I received this ALC from Spotify Audiobooks, but all opinions are my own!

Thanks, I loved it. Such a fun romance between two incredibly talented video game designers from rival companies who are forced into a ski lodge for a bonding experience.

And bond they do.

two can play is a nerdy little novella written by ali hazelwood 🎮 a rivals to lovers spicy romance set in the world of video gaming!

I was shocked by how much I enjoyed this! although it does fall into the miscommunication trope, these video game designers put aside their issues to work together on their dream project. reluctantly sent off on a team building retreat with their competitor snowed in at a winter lodge, it makes for the perfect listen this coming holiday season ❄️

fair warning, our MMC is described as big and tall and strong and handsome about 50+ times in various different ways.

tbh I would’ve loved this just as much in a full length romance! thank you spotify audiobooks and netgalley for an early copy 👾 4 stars!

The ONLY thing I didn't like about this audiobook was IT WASNT LONG ENOUGH! I could've used atleast 10 more chapters. My favorite part of the book, that I caught on to before the MC did is one of my favorite tropes. (sorry for the vagueness I feel like it could be a spoiler)

FMC Viola is lead Video Game developer at her company. As is Jesse, MMC. Viola has met Jesse a few times, but he really dislikes her.
Brought together for a forced weekend work retreat with the competing company, she cant figure out why he hates her. The companies are brought together to see if they can work together. They quickly find out if the companies cant work together, no one gets the contract. As a snowstorm rages on, Viola boils over with "WHY DONT YOU LIKE ME?" I love that she is bold, strong and really badass. Jesse is a great cinnamon roll. Its nice to read a book where a MMC is just a genuine good guy.
The spice was 10/10 and I just love Alli Hazelwood so much!
Fun fact, I learned she worked at the college in my town and no one knew until she had left to pursue writing full time. I went to a reading of Love on the Brain, and she autographed a book for my Library where I am manager. :-)

Short, spicy, enemies-to-lovers if you squint. This was a fun, quick listen in Ali Hazelwood's typical style, but instead of leaning into her normal science-y zone this one delved into the world of video games. It features a tall, dark man and a small woman who think the other hates them, but actually they've both been pining! Features miscommunication as a prominent trope.
It was an easy, breezy listen of an afternoon with great narration. If you've enjoyed Hazelwood before, you will probably enjoy this one too.

Thank you so much for the advanced copy! This was such a cute story. I loved the character, Viola. I also really enjoyed the aspect of video game design! Relatable, and made me laugh. Jesse was also so sweet, by giving her space all that time. What a sweetheart.

I really enjoy Ali’s novellas. Honestly, I love how short it is. Like, sometimes when I read a book I’m sitting there like “OK GET TO THE POINT!” But this book did get straight to the point. I know that Ali could fully write this story into a whole book, but it just is not necessary. All the key points get across in a fraction of the time. If you are in a slump or don’t feel like reading, definitely pick up one of Ali’s novellas.

The characters really made sense together. Their backstory made sense. I didn't have any questions or confusion about their past, which can sometimes be the case even with a full length romance book. Usually any amount of miscommunication makes me homicidal, but this actually worked and made sense.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

It's Ali Hazelwood, need I say more. This was short and sweet, and overall everything I needed.

4.5/5

Yes this was short but wow it was amazing!! I didn’t feel like anything was missing because Ali Hazelwood is a romance goddess!

A cozy, wintery novella with the twist of a work retreat. Two Can Play has all the tropes we’ve come to love and expect from Alice Hazelwood’s books. Sprinkled with subtle Pride and Prejudice references giving Elizabeth and Darcy vibes, there are also parallels between Viola and Jesse with the characters of their favourite fictional book-turned-video-game. I loved their passion for fiction and creating stories and their rival video game designers dynamic, forced to work together (and work through miscommunication) was absolutely *chef’s kiss*. There were some incredible steamy scenes, literally, they’re in a hot tub. One of the best aspects was the incredible backstory, with years of mutual pining before romance, spice, and a HEA; perfect for a novella!

Viola Bowen is a video game designer who is ecstatic to learn the company she works for is a finalist to adapt her favorite book series into a video game. She is less than thrilled to learn that the other company up for the job is their biggest rival where her nemesis Jesse Andrews works and even less thrilled to learn the solution is that rather than compete the two companies are going to work together on the game. A shared winter company retreat forces Viola and Jesse to actually talk to one another and figure out their differences. Turns out their hatred was born of misunderstanding and both are deeply attracted to one another.

I personally love that Ali writes the same book over and over. I know exactly what I’m going to get and I enjoy it (almost) every time. There’s forced proximity, miscommunication, one-sided enemies, both are excellent at their jobs, he’s large and looms over out tiny heroine, etc. The story is novella length and no second is wasted. The characters were so sweet and clearly hot for each other from the moment they met but too dumb to realize the other was also attracted to them. The book is hot, literally the last third is just descriptive steam. I loved all the side characters at the rival companies and would love for this to turn into a series like Ali’s Stemminist novellas. This story is a Spotify original so as far as I can tell, it only exists (currently) as an audiobook, but may be published in paperback later on.

Thank you to NetGalley and Spotify Audiobooks for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Two Can Play, by Ali Hazelwood (October 1, 2024) - [Thank you @netgalley @spotify and @alihazelwood for an advanced listening copy of this fantastic audio-only novella perfect for the winter season! Below is my honest review]

Viola Bowen is living the dream—the video game company she works for just landed her dream contract - to transform her favorite book series into a video game, and she could be the lead designer. The catch? Their rival firm also won part of the contract, meaning she’ll have to collaborate with the competition. And the lead designer on the other team? None other than Jesse Andrews—the brilliant, talented, and infuriatingly attractive jerk who has barely given Viola the time of day for years. To make matters worse, their bosses think the best way to unite the two teams is a team-building retreat at a snowy lodge, where Viola and Jesse end up in rooms way too close for comfort. But as the days unfold, Viola starts to realize she may have been misreading Jesse for years.

If, like me, you’ve loved Ali’s exploration of new genres but still crave her signature spicy nerdy romances, you’re in for a treat! Two Can Play is classic Ali Hazelwood—fun, flirty, and full of chaotic charm. At just 4 hours and 24 minutes, it’s the perfect quick listen. There are flashbacks to past moments between Viola and Jesse but the bulk of the story takes place over five days at their corporate team building retreat. If you like rivals to lovers, novellas, and forced proximity, you are in for a treat!

The narration by Kelsey Navarro Foster is spot on, bringing each character to life with energy and emotion, making this audio experience even more immersive.

I was so interested in this book after seeing it's going to be an audiobook only, and was thrilled to get this ALC from Netgalley! This was such a win for me and really felt like original Ali Hazelwood after she went in different directions with Bride and Not in Love!

Two Can Play goes back to AH's tried and true trope of initial miscommunication followed by years of pining from two people in the same industry (this time video game creators). I was glad we didn't have to wait until the very end to have the MCs talk out the issue, and the addition of forced proximity in a winter setting really helped this novella not feel like it moved too quickly. I was enjoying this book until the 50% mark, then as Viola and Jesse describe what they loved about their favorite book series I became obsessed. I highly recommend this novella for a fast and fun listen that still has an interesting plot and characters.

4.5⭐

Two Can Play is a spicy workplace romance audiobook that you need as the weather gets colder! Thanks to NetGalley and Spotify Audiobooks for this advance reader's copy. I LOVE Ali Hazelwood! I've been a fan since her first book and have read her entire collection. The banter she creates, the impossible situations, the super spicy scenes and the witty banter of her books are all phenomenal. From short story to YA to romance to fantasy, she does it all well. Her usual STEM-related characters are refreshingly different than other contemporary romances and I love how her lead characters are equally matched in looks, wit and most of all intellect. She builds up delicious angst and longing between her characters that usually explodes into heated encounters and deep, deep feeling.
I must say that I am not a huge audiobook fan. I prefer reading ebooks or actual books and creating characters in my mind, from looks to their voices. I also really prefer audiobooks with multiple narrators, which this book does not have. Kelsey Navarro Foster does a good job narrating the characters overall, but I found her enthusiasm sometimes made the characters sound younger (and more naive) than they actually were.
Hazelwood has a new scenario in this book - rival video game designers who have always had secret crushes on each other. However, in the past, Jesse has often appeared standoffish and even unfriendly with Viola, who can't figure out how she has offended him. The two end up in adjoining rooms at a work retreat for both of their small companies at a snowy mountain resort. The two teams are working on creating a new video game together. This game is important to both Jesse and Viola, and they bond over their love of the book series and characters the game is based on. As they spend more time together, their attraction is undeniable, and as they spend more time together, they are honest with each other about their feelings. Hazelwood is a master of building up to and creating really hot encounters between the main characters, and this book is no exception. Two Can Play is another great angsty romance set in the science/tech world. Grab some hot chocolate, headphones and enjoy this audiobook this winter in front of a cozy fire. You are going to love Viola and Jesse!

Hazelwood does it again- a delicious romance that keeps the readers intrigued and wondering what will happen next, all whilst giving an accurate look into gender dynamics in the tech field. This book in particular handles an incredibly sexist field- video game design. For the retreat itself, the reader has to suspend their disbelief (there were no scheduled Myers’s Briggs quiz sessions!) but otherwise it is incredibly accurate. I loved the relationship between Viola and Jesse too- the private scenes between the two were mellow and so natural. We had the build up towards the ultimate sex scene, of course, but the characters didn’t treat it like the end-all be-all, but rather as a natural event that would occur between them. It was lovely. Lastly, the narrator was great. Kelsey Navarro is always a hit.

Two nemesis companies have to work together to design a very famous and high on demand game.
Viola is the lead game designer in one of the companies and has been waiting for this opportunity to design this game that's based on her favourite book series. The problem is the other lead designer is Jesse her unrequited crush the person who has been indifferent towards her for years.
To make matters worse, the 2 companies have to go together on a winter retreat for one week to work on their team development and group building. Easily said than done right?!!!
First, I want to say I'm not a real fan of audiobooks but when I saw it's a book by the one and only Ali Hazelwood I couldn't not request it.
With that being said, this is a novella rather than a novel it's only 17 chapters and 4.30 hrs long.
It was cute and hilarious 😂. The narrator was excellent however, I would really have loved to have a male narrator for Jessie even though there're no dual POvs especially in the intimate scenes coz I was having a hard time imagining it when I knew that the same person was talking.
The other thing, I wanted more than just intimate scenes between the two I wanted to see them work together and bickering about the game and how it should be done.

All in all, it was an enjoyable read fast and cute.
Thank you so much @netgalley and the publisher for granting me an ALC of #TwoCanPlay in exchange for my honest review.

a classic ali hazelwood short story that is reminiscent of her previous works. fun and set in the tech world of an indie game company. i really enjoyed how this story, especially because it was shorter, did a perfect job of introducing characters and their background to us and even created an emotional connection.
thank you to netgalley and spotify audiobooks for the audio arc
3.5/5

Two Can Play is a novella that clocks in at just under 4.5 hours. If you’re looking for a quick listen that gives classic Ali (think TLH & her original novellas) this is it! Ali always always always has me LOLing and this read was no exception! I loved the wintery mountain lodge setting and though I know NOTHING about video game creation, loved the passion our MCs had for developing their favorite book series into a game. And even though the story is short & sweet, fear not, it does get spicy!

I would also like to note: the narrator, Kelsey Navarro Foster, did a great job narrating and I appreciated the voices she did for each character!

Thank you Spotify Audiobooks and NetGalley for the ALC in exchange for an honest review!

My only complaint is that this wasn’t nearly long enough! I loved the characters and the setting of the work retreat and would love to read more about their story and the development of their game. So good!

Ali does it again!!

Thank you to Spotify Audiobooks, NetGalley and Ali Hazelwood for this advanced readers copy (audio)

My only wish... MORE!!! Viola and Jesse-F-ing- Andrews!!! I freaking loved them so much. This getaway bringing both of their companies together at this snowy retreat is the perfect setting for these 2 to get their awkward past out in the open.
Their tension and banter are absolutely perfect!!


Highlights:
"I have though of you everyday for years"
"Stay, Please. I like knowing you are waiting for me here in my bed"
"You don't need my number, Viola. Not for a while. Not if you let me keep you as close as I want to."


Jesse-f-ing- Andrews.

This novella followed the typical Ali Hazelwood formula, workplace romance between a woman in stem and the grumpy colleague she thinks hates her but has actually been secretly pining for her all along. Don't get me wrong, I love Ali and her books but she seems to write the same tropes/characters over and over. This was a fun if predictable read with some spicy content and I really liked that the main characters were video game programmers! The audio narration was fabulous by one of my favs, Kelsey Navarro Foster. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review!