Love Is a Game: How to Fall in Love in 90 Days

by Nikki Leigh

404 pages, Paperback

Published August 1, 2026

Reviews

[Hannah]

3 stars

This was a fun romcom to read! I loved the premise of how if you do all the right things that there is no chance that someone wouldn't fall in love with you.

While that was fun to read, it defintely was a little much (for me) at times. The FMC was in a love triangle (kind of) that she wanted nothing to do with. There was obvious chemistry between her and one of the MMC's but she ignored it because she wanted to prove it true that you could make someone fall in love with you in 90 days. I usually don't love a love triangle, and unfortunatly i did not love this one. There is an obvious person that she should be with, that she knows has feelings for her and she has feeling for him, but she is choosing to ignore it for the safer option.'

I did love the wedding setting and the friend group. I feel like it brought a lot of character and ambiance to the book.

Thank you to the publishers for an arc to review!

[Cheryl Casey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the story line of this book. I loved the characters. For most of the book, I actually felt sorry for Liam. I really thought that Summer didn't deserve him. Summer was difficult for me to like. She is an extremely confused person, at times I felt like she was stringing both men along. Other times I felt like she was just clueless. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. After reading the entire book, I'm still not sure she deserves Liam. Now the negative of this book and why I didn't give it a 5. This book was hard for me to follow. Several times I felt like I was reading the same scene over again, other times it felt like the chapters were out of order. I doesn't hurt the storyline at all, it was just distracting. Overall it was a good book!

[Julia Bozza]

DNF at 10%. I really wanted to enjoy this but the reading experience felt completely mechanical. The structure is incredibly bizarre, with a disruptive line break after every single sentence and a total reliance on "telling" rather than showing. The dialogue and prose feature highly synthetic, forced phrasing that lacks any genuine human warmth or emotional depth. Combined with massive logic gaps where promised characters (like the actual brother) completely vanish from the text, the entire book reads less like an organically written story and more like a highly formulaic, mechanical text output.

[Lindsey Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️️⭐️/ ️🌶️🌶️🌶️

The banter is fun and witty, the chemistry is tangible, and a bet can cause you to learn things about yourself you are not ready to admit. Nikki Leigh provides this and more with Love is a Game, book 1 in her Harbor Point series. This new adult romance focuses on our FMC thinking love can be controlled by situations and our MMC wanting to prove her wrong. Yet something else is bubbling underneath as the bet is set, the terms decided, and the challenge begins. I think this is an interesting take on a real world argument that has been talked about for some time. One side will claim love is a chemical reaction that can be understood and controlled, while the other side will claim you can’t control who you fall in love with and emotions are stronger than we think.

Summer and Liam have known each other for some time and fully enjoy getting under each other’s skin. I actually liked that Summer is the more analytical MC in this book, believing that love is a reaction vs an uncontrollable feeling. Liam loves to push her buttons and never misses a chance to do so. So their bet is formed. The terms: 90 days to make someone fall in love with Summer. The target: good guy Ethan that ends up making Summer question a lot of her own beliefs. The prize: one neither of them saw coming.

It becomes obvious quickly that neither of them are prepared for what this bet will become. As Liam watches Summer put her plan in place with Ethan, he begins to feel something like jealousy. As Summer puts her plan into action, she finds herself wanting to talk to Liam about everything and looks for him everywhere. Their relationship grows into something that when they finally admit it all I could think was “it’s about time”.

This is the first book by Nikki that I have read and I am wanting to see what will happen next in this series. A self proclaimed hopeless romantic, my heart loved watching our MCs come to realize their feelings and deciding what they truly want out of life. This is a fun read that shines a light on how love truly works and at times it happens without you really noticing it. While the loud moments may solidify love, it is the quiet moments that allow it take root and grow.

As always, review any author notes before reading.

What to Expect:
🩷Small Town Romance
💙Enemies to Lovers
🩷Forced Proximity
💙One Bed
🩷Persistent FMC
💙Confident MMC
🩷Bet Gone Wrong

[Marion Löw · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, I liked the plot itself: Summer Wilder wants a calm, reliable, and empathetic boyfriend, and Ethan Parker fits the bill. So she hatches an elaborate, orchestrated plan with a guaranteed outcome to win him over within 90 days. Then Liam Carter shows up—her childhood nemesis, who’s part of the same circle of friends and has always teased, challenged, and riled her up, but also reads her like a book. Liam bets that her plan won’t work and that she’ll realize love can’t be planned and controlled. Of course, now that Liam keeps popping up unexpectedly, Summer’s even more determined to prove him wrong. Her plan seems to be a success, and Ethan wants to be with her, but she’s overwhelmed by her growing attraction to Liam and soon finds herself completely helpless. Summer wants to be with Ethan at all costs, but thoughts of Liam keep getting in the way…

So yeah, the beginning was great; the love triangle, nemesis-to-lovers, forced proximity, one-bed, and troubled heroine tropes were interesting; the wedding party setting was well-chosen; and the witty banter, the tension, and the sizzling chemistry between Summer and Liam were very entertaining and well-done. I also really liked the group of friends.

What I didn’t like as much, however, were the many repetitions and occasional anachronisms that made the story seem illogical, as well as chapter endings that didn’t line up with the beginning of the next one.
I found it harder and harder to relate to Summer as the story progressed. I can certainly understand all kinds of fears and the desire for security, but her behavior toward both Ethan and Liam wasn’t fair as the story went on. She constantly led one of them on while thinking about the other, and she repeatedly hurt and pushed the other one away.

I really liked both of the male leads. Ethan is a quiet, Golden Retriever type; Liam is the charming, flirtatious guy who’s been in love with her for ages.

All in all, a charming romantic comedy with potential, even if it became a bit tedious and maddening over time due to the repetitions and the FMC‘s behavior. The book definitely needs more editing.

I received a free ARC of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own and left voluntarily.

[Tasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love is a Game by Nikki Leigh is a sweet and engaging contemporary romance that explores the excitement, uncertainty, and vulnerability that come with finding love. The unique 90-day challenge added a fun twist to the story while giving the characters plenty of opportunities to grow, reflect, and discover what they truly want from a relationship. Nikki Leigh did a wonderful job creating relatable characters with real emotions and believable struggles. The romance developed naturally, balancing heartfelt moments with humor and chemistry. I really enjoyed the way the story focuses not only on falling in love but also on learning to trust, take chances, and open yourself up to new possibilities. Overall, Love is a Game was a charming, feel-good read for fans of contemporary romance, second chances, and stories about personal growth.

I received an ARC copy from BookSirens. Thank you for giving me the chance to read this novel and share my honest review of the novel!

[Sara Lauer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Love Is a Game is a sharp, character‑driven contemporary romance that leans into messy emotions, flawed people, and what happens when your carefully constructed rules collide with the one person who makes you want to break them. It’s messy, heartfelt, and full of chemistry that feels earned rather than convenient. Nikki Leigh delivers a story that’s equal parts witty banter, emotional tension, and self‑reckoning.
If you enjoy flawed heroines, perceptive love interests, and slow‑burn tension with emotional payoff, this one is worth picking up.

What Worked for Me
The banter — sharp, funny, and revealing
The emotional arc — Summer’s growth feels earned, not forced
The themes — control vs vulnerability, authenticity vs performance
What Didn’t Work as Well
Some readers may find Summer annoying—and honestly, she is. Her flaws are loud, her avoidance is exhausting, and her choices can be maddening. Her blatant refusal to admit who she really loves for 90% of the book is a drag.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Alicia McKilligan · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

When Summer decides to do something, she goes all, planning and strategising. In this case, her 'project' is Ethan and the plan to have him as her perfect man...the fly in the ointment is Liam. Infuriating, all-knowing, smirking, handsome Liam, determined to scupper the plan. This book has a lot of decent banter between Summer and Liam, though it does seem to keep covering the same ground. Despite ger friends' scepticism, Summer pursues her campaign to make the unwitting Ethan fall in love with her.
Overall, it was a quick, pleasant read, though I did find Summer a bit frustrating and felt that her refusal to accept the input from her friends and the obvious attraction she felt for Liam, was overextended. 💖💖💖💖

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Summer and Liam have known each other for a long time. Liam is your typical bad boy that enjoys pushing summer’s buttons. Summers has an analytical mind believing you can control love and make someone fall in love with you. With this knowledge Liam makes a bet with summer that in 90 days she cant get the good guy Ethan fall in love with her. With the bet set Liam creates so many fun banter moments causing chaos making summer face her feelings realizing what love really feels like.

Will summer choose the bad boy or stay the course for the good guy?

Tropes:
One Bed
Slow Burn
Small Town
Forced Proximity
Enemies to Lovers

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book started out strong with witty banter and strong characters. The setting, particularly the wedding, was nice. It started to feel repetitive and became annoying. The multiple endings were a bit strange as well. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Shelbi Young · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was attracted to the cover and this is what made me want to read it. It’s a cute romcom with cute banter but I soon grew tired of the characters. It includes love triangle which I tend to avoid. Once I put the book down, it was hard to pick back up.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Morgan Schell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like this book could have been about one-third of the length, and that I was rereading the same thing happening and the same words every 30-50 pages. Unfortunately, that Groundhog Day experience deterred me from giving a higher star rating.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[midnightblue | Baraah]

DNF’ed at 10%

eARC from Book Sirens received for an honest review.

This book was definitely not for me. It felt too robotic, lacked of emotions and the events went too fast.

[The_enchanted.Reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book. There were nice moments, but descriptions were missing. It felt like I was just reading plot points and dialogue. The writing style was robotic and the events were repetitive. It could've been so much better but it just didn't flow for me.

I loved the cover and the premise drew me in. Thank you to the author, I received this as an ARC from Book Sirens. All opinions are my own.