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!

3.5 stars rounded up
This geeky contemporary romance has a recurring theme around a board game developed by Rose, the main female character. Rose is stuck in a job, has a barely there boyfriend, and feels behind on her life goals list. Meanwhile, William is her best friends half brother who teases her relentlessly. It is a sweet story with some yearning, work place conflict, and game playing friends. I enjoyed the interactions between the main characters, the best friends arc,
and how Rosie stands up for herself. The story almost comes together too neatly though.

Thank you Forever Books for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley.

I liked “Playing Flirty” for its sweet romance vibes. The nerdy guy getting the girl is always a winner with me, and author Shameez Pateel carried that out well with two nerds, the MMC and FMC. I enjoyed the quick wit and back-and-forth banter between the two characters. It was a fun read and a nice break from the usual high-spice and fast-paced romance I typically read.

Such a fun read for those who hold game night near and dear to their hearts!

Rosie and William have always kept each other on edge but when they start working on submitting a board game she created for a contest, it's only a matter of time before the lines between hate and love become blurry.

Part best friend's brother, part found family mixed with a little work place drama and a whole slew of will they won't they, this was a fun one sitting read with a whole slew of butterflies!


Thank you Netgalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the ARC in exchange for my review!

🎮💙 Book Review 🎮💙

Ahhhh! Playing Flirty stole my heart!!

What a perfect and cozy romance. Swooning hard over the quiet guy! I absolutely loved William. My full swooning heart. Of course, I loved Rose just as much. The nerdy and sexy girl fallin hard for William.

Shamez Patel will have you burning your heart over these two. The best kind of enemies to lovers with sassy banter and spicy moments. Even though, the spice was pretty closed door the chemistry and attraction Patel built was ever so addicting.

I loved the bonding over games! So heartwarming and beautiful. All THE FEELS in this one and not one to miss!

ALSO @readforeverpub has been KILLIN it with the romance lineup!!

4.5/5

Thank you so much to Forever for my copy!

Playing Flirty is an enemies to lovers, second chance romance that had me captivated from the beginning!
This book is the perfect balance of flirty and nerdy!
Rose was so relatable and fun, while also struggling with real life stressors and expectations. The hyper-competitive banter between William and Rose was the perfect form of foreplay. I absolutely loved how the story came full circle in the end!

Highly recommend for anyone who loves video/board games and a good Lord of the Rings pun!

This was a cute romcom. I liked the "nerdy" gamer aspect, it isn't something you see a lot of in romance books. I appreciated that the author had Rose start out feeling stagnant in her life and we got to watch her grow and choose things that would help fulfill her dreams. There was plenty of flirty banter and sexual tension between to the two main characters. I do wish we'd have gotten to see a little more into the brothers' relationship and past trauma.

Thank you Netgalley and Forever Publishing for a chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a sweet romcom. I loved how our main character embraced what she loved. I'm not the biggest fan of LoR, cosplaying, or video games so those parts didn't grab my attention but I could see how this could quickly turn into a five star read for someone who enjoys those elements.

DNF at 18%. I like the idea of it, but I just don’t find the characters all that compelling (the comp to Jen DeLuca perhaps should have been a tip-off, and it leans more that way than Olivia Dade). And these just aren’t my type of nerdy references…I just didn’t care for them. Plus, the writing and short “Round” chapters frustrated me. I got to “Round 8” and processed the fact that there were a total of 42, plus an epilogue, and was filled with dread.

A gamer romcom? I had to pick this up and while I'm not a gamer myself, I was looking forward to reading a nerdy love story and this delivered, having me flying through it in a few hours.

"I loved you back then, and I love you now. I loved you when you weren’t mine to love.”

And that line? It took me straight to a Shah Rukh Khan scene and well.. he's the king of Romance for a reason.

Rose has her life planned, get her MBA, a promotion and live her perfect life. Until her best friends push her into submitting a game that she created, in a contest. Her rival, William who is also her best friend's half-brother, helps Rose to refine her game and during this process, the sparks begin to fly.

I loved how real Rose was - her feelings of inadequacy when she didn't reach her goals and the fear of leaving what she knows because it aligned with how she had planned her life. Her parents and friends are pure gold and i love how strong their bonds are.

The chemistry between her and William is just perfect, that scene in the kitchen.. well now.. That had me grinning. I adored how he supported Rose in everything she did.

Some of my favourite parts that were done so well by Shameez:
- The nerdy rep (comic con!)
- the slow burn,
- Shaun supporting her at work,
- Rose finding herself

Pick this up when you are in the mood for a fun, cute romance or as a palate cleanser between heavier stories.

This quirky, nerdy romance captured my heart. Rose was an adorable main character who felt so real with all her self doubt and life goals. And William was very sexy with his nerdy bad boy gamer vibes. I thought they had excellent chemistry. And even though it was a closed door romance, the kissing and foreplay was spicy! Lots of pining. Lots of angst.

I loved the supporting characters as well. I’d like to see some of them get their own books! The theme of board games was fun and unique for a romance as well. I love that cosplay was included! The plot had a lot of depth, particularly when it came to the characters confronting predatory behavior and childhood trauma.

My only complaint about the book and the reason I didn’t give it five stars, is that, although the book is set in the USA, and the characters are American, they often spoke with British English. For example, they used the word “proper” as a filler adjective and they played the game Cluedo. (In the US, we call that game Clue.) The main character, Rose, grew up traveling the world, so I could understand her using non-American phrases. But the other characters were average Americans and wouldn’t have used them or understood her when she did.

But overall, I really enjoyed this romance and thought it was a fun and fresh story.

Thank you to @Netgalley and @readforeverpub and for the chance to review this ARC.

This book! It was nerdy, hilarious, and swoon worthy. Rose attends weekly game nights with her best friends, but has to put up with the constant presence of her best friend's brother, William. Always butting heads, they decide to play a game—who can be nicest to the other.

I loved seeing their competitive sides and the banter was amazing from page one. William is one of the most thoughtful love interests I've ever read, and I can't wait to have this book permanently on my shelf in January!