Welcome to my review of Playing for Love by Jeevani Charika. I didn’t expect to like this book once I realised it was about gaming but I’m so glad I read it, I really liked it!
When Sam’s not working on her fledgling business, she spends her time secretly video-gaming. Her crush is famous gamer Blaze, and she’s thrilled when she’s teamed up with him in a virtual tournament.
But what Sam doesn’t know is that Blaze is the alter ego of Luke, her shy colleague – and he has a secret crush too.
Luke has a crush on Sam.
Sam has a crush on Blaze.
How will this game of love play out?
A fun, feel-good romance for fans of You’ve Got Mail, Helen Hoang, Jasmine Guillory and Lindsey Kelk.
Jeevani Charika writes women’s fiction and contemporary romances with a hint of British cynicism. (In case you were wondering, it’s pronounced Jeev-uh-nee.)
There’s a whole lot of other stuff she could tell you – but mainly: she’s a former scientist, an adult fan of Lego, an embarrassing mum, a part time geek (see ’embarrassing mum’) and a Very Short Person.
She also writes romantic comedy under the pen name Rhoda Baxter. So why the two names? Well… Jeevani writes about British-Sri Lankan main characters. Rhoda, not so much.
You can find out more and a get a free story, by signing up to her newsletter on her website www.jeevanicharika.com
You can find Jeevani on Twitter as @rhodabaxter.
I picked this book solely based on the cover (which I love!) and that it was a romance; I fancied that, so I thought I would add it to my list. Later, I read the synopsis and realised what it was about and thought I had made a big mistake. I don’t like gaming and have no interest in reading about it. I’m glad I read it, though, as I really enjoyed it.
The plot is where the person falls in love with the online persona while crushing hard on the same person in real life without knowing that they are the same person. They also rebuff one person/persona and focus on the one they feel they like the most.
Luke and Sam have started working together in real life, with Luke helping her get her crowdfunding scheme up and running correctly. They end up competing in an online gaming competition together without knowing who the other person is.
The characters are well developed. I particularly liked how Luke was portrayed as a timid person in real life, but Blaze’s confident persona when gaming or on YouTube. Sam’s feeling around her family and her new business was also realistic and well portrayed.
This is a cute romance novel. It’s clean as well, which I like; it’s not graphic or revealing in any way. I didn’t expect to like it because of the gaming element but, it added to the story and gave it more dimension. I also liked their gamer cosplay outfits; they sounded incredible.
| Title | Playing for Love |
| Author | Jeevani Charika |
| Series | N/A |
| Format | eARC |
| Page Count | 300 Pages |
| Genre | Comedy Romance |
| Publisher | HQ Digital |
| Release Date | 11th February 2022 |
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