Ali Hazelwood

An enemies-to-lovers spicy romance set in the world of video gaming from the bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis—available only in audio!

Viola Bowen has the chance of a lifetime: to design a video game based on her all-time favorite book series. The only problem? Her co-lead is Jesse F-ing Andrews, a.k.a. her arch-nemesis. Jesse has made it abundantly clear over the years that he wants nothing to do with her–and Viola has no idea why.

When their bosses insist a wintery retreat is the perfect team-building exercise, Viola can’t think of anything worse. Being freezing cold in a remote mountain lodge knowing Jesse is right next door? No, thank you.

But as the snow piles on, Viola discovers there’s more to Jesse than she knew, and heat builds in more ways than one.

Two Can Play

it’s cute short story but definitely not hers bests. the miscommunication for 5 years and then boom one work trip and was finally get to work it out. i wasn’t the biggest fan of either main characters, but the side characters were funny. also personally did not like the narrator and i wish they can just hire a man’s voice but it is what it is. the spice was good thoooo, wish there was an epilogue too since it was already only 16 chapters 

debbie <3

quite cliche, which was exactly what i needed, esp since it wasn't TOO unbearably cliche, but just enough where i was like "of course they are driving to this trip in the same car" and "of course" they are rooming right next to each other" in a fond kinda way. viola was quite funny, and she had a surprising amount of background considering the short length of the book. i did feel like once she and jesse got together, the story fell into the "let's forget we ever had personalities and just have s*x A LOT" pitfall, but because it was short enough, i just powered through instead of dropping like i usually would. i do think the plot related to the video game was a tad rushed, which made me wish the book was sliiiightly longer to smooth those all out better. a part of me wonders if this was just one of ali hazelwood's reylo fics + she just changed the names and published it -- this would explain the length, which is just the right length for a short but still hefty fic. if this were the case, i would say i def think jesse becomes OOC after they get together lolol but either way! it perfectly scratched my itch for a nice short and sappy romance, so overall i had a good time + am happy :)

lucia

dear god, it’s me abbey, i’m just calling to see if maybe just maybe you could have ali hazelwood write a book where the FMC is not super tiny, petite, little, so small and the MMC is not huge, large, muscular, defined, very big. it’s getting repetitive in the worst way possible. but this was fine, i was entertained. this is insane behavior on a work trip AND i feel like he could have just given her his phone number at the end but … what do i know.

big ab

Okay wait I'm not a romance girlie but this was so cute???

At the beginning my thoughts were like "okay this book reminds me why I could one day get published too" but then it progressed and the relationship "developed" a little. Their reason for being "enemies" isn't that implausible and he's so service sub coded like istg

Okay wait I'm not a romance girlie but this was so cute???

At the beginning my thoughts were like "okay this book reminds me why I could one day get published too" but then it progressed and the relationship "developed" a little. Their reason for being "enemies" isn't that implausible and he's so service sub coded like istg

Would have loved an epilogue!

౨ৎ | “i haven’t thought about anything but you since the first time i saw you.” 

ali hazelwood maam does every book you write have to have miscommunication? like please for the love of all things good LET IT GO. 

the miscommunication was so stupid and it lasted six years? and they confess their feelings and then suddenly they are like boyfriend and girlfriend, staying cooped up on a WORK trip having sex.

jesse yearned but still this was not good for me. 

౨ৎ | “i haven’t thought about anything but you since the first time i saw you.” 

— ★ 2/5

ali hazelwood maam does every book you write have to have miscommunication? like please for the love of all things good LET IT GO. 

the miscommunication was so stupid and it lasted six years? and they confess their feelings and then suddenly they are like boyfriend and girlfriend, staying cooped up on a WORK trip having sex.

jesse yearned but still this was not good for me. 

After reading two pretty good Hazelwood books , I'm disappointed with this one 🙁 Since this is an audio only story , I think she wrote alot of it to sound "good" to the ears in a way?? but I wasnt feeling it. By the last 5 chapters I felt like I was being held hostage .  

   I'm down for the miscommunication troupe sometimes but FIVE years of both parties thinking they dislike each other when they had opportunities to communicate is crazy. Especially when it doesnt excuse Jessie's rude ass attitude , you thought ole girl ain't want you to ask her out again and your response was?? To be a dick the few times y'all into each other and claim it was for HER comfort?? The explanation was ass at worst and highly unreasonable at best . Like after that I just ain't gaf about the couple . 

THEN They had a whole conversation about seeing how the relationship goes since Viola's crush was supposedly done since last year , just to fuck 5 minutes later like girl you ain't have to sneak in that sex scene at the end of the story . Plus the whole point of the retreat was for Nephlim studios & Flybutter to get along but we don't actually hear these studios getting along the entire time & honestly if we did i wouldn't remember bc the only side characters I remember are Mike & Otto and the toxic bastards got a damn tesla . 

jade

After reading two pretty good Hazelwood books , I'm disappointed with this one 🙁 Since this is an audio only story , I think she wrote alot of it to sound "good" to the ears in a way?? but I wasnt feeling it. By the last 5 chapters I felt like I was being held hostage .  

   

   I'm down for the miscommunication troupe sometimes but FIVE years of both parties thinking they dislike each other when they had opportunities to communicate is crazy. Especially when it doesnt excuse Jessie's rude ass attitude , you thought ole girl ain't want you to ask her out again and your response was?? To be a dick the few times y'all into each other and claim it was for HER comfort?? The explanation was ass at worst and highly unreasonable at best . Like after that I just ain't gaf about the couple . 

THEN They had a whole conversation about seeing how the relationship goes since Viola's crush was supposedly done since last year , just to fuck 5 minutes later like girl you ain't have to sneak in that sex scene at the end of the story . Plus the whole point of the retreat was for Nephlim studios & Flybutter to get along but we don't actually hear these studios getting along the entire time & honestly if we did i wouldn't remember bc the only side characters I remember are Mike & Otto and the toxic bastards got a damn tesla . 

2✫ but positive. I used this as a bit of palette cleanser from more intellectual books.

Same old from Ms Hazelwood but - and I cannot remember if I have said this before - I respect knowing when a story should be a short story, a novella or a novel. Now that is a skill required via fanfiction writing.

2✫ but positive. I used this as a bit of palette cleanser from more intellectual books.

Same old from Ms Hazelwood but - and I cannot remember if I have said this before - I respect knowing when a story should be a short story, a novella or a novel. Now that is a skill required via fanfiction writing.

In typical Ali Hazelwood fashion this was adorable and even if it was a novella, I really enjoyed the story, the spice and the yearning.

I didn't really like how the narrator told the story but that's just a personal thing.

Kyra

In typical Ali Hazelwood fashion this was adorable and even if it was a novella, I really enjoyed the story, the spice and the yearning.

I didn't really like how the narrator told the story but that's just a personal thing.

A sweet little enemies to lovers novella!

Even as a person who knows nothing about video games this book was so good!

Brittany Peterson

A sweet little enemies to lovers novella!

Even as a person who knows nothing about video games this book was so good!

AH is so good 

Amelia Hruby

miscommunication trope solved in 15 minutes iktr

issa

I was really looking forward to this book because I love Ali Hazelwood. This was honestly a big letdown. I didn't like the narrator at all, I felt like the way she was narrating the story made it hard to take some of the scenes seriously. I was actually kind of grossed out in some scenes. I felt like we got more information on the other couples in the book than the actual main characters. I felt like their "love" was way too rushed and was very forced. I think I would have liked this a whole lot better if I had gotten to read it myself. 

Two Can Play

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