My last read of 2024 was Two Can Play by Ali Hazelwood, which was my 100th read of the year! I actually finished listening to this as I got ready to go out for New Years, so I hit that 100 books goal by the skin of my teeth.
A plot summary attempt
Two rival game design companies are picked to co-design a new game, which is a disaster because it’s Viola’s dream gig but working with this company means working with the aloof and rude, Jesse Andrews, her nemesis. They’ve been each other’s periphery for years because the industry is small and at first she thought he was attracted to her until he made it very clear he was not, so Viola had to put aside her secret crush and hate him instead, especially after ‘the incident’ under the mistletoe at a party where he seemed horrified about the idea of kissing her.
Since their companies’ rivalry is well known, the company looking to commission the game sends them on a winter retreat together, giving them a chance to prove that they can set it aside and work together. At first, it’s a complete disaster but after Viola loses her shit at Jesse for letting their personal ‘conflict’ put them at risk of losing the job, a statement which he is completely baffled by and immediately tries to rectify by having a word with his team, things start to get better. As Viola and Jesse spend more time around each other, it becomes clear that there’s been a massive misunderstanding and maybe Jesse isn’t repulse by her at all…
My thoughts
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Ali Hazelwood can serve me the same formula every time and every time, I enjoy it. I liked the different world of game design, compared to the STEM fields a lot of her other books and also the setting in the cabin added a little bit of that ‘forced proximity’ trope but not in a icky way. I liked the FMC, I think she had a really enjoyable inner monologue, the MMC is very much copy, paste of a lot of the other dudes in her books but hey, this story is for the girls after all, so that’s okay. This book has loads of great nerdy gaming, film and book reference, the rivalry is fun and overall, it was just enjoyable.
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Antonia Bernardin 
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