Off Her Game (The Game Lords, #1)

Tori Duarte is a self-described badass gamer girl who has battled to rise to the top of the computer-gaming world despite its inherent misogyny. When she gets too deep into the illegal gambling side of the illicit gaming world, her only way out is to work with the FBI to bring down the infamously secretive and lethal Symphis, ruler of the illegal gaming syndicate called the Stadium. Adding to her woes, the FBI wants her to ‘fake date’ Noah Harrison, the hot billionaire Co-CEO of a top game-producing company, one of the Game Lords. Noah’s geeky awkwardness fades rapidly, and before long Tori and Noah are doing more than fake dating. Can they manage to maintain their covers while working to bring down Symphis? And will falling in love be an even greater danger?

“Off Her Game” is a fast-paced romp through the world of online computer gaming with its hectic characters caught up in a virtual world of their own. Ms. Forward does a good job of juxtaposing the virtual world of gamers with the much grittier and more dangerous real world where people die and don’t get another life. Tori is a gritty, smart character readers will easily identify with even if they don’t play computer games. Occasionally, it may be hard to reconcile her meltdown over Noah, with her grittier side. Noah, too, seems inexplicably split between the fumbling, unsure geek and the totally hot sexual-dynamo billionaire. Several editing and proofing glitches also occasionally interrupt the story’s flow, but lovers of gaming and suspense novels will easily overlook these flaws and enjoy this gripping, well-written tale. 

Marc Joseph