If you were the nerdy, board game/video game loving teenager during high school/college, this one's for you!

I read Playing Flirty in one sitting as it is the perfect cozy romcom! The dynamic between Rose and William was so sweet and simultaneously angsty as they pretend to be each other's nemesis while realistically rooting one another on the entire time. The pining was truly superb and I loved getting to see the relationship dynamics between all the characters. The plot was a little bit predictable at times but, in my opinion, didn't take away from the story because it was comforting and still enjoyable.

Thank you to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and NetGalley for the eARC! <3

Beautiful story. Characters were written well and plot was entertaining! This was my first book by this author and I’m definitely excited to read more! 4 stars recommendation!

I can picture Playing Flirty becoming a comfort read for many. It had the perfect mix of funny/nerdy/sweet/cozy with some intense pining. I had an intense game craving after reading.

This book has clear moments of fun, love, and lots of heart! I enjoyed the concept and tender moments between the leads!

I had high hopes for this one because I thought a story about game developers could be fun. Unfortunately, this one missed the mark for me. The writing and voice was a bit immature and there was no depth to the story or the characters. It was predictable and some of the things didn't make sense to me. There was a lot of repetition - like how his lips kicked up/or went up on one end to indicate a small smile and how deep his dimple was - I grew tired of those descriptions quickly.

Sadly, I didn't like this one.

4.5 stars rounded up.

This book was adorable. Between the charming nemeses-to-lovers romance and wonderful friend group and their game nights, it was a cozy, comforting read even when it touched on serious topics.

The dynamic between Rose and William was immediately recognizable as reminiscent of playground flirting. Their pokes and jabs at each other always felt to me like there was an underlying affection before they ever started acknowledging it. And I loved that. They were so cute to me. Rose was a character going through a lot of unexpected circumstances and situations in her carefully planned life, and I felt she handled it all with maturity and grace. I loved the way William became a source of support for her through all of it as well.

The game nights and the strong friendships represented throughout were so fun and so endearing. Neema was such a wonderful friend to Rose. Shaun was as well. In the face of he and William’s complicated sibling relationship issues, I liked that Rose was able to return the support she received from William and that Shaun showed growth in the situation.

This was a great choice to start off my reading month. Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’m so glad I picked this up to read this evening. After reading fantasy after fantasy. I needed a quick easy romcom to be my palette cleanser and “Playing Flirty” did the trick!

“Playing Flirty” is a nerdy swoon worthy romcom. That revolves around Rosie and her best friend’s brother William. I know a lot of other reviewers are classifying this as enemies to lovers but it felt more like best friends brother falls first. Now don’t get me wrong there is some playful bantering between the two but it comes across more as a rivalry dynamic. The two get even closer as they start working together to help bring Rosie’s board game to fruition.

Speaking of board games, I loved this element in the book. I grew up playing board games with my friends and family and it’s not something we see a lot of anymore especially with video games and social media. Seeing board games used as a way to bring these characters together in their own found family was heartwarming.

My only complaint with “Playing Flirty” was it felt like the book had too many subplots. Especially the workplace sexual harassment. I didn’t feel like having Rosie go through that was necessary to the story. It honestly felt like we were just trying to way to add the popular BookTok trope “touch her and die” scene. I mean don’t get me wrong I love when our man protects our love interest but for this particular romcom it didn’t flow with the story.

Overall, I still really enjoyed the book and quickly devoured it in 24 hours. I’m excited to see what else this author has in store. Big Thank you NetGalley, Forever, and Grand Central Publishing for this advance reader copy!

As someone whose walls are decorated by maps from a fantasy video game, Star Wars cross stitch, and a hand painted Doctor Who quote, I feel like this book was written for me.

Rose has always had a rivalry with her best friend’s brother, William. Every game night they can’t help but tease and taunt each other. When they are asked to be maid-of-honor and best man for an upcoming wedding, they are challenged to “play nice”. It doesn’t take long for playing nice to develop into something more like flirting.

I really had fun reading this book. The nerdiness of the characters was very relatable. It was nice to see friendships that challenge and encourage each other.

•Single 1st Person POV
•Rivals to Friends+ to Lovers
•Best Friend’s Brother
•Maid-of-Honor/Best Man
•Nerdy References
•Non-explicit spice

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for giving me access to an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Playing Flirty is an endearing, kind and nerdy romance involving gaming, both video and board, and Lord of the Rings. It also looks at learning how to build a life gaining the things missing in childhood without allowing those needs to negatively dictate adulthood. I was very impressed by how there were no bad guys. The FMC ends her relationship not because her ex is a cheating sleaze but because she needed more than he could provide. The book seemed to go on a little too long but it’s not a huge criticism. I enjoyed Playing Flirty and the group of friends depicted.

Thank you to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and NetGalley for the advance reader copy. All opinions are my own.

In my opinion, there's no better way to spend an evening than by playing board games with my best friends. So it's no surprise that I was sucked into this book from the start when our main characters meet up with their best friends for their weekly game night. I was unable to put the book down as the game theme was woven throughout the book.

When Rose's best friends get engaged, she is stuck helping with the wedding logistics with her nemesis, William. They agree to play nice for the sake of the bride and groom to be, which they end up turning into a game, each desperate to win the next round. Their game gets taken to a whole new level when Rose needs William's help to win a competition she's entered. The more time they spend together, being nice to one another reveals feelings they never thought they could have for one another...

My thoughts:
This was an absolute delight to read - it was the perfect combination of nerdy references and sexual tension. Rose's struggles were relatable and portrayed well- from feeling stuck professionally to being in a stale relationship. As she navigated each of these pieces of her life, she hit bumps in the road that made it even more relatable. I think the best part of the book, though, was Rose and William's friend group. I loved watching them care for each other and root one another on.

There is one part of the book that I struggled with. I strongly believe it is the responsibility of the author + publisher to list any trigger warnings at the beginning of the book, especially rom-coms like this one. People pick up romance books for an escape from reality and the happily ever after, but, that experience can be tarnished when trigger warnings are not listed. This book does include depictions of sexual harassment and gaslighting in the workplace, and the eARC did not include a trigger warning. I hope that by the time this book is released to the work in January 2025 the trigger warnings are listed at the beginning of the book.

Read this book if you love:
🕹️ He falls first
🎮 Best friend's brother
🕹️ Enemies to lovers
🎮 Slow burn
🕹️ Closed door romance
🎮 Found family
🕹️Board games
🎮 Lord of the Rings references

I have posted this review to Goodreads and Storygraph. I will post about this book on my instagram @thecozybookgal closer to the publishing date.

This novel had my nerdy heart giddy with joy as I watched Rose & William's relationship grow and deepen in this sweet, funny and heart warming closed door romance.

Rose is feeling stalled in her career and her lackluster relationship (which I can relate to) but the one place she feels like she belongs is at game night with her friends and her best friends half brother, William. William is a successful game creator and also super competitive at game night.

When Rose has the opportunity to enter her board game into a contest, there's only one person who can help her win. Rose & William team up and soon the sparks are flying between the two as the chemistry and witty banter heats up 🔥

Thank you Forever for the ARC!

In an opinion not shared by many other readers, this book was not an overall winner for me. I really liked the premise, and it looked like Rose would be geeky-girl representation without the "not like other girls" nonsense. Sadly, that was not enough to carry the rest of the book.

As a personal pet-peeve, dont claim your protagonist is a big board game player, even making a fancy board game, and then have them playing, like, Monopoly or whatever. Settlers of Catan was the closest the group came to a game on par with what Rose allegedly created, so it was a bit incongruous for the group. (And yes I very much do feel like a gatekeeping meanie by saying this, no offense intended to Bananagrams and other fan favorites.) Otherwise though, geekdom was pretty standard and well represented the archetypical comic-con "nerd."

The relationship didn't exactly sizzle and the "closed door" spice was so very well locked behind that door that I often had to re-read scenes to even extrapolate what had happened. I don't mind a book with off page adult activities, I just wish it had translated better here.

Lastly, the workplace harassment subplot did little to add to the overall plot. There is no actual resolution and it seems to only serve as a vehicle for the male love interest to act like a jerk. This was not "touch her and die" trope, this was drama for no plot progression.

Overall, this book just didn't hit for me. As mentioned, lots of other readers seemed to love it, so see if it might be your jam.

This is a nerdy persons dream book! I loved all the references and the cute moments. And the romance was so cute!

You don’t need to love games (or even have seen/read LOTR, like me lol) to fall in love with Shameez Patel’s absolutely delightful Playing Flirty! This novel was like a cup of hot chocolate on a cold day - so cozy, so charming, and so clearly made with love and affection for Rose and William, who just can’t keep apart. Both characters are so damn lovable (and Rose, particularly relatable) and the secondary cast as well adds so much depth - you really can see and hear this little friend group. William was delicious, and this had one of the best first kiss scenes I’ve read in ages - he was my fave combo of flirty but still mysterious, tall with enormous shoulders and hands, and so SMITTEN with Rose. Fans of Jen DeLuca, Penny Reid, and Alison Cochrun will be head over heels for this swoony, nerdy romcom.

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

4.5 ⭐️

I was a bit wary going into this because geeky FMCs are so often done a disservice and just ooze NLOG vibes with no discernible personality. But I liked the premise of rival game nerds and it’s a new author, so I gave it a chance.

Let me tell you, I am so glad I did. I adored Rose. Her character development throughout the book is so good. She’s got a good (on paper) job, is working on her MBA, has loving parents (tbh, I think everyone loves her parents 😂), plus her own found family, and more interests than just games (even if one of those interests is excel spreadsheets, but like, me too Rose, me too).

And William! I feel like we could’ve gotten a bit more out of him, however, I find often that depth is given with dual POV, which we didn’t have here. Still, he’s a great MMC and I love them together.

Overall, the story is fun, very bingeable, low spice (a few steamy scenes, but nothing explicit) but good tension (the kitchen 🫠), lots of nerdy references, good and sometimes awkward flirting, and some laughs.

I also really liked the “plot twist”, and I put that in quotations because it’s pretty obvious to the reader so it’s not much of a twist imo, but seeing it unfold and the characters figure it out was so much fun.

Thank you NetGalley, Forever, and Grand Central Publishing for this advance reader copy! You can pick up Playing Flirty by Shameez Patel on January 14, 2025!

Playing Flirty is a perfect mix of nerdy, sexy, funny, and heartwarming romcom! I love Rose' and William's sizzling chemistry and their bond over games of all kinds. The story has countless video games and The Lord of the Rings references that's perfect for nerds!

**** TROPES ****

~ "Nemesis" to lovers ~
~ Found Family ~
~ Silent broody MMC ~
~ Slow burn ~
~ Closed door spice ~

**** TRIGGER WARNINGS ****

~ FMC deals with sexual harassment in workplace ~

I highly recommend picking up Playing Flirty by Shameez Patel if you are looking for an adorable, geeky contemporary adult romance!

Absolutely loved this slow-burn Adult Contemporary read, full of gaming and nerd culture and a silent, broody love interest. 'Playing Flirty' is all about found family and shenanigans, while also about discovering who you are, and unlearning some of the bad stuff from childhood. Highly recommended!

‘Playing Flirty’ concocts the ultimate long game with two nerdy, sexy leads who increasingly want to devour each other in every round they play. Their dynamic is so effective due to their emotional arcs and nuanced character building. The developments that they have, together and as individuals, make all of the heated moments that much more satisfying. Their pristine chemistry, crackling banter, and the palpable cocktail of tension and yearning are delicious. This book settled into my bones with its realistic depth dipping its toes into workplace sexual harassment, overwhelming life goals, and personal fears. The commentary on the line between what constitutes harassment and compliments being all within the intent of the speaker left me speechless at how succinctly truthful it was. What will stay with me most is the discussion on the idea of being ‘too much’ and how taking up any sort of space is never a negative thing. Sometimes you read a book that explores truths about yourself you didn’t know you needed to hear before reading the words across the page and I’m really grateful for Shameez Patel’s prose here.

4.5 stars! Thank you to NetGalley, Forever, and Grand Central Publishing for this advanced copy! You can pick up Playing Flirty on January 14, 2025.

This book was the perfect mix of nerdy, sexy, funny, and heartwarming! I loved William and Rose's banter and hate-to-love relationship. Their bonding over games of all kinds was so sweet and right up my alley, Even though the spicier scenes were behind slightly closed doors, the tension that Shameez Patel built up was delicious, and I appreciated the moments of "will they/won't they" more anyway.

I also didn't expect this book to convey so much about feeling stuck in your life and feeling like you're not accomplishing the goals you set out for yourself. Rose's struggles with her job and lackluster relationship were relatable and understandable, helping us see her character growth vividly.

I can't wait to read more from Shameez Patel!

Ok this one was SO cute and nerdy and I ate it up! I love Rose and William (and their buddies!) so much. It was steamy and fun, lighthearted, and the ending!! 🥹🥹🥹🫠