. The more they work together, though, the closer they get…
Adam London has always thought of his roomie Tessa as “one of the guys” until he agreed to help her with this crazy project. Now, he’s thinking of her all the time… and certainly as something more than just a roommate! But his last girlfriend broke up with him to follow her ambitions, and he knows that Tessa is obsessed with getting ahead in the video game world.Going from friends to something more is one hell of a challenge. Can Tessa and Adam level up their relationship to love?
Goodreads
"For what? Getting me involved in this deadline?" He shrugged. "No worries. If it was a problem, I'd tell you.'
"Not that." She shifted her weight from one hip to the other, her arms crossed. "At the restaurant. You know." She swallowed hard.
"What, the kiss?" He let out a snort of laughter. Who apologized for kissing?
"If a guy had done that to a girl, I'd have a real problem," she said. "It was...you didn't have any chance to consent. It's just not something I agree with."
He blinked. She looked serious. "Trust me, I'm all for consent," he said, equally serious. "But it was just a kiss, Tess. And you were doing it to prove a point."
"That's no excuse." She looked miserable. "Seriously. If there's anything I can do to make it up to you..."
Now he was strangling, whether on laughter or something else entirely, he wasn't sure. "You mean, like when you're kids, and somebody hits you and then you get a free shot?"
Now she looked surprised. "I wouldn't have put it that way..."
Before he could really think about it, he leaned in and kissed her. Hard.
He'd meant to just make it light, a quick buss and a "we're even," to take the charge off the situation. But frankly, he was running on a sleep deficit, he'd been thinking about her and that kiss for the past few hours, and as soon as his lips touched hers and he heard her little gasp of surprise, he smiled.
And then she grabbed him in surprise, pressing her damp front against his bare chest.
I can totally relate with characters who are into games, tech and are a little bit awkward. However, what makes me definitely pick a book are the goals the characters have set and the journey as they strive to achieve them. Both elements definitely caught my eye as I read through Level Up's synopsis.
To achieve her dream of being a video game engineer, Tessa must face the challenge of proving herself to an otherwise male-dominant industry. Earning the respect of her team, particularly of her roommate Adam was quite a hard feat for her yet at the end, she earned it while discovering her strengths as well. Though her instant change in personality was quite jarring, throughout the story, she was able to open herself up to new friendships and also letting people in to her head and her heart. The story between her and Adam definitely developed as she became confident with herself and has shown her caring and loyal side that Adam came to respect and later on, love.
This book has equal parts romance and self-discovery. What stuck the most to me was Tessa's perseverance to be more open to experiences, knowing her strengths and fulfilling her dreams. We all can definitely do a Tessa especially now that a new year has begun.
Cathy Yardley needs to get out more. When not writing, she is probably cruising the Internet, sleeping or watching D-list movies and adding to her unnatural mental store of character-actor trivia. She is a closet fangirl for Supernatural, Sherlock, Doctor Who, and too many others to name. Her family is considering performing an intervention for her addiction to pop culture. Want to read more of her writing? Sign up for her notification list, and get a free novella, Hooked, from the Fandom Hearts series! http://www.cathyyardley.com/notification-sign-up
$25 Amazon gift card (INT)
Ends Jan. 27, 2016
Prizing is provided by the author, hosts are not responsible. Must be 13 or older to enter and have parental permission if under 18. Void where prohibited by law. No purchase necessary to win.
This event was organized by CBB Book Promotions.
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