In this loose rivals-to-lovers novel, Rose teams up with her best friend’s brother, William, to perfect a board game for a competition. As readers, we are supposed to feel the rivalry between Rose and William leading up to the alliance, but it plays more like an older brother annoyed by his pesky brother’s friend. I really enjoyed the dialogue and witty, flirty banter between Rose and William as the relationship progresses between the two.

The FMC gets everything she wants in a typical romance with a happy ending. There are some things in this one that Rose doesn’t get. But she realizes that things happen for a reason, and she makes the most of things.

Content Warning: One of the subplots involves workplace harassment of Rose by her boss. This really didn’t add to the story other than to show how her best friend and Willi stick up for her and, more importantly, how Rose sticks up for herself.

A truly enjoyable read. A rom com with a great core cast. It is a fun read about amazing friends, love, romance, family, wedding planning, work and work/life balance, terrible bosses and some really heavy emotional issues. I loved the title and just thought it would be all light and fluffy. Mostly it is, but there are some tough situations that made the book more and better for it. The writing is smart, witty, ironic, creative and has a lot of heart. I look forward to what comes next from this author.

Another debut that's a must read!

Rose is relatable with her life goals and spreadsheets-she feels like everything has to be planned (engagement, marriage, the future) and gives herself deadlines. Meanwhile, William is easy going, goes with the flow, and sort of an introvert unless it's game night. Rose and William are opposites in that way, but they both have a passion for games-video games for William, and board games for Rose. Game nights always brings out their competitiveness and rivalry. Yes, they are rivals, however, not to the point of hatred which I really like. William is seen as "mean" William. His personality reminds me of a boy with a crush on his brother's friend. He has always had a thing for Rose; he disguises it with their rivalry. On the other hand, Rose is in a committed, yet unhappy relationship. She does not deny that William is attractive, but he is also her best friend's half-brother and did not really want to cross that line. Working on the board game brought them closer, and honestly, they were the perfect pair to develop to do it! Their situationship was a little frustrating because I just wanted them together! Lol Still loved their playing flirty though and the build up of their relationship.

>> Archnemesis/ rivalry
>> Video games/ board game culture
>> Loved Rose's parents!
>> Complicated family (William's side)
>> Toxic workplace (was not a fan of Rose's boss)
>> Supportive friends

The first time I read Playing Flirty was two years ago, and it was a slightly different draft to the one I will hopefully have in my hand later this month. I fell in love with Rose and William in March 2023, and it gave me all the warm fuzzies to visit those feelings again and to discover that I still love them as much now as I did then.

I adore Rose, William, Neema and Shaun, their friendships and relationships; I love the board games and gaming elements as well, and we all know we’ll never look at syrup again (If you know, you know.)

I’ve always thought of Patrick as “white bread” - boring but harmless. Upon this read though, I realised I thoroughly dislike him and he’s not harmless because he’s constantly condescending towards Rose, which in turn affected her self confidence. So he definitely moved up on my poop list.

Dear sweet Lincoln, I can’t wait for you to get your moment to shine and I squealed at the easter egg thrown in there.

Shameez writes for those of us who love banter, laughing, wordplay, and being unashamedly nerdy, and of course, we’re all suckers for a good love story.

I enjoyed this nerdy, best friend's brother romance. The characters were well drawn and perfect for each other, the romantic build was delicious, and the main plot line was well done. My only complaint is in the execution of the romantic scenes. I have a hard time rating this book on a spice or steam scale because, though technically we were in the bedroom during the romantic scenes (open door), there was absolutely no detail or description given of the acts being performed (closed door). It felt off, especially given the heat of the build-up, and would make this difficult for me to recommend to readers as an influencer and librarian. Given that, I would likely only recommend this to readers looking for a closed door romance or even for older teen readers.

Overall, I loved the diversity and nerdiness of the characters as well as the romantic build, but I was left with no way to vent the steam that built up in this cute love story. I look forward to trying another from the author in the future though.

3.5 stars. This is a very cute and very sweet read. It’s also extremely predictable, but sometimes you need that. A low-angst read, but TW for workplace harassment.

Thank you to Forever and NetGalley for the ARC!

I really wanted to enjoy this story as the premise sounded cute, but unfortunately even though it was cute, I just couldn't connect with the storyline of gaming. So I would recommend this book to anyone who is a big gamer and a lover of romance. And I also may give this book another shot at a later date.

Thanks to NetGalley and Forever for the advanced copy of this book.

Thank you to Forever Publishing for an advanced reader copy! (Finished in 2024)

The goods:
- I loved all the board games you got to see and how it related to the different ups and downs of Rose and William's relationship.
- Rose's parents were a breathe of fair air, even if they do a cause a little chaos themselves...
- I enjoyed Rose and William both having roles in the wedding side plot that they could also focus on in between the games
- The book wraps up nicely, which is always a requirement for me with standalones.

The loss of a star:
- I just felt the pacing was a bit all over the place and i never settled fully into the pacing. Maybe that's how D&D sessions feel? It wasn't my favorite.

Overall, if you enjoy board games and romances, this should definitely be your next read.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Thank you, to NetGalley and the publisher, Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the opportunity to read this book.

I devoured this novel so quickly. It was a fast-paced read with great dialogue which made it enjoyable. I did not find myself straying away from reading this one as I often do with romance books because they sometimes become monotonous. The gaming aspect (both board and video) was so fun and as a self-professed nerd, it made it even more interesting for me. The fandom references were great and the banter between William and Rose was so witty and comical. The extremely slow burn of their romance is one of my only minor complaints about this book. I love a good slow burn but this one felt just a tad excessive, even in the scope of the characters “finding themselves” in the balance of falling in love.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this book and would happily pick up other tomes by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley, Forever Publishing & Shameez Patel for the chance to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

Gaming enemies to lovers with a SURPRISE beloved trope at the end (not baby). The banter, the tension- the pull between the MCs. Swoooooon. The burn was slow and forbidden. Sneaking around is SO fun- can't let the friend group know something is happening! The spice existed but was veiled/vague.

Legit HATED every scene the boss man was in. HATED. But that's the point.

This book was great!

3.25 stars - As a board game lover myself, I though this was a fun premise for a book! Between her crazy workload at a job she only kind of likes, her MBA studies, and her decidedly less-than-passionate relationship, Rose is becoming convinced her Life Plan is further from her reach than ever. Thank goodness she still has Game Night - the one day a week where she gets to embrace her inner competitive streak and her love for all things gaming. Even the continued presence of William, Shaun's older brother and Rose's nemesis, does little to dampen her spirits, and once they're forced to 'play nice,' Rose starts to realize she might even like having him around. Purely so she can rub her victories in his face, of course.

Overall I thought this was a cute and entertaining rom-com, and the banter was a definite highlight. I adored Rose and Neema's friendship, and the chemistry between her and William was great, if possibly a little too quick for me at times. In the end, Shaun started to rub me the wrong way, and one moment in the final pages felt like it was tied up too nicely, but ultimately I would recommend this read if you're looking for something lower-stakes and delightfully nerdy.

Thank you to Forever and NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was an absolute delight from start to finish! I was laughing out loud, kicking my feet in the air, and smiling uncontrollably the entire time. The banter was flawless, the group of friends was wonderfully vibrant, and the drama was perfectly balanced. And let’s not forget the ideal boyfriend—William was everything you could hope for! The chemistry between William and Rose was beautifully written, and their connection felt so genuine. Every aspect of this book was pure perfection. I’ll never stop recommending it to anyone who loves a swoon-worthy, laugh-out-loud romance!

This was such a fun nerdy enemies to lovers debut that sees two board/video game lover rivals in the same friend group working together to improve mutual projects. This had a diverse cast of characters, great sexual tension/chemistry between the leads and the best found family friend group. Good on audio narrated by Nirvi Shah and perfect for fans of books like Role playing by Cathy Yardley or Roll for romance by Lenora Woods. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

A fun read. William is the brother of Ross's best friend. I liked both characters and wanted everything to work out for them.

This was an okay read for me. I think the best part was the banter between Rose and William, I love me a good enemies to lovers. While the banter and geeky vibes shine, the slow burn was a bit too slow for me. If slow burn and banter is your thing then this book will be just right for you.

Thanks to NetGalley and Forever for an Advanced Reader Copy - pub date 1/14/2025. So let's get this straight. You, Shameez Patel, are going to offer me a romance with lots of banter, super geeky characters, game nights, and slow burn sexual tension plus the FMC is short and curvy and the MMC is tall and dark? All I have to deal with is seeing some of my own anxiety hang-ups in the FMC and a couple of jerk male characters? Sign me up!

Seriously, this was a delightful way to end 2024. Though the book does touch on things like anxiety from a variety of childhood instability, workplace sexual harassment, and the consequences to a child born of an affair, Playing Flirty still manages to stay upbeat and hopeful in most ways. The core friend group of characters are sweet (if a little flat in places) and supportive while Rose (FMC) is a joyful mix of geek-overthinker-overplanner-supportive BFF-neuroses. William, our MMC, is the Geek Boyfriend so many of us would love - intelligent, sexy, protective, a bit broken, and pining. The two of them are a delightful pair that is supposed to be enemies to lovers but, even at the start of the book, it's the kind of enemies that are more sparring partners than actual nemesis. They banter, they pick on each other, they try to trounce each other on Game Night. As things develop, they both realize more and more about each other and themselves. For one thing, who knew that gaming could be a legit love language? (Actually, I already knew this, LOL)

While Rose doesn't get everything she wants, she actually gets what she needs and discovers a lot about her inner life and beliefs along the way. It's nice watching a character come into more self confidence without it depending solely on the love interest. I mean, William helps but that's just a big side benefit. The hardest thing sometimes is to know yourself and to realize what you really want.

So, yes, this book made me who is also a Hobbit very happy indeed. Thank you, Shameez!

Though I will admit that I had figured out the "secret" within the first couple chapters so, tsk tsk, Rose.

This is a pretty standard contemporary romance—not a rom-com at all. It had too much angst for me. The characters didn’t stand out to me, and I the plot didn’t engage me. DNF.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

This was just lovely. Shameez Patel is a new twent to watch. It was so easy to fall in love with the characters and root for their happily ever after. Loved it!

I really enjoyed Playing Flirty! The board game content was so fun and well as all the other general nerdiness. The romance was also delightful and great to read. The cast of characters were great, I liked all of them. Will definitely read whatever is next from this author!

There were moments in the book that had great potential; however, I think they didn’t get enough attention so the book wasn’t a right fit for me. Rose and William didn’t feel right together because they lacked chemistry in my opinion. It felt very repetitive with its beats and it needed more adventure between Rose and William. I think having their relationship be more of a slow burn would’ve created more interest for me because I grew frustrated with their situationship type of relationship and the slow burn could’ve turned that into positive frustration.

I will not be posting this review.