Review: New Game, Start by C.S. Poe

Title: New Game, Start

Author: C.S. Poe

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press

Length: 38 Pages

Category: Holiday Romance, Contemporary

At a Glance: It’s hard to believe this story was only thirty-eight pages long. There was so much originality and awesome packed into those pages, I didn’t find it lacking; in fact, I would have gladly read two hundred pages more of these guys.

Reviewed By: Jules

Blurb: Reclusive medieval scholar, Edgar Royal, has a crush. On a guy. Not a big deal, except that said guy, Walter Chase, is a famous online gamer who has no idea Edgar even exists. Edgar has harbored these feelings for nearly a year, and when Walter announces on Twitter that he’ll be visiting New York City as a guest at the GamerOn convention, Edgar decides he’ll be one of the thousands of fans who responds to the message.

He definitely doesn’t expect to be singled out by the humble, gorgeous, out-and-proud heartthrob. And when it comes to dealing with people, Edgar’s skills are pretty nonexistent. Even with Walter giving all the right signals, Edgar lacks the courage do anything about the mutual attraction growing through their online courtship. He’s always been better with the written word, so maybe the perfect Christmas gift will say what he cannot. But if Edgar can’t get the present to Walter before the convention ends, he may miss out on the boyfriend of a lifetime.

A story from the Dreamspinner Press 2017 Advent Calendar “Stocking Stuffers.”

Review: I’ve been toiling over this review for three days. Whyyy are some reviews so difficult to write? Even more so, for me anyway, for books that I loved. And, I LOVED this book!! I’ve read it three times in those three days! New Game, Start is an adorable, funny, romantic story about an online gamer and a bookworm who fall in love. I just had a huge smile on my face when I typed that. These two were So. Freaking. Adorable, you guys. I literally smiled through the entire story.

Walter Chase—known online by his popular gaming alter-ego, Waldere—has thousands of adoring fans, one of whom is Edgar Royal. Considering that he has PhD in medieval studies and languages, the name Walter chose for his gaming persona of course intrigued Edgar, but the possibility of a shared love of Old English poetry isn’t the only reason he has been pining after Waldere for over a year. Online, Waldere is charming, down-to-earth, funny, and kind-hearted. And after exchanging a series of tweets, DMs, and Skype sessions, Edgar finds out that Walter is all those things as well.

Pretty much everything about this worked for me. I absolutely love Poe’s writing style. It’s current, fun, sharp…just so easy to lose yourself in and enjoy. I wanted to bang my head against my desk and shake Edgar for his actions that cause the tiny misunderstanding conflict—but, the author makes a little tongue-in-cheek reference to it, and the resolution was so perfect I couldn’t really stay annoyed. And, the resolution truly was perfect; Edgar’s present to Walter, which is mentioned in the blurb, comes into play in the best way. *hearty eyes*

It’s hard to believe this story was only thirty-eight pages long. There was so much originality and awesome packed into those pages, I didn’t find it lacking; in fact, I would have gladly read two hundred pages more of these guys. Maybe C.S. Poe will gift us with more Waldere and Princess Edgar in the future, but in the meantime, New Game, Start is sure to be one of my favorite Christmas stories this year.

You can buy New Game, Start here:
[zilla_button url=”http://bit.ly/2jrbpJE” style=”blue” size=”medium” type=”round” target=”_blank”] Dreamspinner Press [/zilla_button][zilla_button url=”http://authl.it/B077WH314J?d” style=”blue” size=”medium” type=”round” target=”_blank”] Amazon [/zilla_button][zilla_button url=”http://bit.ly/2jpn7oa” style=”blue” size=”medium” type=”round” target=”_blank”] Barnes & Noble [/zilla_button][zilla_button url=”https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/new-game-start” style=”blue” size=”medium” type=”round” target=”_blank”] Kobo [/zilla_button]