A Game of Love and Hate

Girl Games #0.5

by Ruby Roe

Find out how Scarlett Grey met Quinn Adams. How they fell into hate. And all the fights and fucks that led up to book 1 in the Girl Games series: A Game of Hearts and Heists.

Genres: Lesbian, Fantasy, Romance, Novella, Enemies To Lovers, Audiobook, LGBT

61 pages, ebook

Published February 1, 2023

About the author

Ruby Roe writes lesbian fantasy romance. She loves a bit of magic with her smut and will read anything as long as the characters get down and dirty. When she isn’t writing, she’s beasting herself at the gym or wandering the world on her next adventure. She lives in England with her wife, son, and two devious Ragdoll cats.

Reviews

[gloria .☆ﾟ. · Rating 3 out of 5]

➥ 3.5 Stars *:･ﾟ✧

“Take a deep breath, baby.” She hitches up my body. I slip my hand between her legs, grab her ass, and pull her the rest of the way [to my mouth].

━━━━━━━━━━━ ♡ ━━━━━━━━━━━

Thank you Dee for this rec 😚 (your taste is questionable (fondly)). This is an enemies/rivals-to-lovers sapphic novella that's mostly sex.

Not bad sex, though. But, they would see each other, say one sentence, and have their hands all over and inside the other 🙄. Both Scarlett (h) and Quinn (h) are assassins, though they use different techniques yet seek the same clients, which in turn causes conflict. There was some questionable dialogue, though there were times when it was good 😋.

She narrows her eyes at me, and then pulls out a blade and slips it into my trousers and yanks. The fabric splits and Scarlett grins. She releases me, but only an inch. One arm still holding me, she puts my blade back in its scabbard and then slides her hand around my neck and tilts my head to meet her. "Say please."

They take turns making the other beg and what can I say, I enjoyed the fuck out of it 🤗. Don't expect anything that makes sense, any fleshing out of characters or actual romantic growth between them, but I enjoyed this nonetheless. They do remind me of Clay and Liv, because of how they're always trying to slice the other but it's kind of cute 🥺 they're always rolling their eyes at the other's antics but bask in the glow of their attention.

"No," I say. But the word is barely more than a whisper.

"Yes, Quinn," Scarlett says but she doesn't move any closer. She brushes her lip over mine but doesn't make to kiss me. She teases but waits for permission.

"Yes," I say into her lips as my mouth drops onto hers. She smiles into my kiss. God, I hate arrogant people.

Adorable. I probably will read the sequel (eventually), but I do hope to see some more emotional connection between them. I was hoping for small moments of accidental tenderness or vulnerability between them, to see a bit of companionship. This was fun though, perfect for if you're in a reading slump, and there is a gap in the market for raunchy sapphic novellas anyway so 😛.

━━━━━━━━━━━ ♡ ━━━━━━━━━━━

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Join Scarlett and Quinn in this fast paced prequel to the series. When the Assassin and the Poisoner cross paths, the lust is instant and doesn't abate as months go by. Death by commission - who wins and who loses a commission. Interesting plot threads left hanging. Did I mention there's sex too?
A cold brew is needed with this one.

[Francisca Sousa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m just gonna leave this here 🫠

“Maybe you should punish me then.
Say please, you little brat”

[Larareads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating 3.5 ⭐️

[Sapphic · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spice for spice's sake. That's it.

If you're looking for a book packed with spice, this might work for you. Unfortunately, I needed more than that. The plot, characters, and romance never grabbed my attention enough to make me care about what was happening.

The spice was plentiful, but it felt like it was carrying the entire story rather than enhancing it. In the end, there just wasn't enough substance for me beyond the steamy scenes.

[Menestrella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oef lol. I love Scarlett and Quinn.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

The prequel to A Game of Hearts and Heists, two rivals meet and start a sexual relationship despite their animosity in this ff fantasy.

This definitely was a spicy (🥵) precursor to the main book so my appetite is surely whetted.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
POV: Dual 1st Present

[Liv · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[MJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a prequel to A Game of Hearts and Heists. You can find the audio for this at the end of Hearts and Heists audiobook.

The story shows how Quinn and Scarlet met and where their hatred/rivalry started. They fight, fuck, compete for commissions!

A great short and spicy novella! Written in first person with 2x POV’s. Enemies to Lovers, Competitive Pair, Assassin/Alchemist. 5x Spicy Scenes.

[maiza · Rating 4 out of 5]

they’re so obsessed with each other 😭

[Anna Wood-Gaines · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was apparently included in my copy lol

What happened to YEARNING 😩 please give me just a crumb of tension first

[Chase · Rating 4 out of 5]

Giggles twirls hair kicks feet 🤭

[made_for_reading · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this intense little short story and it is one for the spice lovers for sure. Quite intense but I loved the story plot, it really had me gripped. It’s my first ruby roe read and it was quite short so a lot happened in a short span of time, I’d definitely like to see the story in a longer, full book setting so I think I’ll try one of the bigger books next time.

[Brave · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, adds to the characters of Quinn and Scarlett a bit. I do lowkey wish I'd read this before book 1 but I didn't know it existed til the end of book 1 🤣 Spicy scenes in this were a bit repetitive but I guess that can be par for the course in a novella.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5⭐️

[Lucy Hampton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wished I read this before Girl Games 1 but no biggie, I still thoroughly enjoyed it and wished it was longer. Actually, I wish Ruby Roe's books would never end.

[Olivia Lyn]

no comment

[Tanisha Symons · Rating 4 out of 5]

just pure smut

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

i love lesbians

[Carina · Rating 2 out of 5]

To be fair, I think this novella could actually just be a few introductory chapters in the first book. That’s my problem with most 0.5-ish books. Nevertheless, it’s mostly sex and world building. A true enemies to something more in the rising. The sex scenes were ok, even if a bit insane sometimes… like what do you mean she sliced her pants with a blade and proceeded to do some face sitting with her enemy? Bold move! Yet, interesting dynamic. I look forward to read the first book of the series. It seems to have everything I look for in a fantasy book: assassins, sapphics, magic and a hell lot of tension between characters. On my way to start the next one.

“I’ve got a bad feeling about you, Quinn. This gnawing sensation you’re going to ruin me.”

Update: I started the next one. Gave up 10% in. Not even gonna add it to my Goodreads.

[Sapphic Bookshelf · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Game Of Love And Hate is the prequel novella to the Girl Games series and damn is it 🥵🔥

“Maybe you should punish me then.”

I already love Scarlett and Quinn as individuals and I love their chemistry. While they don’t feel like explicit enemies at the moment, I enjoy their banter, the way they mess with each other, and especially the smut. This is the perfect introductory taste to the two of them and I can’t wait to read A Game Of Hearts and Heists now!

[Sherri · Rating 1 out of 5]

I will say that the writing in this is a bit better than in A Game of Hearts and Heists. But there is still no emotional connection to the characters, and everything just feels... repetitive. It also reaffirms my belief that Scarlett just isn't that good of an assassin if Quinn continuously keeps getting the better of her? Quinn is untrained in fighting, for fuck's sake.


At least it's over.

[LovesickJunkie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Ruby Roe. And I love Quinn and Scarlett. This is a wonderful intro to their story. Super steamy and fast paced.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super quick. Super hot with some laughs mixed in. Great little prequel.

[Marta · Rating 5 out of 5]

That was so fun to read. The beginning of Quinn and Scarlett.

[Mozzarella · Rating 5 out of 5]

"We really should stop," she says.
I nod. "I know."
"That's it then?" she says.

"That's it then," I repeat. But neither of us moves. We're staring at each other with the intensity of a midnight sky held in our gaze. There's a rattle and clatter behind us.

"Someone's coming," I say.
"Shit." She bolts for the door. I grab my rucksack and chase
after her.

"I still hate you," she barks as we crash through the club door and into the afternoon sun.
"Always and forever, Quinn."

She gives me the middle finger, and then she turns and runs toward the city centre. I stare after her for a while. Long after her footsteps have faded, and she's vanished from sight, I'm still there with a funny feeling that this game has only just begun.


- I love their banter so much 😩 I can’t wait to start book 1 and see these two trying to kill each other again

[Juniper L.H. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was ok. I read this prior to the corresponding novel and I'm not sure if that was the right choice or not. Ill come back and re-evaluate this after I finish book 1. As a standalone this didn’t do much for me, but we will see once its packaged alongside the main book.

This was fun and spicy, but also a little random. I understand the point; there is an initial attraction that grows, but at the same time so does the animosity between them. Perfect enemies to lovers (who are already kind of lovers?) setup.

My issue is that it was SO random; they are in the middle of hating each other (in settings where they shouldn’t be dawdling) and suddenly they are going at it. It also comes out of nowhere because with this novella being so short, there wasn’t sufficient time to build whatever attraction they are supposed to have; they just think the other is sexy I suppose.

[Cordyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I ended up reading the first novel in the series before this one, so I knew what I was getting into. If you’re expecting character growth, tenderness, and love, pass this one by. However, if you’re wanting an interesting back story and lots of explicit scenes, this is for you. This isn’t bad at all, it’s for an audience with a specific taste. I do appreciate the effort from this author. So, thank you. **Note** I tagged this as little to no romance because, while there are many erotic scenes, this novella is absolutely not a romance.

[Shula McCann · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s got some good one liners, but it’s also got some sloppy spelling mistakes. Each chapter changes the POV between Scarlet and Quinn with some rivalry event and then sex. Is it spicy? I’m not sure, it all felt a little rushed maybe because it’s a novella? This was a free story for joining the authors mailing list.

[Jay Lamerton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excited to read A Game of Hearts and Heists after finishing this prequel 0.5 book. This one really sets the scene and helps you get to know the background of Scarlett and Quinn. For such a short book, the smut level was intense, but you know what, I loved it. 4 stars because I feel like it was slightly rushed, however the sex scenes made up for it! Lol!