Release Day Review: Conventionally Yours by Annabeth Albert

02 June of 2020 by ButtonsMom2003

Reviewer's Rating: 5

5.0Overall score

A great New Adult story from one of my favorite authors

Conventionally Yours By Annabeth Albert

Genre: Contemporary Romance, New Adult, GLBTQ, MM

Tropes: Enemies to lovers, forced proximity, road trip

Released: June 2, 2020

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Series: True Colors, Book 1

Length: 320 pages

Synopsis

When two “big name fans” go head-to-head at a convention, love isn’t the only thing at stake.

Charming, charismatic, and effortlessly popular, Conrad Stewart seems to have it all…but in reality, he’s scrambling to keep his life from tumbling out of control.

Brilliant, guarded, and endlessly driven, Alden Roth may as well be the poster boy for perfection…but even he can’t help but feel a little broken inside.

When these mortal enemies are stuck together on a cross-country road trip to the biggest fan convention of their lives, their infamous rivalry takes a backseat as an unexpected connection is forged. Yet each has a reason why they have to win the upcoming Odyssey gaming tournament and neither is willing to let emotion get in the way―even if it means giving up their one chance at something truly magical.

Review

Reviewed by ButtonsMom2003

A great New Adult story from one of my favorite authors

OK, Conventionally Yours is quite a bit different from any of Annabeth Albert’s recent books but I loved it all the same. You won’t find hot, sexy times in this story but you will find great characters and a lot of snappy dialogue between them.

There was a lot of “gaming” dialogue that pretty much went over my head but I’m sure younger readers will understand a lot more of the lingo than I did. Even so, the abundance of gaming dialogue didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the story one bit.

The road trip that Conrad and Alden take from New Jersey to Las Vegas was awesome. Several of the places they stopped were familiar to me. I especially love the bits where they were in Central Ohio since I was born and raised there. I laughed so hard when “Ohio pizza” was discussed; the boys were shocked to learn about pizza cut into squares (they were not fans).

The story isn’t angst free. Conrad and Alden are competing against each other for a coveted gaming prize. Watching the characters grow and go from enemies to lovers was a wonderful journey. I loved that Annabeth gave us a look at these two six months later, even if it’s not called an epilogue. (I love epilogues.)