Life is Not a Game: The Fan-Favorite Galatea Coming-of-Age Sensation

by Kara Verbeek

Charlotte has been hiding in plain sight for seven years.

Online, she's Mars—a master gaming strategist ranked fifth in the country, respected by her all-male team and inseparable from her best friend, Jupiter. In real life, she's a socially anxious teenager who eats lunch alone and can barely speak to strangers. Her teammates have no idea she's a girl. Especially not Jupiter, the boy she definitely doesn't have feelings for.

When her family moves cross-country, Charlotte gets the chance to reinvent herself at a new school—until a collision with a charming football player turns her world upside down. Suddenly she's caught between two the online best friend who knows her soul but not her secret, and the real-life jock who sees the girl she's been too afraid to be.

With a major gaming tournament approaching and her double life unraveling, Charlotte must decide who she really is—the confident strategist behind the screen or the shy girl standing in front of it.

Some secrets can't stay hidden forever. Some hearts refuse to pick just one.

303 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 23, 2026

Reviews

[Alba Heras · Rating 3 out of 5]

mixed feelings

I have mixed feelings about this story. The idea is great and the writing is simple but easy to follow and good enough to keep you invested, however it seems a bit unrealistic the anxiety thing. For someone with social anxiety, Charlotte’s behaviour does seem a bit too forced. I think this story could be much better with a good editor. Nevertheless it was entertaining and fun

[Kayla Renner · Rating 1 out of 5]

Do yourself a favor and skip this one. Nothing used to advertise it is in the book, and I'm pretty sure it's either written by AI or a person who seriously needed someone to proofread it for them and actually add substance to the story itself. The FMC is either dumb or just plain naïve; she games all the time with these guys but doesn’t understand what they mean when they say it gets “hard” when they like someone. Girl, you're 17, you should know what that means. These characters describe the same events to each other but don’t understand they're talking about each other... nothing made sense.

[Hannah Crull-sher · Rating 2 out of 5]

The basic plot has so much promise

The basic plot has so much promise but almost everything else was disappointing. The characters were flat, the conversations read like they’d been written by someone who had never experienced a conversation in real life, and the descriptions of Charlotte’s day felt like they could’ve been copied directly from notes I wrote to friends during class in middle school. I felt compelled to finish it because I’d paid for it and wanted to get my money’s worth, but that just meant I wasted my time, as well as my money. At least it’s a short book.

[Alison Spear · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute book for a young adult audience. I enjoyed the storyline and the writing was easy to follow. I think once the gamers met in person and won the tournament, that would have been an appropriate ending, after it just kind of drug on with no real purpose. I also felt like the level of naivety for Charolette was unrealistic…there’s just no way, but playing devils advocate I do believe in most of the parts that made me laugh was due to how unrealistically naive she was.

[Alicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved!

I wished this book didn’t end and would’ve loved to have a sequel! I’ve always enjoyed books that have multiple prospects, so this book was immediately an attention grabber.

Only thing I wished to see what more details. Some things felt rushed and time jumped a little quickly. The book could’ve definitely been longer and I would’ve been happy.

[Danielle Fletcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nerdy Sweetness

This story was sweet, funny, and definitely touched my nerdy side and love for games. I was so happy to have it as a kindle book because I didn’t get to finish it on the app! So glad to read it I had to take a break on the other book I was trying to finish!

[Tania Kaliamina · Rating 4 out of 5]

funny story for an evening (literally read in one evening)😅

[Jadey H · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

saw this on an ig ad and wanted a quick silly read. It was not good at all and would not recommend. But it was what i wanted, so cant complain

[Becky · Rating 2 out of 5]

mediocre

[Patti Flanary · Rating 5 out of 5]

such a great story

I loved this story. It was so much fun to read. Please write more like this. It was a great, easy read.

[Megan DeWitt · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was a cute story and easy read.

[Nerea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me salió el anuncio en insta repetidas veces, ha sido leerlo y ya no me aparece.

[Meg Snell · Rating 1 out of 5]

The premise of this book is a great idea however the way it is written is awful. There are so many plot flaws in it, such a shame.

[Abigail Saks · Rating 5 out of 5]

extremely sweet!

This was an extremely sweet and charming read! Cute premise and well executed, a nice palette cleanser of a love story!

[Kaitlyn Kershner · Rating 1 out of 5]

was this written by a middle schooler?

A perfect selection if you want to be nauseated and infuriated by how horrid the internal dialogue is. Gag me.