Jade has one shot to save Shadycade—the quirky vintage arcade bar that’s become her entire life. When her reclusive romance-author twin begs her to attend San Diego Comic-Con in her place, Jade grabs the chance to study the latest gaming trends and prove the bar can be a full-on nerd paradise…not the next Starbucks.
There’s just one rule: no one can know her real name.
Luke would rather be grinding on Xbox than grinning behind a booth, but he’s stuck manning his comic shop’s table and secretly ghostwriting his boss’s brutal reviews. As the anonymous hatchet man who once tanked a certain romance author’s career, he’s used to ruining lives from behind a keyboard. And he’s sick of playing someone else’s game.
There’s just one rule: no one can know he’s the reviewer.
When Jade is knocked off her feet by a charming Converse-wearing Jedi, sparks fly faster than a hyperspace jump. “Red,” as Luke dubs the fiery gamer who won’t give him her name, is everything he’s sworn to avoid: distracting, irresistible, and far too unforgettable for a reckless fling.
But Comic-Con is a minefield of secrets. Jade is posing as the very author whose career Luke nearly destroyed with one devastating review.
And Luke’s big Comic-Con mission? Expose that same elusive author…or lose the comic shop he loves.
As panels, parties, and high-stakes game tournaments pile on the pressure—and a mysterious gamer called Python keeps wrecking Jade’s high scores and her business plan—their con-fling becomes a collision course with the truth.
When masks come off, and one brutal public confrontation exposes every lie, Jade and Luke have to decide what matters more: protecting their secrets or fighting for a love that’s leveled them both.
In a whirlwind of fandom, cosplay, retro arcades, found family, and second chances, Love at First Con-Flict delivers a swoony, laugh-out-loud rom-com where the final level is learning to trust—for real this time.
Because in this game, there’s only one condition:
No more secrets. Ever.
Tropes:
Enemies to Lovers
Twin Swap
Secret Identities
Second Chances
