Book Review: Game Changer by L A Cannon

This novella was my first time reading something by this author and I thoroughly enjoyed it. By the author’s own admission, this is not indicative of their usual novels which I believe are a lot darker in content and deal with serious issues including but not limited to mental health. This book was very light in angst, high in steam, and easy to read in one sitting. Definitely a good one to get your stats up if you’re trying to reach a number of books read target by the end of the year.

The book is a colleagues/friends-to-lovers book and delivers all the things you want from that trope. You’ve got:

·        (Seemingly) unrequited attraction.

·        I don’t even know if he likes dudes.

·        Innuendo that surely isn’t a come on.

·        Ok maybe it is.

·        Ok he definitely likes dudes.

Due to the short length of the book, the above is all delivered in one chapter, but it doesn’t feel rushed, and flows naturally. The plot crashes on the brakes after that, but I don’t want to give spoilers, so I’ll just say there is a story, not just smut!

Again, because of the short length of the novella (120 pages) you might worry that the character development suffers, but I didn’t find that to be the case. Both MCs were nuanced and believable. There are obvious tropes and devices, but they are applied successfully and move the story on nicely.

The book is chockfull of other fun tropes including:

·        Age gap (12 years)

·        Tatoos

·        Sexy nerds

·        Size difference (tall, lean mc + stocky mc)

·        Topping from the bottom

·        Possession

·       Need to care for and comfort.

There are lots of funny one-liners and snarky comments. “Most mornings, Jared was too tired to human” and “You know that even if you lift your controller and move it around like a madman, they won’t die any deader, right?” were among my favourites.

There are also a couple of interfering side characters thrown in for good measure. Cannon manages to cram a lot into the novella, and leaves you feeling happy you picked up/downloaded the book.

My one complaint, is not really even a complaint, but just something I noticed. Some aspects of some kinks are introduced but not really developed, meaning you were left unsure if they were just quirks, or actual kinks, and as such didn’t necessarily fit the feel of the rest of the book. That said, it’s a minor thing, and does not detract from this small-but-perfectly-formed book.

You can find L A Cannon’s website here.