Reviewed by Chris
TITLE: Play It Again 
AUTHOR: Aidan Wayne
PUBLISHER: Carina Press
LENGTH: 288 pages
RELEASE DATE: April 22, 2019
BLURB:
The videos are fun.
But it’s the host who has him coming back for more…
When Seattle-based blind YouTuber Dovid Rosenstein finds Sam Doyle’s Let’s Play channel, playitagainsam, he’s instantly captivated by the Irish gamer. Everything about Sam is adorable, from his accent to his personality, and Dovid can’t get enough of his content.
Dovid’s glowing shout-out on Don’t Look Now, his own successful channel, sends Sam’s subscriber numbers skyrocketing overnight. He has more comments than he can read. And while the sudden surge in popularity is anxiety inducing, Sam decides it’s only right to dedicate his next episode to Dovid…which soon leads to a heart-pounding exchange of DMs.
They may have never met in person, but Dovid’s never felt this close to anyone before. What they have feels worth exploring—no matter the distance. But is it possible to already be in love with someone who’s half a world away?
REVIEW:
When YouTube star Dovid Rosenstein gives a shout-out to a rather unknown Let’s Play creator, Sam Doyle, it is the beginning of more than even Dovid could imagine. Yeah, now Sam has thousands of new subscribers, and a lot more pressure on him, but that kinda comes with being a rising star in the YouTube game. What Dovid never expected was to find himself falling in love with the shy, kind, sweet, and funny Irishman as Dovid helps him navigate the confusing and sometimes dangerous minefield that is being Internet Famous.
I think if I had to sum up this book in one word it would be: sweet. The slow romance between Dovid and Sam is definitely sigh-worthy, and the low-key nature of the plot feels a lot like wrapping yourself up in comfy blankets on a lovely winter’s day. If ever there was a story to read to counteract the stress of life, it is this one. There are no big worries, not huge fights, nothing but a long cuddle into in the night. If say, hypothetically, you’ve been recently promoted to a much busier, much more stressful job, it is a really nice way to spend the weekend.
On the other hand, if you are not overly invested in the minutia of running a YouTube account…it can get a tad bit boring at times. Since there is no big crises point in this book, readers can be left feeling as if the plot just stalls out at times as Dovid and Sam go over the details of how Patreon works, or how many videos is the optimum amount in a given week. None of it felt unrealistic, but maybe a tad bit too much of the stuff that doesn’t exactly need to be relayed to the audience.
I also had a hard time with just how much of this book is text-message talking. I have never been a huge fan of this type of dialogue between characters. Especially when it makes up the majority of the conversations in the book. I will say that at least it was readable and had a decent flow, though, so I didn’t have to spend a lot of the time trying to decipher abbreviations and various text-speak. So while I might not have enjoyed it, I don’t think it is something a wider audience will be as hung up on.
This is pretty much the epitome of a 4-star book. I liked it, I would happily recommend it, but the topic of the story might be a limiting factor when it comes how much of the readership get invested in the story itself. Those not already interested in YouTube culture might learn a thing, or five, about it…but if you don’t care all that much about YouTube creators and what they have to deal with on a day-to-day basis, you might find the story a bit boring. The romance was certainly up my alley, but it is also very low-key and so readers coming in looking for bright-bursts of passion might be a bit disappointed. I would say at least give it a few chapters, and if you find yourself sucked into the lives of Dovid and Sam (and Rachel) then you might find yourself pleasantly surprised by what you will find in the pages of Play it Again.
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