Two Can Play by Ali Hazelwood is a fascinating forced proximity romance between video game designers of two rival companies that must spend time together on a trip as they bid for a massive new project. I thought this was a really unique & intriguing setup & I was hooked from the start. In true Ali Hazelwood fashion, I was enchanted by this pair & they had me smiling throughout.

Two Can Play is great for fans of…
💙 Romance Novella
💙 Video Game
💙 Rivals to Lovers
💙 Forced Proximity

If you are a fellow Ali Hazelwood fan, this is a wonderful addition to their work & a delight of a treat to read. If you’ve never read this author before, this is a fantastic introduction to their writing with a concise yet still engaging & perfectly developed romance story. This is a phenomenal example of the way in which a novella can still deliver a punch of a story for only a fraction of the pages, or more specifically in this case the hours as it’s an audiobook.

I listened to the audiobook & the narrator did such an incredible job. I loved the way they brought humor, nuance & the love story to life. I listened at 2x & it was the perfect speed for my brain.

If you are looking for a short, spicy & engaging romance novella to level up your listens, I highly recommend pressing play on Two Can Play!

Massive thanks to NetGalley & Spotify Audiobooks for the gifted copy, which I voluntarily read & reviewed.

Posted to Goodreads: Viola Bowen loves her job as a video game designer. Her company is in line to design the new game based on her favorite book. The only thing standing in Viola’s way is Jesse Andrews and his gaming company. Jesse is Viola’s archenemy, sometimes crush, and all-time annoyance. When Viola and Jesse’s companies are recruited to work together on the game, both staffs come together for a bonding retreat. Viola and Jesse will spend the weekend together, secrets will come to light, and their feelings will evolve.

This was a fun novella, but it didn’t quite live up to my expectations. Viola is a basic Ali Hazelwood heroine. She is smart and fun and I enjoyed reading her story. Jesse had the potential to be a great love interest but he didn’t get there for me. The interactions between them were sizzling, but it didn’t feel romantic. I will read anything from Hazelwood, and I would have liked to read more about Viola and Jesse, but Two Can Play wasn’t my favorite from the author.

I love this! The chemistry the banter just fantastic! Ali Hazelwood can do no wrong. The setting was really fun as well and it is a very quick listen.

Two Can Play is the latest captivating romance from Ali Hazelwood. Viola and Jessie both work as indie game developers, though at very different companies. When the companies join together on a special game pitch, they must overcome their rivalry or risk losing the contract. Will Viola finally learn why Jessie can’t seem to stand her?

Two Can Play is a sweet and satisfying romance. It has all the classic Hazelwood tropes! Viola and Jessie are an enemies-to-lovers romance, with a sprinkle of misunderstandings. He’s tall; she’s small. Readers who enjoy workplace romance and forced proximity will love this. Even in such a short format, the storyline about the game Limerence felt realistic. I wish that we could see more of Viola and Jessie’s story (and play the game!), but it was still very fun. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator did an excellent job.

Thank you to Ali Hazelwood, Spotify Audiobooks, and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Probably my fav novella of Hazelwood’s ! Very cute . Not too cheesy. Still the standard “he’s huge and I’m tiny” but that’s her MO. Because it’s a novella I liked that we skipped what could have been hundreds of pages of miscommunication and we got pretty much straight to “I’ve liked you for a long time”.
Recommend if you want a cute short romance read !

Thank you to Spotify Audiobooks & NetGalley for an ALC of this book, in exchange for my honest opinion.

I love Ali Hazelwood and will devour anything she writes!! This was a cute and spicy Gamer love story. It had all the usual charm and spice Ali typically writes with. And our MMC Jesse has been pining for Viola for a long time. Now they’re stuck together in the same Gaming retreat, and sparks begin to fly!

My only issue with this is I WANTED MORE lol Which is counterproductive to the novel because it was a Novella. I just really liked Viola and Jesse and would have loved to see what their life looked like after the retreat. I also really loved the narrators voice!

Bottom line if you’re an Ali Hazelwood girl you will love this one! Releasing 10/8 only on Spotify Audiobooks!

A nerdy, delightful and romantic rivals to lovers audiobook full of video games and pining. Viola Bowen really wants to help create the third game based on her favorite book series. Will long time rival Jesse Andrews stop the collaboration the two creative teams or will sparks fly as they fight tooth and nail to create a video game they can all be proud of?

An audio novella that brings the heat and the nerdiness! I loved this little novella immensely. I enjoyed the rivals to enemies, although the miscommunication felt a little intense for what it really was. Though I do respect a man who hears the word no and respects the hell out of it. The spice was well written and paced with science, coworker conflict, and a love of a story.

4.25 stars

I’m always certain reading an Ali Hazelwood book can solve 99% of my problems at least for a bit, and you know what it always does. Game designers from rival gaming studios stuck together in forced proximity for business reasons? Yes please. There’s inter office feuds and romances mixed with a good dose of miscommunication (yes don’t come at me) and a snowy mountain lodge setting. What’s not to like?

Ali Hazelwood MCs love a good yearn and tbh same. Wouldn’t you rather spend an eternity yearning for that one person from a distance than risk everything to admit your feelings for fear of rejection unless you absolutely must? Well me too. Even in a novella, AH manages to capture the slow burning ache of (allegedly) unrequited lust finally coming to a tipping point, and when it does boil over, it’s enough to melt all the snow on the mountain. I just want Ali to write the script of my life. As with any good novella, I just wanted more. But it feels just perfectly complete and satisfying regardless.

Special thanks to Spotify Audiobooks and NetGalley for the book! This one was so fun! While I typically don't read novellas because I love learning more about the characters, I will also read anything that Ali Hazelwood writes. I really, really liked this one, but it left me wanting more from Viola and Jesse!

A shorter listen, 4.5 hrs., made for Spotify. It is a fun, cozy, winter listen. The pining/devotion to the MC was a little unbelievable/creepy, but if you can look past it it's good.

Tropes:
•Forced Proximity
•Enemies to Lovers
•Second Chance
•Workplace Romance
•Misunderstandings

🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ Explicit Open Door: At least two intimate scenes, explicit language with a variety of sexual acts.

This cute, fun novella was classic Ali Hazelwood, I couldn’t stop listening!

Viola and Jesse are video game designers at rival companies and are forced to work together on a project. There is forced proximity, unrequited love, rivals to lovers, everything you could want! Ali is so good at writing a steamy stem romance, she never disappoints for me.

I loved these characters so much, I wished it was longer! I thought the side characters added a lot to the story too. The narrator was great and kept me hooked to the story. Such a great listen for winter too!

A big thank you to NetGalley and Spotify AudioBooks for the ALC!

Ali Hazelwood NEVER misses. This story was absolutely adorable and had me biting my nails while listening to this. Jesse is such a great MMC and Viola is such a breath of fresh air! Ali's range in writing characters is amazing. I wish this story was longer! I grew so attached to Jesse and Viola and was so sad when the story ended when it did.

My only "gripe" is that I wish Spotify leaned into the fact that this was an audio only story! Some sound effects, two VAs for Jesse and Viola... something that made it a little different than a regular audiobook!

I really enjoyed the gaming aspect of this book. As someone who isn't a gamer but is married to one, it's fun hearing names of games I know of but know nothing about. I liked the relationship between the MC and the love interest, as well. The "he-seems-grumpy" but it's actually a misunderstanding. It was sweet.

Super cute and well plotted novella!

There was just enough time and space taken up in this short story to fully flesh out the love story. I love the idea of story telling in game making, makes it all feel very romantic to be honest. The steam in here was so good too!

Narration was well done. Characters were brought to life!

This was so fun! Just a quick little story about two game designers and unrequited love. I loved how well rounded the entire audiobook was. I kind of wish it was a little longer but it was great as is too! This was definitely a great example of the miscommunication trope that didn’t annoy me. I loved the entire setting of the retreat because it worked SO well for this short novella. I stayed up late because I just had to finish it and I don’t regret it!

Thank you NetGalley and Spotify Audiobooks for the ALC of this book! Opinions are my own.

When I read an Ali Hazelwood book I know exactly what to expect. An adorable steamy stem romance with a HUGE (in every way) MMC and a itty bitty little FMC. And every single time I eat it up, this book was no exception.

Viola and Jesse are rival video game designer at rival companies forced to work together on a joint project. In order to help the teams figure out how to work together, they are sent on a work retreat to a ski lodge.

This book has such a cozy wintry vibe and was a fun read. I felt as through the characters lacked some depth and I wanted more detail in general about their upcoming game collaboration. The side characters added a lot to the book.

The narrator was also fantastic! I really appreciated her character work. It was a fun and quick listen I would recommend.

LOVE an Ali Hazelwood book ya'll. She is so FUN. I know what I'm getting: a teeny tiny girl who's a genius and a grumpy tall, big strong man who is she thought hated her the entire time but secretly harbored feelings for her since the day he saw her. A man down so bad that he loses the ability to communicate properly. She found a formula she excels at and I eat up UP every time. Ali write up a real man for me :/

This one was so much fun! It's sweet...and then spicy...then spicier...and the storyline still manages to stay sweet.

This is a really quick listen, and the narrator is excellent, but maybe don't play it over your car's speakers on carpool day.

Weirdly, I would have liked more details about the potential video game, even though I'm not a big video game fan. Their collaboration sounded awesome.

Thank you NetGalley and Spotify Audiobooks for the ALC of this book! Opinions are my own.

As usual, Ali Hazelwood delivers a swoony STEM romance.
Two people who hate each other (or so we think) are forced to hangout in a "work retreat" so that they can possibly work together on a big project. People want to sabotage it, Viola & Jesse both decide to endorse the project and tell everyone that if they make it fail, basically they'll be out of a job.
Viola and Jesse, being the leads on this are also forced together by their bosses. I did enojy this story. This book is light and fluffy I'd say, it felt very charming in a "miscommunication, oh no let's make out" kind of way.
Not Ali's best, but enjoyable.

Thank you Netgalley & Spotify Audiobooks for this ARC of Two Can Play by Ali Hazelwood! I am a big Ali Hazelwood fan and was so excited to get the opportunity to read / listen to this book. This was such a fun, quick, and easy read and I ended up really enjoying it. I do think it could’ve benefited from being longer and going more in depth into the characters. I wish our MC’s, Jesse & Viola, could’ve figured out their miscommunication quicker. I feel like it took up a lot of the storyline and the book and their connection could’ve really benefited from talking things out sooner. I did really enjoy the entire video game aspect of the book, I wish they went more in depth with all of that because I found it so interesting. I love how much the game they were working on meant to them, and how the story was an important part of their lives individually and ultimately brought the two of them together. It made me happy seeing them feel so strongly about keeping the video game true to the books and how they wouldn’t back down from their visions for it. I also really loved the winter vibes of this book, perfect for the upcoming months! Something about a winter retreat at a lodge really does something for me, the vibes were there and it made me want to go there too lol. I thought Kelsey Navarro Foster did a really good job narrating Viola and Jesse. I tend to prefer dual narrations of a book but overall I think Kelsey did a good job of capturing the tones & feelings of both characters. Overall I enjoyed this book, but again I wish it was longer because it did feel a little rushed in parts, and especially at the end. I recommend this book if you’re looking for winter vibes, a quick and easy read, some spice, and if you like a rival to lovers plot!

3.75 ⭐️