Enemies-to-lovers? Tired. Friends-to-enemies-to-friends-to-lovers? Wired.
Out of Character was very much a story about making seemingly irreversible mistakes, second chances, and a friendship that blossoms into more. Following Jasper and Milo, Annabeth Albert returns to the world of conventions and tabletop games and takes readers on an emotional ride. Jasper and Milo used to be best friends in school until Milo chose the soccer team over Jasper. Instead of standing by his best friend who was being bullied by those guys, Milo drew clear lines, not wanting to be associated with Jasper’s “nerdiness” because he likes role-play games reminiscent of D&D. Years after no contact, the two collide again as Milo needs Jasper’s help to retrieve valuable gaming cards he lost in a drunken moment of hubris.
I can see readers falling head over heels for Out of Character and rightly so. While the story takes quite a while to get going since the first part pretty much deals with establishing the backstory of Milo and Jasper, once it picks up, you’re in for quite an emotional journey. I loved how careful Jasper was when it came to letting Milo back in and how their past didn’t just magically disappear because they were attracted to each other in the present. Milo hurt Jasper a lot by giving up their friendship in order to stay with the cool crowd and that’s pain Jasper can’t forget or forgive easily. All the memories of their past and the impact it had on who they are now was so relatable and made my heart hurt because I think we’ve all had that one friend who abandoned us to move on to greener pastures and this relatability really shone through in this story.
The blooming romance between Jasper and Milo develops slowly yet naturally and I found myself invested in their relationship. There were a lot of intense feelings, regret and resignation in the beginning but the way everything is resolved definitely makes it worth it to keep reading.
While this is very much a character-driven story, we also have multiple side plots and characters that enrichen the story, for example Jasper’s younger sister April and Milo’s brother whose cards he gambled away. On top of that, there are loads of scavenger hunt moments as Milo and Jasper try to find the same deck of valuable playing cards, gaming references, and the occasional cute and fun date that had me swooning. Add to that the tension between Jasper and Milo, the fun cosplays and a redemption arc that feels like a punch to the heart, and you have a great romance.
A story of second chances, fun cosplay events and two main characters that will steal your heart, Out of Character is a sweet and restorative second installment in the True Colors series!
Out of Character is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of July 6th 2021.
Will you be picking up Out of Character? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
It’s friends-to-enemies-to-friends-to-lovers in this LGBTQIA+ Romance for fans of Red, White & Royal Blue and The Pros of Cons.
Milo Lionetti is not a gamer. Not even close. But when a stupid bet costs him his brother’s prized cards, he’ll do anything to replace them before anyone notices they’re gone. To do that, he’ll need a little help from the best gamer he knows…who also happens to hate him.
Jasper Quigley is known for moonlighting on a popular gaming blog, but he’s eager to stop playing the sidekick. The last thing he wants is to help out Milo and dredge up feelings he’d rather forget. But helping Milo comes with some perks, including getting his help running a cosplay event at the local children’s hospital. All that forced proximity was not supposed to come with kissing, and definitely not falling in love…
