Playing Flirty by Shameez Patel is the ultimate romance for nerdy hearts! Packed with witty banter, geeky humor, and characters so endearing you’ll want to cosplay as them, this story is a delightful mix of fun and feels. Patel levels up the romance genre with playful chemistry and moments that hit you right in the emotions. A perfect read for anyone who loves love—and a little fandom flair!

Playing Flirty by Shameez Patel is a book for all of the nerds and the board game lovers. It's a fun rom com that is full of wit and great references. It's a best friend's brother trope that delivers the swoon.

Many thanks to the amazing team at Forever Books, the author, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me.

3.5⭐️ As a lover of board games, I really liked the premise of this book. Rose has been working on designing a board game and begins working with one of her best friends half-brother. I loved that Rose and her friends had weekly scheduled game nights because it seems so realistic for a group of nerdy friends. The friendship dynamic between Neema, Shaun and Rose was very believable.

I felt that the romance between Rose and Will was a little rushed. I didn’t feel like I truly understood their backstory, and why they were supposed to dislike each other at the beginning of the book. I did love their banter and the many moments of almost getting caught.

Playing Flirty was a fun read that was cute and nerdy.

Thanks NetGalley for the eARC.

I ended up reading with my ears for this one since reading with my eyes has been a tough one lately. But all I have to say is YES! This was such a cute read and I enjoyed every second of it. I was waiting for Patrick to move along, so we could just focus on the main two that is Rose and William. I loved their chemistry, but most of the all the friendship they started to form throughout the book. I really enjoyed the cosplay, gaming, and board game elements to this story, it just added so much. And you can never go wrong with found family!

I'm definitely keeping an eye on Shameez's future reads because this one checked off so many boxes for me!

This was so freaking cute!!! William is here to challenge your top book boyfriends to a duel. And he might win.

The flirty banter was top notch and addictive. Rose and William’s swoon-worthy romance had me rooting for them and eagerly waiting for the reveal! The found family of friends, the game nights, and unconditional support of each other filled my heart with so much warmth. This one is going on my favorites shelf.

Thanks for Forever Publishing for the review copy! Thoughts are my own.

This was such a fun read, and I absolutely loved the homage to geekdom. Not just gaming geekiness (both board and video), but books and movies as well. There's even a glorious nod to Jane Austen by way of a Charlotte Lucas reference and that was the chef's kiss moment for me. We've got enemies/gaming rivals to lovers; a fantastic found family; the most adorable and surprisingly wholesome slow burn (with a well executed fade to black/non-descriptive fulfillment).

There's so much to love, and it's such a fun, sometimes silly read - but there's also some heavy stuff, including sexual harassment. Even with that, I very much enjoyed the read.

Many thanks to Forever Publishing and the author for the digital review copy.

I love a romance that brings in the nerdy goodness, and I'm so pleased to see how many of these have been coming out lately. Let's dig into my review!

Playing Flirty Synopsis

In Playing Flirty, Rose likes to follow her plan. She had a chaotic childhood, and spreadsheets have become her way of keeping things under control. But Rose also has a dream - getting the board game she created to become a reality. So, she decides to enter it into a board game contest. The only problem? It needs to be perfect.

Enter William, her best friend's brother and her longtime game night rival. He just so happens to provide professional feedback on games. He might be the one who can make her game great... if they can handle so much time alone together.

Playing Flirty Review

I absolutely loved this book! The banter and slow-burn tension were spot-on. I loved seeing how Rose and William teased one another while also deeply understanding the other person, and that vibe came out so well in their flirtation.

This book tackles some more difficult themes that Rose has to navigate, such as her boss' inappropriate behavior and realizing her current romantic relationship might not be a fit. I felt those topics were handled well and authentically, and they also served to let us see Rose grow as a character throughout the story.

The nerdy references were also spot-on, with plenty of Lord of the Rings hobbit fun thanks to Rose's height. I enjoyed watching her and William work together to create a game and felt we saw just enough of it for it to feel real, without getting too bogged down in the details.

I also appreciated how the author set up the conflict in the romance. I hate third-act breakups that feel contrived based on stupid miscommunication, and this book manages to make you worry for the couple's future without feeling like either of them is just being an idiot.

Final Thoughts

In all, Playing Flirty is as fun to read as a well-designed board game is to play. It kept me up past bedtime to finish the story so I could find out how everything ended, which is high praise for someone like me who is always in bed on time.

I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a solid slow burn, but especially to those who love board games and other nerdy things, looking to watch two people fall in love.

Playing Flirty by Shameez Patel
Contemporary romance. Diverse. Best friend’s brother and enemies to lovers troupes.
Rose Marie Jones loves games, game night and cosplay. Her long-time lackluster boyfriend has mostly disappeared from her life, and her job is tension filled because of a demanding boss. She puts her exuberance into games and has even built a game herself. She’s convinced to enter a gaming contest and William, a game designer, is exactly the person to help her. They have had a contentious relationship up until now, but laying her hopes out in front of William opens another direction for their friendship. Maybe a little bit of lust thrown in the mix.

An entertaining opposite attracts romance with cosplay humor and forbidden love that the two make sexy and playful. While both are adults, it reads almost YA/NA, although work issues are clearly adult. Loved all the costumes and the realistic game result and the promise of a fun long-term adventure.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley.

This book started out slow, and I found the first 25-30 percent a little hard to engage with, but as I got deeper in I enjoyed it more and more, and there was a surprising level of depth. The premise was a lot of fun and I liked that the book was a little dorky without being all inside jokes and gate keeping. I liked the FMC and MMC, and even though the dynamics of their friend group were a bit confusing (there were a few side characters I kept forgetting about), I think the whole thing worked.

4 stars

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

great book and I loved the action and the romance . I loved seeing the friends and family. I loved that they were able to figure things out. Overall a great book .

It’s really a 3.5 stars but I don’t confidently want to give it 4. Still, I really liked it! Quick read, likable characters, fun for fans of romance and gaming alike. I didn’t like how much the soon to be ex boyfriend was in the book - that’s not my favorite trope, even if it was obvious he was not the One. I hate to see characters growing closer knowing one is in a relationship, so if that’s not your thing, this might not be for you. And I just felt like I wanted to know William a little better. There’s this air of mystery around him, like he’s a Bad Boy and not right for Rose, but he’s just an intelligent, hot, successful, thoughtful guy. His backstory wasn’t quite enough to justify that reaction to him for me

My board game playing, fantasy reading, LOTR loving, geeky heart was all over this book. It embraces the nerd girl in all of us. And I'm not sure what I loved more. The slow burn romance between Rose and William or the absolutely amazing friend group featured. Can I join your group please. And they way they all unconditionally supported each other.

I really enjoyed watching Rose come into her own. Both personally and professionally. It may have taken her some time but she realized she was in a relationship that was wrong for her. And the strength it took to stand up for herself at work. Add in the confidence to submit her board game idea and we have a perfect low key bad ass female. And I think William is now in my top book boyfriends list. Someone who will nerd out with you and support your dreams whole heartedly, yes please.

This book just spoke to me in so many ways. I hadn't heard of the author before receiving my ARC but will definitely be checking out her other works.

Huge thank you to NetGalley and Forever Pub for my copy in return for an honest review!

TW: gas lighting, sexual harassment, workplace harassment

Thank you to @readforeverpub & @shameezwrites for the gifted copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: Playing Flirty
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: Shameez Patel
𝐏𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬: 352

𝐒𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: San Diego, CA
𝐌𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬: Rose designed a fantasy board game when she was younger but never did anything with it even though it was her dream to be a Board Game Designer. She took the safe route, becoming an Investment Analyst. She works with her best friend, Shaun who is about to marry her other best friend, Neema. William, Shaun's half brother/roommate is a videogame designer. He has playboy tendencies and always needs to make things into a competition with Rose. When Rose decides to finally submit her game to a contest, she seeks William's help.

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐡𝐚𝐬:
• Rivals to Lovers
• Best Friend’s Brother
• Second Chance
• Nerdy Vibes - cosplay, D&D, LOTR, Hobbit, etc
• Found Family
• Forced Proximity
• Lots of Flirty Banter

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐝:
• Game Nights with friends!
• Ongoing competition between Rose & William
• When Patrick gets the boot
• The towel scene 🥵
• “Meetings” on the balcony
• Rose’s mom was hilarious
• Great side characters

𝐀𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬: I absolutely loved this book! The characters, the side characters, the story…everything! The chemistry between Rose & William was fantastic!

I had a feeling at the beginning of Gandalf's identity! I was really hoped that Rose would figure it out sooner!!! I wanted to jump into the book and smack not only Patrick but Jeffrey Markham too! I really appreciated how they were dealt with.

My only complaint is that in the middle it started to drag a bit.

𝐂𝐖: Workplace Harassment

What a charming geeky rom-com

Rose has her life all planned....down to the spreadsheet, but can this work for someone with such a fun and game loving spirit?

Just when she thinks she will begin marking her life goals her 2 BF's get engaged. Leaving her questioning everything.

Her BF's brother William is a good-looking and grumpy game designer that has always eluded Rose. When the opportunity to submit a board game she's invented comes up, William is the natural choice to help her.

It was very relatable how much both William and Rose doubt themselves and feel unworthy of true love and connection. Using "games" to hide their feels.

A great story of growing and finding long lost love, connection and direction.

This is a delightful read for fans of lighthearted, geeky romance who enjoy stories about found family, board games, and the thrill of competition, making it a perfect fit for readers who crave a charming and humorous tale of love and self-discovery.

This book was the absolute cutest with some steamy romance and an absolutely incredible cast of characters. From the very beginning, I was just absolutely hooked and the way that I ate this book up...! I've never read anything by Shameez Patel before but that will absolutely be changing!

The tension, the banter, the witty comments were all so well done. I also absolutely loved all of the gaming talk - that nerdiness just truly touched my soul. There was some workplace tension that was a bit of a subplot, but I do feel as though it was handled decently!

Thank you to NetGalley, and Forever (Grand Central) publishing for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

Playing Flirty was absolutely delightful! It’s cute, fun and full of nerdy references with a rivals-to-lovers romance.

Between her love of games and struggles with both her personal and professional life, Rose was incredibly relatable. It was so easy to root for her to succeed with her board game (which sounds like it'd be A LOT of fun!) and her budding romance with William.

Rose and William were adorable together! Pretty much all of their interactions had me smiling, especially once they started their game of “playing nice". I just loved how competitive they were with each other. The banter and tension between them was perfect so seeing their relationship evolve was amazing.

I loved all the gaming and LOTR references! They made me want to rewatch the movies (again) and finally start reading the books.
I really liked the found family vibes from Rose’s friend group. Their game nights were definitely a highlight.

This is the perfect rom-com if you’re a lover of all things nerdy! I'm looking forward to reading whatever Shameez Patel releases next!

Playing Flirty is the ultimate love letter to gamers & nerds. There were SO many references and nods in this book that were fun to read as someone who identifies as both! 💖

I love a rivals to lovers story, and Playing Flirty absolutely crushed it. Rose and William’s personalities complement one another so well, and it was so sweet getting to see their relationship shift and unfold. (Also as someone who is super competitive when it comes to board games/competitions in general, I deeply resonated with both of their competitive energy 😂)

This book is a great fit for you if you agree with any or all of the following:
- love rivals to lovers (+ in particular: secret initial relationship)
- enjoy reading about a solid friend group that gives found family vibes
- find yourself getting way too worked up over games and/or competitions (👀)
- are looking for a story that perfectly encapsulates the chaos that is figuring out what you want from your life when your “perfect” 5 year plan turns out to be a wash
- want a romance that will have you smiling at the end because of how everything comes together :)

This book was such a fun read, and I am thankful I got a chance to read it early. If this sounds like your kind of read, it came out yesterday, so you should go pick it up !!!! 💖

i can’t express just how much i loved this book, so i’ll do my best!!

let me start with the characters - i felt like i knew them so deeply, their personalities, their interests, their quirks and flaws. it was so refreshing to see so much of the character building on page!

the whole setting and vibe was also incredible - as a girl who considers herself a gamer (even if it’s just of the cozy and goofy variety) the vibes we’re actually immaculate the entire time. board game nights with friends are one of my favorite ways to fill my cup in my own personal life, so i loved living through theirs as well!

now for the romance - the PINING!!!! the tension started so early on, and while it was a fun grumpy sunshine trope, it was nice because William was like the epitome of “grumpy except when they’re alone” kind of energy. their tension was amazing, their banter was incredible, their relationship was beautiful to watch blossom. and his protective nature was so hot LOL

I also really liked the family aspect - both in William's and Shaun’s relationship with their father and with each other, as well as arose and her parents and getting to know more about their upbringings.

last thing… the epilogue?! MY GOD MY HEART. sobbed. so cute!!!

thank you Forever for the eArc of this novel!

Thanks to librofm + Netgalley I was able to read an ARC of this enemies to lovers romcom full of gameplay and nerdy joy. I loved how the game nights were such a big part of this title, and how Rose who’s always had her life planned out finds a way to embrace change and fall in love.

Patel wrote great tension between Rose & William with witty banter and a fabulous group of friends and co-workers that made this story fun to read. I always adore Forever Publishing titles and was thrilled to listen to this one, the narration made it even better! I've loved seeing an uptick in books with a focus on gameplay and females going after what they want in the industry and the growth between the main characters.