Thank you to netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I wanted to like this book.

The premise is so cute! Nerdy co-worker turns hot gamer who main character has a crush on.

It seemed perfect.

I liked this book, i really did.
But it felt rushed, incomplete and frankly could have used a little more...sex.

I felt like this was a YA book and I think if I had adjusted my expectations, I would have been ok.

Just two stars for me.

"Welcome to the Quest my friend, be the fastest to the end. The paths depend on which you choose, when one dies, you both lose. Choose the right, not the wrong. Spare the young, heed the song. One last thing you have to know, where on goes, you both go - where one goes, you both go,"

This book had a unique plot that was incredibly relevant in our current technology driven world. Fashion Business owner by day, gamer by night, Sam was chosen to compete in the SyrenQuest online game. Sam is in love with professional gamer Blaze and is chosen to his team mate on the SyrenQuest. Her mentor and coworker Luke is in love with Sam. But here is where things get interesting - Blaze and Luke are both the same person.

I loved the writing style in this book, the character development for Sam and Luke was amazing. I had an equal love for both protagonists. I was hesitant to read a book about gaming- but the author created such great visualizations for the non-gamer. This was a unique twist on a romantic comedy novel and I thoroughly enjoyed it. If you are an actual gamer and book worm - you will certainly love this novel.

Personal Review: 3/5 Stars

“It’s all fun and games until your heart is on the line,”

Thank you @netgalley for the ARC.

Wow! Thank you so much for the arc of this fabulous book!

Loved this book it's such great concept and was done brilliantly.
You have Sam and luke. Sam has just opened up her business making hands
Bag inserts. Luke co-owns his buisness. Both have offices in the nest cue real life meet cute. Luke is enamoured Sam is lets go with indifferent/confused. Both have an online persona luke=blaze Sam=bravura. Blaze has a good YouTube gaming following and bravura is more of a novice there's a comp and the pair are teamed up cue online meet cute. Bravura is half in love and blaze is lets say indifferent/confused. We're following the real life and online life together and the chemistry is undeniable it's a slow burn and the world's are inevitably going to collide. It's a fun story and I love how this story builds. This is a dual pov which is perfect I think it needed that for the story to work effectively. I love the writing, the secondary characters are great, the connection is believable and I appreciate the concept where we are living in a world where people do meet online and you have that fine line between what's real and what isn't.

Thank you for giving me the privilege of reading This arc!

Thank you net galley for giving me an e-arc copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This is a very cute and sweet romance. The characters and the storyline had me hooked from the beginning. Being a girl gamer myself I really connected with one of our main characters Sam, being obsessed with online personas and playing games but always being told I wasn’t great at them.

Even though the romance isn’t really bought in until late in the story, I believe that if it was introduced any earlier it wouldn’t of fit well into the story. The whole gaming and con aspect I really enjoyed, from being to cons myself I really felt as though I could imagine the atmosphere. And felt like I was there cheering on Luke and Sam.

I absolutely loved the main characters in this story, I felt they were very easy to relate to due to things that they had both gone through or were currently going through. Luke is very shy and nervous throughout the book but it was great to see his confidence grown through out the book. But also with Sam it was just good to see her grow after going through something traumatic when she was younger.

I loved this light hearted, fun read. It really pulls at your heart strings and makes you hope that cute little Luke’s finally builds up the courage to succeed at his attempts to win over Sam.

This book is lovely.
A sweet rom-com featuring hidden identity and friends to lovers set in the world of gaming.
The characters are well rounded and their relationship was really cute and tender even in the friendship stage.
A bit rushed at the end but overall a very enjoyable rom-com.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Playing for Love is a love triangle for the internet generation! Luke likes Sam, and offers to mentor her through trying to fund her fledgling start up. Sam isnt interested though- she likes Blaze, a Youtuber whom she suddenly has the opportunity to meet thanks to a gaming competition, but under the persona of Bravura. But Blaze isn't interested... because he's really Luke, pining after Sam.

Nothing is quite what it seems, in this sweet and fun romance about characters finding themselves whilst finding love.

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I needed something upbeat and light-hearted to get me through Covid in January (yes, after avoiding it for almost 2 years - it got me!) - and this was it! Playing for Love by Jeevani Charika is the best kind of rom-com - it has all the elements you want: mistaken / hidden identities, an unusual path to falling in love (in this case, avatars in a video game), lead characters you care about and the feel-good ending we all deserve.

Sam and Luke share a communal workspace as they both run their own businesses - their paths cross in this life and also in another. Both gamers - Luke far more professional than Sam - they take part in a competition and end up being randomly paired. Neither know who the other is in real life and sparks start to fly... in both worlds.

Yes, you knew what was coming but that's the point of a rom-com - you know where it's going but the fun is in how the story gets there. Great escapism!

It was a book which I could not put down. Warm and fuzzy feeling how the author takes you through till the climax. I loved the book and would recommend it.

I really enjoyed the story here, however it felt like everything was wrapped up a little quickly towards the end.

* gifted copy from Netgalley

I could not have picked a better romance book for my 2nd book for 2022. I can just imagine how my other books are there on the shelf, hoping they will measure up to the first 2 reads of 2022.

Playing for is You've got mail mix with Warcross and a dash of Emily in Paris. I have to admit. I enjoyed the fashion element to the book with Sam's handbag insert company. The thing that I was skeptical about was the gameplay in the book. Some books will have me lose interest when reading the gameplay parts. In reading Playing for Love I did not hate it. It was just the right amount of gaming and explanation in it.

Let's talk a moment about Luke and how he is. How he guided Sam and would do anything to be just close to her. The best thing about Playing for Love is that it shows us that great romance novel do not have to have sex in it.

Final verdict. Playing for Love would have gotten 4 stars. But, I was never bored once while reading this book. Not one time did I wish the book would end! I enjoyed each moment of the characters and how their story develop.

I give Playing for Love
★★★★★ out of 5 stars

When Samadhi ‘Sam’ Ranaweera isn’t struggling to get her handbag insert startup business going, her secret guilty pleasure is watching YouTube game streamer, Blaze, whose friendly voice and animated narration has been a source of great comfort after her mother’s passing. When a virtual competition presents a rare opportunity to game with and meet the elusive Blaze, Sam signs up - and is selected. As her crush on Blaze intensifies with each round of the tournament, she has no idea that in real life, Blaze is Luke Burneside, the shy and awkward guy in the same office building who has a massive crush on her.

I’ve read quite a few novels centered around gaming in Chinese, so when I came across one in English - yes, please! The premise of this story reminds me of a story by Qiao Yao where the female lead confessed to and got rejected by her crush in real life, only to later find out he’s that online gaming partner who likes her (gaming persona). But I find “Playing for Love” to be much better executed.

Written in third person (yes!) but presented in dual POVs from Sam and Luke, I love that we get insights from both sides of the story. I was initially a bit put off by Sam’s attitude, particularly towards some of the guys in the office building. She’s not the friendliest character but she does warm up over time.

Luke is an absolute cinnamon roll! I love his character. He’s confident and self-assured as Blaze, but in real life, such a shy awkward guy in front of the woman he likes. He is also a very kind and helpful guy, not just to Sam, but to anyone in need.

I do enjoy stories centered around gaming, because I love playing games, especially RPGs. And I also watch gaming videos, so this story really resonated with me. The pacing of the story is good. The writing draws you in and makes you wanna find out more. I devoured this book in a day.

Thank you NetGalley and HQ for the e-ARC.

I went in really expecting so many things from this book and finished feeling mostly disappointed. The premise sounded amazing and I was so looking forward to some amazing chemistry and an original plot. Although this book had the latter, it really fell flat with the chemistry between Sam and Luke. I really tried to enjoy the book for what it was, but it became more and more difficult as I read more.

I also found the author's writing style difficult to keep up with. Initially I did not mind, but as the book progressed I found myself becoming bored and wanting to skip forward.

A really different take on a romance, very enjoyable and easy to read whilst appealing to both gamers and non gamers

I am not the slightest bit interested in gaming but I really enjoyed this enchanting romance between Sam and Luke, alias Blaze and Bravura. The characters had depth and their struggles with work, family and the game felt realistic. The other characters were well drawn, too - Pete, Kim, Bradley, Niro, etc. all had important roles in the story. The plot had enough tension to keep the interest and the writing is lively and assured. It was refreshing to read a light romance with no swearing or graphic sex scenes. Maybe it is meant for the YA market.

I loved the premise of this book as a cute gamer love story. This is what really drew me in to reading this book. Thank you for letting me read this ARC to provide an honest review! There are not many books out there that have a gamer centered story (that I have been exposed to). Because the concept was so compelling the book was easy to pick up, and once I did it was even easier to stay up and finish as much as I could. The situations were fun and I personally enjoyed the main character Samadhi aka Sam. I am glad to have finally found a gamer centered story that is geeky and in general cute. Warning to spice lovers out there, there is not spice but for romance readers it worth a look. Meant for readers that love slow paced romance.

This was a cute book to help pull me from a reading slump! Definitely a cute idea for romance to stem from gaming together! Sort of felt like the work relationship between Luke and Sam was a different story compared to Blaze and Bravura, but it still worked out and I loved it!

This book was an adorable, fun, and fast-paced read.

The world of video games, conventions and cosplay isn't something I ever expect to take part in so it was really cool to get a peak into what that world is like. There are a few parts of the book that follow the video game as they are playing and I was surpsingly so immersed in these scenes. It reminded me of the action sequences from a fantasy novel. I was on the edge of my seat!

There were a few times I thought Luke's feelings for Sam were stronger than they should have been based on the quantity/quality of time they had spent together. Other than that I thought the office romance was portrayed very authentically and the progression of their relationship was very believable.

Charika writing flowed seamlessly between the interactions between Luke and Sam and Blaze and Bravura, it was easy to follow. I couldn't put this book down...I was so curious as to how and when they were going to figure out about each others alteregos.

I really enjoed the dual POV and had so much fun experiencing the world from their perspective. Sam was such a fierce and passiont character. Luke was so adorable I wanted to just put him in bubblewrap to protect him. I really liked them together.

I would reccomend this book to anyone looking for a fun, fast-paced, warm and fuzzy read :)

Huge thank you to NetGalley and HQ digital for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Absolutely loved this book! Stayed up way too late to finish it because I was so invested.
The writing was so detailed. I felt like I was pulled into the story me the surroundings.
Sam and Luke’s relationship in the office felt so real. Sometimes things get messy and people make mistakes but having characters who actually thought about why the other made that mistake was very refreshing. Too often are characters just so stubborn.

I think this is the first book I’ve read that involves gaming and YouTubers, and I really enjoyed it. Jeevani managed to seamlessly move from telling the stories of Luke and Sam to Bravura and Blaze without it being remotely confusing. The little hints at who they were in real life, the game play, the real life office scenario- it was all so well written and there was lovely variety in the story. It was brilliant to see them both do well professionally at work and within the gaming competition. A warm and fuzzy romance story at heart, surrounded by interesting diversions. Definitely give it a read, you won’t be disappointed.

I read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This was definitely a different kind of romance. I liked both of the characters and their interactions in the game and out. Maybe Luke was just a bit easier to like at times? I feel like Sam probably should've told Blaze about the crazy woman who had put her in a headlock.
It was a different concept and hard to pull off, but it turned out pretty well. The business side of things for both Sam and Luke made the characters more realistic.
3.5 stars