Narrated by Kelsey Navarro Foster

In this new audio novella, two rival video game designers are forced to work together on a new game. She’s had a crush on him for a long time but thinks he doesn’t like her. Then, the two get snowed in at a retreat and everything changes. It’s super fun – I just wished it was longer.

Viola is one of the lead designers at Fly Butter, an Indie Video game studio that is doing really well after their latest game sold millions of copies. A major video game publisher, Star Play, wants them to submit a proposal to develop the third game in their Limerence series (the first two were very popular). This is Viola’s dream project because the Limerence Saga books were her favorites ever since her father read them to her when she was young. The only problem for Viola is her boss, Mike, thinks they need to collaborate with their rival, Nephalum, who just released the combat game of the year. Fly Butter is good at role play and character stories and Mike thinks they should team up with Nephalon, who are known for combat, action and adventure. There has been drama between the two companies and so the bosses decide to do a winter ski retreat to see if they can put aside their differences and work together.

Viola first met Jesse six years ago when she was in an interview for a job after college. The CEO in the interview was rude to Viola and Jessie, who saw it all, apologized to Viola and told her he heard there was an opening at Fly Butter. Jesse then left and went to work at Nephalon where he became the lead designer and well known for his work. Viola started running into him at work events and thought he was really cute but whenever she tried to talk to him, he ignored her. Then, a year ago, they ran into each other at her cousin’s engagement party underneath the mistletoe. Everyone chanted for them to kiss, but he said he couldn’t do it and walked away. She had a crush on him for so long and felt really hurt by this – she couldn’t understand what she had done to make him dislike her so much. I couldn’t wait to find out what was really going on!

When they got to the retreat, everyone settled in at the lodge, the snow began to fall and the fun started! I don’t want to reveal too much but it was special when Viola and Jesse finally get a chance to talk and even though the story is a novella, Hazelwood made room for some hot and spicy scenes.

One of the things I liked most were the witty conversations and banter between all of the characters (especially Viola and Jesse) and there was plenty of humor. It’s smart the way the story they were writing in their game resembles their romance!

For readers who are wondering if this will be released in print form, Hazelwood said she plans to print it on her own in 2025. I thought the voices the narrator used for all of the characters were perfect. (I guessed on some of the spellings of the names in my review and may not know how close they are until the book comes out.)

This story isn’t as complex as some of her recent books, (Bride and Not in Love) and reminded me more of Love on the Brain. The only problem for me was the ending felt abrupt and I wished the book was longer. Other than that, this was a lot of fun and a very entertaining listen. It will have romance readers, especially Hazelwood fans, jumping for joy.

Running Time: 4 hours 24 minutes