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.

307 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

[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.

[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.

[Anna Roseberry · Rating 3 out of 5]

I give this book 3 starts because I don’t like to rate books super low. But this book lacked so much. The storyline had a lot of potential but everything in it lacked depth. The characters were flat and wasn’t much development there. It was a fast read, but in all, not as good as I had hoped. The FMC was either super dumb or naïve. It just lacked a whole lot and was left disappointed. But if you want a fast, easy, super simple, and fairly clean (not really any spice🌶️) read that lacks depth and complexity, then this book is for you.

This book had a lot of potential and if rewritten, could be a lot better.

[Joy Parsons · Rating 5 out of 5]

I truly enjoyed reading this story. While I have watched part of the vertical drama adaptation based on this work, the book was a significantly more enjoyable experience. The narrative depth and character development in written form far surpassed what was captured on screen.

Charlotte, TJ, and the rest of the cast felt incredibly well-fleshed out; they were truly the heart of the story and played a vital role in bringing this world to life. It was a pleasure to spend time with them, and I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in a compelling, character-driven coming-of-age narrative.

[Shann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Read!

I absolutely loved this book and couldn't put it down! The build up to the big secret, the meeting between all the characters, their development and the ending make it such a good read! For a girl not really into gaming it was easy enough to follow too and not too heavy on just the game side. A great read for anyone who loves a good romance and I completely connected with the MFC as I also struggle with social anxiety and felt her panic and understood her over thinking the small things!

[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.

[Greta Mlodik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun, genuine, comical with a bit of romance

I love how all the characters go from strangers to friends to family. I appreciate the humor and laughs as well a little bit of romance. It's not a spicy book but one can imagine what transpires. I love how Charlotte maintained her innocence throughout and was not pressured by anyone

[SelkieReader · Rating 3 out of 5]

not great, not bad, not convinced this isn’t ai

It’s entertaining, very, very YA even though the characters talk about hooking up and getting drunk all the time
The majority of the book the two main don’t realize what’s happening and after they do realize it’s really weird. It just didn’t gel.
And some of the exact same phrases are used repeatedly, which makes me think AI

[Ivy Huynh · Rating 1 out of 5]

Inconsistencies in writing. Lots of random pages of how "do you like this so far, continue here?" In the middle of a complete book... I just found that unprofessional in editing. Some random parts of italic font like no one actually reread the script. The maturity of the characters are not there. Too much tell and not enough show. Feel childish.

[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!

[Sophie Eaton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Romantic and hilarious

I love a fanfic turned novel, and this is no exception. It is well written, and genuinely made me laugh out loud on multiple occasions. Just has touching, sweet moments too. I would definitely recommend!

[Eileen Young · Rating 3 out of 5]

Trope is fire, execution is fine

I have an unbearable weakness for falling for the same person twice. Absolutely delivers on that front. The prose is … grammatically correct? Which is something. Very linear plot, which is fine, but not super engaging.

[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.

[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.

[LaDambaLaika · Rating 4 out of 5]

Its a very fun story for the younger audience, even that there is insecurity, heartbreak and anxiety. I think a lot of young people can relate to the main characters and its easy to read

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a guilty pleasure read, but was slightly predictable. Fun for a summer vacation read if you want something light and exactly what you expect.

[Rebecca Rock · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad

This books plot line is great but the writing kind of reads like a high schoolers fan fiction. Over all its a mid book.

[Olivia Ford · Rating 2 out of 5]

😂😂😂 this was such a cheesy and bad book….i loved every minute of it but wow it was bad

[Nerea · Rating 2 out of 5]

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