I received this book via the publisher Forever. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of this review.

Published by Forever on 2025-01-14
Length: 344 pages
Reviewing eARC from the publisher Forever
Rating:
Reading Challenges: #NGEW2025, 2025 New Release Challenge





The game is on for two nerds who love to outplay each other . . . even when their hearts are on the line, in this charming and geeky romantic comedy perfect for fans of Olivia Dade and Jen DeLuca.
For Rose Marie Jones, risks are a hard no–except for Game Night. For one precious evening a week, Rose can forget about her demanding boss and her lackluster love life and focus on beating the pants off her friends. But none of them brings out her hyper-competitive side quite like William Ashdern.
Her best friend’s half-brother, William is the paragon of a sexy nerd. The tall, dorky, and handsome game designer is Rose’s playing nemesis. But when Rose decides to enter a contest with the board game she’s secretly invented, there’s only one person who can help her win.
Now what has always been a game between Rose and William is getting a lot more serious. And after spending her entire life trying not to lose, Rose might finally be ready to risk it all–and play to win.
Playing Flirty by Shameez Patel is a sweet contemporary romance about two frenemies who forge a bond over board games. Rose Marie Jones may not have her dream job and her relationship status is best described as lukewarm acquaintances, but she has big dreams if she’s only willing to take the risks. William Ashdern is Rose’s best friend’s half-brother, her favorite nemesis, and a game designer. When an opportunity arises for Rose to develop the board game she’s spent most of her life building, she decides to risk it all, but she’ll need William’s help if she’s going to succeed.
I really enjoyed this story. Rose is a fun, relatable character. She’s working at a job she hates because it is stable, something she never had growing up. She had plenty of love, but never a home. Her parents lived their life chasing the wind, never really settling down in one place long. So Rose measures success by stability. She has a spreadsheet of her life goals, ready to meet each one: promotion at her job, complete her MBA (which she again hates), marry her longtime boyfriend, and have 2.5 kids. You get the gist. With her best friends newly engaged and her own engagement nowhere in sight, Rose is having a crisis of the heart. Are her life goals attainable, AND are they what she really wants?
Enter William. William and Rose have a mutual dislike for each other. At least that’s what Rose believes. They bring out the competitive side in each other. With game night each week at his brother’s apartment, William reluctantly joins when they need an extra player. The banter between Rose and William is great. They truly make each other work for the win. William brings out feelings in Rose that she’d forgotten she had, like butterflies and attraction for starters.
Overall, I really enjoyed Playing Flirty. While the story focuses on Rose finding what she really wants in her life, it also deals with some heavier topics including workplace harassment. The author handles these delicately, and I feel depicted a true to life scenario. I loved the banter between Rose and William, but also their friends. If you are looking for a sweet romance, I highly recommend this one.
Wonderful review! A fun way for a look at some issues to consider.
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This one is on my TBR already, glad to hear it was good! Great review!
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