I managed to grab an Audible code for Alexa Sommers‘ Level Up when the author was handing them out on Twitter. It’s narrated by Sharmila Devar.

“You have the hands of a rogue, the mouth of a bard and I’m pretty sure you’re at least half cleric because you have me ready to scream… Oh God.”

Dillon Strands is not your typical college co-ed. While other’s are chasing down parties and partners, living out their dreams of debauchery, Dillon and his friends are studying, gaming and stuck in a rut, their social lives hanging by a thread. After a semester of continued promises to step out of their comfort zone, the five friends find themselves exactly where they started.

Enter Suzanne Andrews, a gamer girl with a plan.

He may be at the top of his class but when it comes to the art of pleasure, Suzie Andrews is an A+ student.

Meh, it was OK. I actually really liked all the main characters and thought the geekery was really well done. I admit I don’t have quite enough geek-cred to get all the references, but I certainly snickered and smiled more than once. I appreciate that the guys got the girls, so to speak, while managing not to be at all sleazy. Dillian’s confusion in the face of bliss were my favorite parts. But I thought the villain (for lack of a better description) exceedingly cliched. Similarly, the introduction of female characters only to have them become sex kittens that throw themselves at the main character on meeting him was disappointingly cliched, dare I say boring in it’s predictability. I get that this is more erotica than romance, but it was still worth an eye roll.

The writing was pretty sharp, though even in audio I caught a couple probable editing errors “gouge her response,” instead of gauge, for example. Hard to tell where to lay blame for that in an audio book though. And lastly, I thought there was some inconsistency in the POVs. All in all, not a bad read (or listen) but a better NA humorous romance than a erotic romp. I rather wish the author had stayed the course, though it’s my understanding that she is known as an erotic writer so…