Next Level Love

by Shameez Patel

When your favorite player turns out to be your very real boss, the rules are a lot more complicated.

Elizabeth Gordon-Bettencourt is rebuilding her life on her own terms, starting with a new internship, a shot at her dream job as a civil engineer, and a whole lot of distance from her family’s drama. With her life full of change, the one constant is @theanswerisno, a charming gamer who seems to just . . . get her. Even if he has no interest in meeting her in real life.

Elizabeth would feel a lot more confident about her job if her new boss wasn’t so hard to read. Lincoln Carden is quiet, demanding, and adamant about avoiding small talk—especially in the office. What she doesn’t know is that online, he’s someone else entirely: quick, confident, and a little bit flirty. And his favorite player to team up with is @pancakesareelite, the one person who never makes him feel like he has to try so hard. As their two worlds start to collide, Elizabeth and Lincoln start to wonder: with their careers on the line and their online friendship at risk, is a romance IRL worth it? 

Genres: Romance, Audiobook, Forced Proximity, Contemporary, Friends To Lovers, Workplace Romance, Found Family

384 pages, Paperback

First published January 20, 2026

Reviews

[jenny reads a lot · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love sad boys, not bad boys™ and Lincoln is the perfect sad boy!

This was so good!

Perfectly nerdy workplace STEM romcom with emotional depth, epic banter, and the best found family!

This was so good, I'm completely in love with Lincoln he's perfect.

Whats to love…
- age-gap and a little forbidden (he’s her boss)
- he wears slutty little glasses
- secret identities
- nerdy gamers falling in love online
- STEM (engineering) romance
- emotional depth
- found family
- fabulous banter
- A+ TENSION
- she falls first and its so adorable
- ADHD rep (and maybe a little AuDHD) - loved seeing myself in Lincoln
- Closed door but plenty of tension and heat!

If Shameez writes it, I’m reading it!

GO READ THIS NOW!

Audio Narration: 5/5 I loved the audiobook! Such a fun listen! The beginning sections are SO PERFECT, the sound effects are SO good!! Male narrator does a decent job at females voices. Pausing, pacing, and inflection are all fabulous! Female narrator does a great job as well! pausing, pacing, and inflection are all great. Her voice is a bit high pitched, and her inflection exaggerated, which gives the FMC a ditzy vibe that didn’t come across during my eyeball read. I don’t mind it, but I can see how that might not work for others!

| IG | TikTok |

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

the myriad harassment claims that should have been levied against upper level management (and i was begging our two characters to acknowledge)

like girl that’s not a dream job it’s a hostile work environment !!

so many cute, swoonworthy lines but you know what’s not swoonworthy? your love interest not defending you when you’re not around (and they shouldn’t have to be your love interest to defend you against workplace misconduct)

[Kelsey S · Rating 4 out of 5]

▹TL;DR Review: I found Lincoln refreshing as an MMC. I think some readers won’t like the fact that he’s the FMC’s manager and there is a bit of a power imbalance. If that doesn’t bother you, this was well written and cute, albeit with a somewhat rushed ending. This is technically the second book in the series, but I read it as a standalone and it worked just fine.

▹My ⭐ Rating: ★★★.5 out of 5
▹Format: 🎧Audiobook (Dual narration rating: 4/5)
Thank you to NetGalley and Hatchette Audio for an ALC of this book in exchange for my honest review. This book is already out as of January 20, 2026!
─────────────────────────

○★○ What to Expect from This Book: ○★○

– About: Elizabeth is desperate to step out of the shadows of a controlling family member by taking an internship as an engineer at a company where she meets her new, but grumpy, manager Lincoln. But little these to know that they’ve actually known each other for two years as different online personas. But what will happen when expectations and boundaries get blurred?
– FMC: Elizabeth (aka. “Lily” or “@pancakesareelite”). Sunshine, despite her circumstances. A mid-20-something intern who is interested in engineering roads during the day and playing games online at night.
– MMC: Lincoln (aka. “Link” or “@theanswerisno”). Sometimes misunderstood. Still navigating grief even years later. In love with a girl online, but too afraid to meet in person because he doesn’t think he’s good enough.
– Location: California
– POV: Dual first-person
– Spice: A few closed-door scenes
– Tropes: URL to IRL, hidden identities, online epistolary, gamers, workplace romance, he’s her manager/she’s his intern, grumpy x sunshine, BIPOC MMC, women in STEM, found family/friend group, slow burn
– Content warning: grief (off-page death of a parent), hit and run (off page), controlling stepparent, estranged family, toxic workplace dynamics
– Representation: BIPOC MMC, FMC in STEM, gamers, mental health (ADHD and anxiety)

─────────────────────────

↻ ◁ || ▷ ↺ 1:00 ──ㅇ────── 4:12

Now Playing: Rivers and Roads by The Head and the Heart

╰┈➤ ❝Rivers and roads, rivers and roads, rivers ‘til I reach you…❞

─────────────────────────

★○ If You Like the Following, You Might Like This Book ○★

➼ Women in STEM romances, specifically books by Ali Hazelwood (like Two Can Play), Hannah Brohm (like Love and Other Brain Experiments), and Tara Tai (like Single Player)
➼ URL to IRL romances (one of my personal favorites) like in Battle of the Bookstores by Ali Brady or The Exception to the Rule by Christina Lauren
➼ Taking a break from ensuring your cities roadways are engineered safely and logging into your online gamer persona to flirt with your online crush

─────────────────────────

⍟»This or That«⍟

Character Driven———✧————————Plot Driven
Fast Burn————————✧———Slow Burn
Sweet——✧—————————Spicy
Light/Fluffy——————✧—————Heavy/Emotional

─────────────────────────

🎯 My Thoughts:

I was really impressed with this story. Specifically, how it dealt with mental health (ADHD and anxiety) and grief. I found the main male character, Lincoln, to have so many unique and admirable qualities. And Elizabeth was the perfect balance for a female main character. The sunshine to Lincoln’s grumpy.

I also really loved both Lincoln and Elizabeth’s separate family issues. The fact that he became an engineer to better the safety of roads because of a traumatic event in his life was really moving. And Elizabeth stepping out of her controlling family member’s light to prove she can do it on her own—only to strive to save another family member from their control was also heartbreaking and empowering.

I found the writing and banter to be interesting and kept pulling me back in. You could feel both characters working through their individual issues, but also falling in love with each other.

The main issue that I had, as I do have with other workplace romances, is that it’s difficult to separate fiction from reality. If this were real life, it would’ve been an HR nightmare. There’s also an added layer with the fact that Lincoln is Elizabeth’s manager and the implied power imbalance. The author does a good job of making Lincoln humble and not at all domineering, but I could see some readers being turned off to this plot point. I also didn’t find the ending as satisfying as the payout of the rest of the book. It felt a bit rushed and unresolved.

Would I Recommend?: Maybe. If you love workplace romance with hierarchy play, then this was cute. If that bothers you, I’d say skip.

————————-
Pre-read thoughts: I love a STEM romance. But add in a secret online connection (modern day epistolary)?!? Yum!

[Lina]

This was a DNF at 30%. The writing was well done. The story was interesting but I just do not like the idea of a boss dating his intern (unless it is a dark romance). I know that this was in the description and I had hoped that maybe I would be able to get over that aspect but the power dynamic is just a huge ick.

However, that's just a personal preference so check this book out if you like:
🎮 STEM Romances (they're engineers)
🎮 Online friends who don't know it but they work together to lovers
🎮 Age gap (26F / ?M)
🎮 Forbidden romance (he’s her boss)
🎮 Hidden identities (they’re messaging each other and don’t know)
🎮 ADHD rep
🎮 Closed door romance


Pre-Read Thoughts: Continuing my era of reading women in STEM romance novels and loving it (she did not in fact love it)

[Madison Warner Fairbanks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Next Level Love by Shameez Patel
Contemporary diverse romance. Neurodivergent.
Starting a new job, Elizabeth Gordon-Battencourt is at a disadvantage added to the intern list only because of her last name. The other interns dismiss her. Her new boss, Lincoln Carden doesn’t seem to care about her name, but his red pencil of corrections is getting a good workout. She works long hours to try to learn the civil engineering job. Her downtown is shortened but she’s not giving up the support and relaxation she gets from playing online with @theanswerisno. He gets her.
Lincoln Carden is a heads-down kind of worker. He’s brilliant at his job. He’s up for a promotion but that means he has to mentor his intern. And there’s just something about her humming, her constant movement, the flowers on her desk and never eating lunch that gets to him. Why?

🎧 I was able to alternate between an ebook and audiobook for this story. The narration is performed by Shahjehan Khan and Jensen Olaya. Both did a wonderful job bringing their characters to vivid detail. Emotions were strong and clear throughout the story making the tension rise and fall over and above the actual dialog. A simple “hmm” in the communication from Pancakes was very effective for the audiobook performance. Not sure I’ve ever seen that typed in a text IRL, but that’s a different discussion.
Highly enjoyed the audiobook. I did listed at 1.5 and 1.75 to more easily follow along with the print version.

Busy geek nerd finds love. Which could go for both Elizabeth and Lincoln. Too adorable for words. Such a good match.
4.5

I received a copy of this from NetGalley, Forever and Hachette Audio

[Lucia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very cute, funny and heartfelt contemporary romance featuring the secret identity trope ❤️

Elizabeth and Lincoln are online best friends. They met virtually on a gaming Discord channel, and to each other they’re the person that can always cheer them up or take their mind off of things when they need to relax. Because they find their relationship so precious, they’re both afraid of losing the friendship they have online by meeting in real life.
This is why when Elizabeth starts an internship at an engineering firm and Lincoln is assigned as her manager, they don’t realize they already know each other online as Lily and Link.

The romance is a very sweet slow burn featuring a lot of yearning 🤭🩷 and some open door spice.
The story is told in dual POV, and I loved how we can glimpse the way both of them are flustered by their proximity and interactions when reading a chapter from the the other character's perspective.

I also really enjoyed that there are many subplots in addition to the romance. The whole books feels complex and rich because these subplots help us see many aspects of the characters, they’re not one dimensional. There are funny and romantic moments, but also themes of grief and domestic abuse, although it’s not a dark book by any means.

I would’ve expected gaming to play a bigger part in the plot given the title of the book, but videogames are more like a backdrop element in the story. In contrast, the day job for both characters (civil engineering and road design) was more present through the story, although I'm not complaining since it sounded really interesting.

I listened to the audio version and the performance of both narrators was really good, I really loved how they brought Lincoln and Elizabeth to life. I also really enjoyed that we could hear the sound of the keyboard and the "sent message" chime when they were chatting, these sound effects added production value for sure!

Overall I'm in awe of this book and the audio version in particular, this was my first time reading Shameez Patel and I'll definitely be on the lookout for future works from her!

Thanks to Forever via NetGalley for providing an ALC

[ella (luniellar) · Rating 4 out of 5]

You know it's good when you already know the entire plot, but you keep reading. Shameez Patel absolutely nailed this one balancing the more predictable secret identities trope while keeping you engaged with the different plot points and character interactions. I especially loved the mini chat logs chapter openers between Link and Lily. The slow burn romance was so hot and the payoff was great. The steamy scenes were definitely more on the mild side.

As a gamer who gamed for as long as I can remember, this did an amazing job portraying that special, almost sacred part about online relationships (friendships and more). It truly surpasses all physical limitations and dives straight for the heart like this story did.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for an early ARC of this book. My heart is filled to the brim with happiness for Link and Lily.

[Corinne’s Chapter Chatter · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.75⭐️
Predictable in the best way, comforting without being boring—this book is the rom-com equivalent of winning your favorite game on cozy mode.

This was delightful. Just an easy, laid-back read that knows exactly what it’s doing and does it well. Was it predictable? Absolutely. Did I care? Not even a little. The story flows smoothly, the banter is charming, and there’s just enough emotional depth tucked between the romantic beats to keep it from feeling hollow.

This is the follow-up rom-com to the author’s Playing Flirty (released January 2025 through Forever Publishing), but these truly function as standalones. It was fun checking back in on that relationship and seeing where things landed, but if you haven’t read the first book, you’re not missing anything—and nothing is spoiled. Next Level Love fully stands on its own.

I especially loved the gaming focus—both board games and online multiplayer games—which felt fresh and genuinely integrated into the story. The MMC and FMC connect through a gaming server/chat space created specifically for engineers, and it works surprisingly well as a backdrop for the romance. One thing that sets this apart from your standard rom-com is that the lead perspective is male. Even though this is written by a female author, it feels authentic, thoughtful, and emotionally grounded. Seeing a male main character allowed to be vulnerable without it being played for laughs was a win.

There’s also a strong focus on engineering and STEM, giving readers a glimpse into both the rewards and the realities of the field—including the very real sexism that still exists. It reads like the author is pulling from lived experience, which adds a layer of authenticity that elevates the story beyond fluff.

And while it’s never explicitly stated, it’s clear the MMC is neurodivergent—and I thought this was handled exceptionally well. The representation feels natural, respectful, and woven seamlessly into the character rather than turned into a “lesson.” The backstories for both MCs add depth and a touch of realism without dragging the tone down or tipping the book into heavy territory.

**update:
I snagged the audiobook and it was an absolute delight. Narrators Shahjehan Khan and Jensen Olaya did a fantastic job bringing these characters to life—they sounded exactly the way I had imagined them when reading with my eyeballs. Both narrations worked beautifully at 1x speed, and their tone and inflection held up well even when increasing playback speed.

One detail I especially loved was how the text chats were handled. There’s a light typing sound effect woven in, which added to the immersion without becoming distracting or gimmicky. It really helped ground the listener in what was happening on the page. Khan’s performance stood out in particular; she fully embodied the FMC’s emotions and added an extra layer of warmth and depth to the story.

I highly recommend the audio format for this one—it genuinely adds value to the experience. The only thing that could have elevated it further would have been duet narration instead of dual, but even so, this was a strong and enjoyable listen.


If you’re looking for a rom-com that’s cozy, charming, and quietly thoughtful—this one deserves a spot on your TBR.

A comfort read with heart, humor, and just enough substance to make it stick long after the last page.

I was fortunate to receive a complimentary eARC from Forever Pub via NetGalley, which gave me the opportunity to share my voluntary thoughts.

[Raquel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have never read a book so quickly in my life! I absolutely couldn't put it down.

I LOVE that we have a neurodivergent main character! Representation is so important, and I think a lot of people will relate to some of Lincoln's struggles and coping mechanisms.

It was so interesting to see chapters from Lincoln's point of view, and then see the tables flipped and get an idea of how other people view him. Same with Elizabeth - even though she portrays a lot of outward confidence, seeing her own inner dialogue, her insecurities, her fears, was so real.

Okay, THE TENSION! Almost from the get go, the chemistry and tension between our two leads was PALPABLE, and I was so there for it. And, of course, waiting for them to figure out that he was Link and she was Lily added to that. I love when the reader knows something that the characters don't know yet - watching Elizabeth piece it together, try to deny it, and then confirm it all over again was so much fun.

LOVE LOVE LOVE, what a cute, sexy, nerdy romance novel.

Thank you so much to the NetGalley and Forever for sending me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[✧ Beanie Reads ✧ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read: October 10th - October 15th
Format: E-Book
Rating: 4 stars

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Lincoln and Elizabeth just made me smile so much for some reason. I think it's the pairing of a teasing FMC and an easily flustered MMC. Watching Lincoln blush and squirm around Elizabeth was just *chefs kiss*. It was also so awesome seeing Rose, William, and the rest of the gang, especially since it was through different eyes. Things are going so good for our little Hobbit and Gandalf 😭

I loved watching Elizabeth grow and stick it to some real jerk characters, proving them wrong and showing off her strengths. While I myself don't have ADHD, Lincoln comes across as a very authentic representation, while also showcasing the strategies one can use.

Most of the gaming stuff felt background admittedly, with most of it being reduced to snippets of chats between Elizabeth and Lincoln at the start of each chapter. I would have loved seeing more of it on page. Elizabeth and Lincoln barely even spoke on games with each other in person, which I understand was likely to avoid it being impossible for them not to figure it out earlier. Still, I'd have loved seeing more game stuff on page.

Still, an amazing book that had me smiling and eager to read more every time!

[Kassie Joslin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two of the sweetest, most thoughtful characters in a romance I think I’ve ever read! I loved how they both noticed things about each other and actively worked to make life better/easier for each other. The tension, the online relationship that added so much depth, the steamy scenes that were so mild it wasn’t even one pepper, all made for a delightful read! The ending fell off a little for me, kinda like the author was trying to tie off loose ends in a rush. But overall, highly recommend!!

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the free ARC!

This book was so cute and insanely good. I seriously loved every moment of this from the first page. The writing is so light and flows so well, and the romance and the plot behind it was so well done. Lincoln and Elizabeth are now at the top of my favorite fictional couples.

Having a video game duo/partner theme was amazing. I used to be heavily into gaming, and just recognizing what a relief and joy it is to have someone steadily there on the other end, I haven't seen that in a book before. People tend to really downplay gaming or internet relationships/friendships, and they are some of the most meaningful and important friendships I've had in my life. I feel like this story really shows what wonderful things gaming and an online community can do for mental health and social circles.

There is a lot of grief in this book too, it was so cute, but it does have some heavy elements to it as well. As someone who has also dealt with the type of grief in this book, it hits close to home. But it's respectfully done, I enjoyed reading about that aspect of the characters.

The romance was also so good. It was such a slow burn with a lot of tension. Cute tension, which is my favorite really. I was smiling at the two of them a lot, their conversations and back and forth were just perfection. This author really knocked it out with this book, I ran and preordered my copy to have on my shelf, it was a necessity.

*This ARC was given by Forever (Grand Central Publishing) through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.*

[Tams · Rating 5 out of 5]

I somehow love Link and Lily even more with my second read. And not just because Link reminds me of my favourite kpop father of seven 😂

[Melinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so incredibly grateful for the opportunity to have received an advanced listener copy of Next Level Love from the author and Hachette Audio! 🫶

Next Level Love is the absolute cutest and I loved it to the moon and back! 🥹🎮 Hidden identity is one of my favorite tropes so combine that with video games and I was eating this story up like I would with an ice cream sundae! 🍨 I squealed in excitement every time I got the chance to listen to more of the audiobook of this because I was so invested with Lincoln and Elizabeth and this story! 🎧

I thought it was so awesome that at the beginning of the chapters that it shows Link (Lincoln) and Lily’s (Elizabeth) online friendship and snippets of their conversations to show how their online friendship progressed! 🫶 They also both happen to have HUGE crushes on each other! 🤭 The problem is they think they don’t know each other in real life but that’s not the case. Elizabeth gets an internship at an engineering firm and Lincoln turns out to be her boss! 😱 Well we as the readers know that but Elizabeth and Lincoln not so much! 😝 I absolutely love the neurodivergent representation in this one with the ADHD rep and I truly think that it’s so wonderful just how Elizabeth cares about Lincoln needs so much and accepts him for exactly as he is! ❤️ Do not even get me started with the chemistry between Lincoln and Elizabeth because that is *chef’s kiss* 🤭🔥

If you love romance books, video games, neurodivergent representation (ADHD), anxiety representation, boss/intern, hidden identity, and a book that is amazing in every possible way then this is the one for you! 🫶

[ThianeJansen · Rating 3 out of 5]

“I waited a lifetime for you. I can wait a little longer.”

This is a sweet, nerdy You’ve Got Mail–style romance about online friendship, hidden identity, and slowly falling for the one person who truly sees you.

Elizabeth is a civil engineering intern trying to build a life outside her famous family’s shadow. Lincoln Carden who is quiet, brilliant, and socially anxious is her mentor at the engineering firm where she’s placed. What they don’t realise at first is that they already know each other as Lily and Linc, longtime online friends who game together at night and confide in one another about life, fears, and past struggles. URL to IRL?? I LOVE IT.

As Elizabeth begins to suspect the truth, the tension builds because falling for your boss is complicated enough without risking both their jobs.

Tropes and vibes:
🧪 workplace romance (he’s her boss)
🕹️ online friends to lovers
📐 women in STEM
🌤️ grumpy x sunshine
🎲 gamer romance
🌍 interracial romance + diverse cast
🧠 social anxiety + ADHD rep
🫶 found family

This wasn’t groundbreaking but no one asked it to be. It’s a cute, slightly complicated STEM romcom with heart, nerdy charm, and characters that are easy to root for. It was sweet, comforting, and exactly what I wanted it to be as a palette cleanser read.

Audiobook notes:
The audiobook was fine enough, just not a standout for me. Adored the MMC’s voice performance it really worked for his character. The female voice, however, didn’t quite land for me and felt a bit pitchy at times. I think I may have enjoyed this story more as an eyeball read rather than on audio.

[Kimberlyyyreads · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was literally spectacular!!

Thank you to Forever and Netgalley for the e-arc <333

Lincoln and Elizabeth are complete opposites, both online and IRL!

Now Lincoln just isn't Elizabeth's recently appointed mentor, he also happens to be her online best friend and favorite gamer.

The chemistry between them is absolutely undeniable watching them fall in love both irl and online was quite delicious. They compliment each other so perfectly. Lincoln is the calm to Elizabeth's storm and supports her in a way that she never has experienced.

This man set the moon up for her, I'm literally obsessed.

Secret identity is either a hit or miss for me, but hearing the premise of this book had me THRILLED to pick it up and one of my favorite name twins (@kimberlydoesntread on insta) LOVED this as well so I had no doubt I was gonna enjoy it. The way that you can feel Elizabeths and Lincolns online and in person had me giggling and blushing at work!!

Truly cannot recommend this book enough, if you love NSFW by Nisha J. Tuli, Flirting with Disaster by Naina Kumar or anything by Gabrielle Gamez, this is definitely a book you should read.

Shameez Patel has a new fan, looking forward to her upcoming works!

[Anniek · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love seeing growth from an author and I definitely think this was better than Playing Flirty. It did take me a little while to feel hooked on the story, but after that, this made for such a quick read and I felt so invested.

I will say I think the MC's backstories could have been handled with a little more care - I feel like they didn't always get the attention they deserved. And I especially think the workplace these characters both worked at deserved a lot more criticism than it got.

[Silvia Ribeiro · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very sweet slow burn workplace love story, with a secret identity aspect that not only worked but whose resolution made sense to me. When it comes to the main couple, I feel like Lincoln’s personal arc was more fleshed out than Elizabeth’s. I wish we had gotten to see her mother and grandmother one more time in the end. Also, although probably realistic, the workplace environment was really toxic, and i wish the main characters had acknowledged that, even if there was no way to fix it.

- thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy. all opinions are my own.

[Tarah Fedenia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to netgalley for this alc.

I was a bit skeptical about the premise because I am in no way an online gamer. But it was really cute! The online relationship without the awareness of the in person relationship was fun! Also I liked the representation of sexism in STEM workplaces which is in line with my friends’ experiences. It was also fun that the male lead was desi.

[Jodie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first book by Shameez and I’ve been very excited to read her work as I’ve seen the character art for her works and even saw her speak at a literary festival.

This quirky, “STEM”/gamer romance was the perfect book to keep me giggling and kicking my feet. The representation of ADHD and social challenges was lovely to see in a romance and the found family was my favourite thing ever!

I did cringe a little at some of the lines in the more “romantic” or “flirty” scenes but what’s a romance without a little cringe right?😅

Overall, I highly recommend it to anyone who likes a little laugh, emotions, relatable characters, and a good old cutesy workplace romance but with socially awkward gamers.

[Flirting with Fiction&#x1f495; · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars rounded up. Review to come! Thank you so much to NetGalley and Forever Publishing for this galley. This is my personal review.

Next Level Love by Shameez Patel is a fresh and fun contemporary romance that will leave you wanting more from this up and coming author. The story centers around Lily and Link who are online gaming friends with feeling for each other and Elizabeth and Lincoln who are forced to work together at work for Elizabeth's internship and Lincoln's promotion. But what happens when they discover that Lily is really Elizabeth and Link is really Lincoln?

This story uses a lot of well-known and loved tropes such as online to irl love, workplace romance, forced proximity, hidden identities, and friends to lovers-- but blends them in a way that feels completely new and different from so many of the cookie cutter romances out there. The book is faced paced and inserts pieces of online conversation at the beginning of every chapter to provide context and insight into the mc's relationship as it's grown over time. I loved this! Ultimately, this felt like a story that my two friends were telling me rather than something I was reading on my own. I love the gaming and nerdiness! This was definitely a love letter to gaming culture and the friends we can make online.

My only comment is that this almost feels like two separate books. The beginning was quirky and full of fun banter and comedic situations, but then around 70% the story took a turn and became much more emotional with more detailed writing and quotes that were making me tear up. While both styles were fun, it felt like an abrupt change for me. Still, I really loved the story, and I'm not sure that I'd change anything even with my feelings about it.

This story has adhd and anxiety representation that was very well-done. I love how both Lincoln and Elizabeth have brains that can make things difficult, yet they appreciate and even love each others' quirks. Patel also makes an effort to note that Elizabeth is full-figured, through she never feels bad or is made to feel bad about her body. It's just a part of her, so I really liked that.

All in all, this was a wonderful read, and I am so so excited to see what's next for Patel. Definitely give Next Level Love a chance.

[marialetto.reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 ⭐ ⊹ 1 🌶️ ⊹ 384 📖

⁀➴ Overall: An absolutely incredible read!! This was a perfect STEM romance with great banter, tenderness, and so much love!

⋆⟢ Tropes + Vibes:
💙 workplace romance (he’s her boss)
🎮 online friends to lovers
💛 women in STEM
💙 grumpy x sunshine
🎮 gamer romance
💛 interracial romance + diverse cast
💙 dual POV
🎮 social anxiety + ADHD rep
💛 found family

Microtropes:
✨ slutty little glasses (his)

⁀➴ Bookish Breakdown:
This was the absolute sweetest little STEM romance! I completely fell in love with Elizabeth and Lincoln!! Both of them are so smart, so funny, and so perfect for each other!

Elizabeth is a strong engineer who’s worked hard to get her internship at Lincoln’s engineering firm and forge her own path. She’s struggled in her past, but has always found a way to persevere. She’s truly a ray of sunshine, and I love her positive attitude despite all of the negativity in her past!

Lincoln is a brilliant engineer, who has worked his way up to taking on an intern at his engineering firm. He’s strongly opposed to the idea and his social anxiety completely agrees that he definitely does not want an intern. Like Elizabeth, Lincoln has been through tough times in his past.

Both Lincoln and Elizabeth leaned on each other while processing various moments in their pasts by chatting and playing video games with one another. They kept their identities protected for a very long time, which is why when they started working together, they didn’t realize who the other person was.

Watching them grow, learn, and process everything they’ve been through as a team was so sweet. I loved how much I loved them both!!

I will absolutely be reading more of Patel’s work!

A quick note: There are topics of grief, social anxiety, ADHD, and past trauma.

Thank you to Shameez Patel and NetGalley for this ARC.

[casey ⋆˚౨ৎ ⋆.˚ · Rating 5 out of 5]

i did an immersive read with my physical copy and the alc which was SO engaging!!! online friends but real life strangers??? a woman in stem??? anxiety rep??? 🙂‍↕️ this was SO good and SO wholesome!!! i ate this up, it was so cute and the chemistry between lincoln and elizabeth 😮‍💨😮‍💨 i love them both so much. perfection.

elizabeth is so strong even with all that life threw at her especially being a woman in stem. when she felt like she wasn’t good enough to be an engineer my heart broke for her. lincoln still navigating grief and feeling like he’s not good enough for the girl he met online broke me again.

“when your favorite player turns out to be your very real boss, the rules are a lot more complicated”

elizabeth is starting a new internship with a shot at her dream job as a civil engineer. the one constant in her life is a gamer who seems to just get her even though he has no interest in meeting in real life. lincoln is quiet and avoids small talk, especially at the office. what she doesn’t know is that online, he’s confident and flirty 🤭 their two worlds sooon collide…

🎧audio: i loved this audio, i highly recommend it. the little typing noises/swoosh (message sent sound) during their online messaging was such a fun added feature!! it makes it clear when the online parts are. the narrators did an amazing job with being engaging and having the tones/energy.

tropes: bipoc mmc, workplace romance, woman in stem, adhd rep, anxiety rep, mc’s are gamers, slow burn, boss x intern, secret identities, age gap

do check content warnings

🎮👾🥞🎧☕️

[Tay_is_reading_again · Rating 4 out of 5]

Link aka Lincoln and Lilly aka Elizabeth are so dang cute and I ate up this gamer and office romance with an unknown identity component.

Lincoln is an engineer at a large business (I listened so I don’t want to butcher the spelling of the name of it - Simucon? lol) and games at night. He often games and chats with Lilly and over years they’ve built a friendship that both parties kinda think could be more. However, they’ve never met and both parties are a bit scared to ruin their friendship.

Elizabeth recently began an internship at the same engineering firm and who is her boss? Lincoln! At first, Elizabeth has zero idea Lincoln is “her Link,” but over time there are clues that lead Elizabeth to think Lincoln and Link are the same person. Simultaneously, Elizabeth and Lincoln start crushing on each other hard, which is challenging considering their intern/manager position.

Elizabeth is a complex character with an interesting backstory. Lincoln also has a complex backstory which makes them both so loveable.

Both narrators: Shahjehan Khan and Jensen Olaya nailed their roles. I really enjoyed their dual performance!

Read this if you like:
🎮 workplace romance
🎮 gamer romance
🎮 online relationship that becomes more
🎮 found family
🎮 boss x intern but without a large age gap

Spice: it is all fade to black and implied

Thank you so much to Hachette Audio and the author for the ALC!!

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun entertaining read! I did not grow up a gamer (unless you count the educational games my mom bought me where I built my own biome and frogger), but I had a fun time experiencing little snippets of Lily and Link’s gaming relationship. Though I am a big board game person and had a lot of fun with the references there!

This was a sweet, fun romance with light spice and a lot of heart. There is one scene that would probably be considered fade to black or just vague. But the kisses were 🤭.

This was my first book by Shameez and will definitely not be my last!

Audiobook review:

Shahjehan Khan and Jensen Olaya did an excellent job narrating Lincoln and Elizabeth but Shahjehan was the standout to me between the two. Also the sound effects for the messages between them was SUCH a nice touch!

Thank you to NetGalley, Forever, and Hachette Audio for the eArc and ALC of the book!

[Em · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two engineer gamers fall in love.

But there’s two stories going on here and this story is how they collide. Lily and Link have been chatting for years through anonymous usernames on a gaming server for engineers. They are falling in love virtually and kind of want to take it to the next level.

But before this happens Elizabeth starts interning for Lincoln. Falling for your adhd grumpy boss is frowned upon, but the sparks are flying.

The narration on this was perfect and I loved all the side characters, the nods to nerds, and seeing these two worlds collide! This was a very quick and fun romance with lots of chemistry, banter, neurodivergence rep, and filled my nerdy heart.

[Sammi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute rom-com featuring women in STEM.

We get a snippet of their online relationship at the start of each chapter through their chats.

This is a great slow burn, workplace romance, online meets IRL, with diversity and ADHD rep.

It was quite refreshing to read a romance where they meet online first without knowing who the other person is.

[Hone · Rating 5 out of 5]

(Audio courtesy of Hachette Audio/Forever and NetGalley.)

5⭐

Contemporary romance is not my usual genre. I read two (2) whole contemporaries last year, but even those had magical realism baked in. And before that? 2016. So when I say that I absolutely ate this book up, you know it's something special!

Being a nerd, loving nerdy things, I was, of course, done in by the nerdy premise. And it did not disappoint!

While the story is obviously romance-driven, with gamer elements being secondary, I was genuinely impressed with the board gaming. It felt lived-in and natural, with the board game choices being spot on.

The video gaming was a little less natural. More name drop-y than lived in. As someone who has been running around video game spaces for the last 900 years, it's pretty rare to see gamers bounce between that many titles over that short of a time span. Unless your job is full-time games journalist, most people pick a niche and stick to 1–3 games.

Ultimately, it didn't harm the story or the nerdy appeal.

Romance-wise? This book is delightful. We once again had my new favorite trope: love triangle that isn't actually a love triangle.

I loved the way that Lincoln stood up for Elizabeth as an employee. We've all had that manager who doesn't give a shit about their employees, so this endeared me to him a lot. And as for balancing power dynamics, Lincoln struggled with this for a while, and once he and Elizabeth were an official thing, he makes sound ethical decisions that I appreciated.

A bit more from the Lincoln Appreciation Department here, but I was especially struck by the portrayal of ADHD and his friend group. He’s got a standing game night on Wednesdays, but his childhood friend (who he has always suspected was forced into being his friend) is the one who drags him along, and if she doesn’t go, then he doesn’t go. He finally admits to the group that he feels like he’s not really their friend—that he’s just the tag-along of his best friend.

And the group is collectively like, “Bro, WUT.”

I felt so seen, given that that’s my experience pretty much all the time.

Audio-Specific 🎧: Run time: 10 hours 20 minutes. Shahjehan Khan and Jensen Olaya both bring distinctive character voices to these two. I was especially pleased by Khan’s performance of someone who is neurodivergent. It felt very true to my experiences and I appreciated that.

📌 TL;DR: Cute, nerdy, romantic read. Highly recommended!

[Danielle Haupt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you so much to the author and NetGalley for the ARC

4.25 stars

A bit of a slow start but DAMN that last 30% had me hooked. I wasn’t going to bed without finishing the book!

“I wanted to touch her and hold her. I wanted to kiss her until we forgot our names and identities. I wanted to make her smile, the way she used to smile at me. There were so many things I wanted from her, but I wasn’t sure I could have it. It tormented me.”

“Don’t ever call yourself unworthy of my love when you’re the only reason I am sure I can feel that sort of affection.”

“I’m already, and always will be, in love with every version of you.”

“What’s a little food poisoning between lovers?” He chuckled. “Favorite pizza?” “Anything with cheese.” “Girl of my dreams”

“I know peace when I look at you.”

“I wanted you so badly that I fear I’ll devour you entirely. So you’re going to have to tell me when to stop.” He lowered his mouth to my neck, trailing his tongue down my collarbone. “Devour me , then”

“I know I’ve underwhelmed you with my technical abilities, but I could definitely impress you with my foul language.”

“Except for this kink in the road. Smooth it out. Kinks aren’t good.” “Depends on the context”

“But before I could say anything, her knuckles slammed right in my gut”

“I wanted to love someone so much I couldn’t stay away from them. I wanted to be loved by someone in a way that made us forget there were people around.”

“I wanted her to love me the way I’d already fallen for her.”

“Lincoln Carden was the most perfect man to ever exist. Even though he couldn’t look at me while discussing period products.”

“It hurt because I’d fallen in love with him in a way I didn’t think was possible. I’d fallen in love with the same person twice.”

“She way okay. She was alive. And I was undeniably in love with her.”

“Lincoln came. Even without calling him. He came.”

“Lily, it appears I’ll find you without you calling, without intending, without us knowing. I’ll always find you.”

“Because the one thing I was sure of is that I would love her the way that she deserved.”

“You’re like stars in a dark night. Something to make a wish on.”

[Wajiha (Jiya) ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

First and foremost, let me just clarify this: this is not an enemies-to-lovers novel. There is no actual animosity present here. What Lincoln feels toward Elizabeth at the beginning is mild annoyance mixed with professionalism and emotional distance at most. That's it. No hostility, no rivalry, no tension that justifies the use of the word "enemies." Setting yourself up for that will get you disappointed.

That said, the core idea and concept of the book is still interesting. Elizabeth and Lincoln's online dynamic was pretty sweet. Some of the moments between them were swoon-worthy, such as when they're gaming together or emotionally in sync. Those scenes felt natural and they're the reason I kept going.

Unfortunately, the book was very draggy. The pace was slow and, for me, boring. The same concerns, hesitations, and internal debates were repeated throughout, without adding anything new. There came a point when I wasn't emotionally invested and I was literally just waiting for the pacing to move forward which hindered my reading experience. I mean slow burns are good but I feel like they only work when there's momentum, and here it often felt like the story was stuck in place.

One area that the book truly shines for me is in its portrayal of Lincoln and his ADHD and anxiety. That was done well. His ruminations and hiding and emotional exhaustion felt real to me, and what impressed me was that this book didn’t portray his neurodivergence as things that could be solved or fixed by "love." That was solid, and to me, he was more developed than Elizabeth.

Elizabeth's character arc, on the other hand, felt underwritten. I wanted more insights and backstory of her inner world and I wish we would've gotten to see some of her relationship with his mom (since that and how awful douglas is a larg part of the story). She wasn't a bad character, just okayish.

The side characters and the found family/friendship elements were so lovely. They were the bright spot in the book, and some of the best parts, in my opinion.

Also, I listened to this book as an audiobook, and that influenced my experience. Shahjehan Khan was great and had Lincoln down pat. Jensen Olaya was good, but sometimes her voice was a bit grating. But overall, the two were not bad.

I didn't hate this book, but I didn't love it either. It was fine, comforting in parts, boring in others, a solid 3-star read.

Thank u sm to Netgalley and Hachette Audio for the ALC.