Kindle e-book
Author: Cathy Yardley
Maggie is a 48-year-old book editor who lives in the outskirts of a small town (not by her own choice). She has social anxiety and, now that her son has left for college, she’s basically “gone feral”.
Aiden is 50 years old. He’s gone back home to care for his ailing father, who eventually passed away, and is now dealing with an aging mother who is “difficult” to say the least.
Both of them are gamers, and they end up meeting online. She thinks he’s 21. He thinks she’s an octogenarian. Soon they figure out they’re not who they thought they were, but the friendship they developed online switches to the “real world”.
I absolutely ADORED this book! It’s a slow burn, geeky romance, with characters who are not “28 and gorgeous”. A breath of fresh air!
This book also deals with figuring out who you are, or who are becoming and I love that it shows people rediscovering and reinventing themselves. Also, the main characters show that you can be “older” and have interests associated with younger people and THAT IS FINE. I saw some comments saying the characters behave like teenagers. Please, this is ageism showing its presence in our society. We don’t need to “act our age”. And everyone gets old, if they are lucky… Just sayin’ .. And I want to be Maggie when I grow up: zero Fs given!
Another aspect I loved is the representation: Maggie is half Asian and her son shows how difficult it can be relating to an identity when you don’t “look it”. Aiden is bisexul and demisexual and he’s just learned that there are even names for how he identifies himself. The way Maggie and Aiden embrace each other for who they are is absolutely lovely. I can’t recommend this book enough! Oh, and there is fake dating!!!!
Rep: queer romance, FMC is biracial.
PT: dealing with an aging parent, toxic family relationships, queerphobia, forced outing scene on page
