4.5 stars

Cuuuuttttteeee 💕 Nerdplay is a sweet, closed-door romance between a camp owner and a lawyer who’s trying to buy her land. I devoured it in a single day. It felt like a warm, cozy hug.

The camp itself is a nerd camp for adults, and I loved the inclusiveness. All the quirky characters who might normally be the butt of a joke instead got their own stories and moments to shine. That made the book feel really heartwarming.
The epilogue did lean a little heavy on pop culture references, but throughout the book they weren’t too overwhelming. If constant references aren’t your thing, this might not be the right romance for you—but personally, I really enjoyed it.

One of my favorite touches was how Cricket kept giving Charlie hilarious nicknames to make fun of his formal name. I laughed every time 😂

Adult summer camp! Fun nerdy references, an emotional support sugar glider, extra nerdy games, crafts, and trivia… as well as a millionaire trying to buy the land out from under the camp.

Sweet romance with a great found family feel.

Thanks to Red Palm Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. Watch for Nerdplay to come out October 2, 2025.

Nerdplay by Annabel is a fantastic romcom that I absolutely loved!

Cricket Abernathy is hard core geek, and I LOVE her! She is such a well written character.
She runs a camp where every summer they have incredible activities like fan fiction and zombie apocalypse zombie survival training. It's such a fun and safe place.

Unfortunately, the camp is failing financially. Enter Charles Owen Frederick Thorpe IV, a lawyer who wants to buy out the camp. He's trying to make a name for himself and become the youngest partner at his firm.

Charles is sneaky as they come, and he registers for the two-week camp.

I laughed so HARD so much throughout this book. The chemistry between Cricket and Charles was incredible.

I love the opposites attack trope.

The story was perfectly paced and one of the best romcoms I have read.

Hilarious and romantic. So much fun!

Highly recommend!