Let the Game Begin

by Kira Shell

Genres: Dark Romance

624 pages, Paperback

Published August 26, 2025

Reviews

[Allie DeMars · Rating 1 out of 5]

⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️
Narration: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

I don’t hate a lot of books, but I truly hated this one. The characters were unbearable, especially Neil who had zero redeeming qualities. Maybe that was the point, but it didn’t work for me.

The side characters weren’t any better, the “spicy” scenes were cringey, and I cannot stand when an author refers to a p*nis as his “member.”
Add in the jealousy trope and the repetitive plot, and I just felt like I was stuck in a bad dream. It was the same things happening over and over while I kept waiting for something big to happen, and it never did.

The only positives for me were the mystery and suspense around figuring out who player 2511 was, though that was rare.
The writing itself was strong, very detailed but undeniably well done.
The narrators were also excellent and did a great job keeping me engaged even when the story dragged.

Overall, this one wasn’t for me.

Thank you Sourcebooks audio for an ALC.

[Kristy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a lot to unpack to me. You’ve got Neil who has so much internal demons he’s dealing with that make him an asshole. Then you’ve got Selene who is your typical good girl that’s falling for the bad boy and no matter what he does she just can’t say no to him. Then there’s Player 2511 who wants revenge for something. I’ll be dying to read the rest of these books to see how it ends.

[💗Kelsey📚 · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dnf on page 155! This book is just very cringe and I’m 30% in and still no stalker to talk about! I don’t care at all about the relationship and the way the author describes Neil it makes him sound like a little boy and her obsession over Disney🤢🤢🤢😳

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let the Game Begin is the kind of dark, obsessive romance that hijacks your weekend and makes you feral for the next book. Kira Shell’s U.S. debut blends stepsibling tension, high heat, and a stalker subplot into a cat-and-mouse game you cannot look away from. Fans of Penelope Douglas and L.J. Shen should clear their schedules because you’re not putting this down.

[Charlene (pageandplace) · Rating 3 out of 5]

🎧 I got the opportunity to listen to this book, narrated by Kat Riley and Edward Black. They did a wonderful job bringing the characters to life.

Selene moves to New York to live with her estranged father and attend college. Her father’s new family includes his new wife’s children, the eldest being Neil.

Selene is captivated by Neil but he is not quite ready to open himself up to anyone, let alone her.

Amidst this college, dark romance there is a cat and mouse game being played by Player 2511, who is out for vengeance.

For whatever reason, I could not get into this book and struggled to enjoy it. Timing, lack of connection with the characters, who knows but it just was not a memorable read for me. That being said, I always recommend you decide for yourself!

The plot caught my attention and I gave it a shot. I did like the cat and mouse stalker aspect so bright side! If you can find something you enjoyed then it’s worth it.

Thank you to the author, Kira Shell, and Sourcebooks Audio for the opportunity to listen to this book. I received a gifted copy and am leaving my review voluntarily.

[Guylou (Two Dogs and a Book) · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unfortunately, 𝗟𝗘𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗚𝗔𝗠𝗘 𝗕𝗘𝗚𝗜𝗡 𝗯𝘆 𝗞𝗶𝗿𝗮 𝗦𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗹 didn’t work for me. I went in expecting a dark, bingeable college romance with suspenseful cat-and-mouse vibes, but I ended up feeling more frustrated than entertained. The characters were my biggest hurdle. Selene was flat, and Neil—supposedly the brooding, damaged love interest—had no redeeming qualities. Instead of compelling or layered, he came across as exhausting. The side characters didn’t add much either, and the “spice” felt more cringeworthy than steamy. The story quickly grew repetitive, circling the same jealousy-driven drama without real progression. I kept waiting for something big to happen with the stalker subplot, but the suspense never paid off in a satisfying way. That said, I’ll give credit where it’s due: the prose itself is strong, very descriptive, and the audiobook narrators delivered a solid performance that made it easier to push further than I otherwise might have.

𝗧𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆:
🔥 Forbidden romance
🔥 Jealousy/possessiveness
🔥 Dark past trauma
🔥 College romance setting
🔥 Cat-and-mouse suspense

[Erica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although the plot was decent, I couldn’t get past the amount of grammatical errors throughout the entire book. There was also a lot of repetitiveness I couldn’t quite wrap my head around. Between the kind of car that Neil drove, to the color of his eyes, to how he smelled, to him incessantly calling Selene by the nickname he gave her, to dwelling on his let’s just say “extracurricular activities”. It seemed a little uncalled for. As you read along, you can also pinpoint a bit of hypocrisy with Selene with her relationships. It’s comparative to how Neil acts throughout the book. I was also hoping we would’ve gotten more of Neil’s backstory in detail, but I guess we’ll just have to see what happens in book two.

[Nichole Lovelace · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book started off kinda slow and seemed very repetitive throughout the first half of the book but I believe it was to explain Neil’s character. Butttttt the second half of the book was 😘💦💕🥵🫶🏻 great. The ending left on a huge cliff hanger and I am now currently stuck between starting a new series or waiting until January for the second book . I would definitely would have waited to read until the second book comes out because I am a mess and it’s going to live rent free in my head until I get answers 🤦🏼‍♀️

[Bailee Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

It moved a little slow but i’m ready for book #2

[🦇Chloe king🦇 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Devastated, yearning, need more also, hey…. Stop making me cry like this.

[Kristen Stier · Rating 5 out of 5]

What in the world did I just spend four days listening to this crazy roller coaster of a story?! So many twist and turns, I was not expecting to be left on a damn cliffhanger!!!

Selene, my dear, you are way too naive & forgiving! Just when I thought you would find your backbone & stand up for yourself you fell right back into the trap!! My god I hope you come back in book 2 redeem yourself!!

& Neil - DUDE. GET YOURSELF HELP.

Ugh I can’t even comprehend everything I just listened to!