Stevie‘s review of Beta Test (#gaymers, Book 2) by Annabeth Albert
Contemporary Gay Romance published by Carina Press 30 May 16
Road trips are a great story device for throwing together characters who would be reluctant to get to know each other within their normal environment, and Annabeth Albert used the trope to great effect in the first book of this series about the guys who pretty much live for their work on the online game Space Villager. Using the same trope again for the second book might be seen as a bold move, but this time the guys have a little more history together prior to setting off on their grand adventure, even if they still seem to be very different personalities as far as first impressions are concerned.
Super-organised project manager Tristan and super-busy graphic designer – and charity volunteer extraordinaire – Ravi started at the company behind Space Villager on the same day, and have been irritating each other consistently ever since. The situation comes to a head when Ravi accidentally outs Tristan at an after-work gathering – and reveals the secret betting pool over the poor guy’s sexuality in the process – much to both their embarrassment. Leaving soon after the incident means that they both miss out on the food – and the outbreak of food poisoning that follows it – and in consequence they’re the only members of the team in any fit state to drive the company’s latest conference exhibit across country to a major show.
Although the guys are reluctant to spend so much time together in so small an enclosed space, they bond over a shared taste in driving music – and slowly begin to open up to each other. Tristan’s wealthy family have greeted his attempts at coming out with disbelief at it being anything more than a phase – a belief they also hold regarding his job on the Space Villager project. Meanwhile, some members of Ravi’s family are happy to accept him as he is, while others seem to be in denial. The guys develop an uneasy rapport that continues to evolve into something more after their trip, but then Tristan’s mother announces that she’s running for governor and wants him by her side.
Tristan is thrown into a panic over how his mother will react to his potential new relationship, how Ravi and their co-workers will react to Tristan’s mother’s ultra-conservative politics, and how he can be true to himself without completely turning his back on his family.
I enjoyed this story a lot. The guys have very different family backgrounds and divergent interests outside work, but each is prepared to stick up for the other when needed. I liked watching them negotiate their contrasting cultures – both of which were significantly different to that of their workplace. Now I’m looking forward to whatever the author, and the team at Space Villager, decide to release for us next.
Grade: A
Summary:
Player vs. Player. Fight!
Brilliant graphic designer Ravi Tandel is ahead of the game—he’s just been asked to present a top secret project at a huge conference in Seattle. All systems are go…until he learns his buttoned-up office nemesis is coming along for the ride.
Tristan Jones isn’t really the gamer type, but he knows the back end of the video game business inside out. Together, he and Ravi will give an awesome presentation. If they survive the cross-country trip first.
Tossed together in close quarters, Ravi’s shocked to see Tristan’s sexy, softer side emerge from such a conservative shell. He’s less shocked to learn his handsome colleague’s prominent family would never support an out-and-proud son. But Ravi didn’t struggle through his own coming out to hide who he is now. To be together, Tristan will have to push past his fear and ultimately decide: Does he want a future with Ravi? Or is it game over before they’ve even begun?
Read an excerpt.
Other books in this series:
