Reading After Dark: Games We Play [One Night Series #1]
*Disclaimer: Welcome to Reading After Dark, a series just for reads that are best enjoyed after dark. Books, ebooks, webcomics, and other reads featured in this series are NSFW (Not Safe For Work), contain adult content and explicit themes, and are not meant for those under the age of eighteen. All reviews are intended for mature readers only. All opinions are my own.
- Title: Games We Play
- Author: Dana Isaly
- Published: August 27th 2021
- Genre(s): Romance, Erotica, New Adult, Dark Contemporary
- Read It: Amazon // Kindle Unlimited
- Rating: 4/5 Stars
Jack is a faceless gamer known as The Joker. He makes a living playing video games and using his gravelly voice to bring people’s sexual fantasies to life. When the top gaming site on the West Coast sends someone out to interview him, Quinlan walks into his apartment with her auburn curls and thick curves, and they’re instantly drawn to each other. Quinlan has no idea of the monster that lurks beneath the surface of his calm demeanor. Jack is quicksand, pulling her down into the dark underbelly of his desires. To get out unscathed, she’ll need to give into the hunger she has always tried to deny. Good reads
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Games We Play contains a detailed mention of a past suicide attempt, eating disorders, graphic violence, and BDSM themes. Note that the BDSM themes of this book are fictional and not an actual representative of BDSM.
Games We Play by Dana Isaly is a short novella based on a masked, deep voiced, streaming gamer named Joker (Jack) who spends one spicy night with Quinlan, a game magazine journalist sent to interview him. Jack seems to be loosely based on other faceless creators like Corpse Husband according to the TikTok hype around this 90 page read so if you’re a fan, this just might be a must-read.
This dark and kinky romance takes Quinlan down a path she didn’t expect; who would have thought that this private and famous gamer would be so intelligent and so damn sexy even before he even takes off his mask? But Jack isn’t the only one with secrets as we discover plus-size Quinlan is tatted under her business attire and has no problem getting sassy right back at Jack during their interview. Jack promises Quinlan one night of really getting to know him under the mask while exploring her darkest desires, but is Quinlan actually ready to know who Joker is without the mask and under the sheets?
TikTok made me pick up this super quick, Kindle Unlimited read, and I’m glad I did. The entire story lasts just one night between Jack and Quinlan (Quin). Despite leaving me wishing the story was twice as long, Isaly did a fantastic job at bringing chemistry between our two lead characters and actually making me care about Jack’s friends who are each slated to get their own novella in the One Night series. There is a good balance of sweet and spice as well, making this short read balanced and perfect for someone like me who needs that cool down after some hot scenes between Jack and Quin.
The best part of this novella (other than the spice and characters), was how easy it was to consume in one sitting. I was really looking for something that would help me out of a several-year-long reading slump, and while Games We Play was not my first book back into the fold, it helped me get back into the groove easily. The story was fast-paced as expected, but the writing was easy to digest, and my imagination had no problem watching the events unfold so quickly between Jack and Quin. Obviously, their attraction and love was an instant connection which can easily take me out of a story, but I surprisingly enjoyed the quick relationship development.
That being said, I wasn’t a huge fan of some of Jack’s kinks which did unfortunately take me out of the story sometimes. The story being told from his perspective did help though since he cared about Quin’s consent and performed aftercare for her, which is so important, but I’ll get more into the BDSM aspects in the next section.
Jack and Quin’s characters were easily relatable for the most part, but I do have a bone to pick with Quin’s physical appearance. Quin’s character was meant to be plus-size according to BookTok and GoodReads, but as a plus-size/mid-size gal myself, I found it really hard to see that in the story. Quin mentions her size once that I can recall, and it’s when she’s putting on some of Jack’s clothes. She says something along the lines of his clothes not fitting her, but they end up fitting just fine and hugging her curves. Even straight-sized folks have curves so I just was having a hard time seeing Quin as plus-size. Regardless, I am glad there is some plus size representation; I just wish it was a little more apparent without mentioning the size of clothes or a character’s past eating disorder.
Now let’s dive into the actual reason you’re here: the Spice!
As I mentioned briefly above, there are some BDSM aspects in Games We Play, but it is not by any means how the actual BDSM community conveys their kink. And by that I mean, the story doesn’t dive into the details of BDSM ,and I hope any readers looking to play out some of the spicy scenes between Jack and Quin will do their research first. This novella was a quick read so there is really no time for the author to explain how important consent and aftercare really is, not to mention having a discussion prior to acting out kinks with consenting parties. Jack did a fine job at asking for consent and performing aftercare but please keep in mind that this book is not representative of the BDSM community.
Now that I’ve gotten that important bit out of the way, let’s talk kinks. Jack’s kinks are definitely not for everyone, even if some of the spicy scenes are still pretty vanilla for those that are into those kind of kinks. In addition to BDSM, there is also a degrading kink, daddy kink, and a pet kink.
Now the pet kink is what instantly took me out of the story, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad or that I am yucking someone else’s yum. I just have a hard time with the whole “dog” thing. Collar? Sure. Being called “Pet?” Yes. But being asked to crawl around on all fours on a leash and “sleep” in a make-shift pet bed while my master streams isn’t exactly my cup of tea (but more power to those of you that it is your cup of tea). However, this did lead to extremely spicy scene that left me drooling and was worth trucking through the pet kink for. Without saying too much, the scene where Jack is streaming and reading out sexy lines for his audience while Quin is under his desk was *chef’s kiss* for me. 10/10 would read that scene again. Several times.
On top of Jack’s kinks, Jack is particularly possessive in a way that is super hot. I can always fall for a boy that’s rough on the outside but is soft inside and protective of the main character. Jack and Quin’s chemistry is perfect in the hot and heavy scenes, which just left me wishing the book was longer! One thing that I wish was bit more drawn out was the ever present mask kink when Quin and Jack first meet. We definitely get a nice taste of it, but I wanted a whole meal of this mask kink. And while I’m asking for more, I think the BDSM was a bit softcore in comparison to the pet kink aspect. Then again, this all takes place in one night so I don’t expect that our characters go from 0 to 100 in just ninety pages.
All of that said, Game We Play was an enjoyable read, and I am looking forward to more books from the One Night series. And I wouldn’t complain if we got more of Jack and Quin’s relationship in those continuations as well. Bring on the other boys in Jack’s friend group because I am READY!
Check out Dana Isaly’s Games We Play here! Enjoy!
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