Playing Flirty is a story about a group of friends who enjoy a weekly game night. The main character, Rose, creates a board game of her own, and her friends convince her to enter it into a board game contest. The problem is that Rose is a bit of a control freak and this game needs to be perfect. She enlists the help of William, a member of the friend group and game night rival, and professional game feedback provider.

This was a cute read, but I don't think I would read it again. I enjoy playing games, but it was a little too much on the gamer side for me. Very cute, witty banter between Rose and William, but definitely a slow burn. I think I missed the Gandolf story because it is mentioned several times throughout the book and I never quite understood the reference. The book does go through some more difficult topics, such as a Rose experiencing inappropriate advances from her boss, leaving her job, and deciding whether or not she should part ways from her current boyfriend, who is a 100% match on her spreadsheet.

The cosplay, gaming, and banter caused this opposites-attract style novel to feel playful and fun. The story itself reads more as a YA novel, although the character does experience some more adult themes. The narrator was easy to understand and entertaining. Thank you Netgalley for this opportunity in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this narrator. This book is a love letter to nerds. featuring both board games and video games. Figuring out yourself and friends who seriously are there for everything. listening to this audiobook made the tension even more better.. 10/10

First thing’s first: thank you Netgalley for the ALC of this book!
Playing Flirty was nerdy cringe love done right! Rose and William had me kicking my feet and giggling and only cringing a tiny bit every now and then. The slow burn was excellent and I think this book worked so well as a closed door romance. I thought this was well narrated and I loved the whole cast of characters. I really enjoyed this book!
3.75⭐️

I loved this book so much. The narrator did a fantastic job the entire time. The book had a slightly slow start to it, but I knew the payoff would be worth it so I stuck with it and got HOOKED eventually. This was a well done slow burn in my opinion.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this book!

Wow!! I could not stop listening to this audio! It had me hooked from the very first chapter! The narrator did great! Such great writing style!

This one is for the nerds! Whether you love cosplay, D&D, board games, or game nights with friends, you’re going to love this new romance release! Playing Flirty follows a group of friends through their weekly game nights and when our main character enters a board game competition, she finds an unlikely ally!

I was blown away by how authentic, sweet, funny, and honest this story was. I was captured from start to finish and highly recommended adding it to your TBR ASAP! This was the easiest ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I’ve given out this year!

The audiobook narration was done perfectly- with such a large cast of characters, the narrator made sure we could track exactly who was talking at all times.

It was a cute romcom in the midst of it all, but there's many things that didn't work for me. Rose was a boring character. William was very one dimensional. It was very slow and nothing happening it parts, it just felt underwhelming to me.

2.5 ⭐️
This was a cutesy gamer nerds love story. It was just a little too “vanilla” for my taste.
Once a week Rose meets up with her best friends to play games. William is the half-brother of her male best friend and her ‘arch nemesis’ whom she must beat at every game. She is in a relationship with a douchebag, Patrick who doesn’t seem to care much about her or their relationship. She deals with a boss making unwanted inappropriate comments to her in the work place. There was an issue between William and his dad that was sorta wrapped up abruptly at the end of the book without much backstory.
I didn’t really connect to the characters.
Rose was so boring. 🥱
I think I just didn’t jive with the writing style of this author and that’s okay. I can see how other readers will enjoy this book.

Thank you publisher and NetGalley for an audio copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Playing Flirty is a fun and quick read that walks us through the story of Rose and her life as a young adult figuring out adulthood. This rom-com includes themes such as forced proximity, rivals, best friends brother, second chance romance, fade to black romance and nerdy/gamer characters.
**Trigger warnings!** workplace harassment and blackmail, toxic parent/child relationship. In my opinion the harassment depicted, while never ok, is relatively mild in nature.
This is a relatively short book, but the story was well developed and wrapped up nicely. A quick and easy read that I don't want to put down is always welcome!
The reason for giving 4 stars instead of 5 was for the fact that I felt the characters were depicted in a more juvenile way than their ages in the book. Not a bad thing to be younger, but I would have assigned them younger ages for the maturity levels depicted.
As for the characters, I enjoyed all of them... Except Patrick and Markham. They both suck ha!
Overall, I definitely recommend giving this a listen (or read). I'll be on the lookout for more from Patel, and would gladly listen to another audiobook narrated by Nirvi Shah... She did an excellent job bringing Rose to life, and especially Rose's mom.
Thank you to Hachette | Forever, the author and NetGalley for an ALC of this audiobook!

This author is new to me, but I will be keeping an eye out for anything else they publish. I loved the story and the characters. The pacing of the story was great and the characters were relatable.

REVIEW: Playing Flirty by Shameez Patek

Playing Flirty is a cute rom-com about board games, video games, best friends, family, and other nerdy things, like cosplay. Rose is trying to plan her future, but things seem to change for her. Things at her job aren’t going well; her boyfriend, Patrick, is becoming more distant, and she is helping her best friend plan her wedding with the best man, Will, who happens to be her other best friend’s brother and her enemy.

Playing Flirty is a contemporary rom-com with a twist of nerdiness. I love that it follows a group of nerdy friends with weekly game nights. There were a bunch of nerdy references, such as Lord of the Rings, cosplaying, and video games. The friend group dynamic gave a strong, found family vibe, and their relationships were fun to watch. I also enjoyed the enemies-to-lovers trope within the story.

Unfortunately, Playing Flirty missed the mark on parts of the story. I had difficulty connecting to the characters, especially the main character, Rose. Part of that could be the story, and the characters mainly were on the surface level with little depth. There were hints of good character and story development, but they only scratched the surface. Also, I wasn’t getting much chemistry from the main two characters, especially with how quickly things seemed to move. Lastly, the ex-boyfriend becomes too much of a plot point when there should have been more time on Will and Rose. Even with many red flags, Rose still considers him an option.

Overall, I did enjoy the nerdiness, the found family, and some of the cuteness of Playing Flirty.
I just felt it lacked some depth that could make this story better.

Thank you, Hachette Audio | Forever, for the free advanced copy for my honest review!

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I like the idea of the book, but I can only hope this is a debut and the author improves in the future. This book comes off as sophomoric - the main character falls flat, there isn’t believable chemistry, and there are way too many subplots. I love that the author included diverse perspectives but many of the lines felt cliche and not genuine. It honestly feels like this is all an idealized version of the perfect nerd world, with the perfect friends, the incredibly hot and adoring MMC, but it was written by someone who doesn’t have many lived experiences with these things. I might give this author a chance in the future, but I hope they improve their writing before then. 2.5⭐️, 2🌶

What a cute rom-com! Rose Marie loves game. Her hyper competitive side comes out whenever she’s around Willam, her best friend’s half brother. I really loved the banter between these two. I also liked how they talked about roses struggles with her job. A lot of this book was very relatable which I enjoyed.

I do wish that trigger warnings had been spoken about the beginning of the book.

I think the narrator did a great job. It did feel like it was recorded slow so I made sure to set the speed higher!

If you love rom-coms or stories about board games, id definitely recommend this book. Thank you so much NetGalley, Shameez and Hachette Audio for the E-ALC!

Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️

#NetGalley #PlayingFlirty

Playing Flirty was a fun and quirky rom com, and excellent escapist read.

I loved Rose’s bolshy, competitive but slightly reserved character, and the way she played off William. Their gradual build of chemistry felt authentic and made for a more satisfying storyline. I enjoyed their unapologetic nerdiness, and their passion for board games and gaming.

The story was well paced, but I did find it took me a little while to get used to the rhythm and style of narration. Once I did though, I thoroughly enjoyed the dramatisation of Rose and William, and thought the narrator did a wonderful job of capturing their emotional experience and personalities.

Overall, a relaxing and enjoyable read, with two very loveable main characters.

Thank you Hachette Audio for a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed are my own.

The story is charming and engaging, making for a delightful read from start to finish. If you're in the mood for a cute and fun romance, this book is a perfect pick!

This was such a good book. I loved the story and the writing so much. The characters were great and the story flowed smoothly. Will definitely read more books by this author in the future.

My geeky heart is so full !!

This was such a cute romcom and found the fmc sooo relatable.
First her parents are the sweetest and I love them and second ! Can I please get a bf like William !! Ugh I’m obsessed with him!

The fmc love video games, cos playing , board games, and all geeky things! Especially her obsession with the Tolkien world because SAME!!
I love how the MMC is always calling her hobbit 🥹💖

I highly recommend you picking this book up if you’re looking for a cute dorky romcom 💖💖

This book shocked me in the best way possible. I loved William and Rose so much along with all the side characters. These characters at some moments felt like genuine, real people.

🎧: Playing Flirty -a standalone

✍🏾 Author: Shameez Patel-new to me author

📅Publication date: 1-14-25 | Read 1-29-25

Genre: Rom-Com, Adult Fic

Tropes:
• Rivals
• Best Friend’s Brother
• Found Family
• Forced Proximity
• Gaming

🗣️Narrator: Nirvi Shah voices all the characters with standouts from characters: Rose and William. The reading style brought the text to life, and the author and narrator worked together perfectly. The pacing and flow allowed me to get lost in the story. The narrator paused and announced new chapters and there was a table of contents which helped me follow along.

🏃🏾‍➡️Run Time: 8:51

🌎 Setting: San Diego, CA

👆🏾POV: 1st person single-Rose

⚠️TW: sexual harassment-h, blackmail-h, toxic parent-H

Summary: Rose secretly invented a fantasy board game when she was eighteen but never pursued it. She is getting her MBA and became an investment analyst where she works with her best friend Shaun. William is Shaun's half-brother and also a game designer who turns everything into a contest with Rose. When Rose decides to submit her game into a tournament, she seeks William's help.

👩🏾 Heroine: Rose Marie Jones-27, works at M&G Group

👨🏾 Hero: William Ashdern-27, Shaun's roommate

🎭 Other Characters:
*Neema-Rose's BFF
*Shaun-Rose's BFF, co-worker
*Patrick-Rose's boyfriend
*Jeffrey Markham-Rose's boss


😊 What I liked:
• Weekly game nights with friends
• Ongoing competition and witty banter between Rose & William
• Rose’s parents were hilarious
•pet names for each other


😞What I didn't:
• I wanted some of William's POV
•Rose missing all the red flags with Patrick-a little too naive

Rating: 3.5/5⭐
Spice level 2/5🔥 kissing, fade to black

🙏🏾Thanks to NetGalley, Hachette Audio| Forever, and Shameez Patel for this ALC 🧙🏾‍♂️ I voluntarily give my honest review, and all opinions are my own.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.75/ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️/🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

Thank you to NetGalley and Shameez Patel for the ALC of Playing Flirty! This was such an easy listen—I couldn’t put it down even when I tried (and I tried). The characters were fun and relatable, especially Rose. The way she thinks and acts felt refreshingly real—she’s flawed, and that just made her more likable. The story follows Rose Marie Jones and her romance with William Ashdern. Told entirely from Rose’s POV, it was engaging, but I really wished for a William POV. The way he talks and acts around Rose made me so curious about his inner thoughts, and without them, his character felt a little one-dimensional. A glimpse into his perspective would have added more depth. At the start, Rose is dating Patrick—handsome, stable, but never truly putting her first. On top of that, she’s stuck in a dead-end job with a boss who constantly harasses her, and Patrick doesn’t seem to see the problem. When she realizes the spark is gone, she initiates their breakup. Enter William—Rose’s long-time playing nemesis and the paragon of a sexy nerd. They’ve always had a competitive dynamic, but when Rose decides to enter a contest with a board game she secretly designed, she turns to William for help. Suddenly, their game rivalry is turning into something much more serious. I loved the nerdy elements—the Lord of the Rings/Hobbit references, the board games, the video games—it all added a fun touch. But something still felt missing. A dual POV would have helped bring William to life, and I also found myself wanting a little more spice to amp up the tension. Even in the audiobook, which had a great narrator, a male voice for William’s dialogue might have made the story feel more dynamic.Overall, Playing Flirty is a quick, lighthearted read with great diversity and a charming nerdy romance. While I wished for more depth and dual POV, I still had fun with this one!