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Role Playing
- Narrated by: Chris Brinkley, Elyse Dinh
- Length: 10 hrs and 2 mins
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Publisher's Summary
An AudioFile Best Romance Audiobook of 2023
From Cathy Yardley, author of Love, Comment, Subscribe, comes an emotional rom-com about two middle-aged gamers who grow their online connection into an IRL love story.
Maggie is an unapologetically grumpy forty-eight-year-old hermit. But when her college-aged son makes her a deal—he’ll be more social if she does the same—she can’t refuse. She joins a new online gaming guild led by a friendly healer named Otter. So that nobody gets the wrong idea, she calls herself Bogwitch.
Otter is Aiden, a fifty-year-old optimist using the guild as an emotional outlet from his family drama caring for his aging mother while his brother plays house with Aiden’s ex-fiancée.
Bogwitch and Otter become fast virtual friends, but there’s a catch. Bogwitch thinks Otter is a college student. Otter assumes Bogwitch is an octogenarian.
When they finally meet face to face—after a rocky, shocking start—the unlikely pair of sunshine and stormy personalities grow tentatively closer. But Maggie’s previous relationships have left her bitter, and Aiden’s got a complicated past of his own.
Everything’s easier online. Can they make it work in real life?
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What the critics say
A New York Times Best Romance of the Year
“Chris Brinkley and Elyse Dinh pair up for a delightful performance in this fresh nerdy romance.… Dinh's and Brinkley's performances have the right intense beats when narrating gameplay. The romance unfolds more slowly so that listeners can savor its moments. Both narrators depict the genuine struggle faced by characters who are coping with life's new chapters and finding joy in unexpected places.”—AudioFile Magazine, Earphones Award Winner
“If ever there were a story for our times, Role Playing…is it. …deftly narrated by the team of Chris Brinkley and Elyse Dinh who are able to bring the entire story along with its distinctive characters to life in a true theatre of the mind experience for the listener.”—Midwest Book Review
“Elyse Dinh's narration…hits her stride once Maggie and Aiden meet IRL. Chris Brinkley, who narrates for Aiden, captures the rumbling, warm nature of this lovable character. Yardley's (Ex Appeal) latest is a perfect fit for patrons looking for heartwarming, slow-burn romances featuring middle-aged characters.”—Library Journal
What listeners say about Role Playing
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Philip
- 2024-07-14
Loved this!
So nice to read a book with real, mature, diverse characters. Really well done. I enjoyed it thoroughly.
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- Katsy
- 2023-08-29
A Beautiful and Unconventional Love Story.
An unconventional and beautiful story of 2 unlikely protagonists of a romance story. What's "normal" anyway? 😉
Sometimes a chance at happiness and new beginnings require ending some painful chapters. Great book and outstanding narration with quality voice-acting, both male and female (although I am always biased in favour of Chris Brinkley), no wonder they got an award.
Strongly recommend !!!
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- Sewme
- 2023-09-17
Role Playing
This is my second book from Cathy Yardley and I must say that I really enjoy her work. She’s funny, clever and you can tell she puts her life experience into her work. That makes her writing relatable. The narration was stellar. I will listen to anything that Chris Brinkley narrates and Elyse Dinh was chef’s kiss!
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