Can virtual love make it in real life? Having met online playing an RPG, Lindsey and Sandulf are friends who have taken the next step into cybersex. Although Sandulf never breaks character and she doesn’t know his real name, Lindsey jumps at the chance to meet him in real life at a convention in Las Vegas and make the game real. Sandulf’s real life persona is Abram Rios, and when he and Lindsey meet for the first time, they find a connection that far exceeds their expectations. After a weekend of mind-blowing sex and mutual discovery, they decide to marry and to make a life together.

Life is not a virtual bed of roses for Abram and Lindsey, however. Lindsey’s mother holds deeply-seated prejudices, and Lindsey hesitates to tell her about her marriage. Abram, fearing that Lindsey regrets their impulsive but heart-felt actions and feeling betrayed by her fear of her mother’s reactions, disappears, leaving a huge hole in Lindsey’s life. This is no longer a game. If Lindsey wants a future with the man she loves, then she must somehow take control of her life and prove her devotion to him. That is, unless it’s already too late.

In Melissa Lopez’s Gamer Love, we see an online romance come alive in a wonderful blend of sensuality and emotion. Lindsey and Abram have gotten to know each other through gaming and chatting together, but they still take a huge risk when they decide to take the next step and meet each other for real. I read this story envisioning a train wreck as these two attempt to take what they had online and make it work in the real world, because the real world just plain isn’t as pretty as the cyber world. Lindsey is pretty naïve and doesn’t really know what she is getting herself into, which is expressed in an almost comic manner when she voices her fears that Sandulf may be in actuality a woman. Abram makes the mistake of getting a tattoo with Lindsey’s name on it, which almost guarantees the death of a relationship. Both of these characters have their own vulnerabilities, and I read this story hoping that they could make it work and live happily ever after.

Reviewed by: Whitney