Critical Hit-On: The Games of Love, #1

Games of Love #1

by M.T. DeSantis

Roll for attraction…

Molly Moreau thought she'd left her geeky past behind after a betrayal shattered her heart. But when Craig Lawrence, a charming geek with a penchant for RPGs, walks into her life, she finds herself drawn back into the world of multi-user dungeons and trading cards.

Craig Lawrence has been unlucky in love, haunted by past relationship failures and family drama. Determined to win Molly's heart, he'll do whatever it takes to prove himself worthy, even if it means keeping his family issues under wraps.

Will their budding relationship roll yet another 1, or will they finally score a Critical Hit in love?

Join Molly and Craig in this fun and flirty no-steam college romance that celebrates the geek in all of us. With humor, heart, and a touch of gaming magic, Critical Hit-On is the perfect read for anyone who believes in the power of love, friendship, and a good roll of the dice.

This book was originally published in 2015 with different cover art under the name Deanna Dee.

218 pages, Paperback

Published February 25, 2015

About the author

Born a New Englander, M.T. DeSantis moved south in early adulthood, realized she actually liked winter, and promptly moved back north. She’s currently trying out life as a Michigander/anian with her family, who also (mostly) actually like winter. When not making word magic, M.T. can be found practicing yoga, attempting to make friends with the oven, or trying to read while people keep talking to her. To grab some free stories, visit M.T. here, where you can also subscribe to her somewhat sporadic but always relevant newsletter.

Reviews

[Joanne Roberts · Rating 3 out of 5]

This started out with a hooray for its love of geek and its decent writing. It set up an actual plot in addition to a fluffy new adult romance. It lost steam in the middle, turning into a series of misadventures and misunderstandings, not building or increasing in tension, though still with hints of plot to come. I kept reading to the end, but the last 20% was pretty painful. While the author did attempt to resolve most of the threads left hanging (not all), the main character didn't play much of a role. Two of the major obstacles were resolved in completely unbelievable fashion. So much potential squandered! The text had a tendency to over-explain and to set up a series of internal questions after every "plot development"—which term I use loosely, as plot development strictly speaking is an event or realization which moves the story forward. The narrative could better be described as a play-by-play of two people's week. Sadly, I would probably read another in this series simply for the pop culture references and the championing of the nice guy romantic lead. I hope there's a bit more domino-effect and escalating stakes to come. I did appreciate the sweet romance and the PG language except for characters who will not acknowledge the existence of God and Heaven, but are happy to use His name as a swear word.

[Chelle Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to love this so much. I'm a nerd. I play DnD. I love all things nerd. This book missed the mark. It's like what a "cool" kid would write if they were trying to be a nerd. The romance (🫑) was so cringe also. And it wasn't because it was nerdy, although if you read one page in this book, the word "geek" will appear about 5 times 🙄. No the romance was cringe because they acted like high schoolers instead of new adults. Highly disappointed.

[E'Who'Reads'a'Thousand'Mysteries · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious

In this well written book, the characters are well developed, the dialogue is very natural, comedy is hilarious, and the need to game, though ridiculous, is also realistic. I'd definitely read more books from this author.

[B.J. Sikes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorable geeky romance

I've been a gamer geek forever so of course I loved this book! Not to mention having way too much in common with the FMC. I think I know all of the gamers in this book or at least their doppelgangers.
This book was definitely a natural 20.

[Regina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute, geeky, fun! :)

[A G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute sweet geeky story

Got this book for free.
A bit of geek overload and a bit klichy, but a fun quick read.

Romance level: kisses

[Kelly C Elliott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute & fun read

A good basic no steam romance. I genuinely enjoyed it and recommend it to any geeks. I don't know enough about Star Trek to get the references, but I do play D&D, so I had fun.