I have been following Alexis Nedd since Don't Hate the Player, and was eagerly awaiting How We Play the Game. Unfortunately, it did not quite hit the same as her first book for me. I generally still really enjoy YA contemporary books, but something about this just felt so young to me. I'll still keep an eye out on any other books Alexis Nedd writes, it may just be a one off I struggled with!

Thank you to Bloomsbury YA and NetGalley for the eARC!

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an ebook in exchange for an honest review.
1/5 stars
I had a lot of issues with this book. I was super excited about the premise- enemies to lovers, esports, video game nerds… but it didn’t deliver. Sure, they were enemies, and they started dating, but the conflict between Ivan and Zora felt so manufactured.
In that vein, Zora was so angry, all the time, at everyone. Everything Ivan did was horrible and the worst thing ever, even when he (spoilers) refuses to break up with her at the end to further his own esports career. What a villain /s.
I also just had an issue with the writing style. It was choppy and full of really strange turns of phrase. I have to include a few for context:
“Oh, wow, I just caught a glimpse in the mirror and this skirt makes my butt look like a whole nectarine. Move over, shrimp tempura.”
“I was dropping eaves so hard no one could ever pick them up again.”
“As far as I’m concerned, Ivan can go suck an egg and Brian can squeeze the chicken.”
I mean, what? Are these actual phrases that people use?
To cap it all off, the ending felt really abrupt. They walk out of the auditorium and it just ends?? No talking about their relationship issues and miscommunications, no resolution to the fact that Zora’s dream has been to work for this guy who turns out to be a manipulator. Nope. It just ends.
Really, the only things I enjoyed were the occasional bad joke, and the video game references. The characters, the conflict, the antagonist, and the writing style all ganged up on me and I couldn’t like this book even though I wanted to.