I got a copy of this for a fair and honest review. I am a gamer as well. I don't have the skills they do, but I do enjoy playing now and again. The Megabyte team is a wonderful group of characters. They are Katie, Alex, Penny, Trevor and Lexi. It kept me on the edge the whole way. I did not want to put my kindle down the whole time. I had to just keep going until after 2am. I could not go to bed not knowing how it ended. The end was not how I thought it was going to go. I think it was a great read and wish there was more to read. Pick this up and read it you will not be disappointed.

Cute, slightly bittersweet romance with lots of geeky fun. Online RPGs, cosplay and teen love drama.

Recommended for a fun, quick read.

Playing Her Secret Crush is a cute friends to more young adult novel ready to be your next beach read if you're into gaming. Yep. No where does the blurb hint that there is a huge gaming aspect to this novel, which I think may have been a misjudgment, especially since I really enjoyed the gaming and the other geeky parts.

Katie is a great character. She has stoically been best friends with Alex even though he's been totally oblivious (possible oxymoron since he's a teenage boy) regarding her true feelings for him. She befriends Lexi, another excellent character, although Alex has chosen Lexi to be his girlfriend.

While I could understand Alex' quandary, feeling like if he gave into his feelings for Katie that he would be betraying his brother, I also couldn't understand it at the same time. I am not a huge fan of romances built around supposed "codes" like don't date your best friend's sister or live alone rather than pursue the love of your life because he/she once dated your best friend. Jason, Alex' brother, had remarked that Katie was a wonderful girl, and Alex had built that up to mean so many things, probably too many things. This could have all been cleared up earlier, but then no novel.

However, I think Casey Griffin did a great job of showing Alex' mixed up feelings. How he was both in awe of his "perfect" older brother and yet jealous and how those feelings and perhaps guilt because of those feelings made him shut himself off from real relationships.

There's a lot of miscommunication or non-communication in Playing Her Secret Crush, and it felt like a good deal of the plot hinged on this. I understand that communications issues can be a great device--hey, it probably started with Shakespeare and that can't be bad, right? But it leaves me feeling "meh."

Flipside: I loved the gaming aspect. The Conquerors of Caroon sounded like a game I'd like to play. The rock climbing and Comic Con geekiness and the wonderful ensemble of side characters (Penny and Trevor!) and the chance for the underdog to win were all things I enjoyed, and which, ultimately left me feeling good. 

A definite beach read for us geeks who love YA crushes.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Playing Her Secret Crush is about Katie and Alex. They are both in love with each other but they both think that the other isn’t in love with them. Katie and Alex are both trying to find other people to fall in love with so they can forget each other, but it isn’t as easy as they may think…

Playing Her Secret Crush is such a cute and fun read! It’s so adorable to read that these best friends are in love with each other even though they both think the other isn’t. Playing Her Secret Crush is also a fast-paced book and easy to read. It’s such a light read and just perfect when you want to relax and don’t want to think too much!

There were some gaming scenes in this book, which were interesting but sometimes a bit too long. Other than that, I really enjoyed reading Playing Her Secret Crush and I cannot wait to read more books written by Casey Griffin!

Its a cute, easy summer read.. Though the plot is quite predictable.

A perfect companion for summer days..

This was really cute and sweet. Enjoyable, but very predictable and a little shallow. It was fun but nothing more than that, honestly. If you’re looking for a meaningful of well developed story, I suggest you look for a different book. If you’re however looking for a quick contemporary read, you’re in the right place.

I loved the friendship between Katie and Alex and how they balanced each other so well. It was fun, too, that Katie was as into the online video game and team just as much as Alex. It isn't often I see girls depicted as being gamers even though there are lots of them who do play.

The game, Conqurers of Caroon, was so well done that I wanted to play it! The author did a fantastic job setting up that world.

Playing her secret crush is an adorable young adult romance book. Great characters and a very great story.

This wasn’t my cup of tea. I’m not really interested in gaming so it wasn’t my favorite kind of book. But for those of you who are interested in gaming, this is the perfect book for you!

Very cute. Very sweet. Excellent writing. Great depth to characters with more backstory than normal. It was told in alternating, 3rd person POV which was actually really cool given the YA genre. But that just added to the sweetest of each characters' story.
A very cute, sweet, easy beach read. The only thing that dropped the rating for me is that I'm not a gamer, like at all. So a lot of the gaming scenes either went over my head in a slightly boring way or I just straight up skimmed them. Other than that, the characters and writing were great and it was fairly clean for a YA novel these days.
Would I recommend it? Absolutely.
Thank you to Netgally and the publisher for an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review!

The Quick Cut: Best friends harboring a crush for one another continue to navigate the awkward waters of ignoring their chemistry while continuing to try and find romantic relationships with other people... and asking for help from one another.

A Real Review:
Thank you to Entangled Publishing for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is one of those cute romantic reads you pick up for some light summer fun. I read this one right before bed last night in a couple hours flat, so if you're looking for something easy to enjoy - this will definitely fit the ticket.

Alex and Katie have been best friends for two years. They spend most of their time playing the video game Conquerors of Caroon with their other two teammates, Penny and Trevor. Everything about their lives revolves around Alex's now deceased brother, Jason. Alex harbors a secret crush towards Katie but refuses to act on it knowing that his brother also had intense feelings for her right before he died. Katie also has feeling her Alex, but is getting tired of waiting for him to catch on and finally ask her out instead of his new girl of the week. However, the tables get turned when Alex comes over and asks Katie to help him settle down and find *gulp* a girlfriend.

Let the romantic games begin. In the midst of a Conquerors of Caroon tournament that their team tries desperately to enter, these two continue to pursue their respective dates - Lexi, Katie's next door neighbor and Ben the Barista. Lexi joins the Conquerors team to fill their empty fifth slot in order to make a full team for the tournament and create some needed situations for Alex to attempt to get to know Lexi. As time continues on though, Katie and Alex can't seem to stop getting stuck on their feelings for each other - rather than focusing on other people.

The story here is a little complicated, but it definitely pulls you in with the connections between the game and the brother. The emotional aspect to it and how it pushes our couple to continue forward when it would be easier to just give up really does its job story wise. There is one bone I do have to pick though - its with Ben the Barista. This guy is barely a mention on the storyline highway before he disappears again. Why?!?!?! He had so much potential to be an amazing foil and a total problem for Alex. Instead, Katie ends up ditching him after what feels like one date. Major mistake in my eyes and the story here would have been far better serviced if he stuck around much longer.

With a sweet story that involves a cute couple, a video game tournament, and romantic entanglements to the brim - the book is worth the summer breeze read that it is while enjoying your time on the beach this summer.

Such a sweet romance!
I read this book in one sitting because it's got such a great pace and you can pretty much guess how things might go for both Katie and Alex. It's as much about friendship as it is about trust and overcoming grief, and whereas the friends are great and brave at playing virtual reality games, they are not as brave when confronting their feelings and fears in the real world.
Look, I know I voluntarily requested and read an advanced copy of this book and that all thoughts and opinions are my own, however, if you are into YA novels that are short and sweet and incorporate a variety of themes then I'd recommend reading this.

I was given an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review

Cute and light. Obvious but soothing. Good for teens.

Super cute, super fast summer read. Very predictable. I could have recited the plot from page 1. I read this book in two hours. Katie and Alex are best friends. They are part of a video game team online which they take very seriously. Alex's older brother died two years earlier and Alex kind of lives his life as crazy and dangerous as possible so he doens't miss out on anything especially new experiences and new girls. Katie is the opposite. They are obviously both in love with each other but too afraid of the consequences to admit it. Their gaming team enters and wins a contest to go go Vegas and play against other teams. The whole entire scenario is so sweet and nice, and the conclusion is like a gift tied with a bow, perfect. Cute book. Perfect summer romance book for anyone at the beach or the pool.