I like the idea of this more than the execution of it. (3.5 stars - WHY DO WE NOT HAVE .5 stars????) I love board games and love the idea of a tournament for them and know that exists. Gwen is great and the friend group is pretty great as well. I just didn't love how set in her ways she was. I got that she had a bad experience in her past and how that would color how she went forward but she didn't evolve until literally the very very end of the book. She constantly assumed the worst of Cody and I wanted that to change sooner.

I liked the sound of this book when I saw it on here, and was super glad to be able to give it a read, but I was a bit nervous that the book was more about gaming, and that there would be lingo that I wouldn't be able to follow along. This is definitely not the case with She's got game, Laura Heffernan's writing style is easy to get into and doesn't really leave you questioning what it happening.
I enjoyed this book quite a lot, the competition and rivalry mixed with the romance worked well in this story, and helps make the reader fall for the characters that Heffernan created. Although, at times there were things that annoyed me slightly about the characters, I think that this just shows the depths to some of them.
I would recommend this book to others and would consider reading the others in the series, but am also quite happy to leave it with just this book, as I think its a nice story as a whole.

I really wanted to like this book so much more but for some reasons, i just couldn't connect with the romance between them.
Firstly, i wanted to have dual pov, for various reasons but we only get her pov, which is fine but it's too much like she is too much for me. She's always too uptight, too much self-absorbed, she is learning what love is but her mind is just at her winning the game and the sex is so much closed doors that i wanted a bit of more insight.
It's a light, quick and easy read, but just not what i was expecting from it.

Solid rom-com with lovable characters. I loved the weaving in of the game and competition. It was a unique spin that kept me interested.

Cute book. I liked the difference scenario if board games as it was unique and fresh. For me, the pacing was a little slow. But overall it was enjoyable.

She’s Got Game was a nice breezy read. I am not a gamer, but this was still an interesting read. I loved the fact that Gwen was so determined to win to help her dad. This is my first book by Laura, but look forward to reading others.

This was a good read. There was a bit of humor, a bit of heart, and a bit of reality that a lot of people want to dismiss. This book features bi- and demi-sexual characters, which you don't see very often in books. Worth the read, very enjoyable.

Oh my god, I came so close to DNFing this book so many times. It takes a lot for me to dislike the female protagonist of books, but I absolutely could not stand Gwen. Ok, she has abandonment issues and it’s hard for her to trust people. But her behaviour was infuriating. I thought she acted like a teenager.

For one, she immediately jumps to the worst conclusion or scenario with every interaction she has with Cody. Even though they were competitors, he never gave her a reason to treat him like crap and that’s what she did over and over again. He’s using me; he’s distracting me; he’s lying to me; ON AND ON AND ON. Then she’d have these moments where she realised she was being a jerk, and I’d feel some glimmer of hope that she would change, and SHE NEVER DOES.

She’s incapable of having an adult conversation with anyone when it’s even remotely difficult. She ran out on her father, blocked Cody... Jesus, it was never ending. Even when I thought Cody was in the wrong, I felt no sympathy. Also the ending was so contrived and the big misunderstanding is something I figured out from a mile away (although the way it played out still didn’t make sense to me).

Truly, it pains me to write such a negative review about a female character in a book but since it’s all from her POV it made it even worse. Gwen is immature and aggravating and I have no idea what Cody sees in her so I didn’t give two shits about them ending up together. There were also some other eh things here and there throughout the book. I did like the bi rep, at least.

The redeeming parts of this book were DADDY MCHOTCAKES and Holly. Ok, I’ve never had a Daddy thing before but I’m totally excited for their book.

I have never read this author but this story sounded different and fun and boy, Laura Heffernan did not disappoint....I loved this story!

Gwen Williams is a travel blogger and spends most of her time traveling around, blogging about it. Gwen also enjoys playing board games and is determined to make it to the final table for the American Explorers of Islay Competition. Her biggest opponent is Cody McKay, a tall, sexy guy who is enjoying flirting with her. Because of events from her past, Gwen refuses to hook up with gamers and tells Cody so but he is completely unfazed. He just keeps working on Gwen until she finally gives in. Just when it looks like Gwen will be getting everything she has dreamed of, her past come crashing back into her life and causes her to crumble.

Gwen is going to have to take a huge gamble with her life if she truly wants her happy ending. Thankfully she goes all in and we get a perfect happy ending!

I just adored Gwen. She may have had some hard demons from her past haunting her but when she can finally come to terms with these, she finds that she can have the life she has always wanted. Now as for Cody.....he is just delicious! Sweet, sexy and very loyal. He is laid back and sounds just perfect and together they make a wonderful couple. Overall I loved this story and the characters and I can't wait to read more from this author!

Do you like board games? Even if you don't, She's Got Game will pull you into the world of gaming competitions. And if you do, the game name dropping will tickle your fancy. It's a great premise with an interesting MC and a swoon-worthy MMC. Gwen's tough and troubled but with a heart of gold and the best dad ever. I found myself rooting for Gwen to win, both in the game, and the first kiss from Cody. Then a second kiss. A great start to the series.

Travel blogger Gwen Williams is about to live the dream—competing in the annual Annual Explorers of Islay competition. She’s up against some stiff competition, namely legendary gamer and four-time champ Cody McKay. Gwen can’t ignore how attractive Cody is and the chemistry they have between them. Gwen has a rule that she never dates gamers.

Gwen needs to win the prize money to continue with her travel blogging and to pay her dad back for everything that he has done for her. The last thing that Gwen needs is to be distracted by a man, especially the competition. With the help of her friends can she keep her eye on the prize..

Love the characters and can’t wait to read more involving these characters!!

I am still deciding how to feel about the story. I truly loved the writing and the story per se but sometimes I just could slap the main character until the lightning stroke her brain.

As the title says the book is about playing games, about attendance in national competition of board game called Explorers of Islay.

Gwen is competitive, loves to travel and grew up without a mother but with a loving father who taught her the love for board games. But growing up without mother left her with deep scars of not understanding and feeleing unloveable.

She doesn´t date gamers, she´s been burned badly in the past but when she meets Cody she wants to change her mind and is willing to try.
Except Gwen has got so many issues she needs to sort out first that it seems almost impossible task.

Like I said I loved the plot, the competition, the love and attraction which was feelable through the pages but Gwen´s personality was quite difficult to understand sometimes.
So for me it´s just 3,5*

The prose is fine and I loved the setup, with the bisexual heroine being unexpectedly attracted to her top rival in a board game competition.
Unfortunately, after literally running into each other at the bar later that night, the heroine wishes she could find someone to hook up with who was opposite the hero: “a long-haired, dark-skinned Latino who hated gaming, perhaps.”
She could have just said “someone who hated gaming” and we would’ve gotten the picture. This one phrase pulled me out of the book at 8%. It probably gets better and maybe that’s the only othering phrase, but...

The heroine’s best friend keeps talking about how hot her dad is. Then we learn that she was born to teen parents so he’s only 41. And from the blurb, apparently best friend and heroine’s dad are the couple for book 2 and I honestly cannot.


Not for me. (3 stars because NetGalley is making me give a rating and I didn’t finish the book)

Board games? Twenty somethings playing board games? Yep, this competitors to lovers novel features Gwen and Cody who go head to head at competitions leading up to the big one in Vegas. You'll get this story through Gwen's eyes and she's an interesting character, if a tad scattered. She's a travel blogger who likes both boys and girls. She needs the money from winning. She's also got a problem with trust so when Cody flirts with her, she's not giving it, at least initially. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. The dialogue springs back and forth, the characters are entertaining, and it's got a different point of view.

Thanks to Lyrical Press for the ARC!

Nice read. I love all the references to "Anne of Green Gables". I felt an instant connection with Gwen when she compared Cody to Gilbert Blythe. lol!

At first, you might think it's just another cliché, a story about two people who fall in love during a competition. But there's more to it. As we meet their friends and families, we understand their reasons to act the way they do. I don't wanna give any spoilers, but I really loved the epilogue.

These characters aren't perfect. Believe me, I was mad at them so many times. (Blogging is a real job, hell yeah!) But... There's something I really like about them: they talk about their issues. They see their mistakes. And they apologize. A LOT.

There's nothing wrong with changing your mind after getting new information and realizing you hurt someone. They're young and life's so complicated... But even with all their mistakes, they know there's something real and honest between them.

This was a cute lil romance that I requested on Netgalley because it seemed like it would be a hate-to-love smutty story about board gamers. Sign me up, right? The fade-to-black sex scenes coupled with the absolute inundation with miscommunication plot points made this not my favorite. It wasn’t horrible, but it did let me down a little.

DNF’d at 12%. I read the first two chapters and did not feel engaged enough to read more. What I did read was light on characterization and heavy on surface details and cliches. I tend to really love 1st person POV, but it works best for me when the main character is strongly characterized and hooks me in fast and that didn’t happen this time.

She’s Got Game could have been quite a promising and more exciting book. The setting (a gaming tournament) was fun and unique and the hero was likable. Unfortunately the heroine took things too far and the book tended to go round in circles with her continually running away. It was a quick read though with a happy ending.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for my complimentary copy of this book.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The perfect summer read. Take this book with you to the beach, mountains, wherever. It's fun with the right dose of angst because the main character has issues. Sometimes she's a little tough to take, but when people have played you (pun intended) and your heart, there's gonna be some pushback. And our main character pushes back a little too hard at times, but we eventually learn why. I love how the author doles out enough info to keep us reading to learn the reasons.

I'm also not a big gamer, but I am competitive. The story appealed to the competitive side of me and the strategies used in game-playing. The game details given are easy to follow along with the gamers, but not so many details that they bored or confused me. Well done.

A romance with tons of conflict set in this world was refreshing and entertaining. I highly recommend and look forward to the next book in this series.

I'm sad to say that I did not like this book.

The main character is super irritating and judgmental. She started describing the love interest as a jerk and a player just because she found him attractive, literally, no. other. reason. Just that.

Not to mention that she kept turning him down whenever he showed interest, and then got irritated and more judgmental when he accepted it without harassing her.

Also, she started talking about long term relationships and falling in love with him with her friends in the middle of rejecting him every two seconds and when she's just met him like.. 2 times maximum, i mean??

Another thing that was annoying to me was her point of view, it was so unreliable and so whiplash-y i just couldn't keep up with her jumbled thoughts.

I also want to point out the side-plots that were started but never close (ex : hollie's cheating ex, which, let me not mention how we somehow got the MC's reaction to it but not hollie's???)

I'm sure i'm forgetting some stuff, but in conclusion, this book just wasn't, and didn't do it, for me.