While I am not the biggest fan of the pov it was written in and also the “now-and-then” storyline – it worked for this plot. I liked the depth of the character development and the reader could really feel the history of the leads. It was more with the present where I struggled as the book started with dropping the reader right in the middle of it. But with me it is always a hit and miss when it comes to second chance stories.

I as a reader would have never guessed the circumstances that ripped them apparat when they were younger. So the plot is surprising and never boring in any way.  And for me it was quite late within the plot when reasons are finally revealed. But again that is only me because for the storyline it still worded out. For me it would have been nice if I could have felt more while reading the plot but the mixture between second chance and now-and-then would not allow me to get closer to the characters.

I always tend to wonder why these second chances appear at certain points in the life of the characters and the author here gave good and solid reasons so it felt good to be present and see it happening. Their journey was accompanied by solid secondary characters that added to the story and made it even more heartbreaking.

Still never mind my whining as it is really on a high level because the plot is a really good one and the characters are the kind of people that you want to read. The ones that deserve the second chances and their HEA. The question is if the author will grant that wish, well you will have to read the story to find out

Level Me Up (Gamer Boy #1) by Lauren Helms was an enjoyable read. It was my first book by this author and I enjoyed the realistic approach in this romance. The story really could happen like this (well maybe except one plot string towards the end). I have visited several convention myself (unfortunately not this one yet) so I know how it feels and I liked the way the author transferred that feeling to the reader.