Girl on Geek

by Mia Archer

I felt like I was standing on the edge of a cliff ready to admit my own sexuality, ready to jump, but she seemed terrified of jumping with me.

What sort of future did we really have if she was too afraid to tell the world the truth about who she was?

School, writing, and gaming. That's all Amber had time for, and not necessarily in that order. Romance wasn't a complication she needed, online or off!

All she wanted from life was go to her creative writing classes during the day and blow off steam role-playing with friends in the juggernaut online game Tales of Elassa at night. Love was the last thing she was looking for, especially with another woman!

Only life had other plans for the geeky gamer girl who closed off her heart. Because romance is coming for her in the form of Kaira, a strangely compelling woman she meets in-game who has a way of turning a phrase that goes straight to Amber's heart and heats her up in a way no man ever has online or in the real world!

But is it real? Amber's about to find out when her whirlwind online romance that spills over into the real world in a major way as she's pulled into a geeky Cinderella story at the biggest convention in the world with her mysterious online stranger acting as Princess Charming!

The geek girl wasn't looking for love, but will she let it in when it comes looking for her?

Genres: Romance, LGBT, Lesbian, New Adult, Lesbian Fiction, Fiction, Contemporary

202 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 9, 2015

Reviews

[Nolly Frances Sepulveda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Conflicting

I gave this story 3 stars because even though I was enjoying it, Amber's little speech on Kaitlin coming out to the world was a bit frustrating. I have been an "out" Lesbian for close to 40 yrs and have met my share of "closeted" individuals. Coming out is a difficult decision for many people for whatever reason and for a character in a book who is experiencing their first same-sex relationship to demand of the other to expose themselves to the world for their own feelings of security and happiness, was to me quite selfish. But this is only my opinion

[Mike Briggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting book that combines a gaming experience, convention experience, and romance. Did quite well, that combining.

There is a big need to suspend your disbelief. Willing suspension of disbelief. For several reasons. Mostly because the underlying idea of two people meeting via a gaming platform and then instantly bonding in about three seconds flat then having one being willing to spend massive amounts of money on the other requires a certain amount of suspension of disbelief. On the other hand, I've seen direct evidence of this type of situation occurring. It just feels, on the face of it, absurd.

Pushing all of that off to the side, my biggest issue is just the gaming portion itself. While it was neat to see the main character wrapping this story around herself as she operated inside the world, I had a hard time figuring out what she was thinking to herself, and what she was actually conveying to others online. There seemed to be a mixture of her thoughts, the type of thing she wouldn't write inside the gaming world, mixed with the thoughts of her character (those she might write in the gaming world).

Personally, I always had found it a little off-putting to 'read' someone's thoughts. Hints, sure, but I never knew what to do with actual sharing of thoughts.

As in:
Man thinks to himself, hmm nice breasts.
Woman: Howdy.
Man continues thinking about breasts.
Woman waves her hand in front of the man's face, trying to get his attention "Howdy? Anyone home?"
Man: I'm thinking about your breast.
Woman looking at him, then down at her breasts, then up again "Well, they are right here, you don't have to hurt your brain so much. They are right here."

My point being, there were long passages in the beginning. Implying stuff that was happening in the game. Assuming the game was a multiplatform 3d environment, a lot of the 'description' type stuff wouldn't actually need to be said/written. Then there were thoughts, and the like. Was the main character actually having these thoughts written onto the screen? Or was the main character just, you know, thinking to herself? As in, was the thoughts being conveyed by the digital avatar, or just being kept inside the head of the meat-person moving the mouse, and typing?

That's always a problem when attempting to convey playing a game. Showing scenes of that playing within a book. I've come across this issue many times. Sometimes it's conveyed quite well, sometimes quite poorly.

Also, the main character went from love-dove to crying needy person way too quickly and easily.

Still, I found the book enjoyable despite these thoughts I share here.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this title through the Kindle Unlimited program.
I have to admit that there were a lot of things in this book that I loved. First, of course, I'm a sucker for romance, and at its most basic, this was a sweet girl on girl romance. Second, I'm a bit of a geek and a bit of a gamer myself. There were a lot of scenes in this book that struck a chord with me on that level. If you've never lost yourself in countless hours of playing an online rpg (role-playing game), you may not understand the complete immersion into the game/world that's involved. If you have been swept into one of those games, devoted countless hours to advancing your levels via quest, crafting, raiding, and achievements, then you will understand the two main characters in this book. They meet online, in the game. There's a connection there, that each can't quite ignore, and as they get to know each other, neither wants to ignore it. The third thing that resonated with me, is that both characters are authors, and both are having a problem writing. Some of the things Mia Archer includes in there about writing just made me feel like she knew what I was going through, trying to believe in my own writing.
Now, to explain why I couldn't give that last half star. One, it is a bit predictable. You pretty much figure out the identity of the mystery person almost immediately. Shrug. That didn't really bother me that much. There's too much to enjoy about the story. Two, it's a bit cheesy/unbelievable. There's a very big suspension of belief to believe that the mystery person would even try to meet someone in that way. So what? There's a suspension of belief in almost every story. And three, for two people for whom writing is such an integral part of their being, I found it a little dismaying that the plot point of the struggling grad student trying to write her first novel kind of got pushed to the back burner by the end of the book. I wish there had been something, even just a slight mention, near the end of the book about her dreams of writing. Still, half a star off for such slight problems seems a bit much. It's almost close enough to perfect to hit a five star for me. Definitely a book I will be reading again in the future.

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Girl on Geek is full of much geekery and sexy times! When not attending classes or doing homework, Amber spends all of her time in her favorite online role-playing game. She's in it mostly for creating storylines, and doesn't tolerate anyone breaking character, or worse, looking for a hookup. But then a new character strolls in and Amber is immediately intrigued, and finds herself breaking her rules for this sexy newcomer. Amber gets swept away in an online affair, and then the mysterious "Kaira" asks to meet at the upcoming convention for the franchise.

The first half of Girl on Geek is set in the role-playing world! It's so geeky and fun and fantastic! Amber's character, Maia, is an elf priestess, while Kaira is a human. They mostly just chat, but they also go on a quest. I loved being immersed in this fantasy world with Amber. It all reads as if it's actually happening rather than being part of a game. She does break character a few times when things start getting intense though, and she has to return to the real world eventually. Of course, Amber and "Kaira" meet. As soon as you start reading, you'll know who Kaira really is, which just made it all the more fun!

There are geeky sexy times in Girl on Geek! And both scenes involve role-play although in different ways! Once online, and once in the real world, but both are super hot! The real world scene is a bit questionable, but that is acknowledged, so I know the author wasn't trying to promote that kind of thing for real. It was part of their characterization, and it was just something that happened to turn them both on, so fun times ahead!

I really loved Girl on Geek! At least until the fight. This likely would have been 5 stars if I hadn't been annoyed at that. It's not the fact that they had a fight, because it's expected, but I just didn't believe all of the reasons that Amber was upset. Some of it felt forced just to make it into a bigger thing than it needed to be. There is a super happy ending though!

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

[Lexxi Kitty · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is either the third or first story I've read by this author. I really have no idea. Even the website tacked onto the end of this book was no help. It lead to two more Archer names. See, the issue is that I've read two books by a Lexi Archer. One of those being a book. Which is also on Mia Archer's book page. Here and on Amazon. Cover is exactly the same but for one having Lexi Archer and the other having Mia Archer listed as the author on the cover. Description of the book contents are also the same for both books.

That website I mentioned? Lead to books by a Hayden Archer and a Dan Archer. None of the works I've read were on the website, nor specifically, was this book here. Which is quite strange since that website was inserted inside this book.

Naturally this little . . . whatever this is, rant, weirdness, whatever, probably looks confusing to someone reading along. There's a relatively simple reason. Except for the short story, I've liked both books I've ready by Archer. I suppose I could move my rating and review for the superhero book over here. That way everything I liked could be over here, and everything I disliked could be over there. Which, of course, would be something of a lie. Since I had read Villainous Love under the Lexi Archer name, not under the Mia Archer name.

I never really did say the simple reason. The simple reason I'm all annoyed is because I've mostly liked what I've read by this author, but it's hard to keep up if they dance around under a billion different names, putting out the same works under different names. A billion, two. Bah.

This was a book that was on the edge of being five stars. It very easily could have ended up with that rating but for the absurd section near the end. When the main character was acting like a moron. Without that section, or having that section reworked, I'd have given this 5 stars.

[Sascha Broich · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not your usual MMORPG story. I never heard of this way to use those online games.
The revelation of Amber's crush real life personality was not unexpected but nevertheless well done.

[Charlie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was going to go 3 stars, ultimately decided on 2. I'm a nerdsbian, through and through. WoW, other gaming, fantasy books (though not lately), I shy away from cons because I don't like such crowds, but I've been.

Look, I can suspend some reality, quite a bit in fact, but this was just asking for too much. No mmorpg will let you do that much with your character. Perhaps the author intended most of it to be typed by the characters. That was not indicated in the least. Very confusing trying to figure out what was what. Also, a digital character doesn't magically make you realize you're gay from first glance. Trust me, I'd have realized my own life a LOT sooner if so. Worst was trying to figure out how a 32ish tycoon closeted lesbian falls for an incredibly immature and selfish 23ish grad student.

Worst of all, you're not allowed to push someone out of a closet. And while I don't think that right could be earned, it really can't be earned in about a week, being beyond "new" at being gay yourself, and when you're a nobody and your "other" is a very prominent person with bigger worries than you.

Also author somehow managed to recap something every chapter. Why? Is not that long. Book ended at 71% on kindle because the rest is a preview of another book.

Also any redemption that might have been found in steamy scenes won't be, because author wrote up to them like they knew what they were doing, then skips them, and is incredibly vague as to what happened at all.

[Sha · Rating 3 out of 5]

An insta-love story that is born within the world's most popular online game.
The MC is a diehard gamer and fan of the original books. The other MC is somewhat of a mystery. Reads like an NA book, with the appropriate language and mannerisms.

I liked the storyline and the details in the descriptions of the game and the convention.
I did not like the very poor editing of this book. Feels like it was written very fast, and no proofreading was done. So many typos, repetitions within the same sentence, and grammar mistakes galore. It broke my concentration and ruined some of the reading experience, which was fun otherwise.

Rating: 3 stars (could have been closer to 4 but no editing is a serious crime in my world).

[James Crawford · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another really good lesbian book by the author. The beginning might confuse some people so I'll make it clear that for a while its a fantasy-role playing game that two women are involved in at the same time.

They have a really steamy time during the game and its obvious that there's a lot of sexual attraction between the two. Amber and Megan are roommates and both are into computer sword and sorcery games.

Then Amber gets an invitation from the woman in the game and there's a whole lot of revelations that happen from then on. There's attraction, sex, misunderstandings and a really good satisfying ending. This is the second book by this author I have read and so far I am extremely impressed with the stories.

[Trippentigger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice read

At 17% it was at a ehhmm maybe, noted 30% but by then I was actually flying through the pages, in other words give it a chance to hook you. It’s a cute easy reading book with what I’ll call a unique setting. Well written character interactions with just enough drama to keep things rolling.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful!

This well written book has well developed and a good storyline. If you like girl gets girl stories with happy endings, you should put this book on your must read list.

[Eva]

Serotonin boost! It's okay actually and not that great but it's a fun read. My issue though is with how it had the trope of "coming out because their partner wanted them to" :/

[& · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 💋💋

[C C Garrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet romance

The plot was weak thought out. Cool little look int the gaming world. Also slips into how people way they can over think things till disaster come.

[Ruby Ridge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Updated Cinderella story, kinda cute.
More R rated than some of her other books. guess it falls into the erotica category (this does not make it a bad book)
Did like the 'worst case scenario' thing. know the feeling.
Would make a good beach book.

[Jesper · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll give it 3 stars. But it could be anywhere from 2 to 4 stars.

I definitely feel as if you need to be a little geeky yourself in order to enjoy this book. It dwelves quite a bit into roleplaying, fandom, gaming, conventions, and all that. So you have to know what a raid is, a dungeon party, a boss monster, an MMORPG, and so on. If you've played World of Warcraft or a similar game, then you're good to go. If you don't know what World of Warcraft is, then I'd think twice about this book.

Story-wise it's a lesbian-geek-girl-version of Cinderella. More or less.

The beginning is quite heavy on the actual roleplaying, which makes for some weird reading. It's in-character on one page and out of character on another. It's Amber sitting in front of her pc at one moment and Maia exploring a pirate cave the next. It's very novel, but it's also a bit confusing. So like I said, if you're not a bit into this yourself, then it won't make much sense.

There were a few things I didn't like very much.
How the villain is weaved into the story seems very coincidential. It doesn't really convey the feeling of a well-constructed plotline. Too much deus ex machina.

I struggle a lot with the main character the further I get into the story, because the more I read the more she seems to be without any redeeming traits. She comes off as possessive, second-guessing, jealous, short-tempered, irrational, vindictive, and so on. And given how early this is in her relationship, the way she acts seems completely out of line. She's a total bitch, and it's really difficult to see why she should be special, or any different from the villain character.

I also struggle a bit with the storytelling itself. A lot of pages are spent with Amber/Maia just pondering various situations, thinking things over in her head, and mulling about this and that...without much actually happening. It gets a bit tiresome after a while, because you just want to move on with the plot and see what happens. Her thoughts are rarely so special that I feel they warrant that much space.

Anyway,
If you like fantasy books, roleplaying and video games, and you're a sucker for a f/f love story in classic Cinderella story, then this is that.
The love story at its core is average, and then you either like the storytelling, characters and setting, in which case it's above-average, or you don't, in which case it's below-average.

But definitely a story I haven't read the likes of before.

[Jasmin Sveum · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!

This is the second story I have read by Ms. Archer, and I love that she writes in this geek-genre! As a bit of a gamer, this story really hits all those fantasies that happen during downtime between fantasy play! Loved the role-playing element, both online and LARPing!

I found it easy to relate to the protagonist, even with all her quirks (which I know more than a few introverts I know share with her!). Thankfully, the first person POV, as opposed to switching POVs, kept the story moving fluidly. I think my only gripe would be the in-game narrative, which was a little more difficult to navigate between "in-game" and "real life" -only in that if maybe italics were used to distinguish the change a little or something?

It really is a fairy tale kinda story, short and sweet, but a worthwhile read nonetheless. I'm looking forward to reading more from Ms. Archer.

[Blink51n · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book (even ignoring the glaringly obvious plot twists) until about 70% of the way through. Then, it all kind of dissolved into... I'm not sure what.
It felt like the author needed some conflict to create a big scene and that started off well enough, but then just fell flat.
Also, by the final scene I disliked Amber a whole lot. She became increasingly pushy and immature. It could have been handled a lot better.
Finally, I'm so tired of how quickly the "I love you"s come in these romance books. It's jarring and doesn't feel authentic at all. Especially when all Amber uses to describe the girl are physical descriptors.
I feel bad writing so much negative stuff, it truly is a good premise and I genuinely enjoyed most of the book, but the ending left me with a bitter aftertaste.

[Steve Going · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story, but...

The writer needs to tighten her prose. 'Of course', I'm talking about her constant use of this phrase. At one point, she used the phrase on get consecutive pages. Additionally, I was confused by the total lack of secondary characters. In an average day we interact with several people. For realism's sake, you need more characters.

[FionaH · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute.

[Skip Maslan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet

This was a sweet, lovely story. Perfect for a nice relaxing afternoon..this was the third book by Mia Archer I've read today. Great morning and afternoon.

[Delitealex · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

It was an enjoyable and funny quick read.

[Heather Henkel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting story, I liked that the girl got the geek!

[Jaylee]

DNF at 9%.

Reason: Someone get this book an editor asap.

[Heinerway · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very cute story! Loved the role-playing fantasy!