Local romance author takes the game of love to the next level

Publisher: Forever (Hachette Book Group), distributed in South Africa by Jonathan Ball Publishers 

Type: Novel

Genre: Romance

Dates released: Playing Flirty January 2025, Next Level Love January 2026

Retail Price: +/- R360

Format: Playing Flirty - paperback (352 pages); Next Level Love - paperback (384 pages)

Every now and then, a group of friends comes into your life. 

They become your found family: the people you choose, the ones who show up for the important moments, and the ones who make you feel seen.

Sometimes, you meet these people face-to-face – in a chess club, a theatre group, or a circle of book lovers. Sometimes, you find them online, through gaming communities, fandom spaces, or conversations with people you may never meet in person. And sometimes, you find that same feeling in stories, where fictional characters can feel just as familiar, comforting, and necessary as real friends.

Shameez Patel is really good at making you feel like you’re right there at the table in her stories with a group of friends, just playing a board game and talking shit. 

When you are in the worlds she creates, you immediately think of yourself as one of the core six characters in the hit series Friends: a group whose individual personalities matter, but whose real charm lies in the dynamic they create together. Now imagine that same found-family appeal, but with a more diverse, nerdier cast. That is the kind of group you’ll meet in the romance duology Playing Flirty and Next Level Love. 

I often find that when writers create certain dynamics between friends, family and colleagues in books, they can feel very superficial. 

That’s not the case here. 

Yes, there are central characters to follow, but part of the joy is learning to love the group as a whole.

Patel is a South African author, with these two latest works published internationally by Hachette’s romance imprint Forever. 

Readers may be familiar with her writing from the fantasy series The Selene Trilogy: The Last Feather, The Eternal Shadow, and The Last King – under the name Shameez Patel Papathanasiou through Flame Tree Press. All of these books are distributed locally by Jonathan Ball Publishers. 

While Patel started her career as a fantasy author, her writing style bridges effortlessly into romance, and it’s clear through her writing that what she understands is people – a skill that transcends genre. All of her books are character-driven, featuring similarities in terms of love, friendship and doing whatever it takes to support your people. 

In Playing Flirty, we meet pint-sized perfectionist Rose and dorky-yet-handsome game designer William. At first, they can’t stand each other, or at least they love to give each other a hard time at Rose’s best friend’s and William’s half-brother’s weekly game night. They’re forced to play nice when tasked with a shared project, and it just so happens that William might be the exact person to help Rose with her secret boardgame-creating side hustle. 

Rose loves rules and spreadsheets, and she’ll have to stay with her boring boyfriend, workaholic snoozefest Patrick – if she wants to stick to her “Life Plan”. On the other hand, William isn’t sure he’s good enough to settle down with anyone. So, how will the game end for them? You’ll have to read the book, and I hope you love this rivals-to-lovers duo and their epic banter as much as I did. 

Rose and William were a realistic fit for me, despite their almost comedic difference in height. Their banter and bickering were rooted in humour, and ultimately, I could feel the potential for romance underscoring their rivalry throughout the book. 

What really stood out for me, compared to other romcoms, was the presence of a solid plot. Sometimes I read a romance book, and it’s really just a quirky girl meets a handsome small-town guy who shows her the true meaning of Christmas or something. If I wanted to watch a Hallmark movie, I would do that. I prefer to read books with characters who have actual backgrounds, shared interests, interesting family dynamics, and more. Alternatively, there are super-spicy, lack-of-real-conversation-type romance books featuring aliens, cowboys, hockey players, etc. Playing Flirty, however, is a slow-burn and low on spice, with the door only slightly ajar. 

Adjust your expectations accordingly, as this novel is about the plot. 

It’s said that friendship is at the core of some of the most successful relationships. While Rose and William started out as rivals, Lincoln and Elizabeth began their journey as online friends. What they don’t know is that they have already met in real life. 

In Next Level Love, we get to know more about a character we previously met in Playing Flirty: lovely Lincoln. 

Patel has said repeatedly, in interviews and through social media posts, that Lincoln is her most vulnerable character to date. I thought William would remain my firm favourite love interest, but then Lincoln stole my heart. 

He’s neurodivergent and a sensitive, kind soul who also happens to be a total smokeshow. As a neurodivergent person myself, I really appreciated how his ADHD and anxiety were presented very respectfully. Often, a person with ADHD is written as simply quirky, clumsy or chaotic. It’s not a cutesy character trait, but something that can be very complex to live with. Patel handled this subject matter very well. 

Then there is Elizabeth, who is determined to make a name for herself in her new career despite being up against a boys’ club of judgemental creeps. She’s sunshiney, hard-working, and so very hooked on her online gaming partner. 

The topics such as imposter syndrome, workplace harassment and misogyny have been handled very well in this novel. It’s not hard to relate to poor Elizabeth having to work so much harder and constantly prove her worth for the mere crime of being a woman. 

Meanwhile, online, Link and Lily are each others’ source of comfort at the end of a long day. Isn’t it such a pity that neither is brave enough yet to make the first move and meet in real life? 

This novel has less banter and more support and feeling seen with a side of flirtation and tension. You also get to see more of Rose, William and the rest of their friendship circle. 

I really enjoyed Patel’s writing style in this book, perhaps even more so than in its predecessor. I vaguely recall hearing her say in an interview, I think at the launch of The Last Feather, that an early draft of Playing Flirty was written before she turned her hand to fantasy. 

Having read most of her books to date, I think her style has just gotten better and better. Perhaps that’s the benefit of being skilled across genres. Her writing isn’t fluffy or verbose. She is able to convey emotion and vulnerability, all the while invoking a light, playful and, indeed, flirty feel. 

Next Level Love can be read as a standalone novel, so by all means, you can pick it up before Playing Flirty, but I recommend reading both books in order if you want to get the overarching perspective of the friendships. In the background of both of these books, there’s more than romance. These characters have shared trials and tribulations, workplace dramas, wonderful celebrations and more.

Both stories have the depth that can so often be missing in romcoms. Yes, if you enjoy reading romance, then you’re in it for the lurrrveee, but real people typically have myriad aspects to their lives, and this should be reflected.

I adore how Patel is able to really make you love her characters. It feels as though they really are real people who exist somewhere out there in the world, and you can join their gaming table or bump into them at Comic Con. 

It makes sense that Patel writes these types of characters so well. She dedicated Next Level Love to the friends she has made through the internet. From her social media presence, it is clear that she is a fan girl of many things herself: a Bang Chan Stan, a gamer girl, a lover of all things nerdy, which is something that I happen to think is actually very cool. 

As a result, she has a new two-book deal with Forever, starting with Fang-Girling. It’s a paranormal romance in which the author of werewolf fanfiction finds herself helping a famous rock band Wolf Fang break a very real curse. I can’t wait to get into this one! 

Personally, I’m sad we’re not getting a third book in this universe. But Patel has said that she’d have to break up friends that we have come to know and love, and understandably, she’s not able to do that. Whichever characters we get next, I know that they’ll be nerdy, fun and entirely loveable. I’m very much looking forward to meeting them.