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.

The perfect nerdy romance the market has been missing! The banter and tension through the story is absolute perfection. 5 stars and an auto recommend to all my friends.

A fun frenemies to lovers rom com with.....board games! Rose is feeling stuck, with the only bright spot in her life her weekly game night with her found family, including William. He teases her to be sure but we all know that's covering for his real feelings. They bond over the effort of finishing and polishing the game Rose has created. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. It's light it's got positive vibes and you'll enjoy the characters.

This is a very fun and nerdy read! I enjoyed all the references to different arcade, board, and video games throughout.

This book includes rivals to lovers, best friend's brother, game development, and a friend group that plays games together.

I really loved the dynamics between all of the different characters, and I wish I could jump into the world of Playing Flirty and join the characters on their game nights!

This was an enjoyable book! I found Rose well crafted, and appreciated the depth in her character. I admired her support system, and I'm a sucker for a enemies-to-lovers trope. I think aspects of Rose were very relatable. The rest of the group, including William, are all characters I would love to know more about. Overall, this was a lighthearted romance and I enjoyed the gaming focus of the book.

This book was a delight from beginning to end! William and Rose are such a cute couple. William is the perfect grumpy cinnamon roll and Rose is a heroine to root for. Both of their character ARCs are well-developed. You don't have to love games to love this book, although if you do, you will appreciate all the Easter eggs and pop culture references.

Rose Marie loves Game Night, the one evening per week when she can let out her competitive edge and no victory is as sweet as beating her nemesis, William. William is disturbingly attractive, highly annoying and her best friend’s brother. He is also a game designer and the one person who can help Rose Marie win a contest with the board game she’s invented. Can she take a chance and trust her nemesis?

I enjoyed this frenemies to lovers romance and I especially enjoyed the wee twist I did not see coming. The delicious tension between William and Rose Marie in their verbal exchanges amped up nicely as they began to trust in and acknowledge their attraction to each other. I empathized with Rose Marie’s unhappiness with work and boyfriend. I glad when she started trusting herself and began making changes to her life. Overall, I was glad I had the opportunity to read this novel ahead of its release date.

This novel will likely appeal to individuals who enjoy frenemies to lovers story lines.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and authors for providing me with an ARC of this novel. All of the opinions offered in this review are my own.

Want a warm and fuzzy and incredibly fun romance?? Pick up PLAYING FLIRTY by Shameez Patel (@shameezwrites) when it releases on January 14, 2025! Only 2 weeks away, so you don't have to wait long 😊 This delightfully nerdy rom-com was a total joy to read -- I'm always a fan of a spreadsheet-loving heroine and Rose was no exception. ❤️ Thanks to @netgalley and @readforeverpub for the ARC!

I thought this story was simply adorable.The friendship between Rose and her roommate and her coworker and their game nights are so fun. I enjoy board games, but have never experienced them in the level of Rose and her friends. The gaming is a central idea in this story and it adds interest to the story.
The frienemies vibe between Rose and William is so well written. Just the right amount of tension and banter, leading to a special romance! I was rooting for Rose throughout this story and thoroughly enjoyed this book. This book really covers a lot of dynamics and they are well written. Thank you to Forever for the opportunity to read an early copy, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I really wanted to like Playing Flirty by Shameez Patel, but it didn't work for me. There's so many little things that would make it a good book for me - nerdy references, board game playing, a quiet MMC. And I did enjoy most of the book. But at some point I just lost interest. It might have also been personal expectations - prior to reading the novel, I thought it would be taking place in South Africa, but it takes place in San Diego. Which I wouldn't mind if San Diego became part of the novel, instead it just seemed like a generic city.

When I say I devoured PLAYING FLIRTY by Shameez Patel, I mean it! I started it at 10pm thinking I’d just read the first chapter, but instead stayed up for hours reading, and I finished before lunch. It was hilarious and sweet and totally addicting!

“The game is on for two nerds who love to outplay each other . . . even when their hearts are on the line, in this charming and geeky romantic comedy perfect for fans of Olivia Dade and Jen DeLuca.”

Such a good pitch! When Rose has the chance to bring her board game to life, she has to enlist the help of the last person she expects. William, her best friend’s brother and her game night nemesis, is the only person who can challenge her to get her game to the level it needs to be competitive. I absolutely loved their dynamic, the type of rivals to lovers that was so clearly built on respect for the other person’s skill. It was sweet and genuine, and I just want to wrap William up in a warm hug!

I loved this book so much and can’t wait to see what Shameez comes up with next!