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Reviewed by Jennifer Senick for Readers' Favorite
Last call came, but fate had other plans. In The Game of Life by Eleanor Wells, readers meet Imogen, a bartender in Milwaukee, who’s working late one hot summer night. She’s tired and ready to go home when an unexpected handsome customer, Luca, sits down at her bar. He strikes up a conversation with her that quickly turns personal. She begins revealing pieces of her life, like her early passion for acting, a defining role, and the highs and lows that followed, including her reliance on Jim, the bar’s owner, during rough times. Childhood memories, strained family ties, and buried trauma surface as Imogen navigates her conversation with Luca and the past that shaped her. As the night unfolds, he draws out more than she expects, and a connection begins to form—until suddenly, it’s gone. In the end, it’s the ordinary conversations, threaded with pain, resilience, and chance connections, that can change everything in a single night.
The Game of Life by Eleanor Wells left a strong impression on me. Right from the start, the writing feels honest and unfiltered. It’s a relatable moment since most of us have felt disillusioned after once being hopeful. Imogen is a layered character whose story takes turns you can’t predict, and the late-night bar setting grounds those emotions beautifully. The pacing keeps things moving with subtle mystery woven throughout, and tough subjects are handled with candor. I also found Luca's character intriguing, mysterious, and somewhat frustrating. At first, I saw him in a certain way, but by the end of the story, he’s definitely not what I thought he was, and ultimately, he’s pivotal to Imogen’s journey. This is the kind of story that lingers, not just because of its unexpected ending, but because it reminds you that even when life veers off course, there’s always something to be learned from the people we meet along the way.
