Conventionally Yours

Conventionally Yours is an adorable teen gay romance that takes place during a road trip to a gaming convention.

Conrad and Alden regularly face off playing a collectible card game as part of programming on a YouTube channel. They don’t get along, with different styles and personalities. Both have challenges in their lives that they’re unwilling to reveal, and both are struggling with family pressure.

When they’re given the chance to compete in a national tournament, they wind up driving cross country together to get there. Each has a much-needed purpose for wanting to win the competition, and knowing they might have to go up against each other adds tension to their growing friendship. Doesn’t stop them from risking their feelings, though.

During their trip, they learn a lot more about each other. And fall in love, obviously. But what I liked was that it was in stages. It felt reasonable, how they progressed, and in spite of everything, even with misunderstandings and conflicts, they kept putting faith in each other.

I really enjoyed reading about and rooting for these two. And it tickled me that when it comes to marketing, the publisher clearly knows their audience and how things are changing — the book bears the phrases “only one bed” and “enemies-to-lovers”, fanfic-style tags to describe what the story contains. It delivered.