Wow. I absolutely adored this book! Rose and William’s story was truly a joy to read. From start to finish (and in one sitting) I enjoyed every second and was totally hooked. As a gamer and self-proclaimed nerd and lover of all geeky things, this was not only relatable but also just truly gave me little sparks of happiness with each page. Rose is beautifully written, vibrant, kind, and brave. Her energy is so light and I wanted her to “get her happy” so badly in this story, and I’m so glad she did! And William- what a man! His love for her was truly just next level (see what I did there!) and dedicated in a way that was so much more than the game she thought they were playing in being flirty and fun… it was love. Shameez Patel has a voice that leaps off the page and I will definitely be diving into more from her! Thank you to Forever Pub and NetGalley for my free copy of this eARC!

The way that I DEVOURED every word of this book! I lost sleep over reading this because I didn't have the strength to leave the plot and put it down for the night!!

I absolutely love a good secret romance and this was so cute and nerdy- I was kicking my feet the whole time! I really enjoyed Rose's journey to follow her dreams and grow into her best self!

This was really cute! I enjoyed the focus on gaming, which we don't often see in romance. I found myself frustrated with the actions of the two leads at times, but it was a fun read!

Cute story about Rose and her best friend’s brother William. Other tropes include rivals to lovers and secret dating. I would suggest checking for trigger warnings- Rose’s boss makes her uncomfortable and there’s some inappropriate behavior there.

Overall I thought it was cute- I like that Rose is making a board game. I love that William is protective of her and he helps her make her game amazing.

Here's the thing, I really tried with this one and I just didn't like it at all. I was annoyed the first 20% her trying to make it work with a man that clearly was not interested in her, then get pushed into a fake dating-forced proximity scenario that was okay, I was just bored... the whole time.

I got an e-arc of this book on NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Rose is a gamer and has a friend circle full of gamers. Once a week they meet up for game night to connect and compete.

Rose loves the evening because she gets to forget about her horrible, creeptastic boss, her increasingly inattentive boyfriend, and the fact that she’s very behind on her Life Goals binder (with a full milestone chart!). She also loves that she gets to compete with her best friend’s half-brother. William is a sexy nerd, a professional gamer, and they enjoy sniping at each other as much as they enjoy competing.

I won’t spoil the in between but William (I love him!) has been in love with Rose since forever ever and he proves it over and over the second she got a chance. Rose gets her confidence back, not just in being desirable but also in finally pursuing producing her board game.

Aww, I love them so much. Rose spent her childhood traveling the world with her parents and seeks stability which sometimes looks like holding on past the expiration date. THat’s just one of the demons they struggle through together. William holds all of his demons close to his chest but seeing him unravel is a breath of fresh air you don’t realize you need.

I love that all the while they weren’t perfect humans, they had a safe place in their weekly game night.

If you want a quick read with an amazing found family group, eccentric parents, an Indian FMC, and messy hot people, Playing Flirty is perfect for you.

Thank you to Forever for this gifted copy!

This is a super cute geeky romance with a strong found family that I absolutely adored. Normally I’m all about couple time but the strong relationships and distinct personalities among the friend group really added an extra sparkle.

The only thing I didn’t love was the reconciliation scene towards the end with a toxic family member. While I understand the urge to wrap everything up nicely, not all things can or should be forgiven with a quick apology. Words are just that and it’s actions that count.

I started reading this in print and switched over to audio. The narration by Nirvi Shah is very good.

**I received an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**

This book fits perfectly in the world of gamers, influencers, and tech - seeing love stories develop in geek circles really enhances the broad representation of romance novels! The enemies-to-lovers, with a taste of the secret dating, makes this one a fun bit of tension!

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