Our Final Game

by Cherie Angels

Two rival e-gamers kiss and clash as they find themselves trapped in a MMORPG they both use to de-stress and escape the noise in their lives.

Rohan Chandra had always been the top Seeker player since the game’s introduction to the public. However, everything changed when Tyson Moon entered the e-sport as a newcomer, taking Rohan’s spot away and holding it ever since.

They immediately spiraled into a hate-fueled rivalry where Rohan thinks Tyson is the stereotypical, arrogant, hot, bad boy. While Tyson thinks Rohan is a brat with a bad attitude, bad sportsmanship, and beautiful eyes.

Little do they know they’ve both been seeking comfort in each other unknowingly through a MMORPG they’ve been beta testing for Tyson’s job.

One night, the two rivals wake up to find themselves trapped in said MMORPG they both use to escape the stresses of their lives and their competitive team sport.

And the only way out might be through each other.

Our Final Game is a rivals-to-lovers, DUAL-POV, standalone mmromance filled with slow-burn tension between two e-sport players on opposite ends of life, but somehow finding a quiet place within each other. Expect lots of bickering, adventure, quests, and hand necklaces.

Genres: M M Romance, Fantasy

241 pages, Paperback

Published August 28, 2026

About the author

Bringing whimsy daydreams of sweet and spicy love stories to life. When she's not doing that she's reading and collecting them or she might be watching BL/GL. She loves the romance, fantasy, and romantasy book genres.

Melt His Heart is her debut novel coming in March!

Follow her on instagram or tiktok @bycherieangels
pfp @artlyalex on ig

Reviews

[nik · Rating 3 out of 5]

ARC REVIEW.

2.5 stars rounded up.

first i would just like to say thank you to cherie angels for the opportunity to read this book early in exchange for my honest opinion and review.

getting into the review…

i am a bit disappointed. i had really high hopes for this book and for the most part, they just fell flat. the idea of this story is intriguing but the execution just did not seem there.

rohan and tyson are meant to be in their mid 20s but they sound and act like teenagers, probably no older than 16 years old.

it’s rivals to lovers, which is one of my favorite tropes. and they are rivals, but only one sided it seems. it’s the classic ‘i hate you because you’re better than me and took away my one chance at making it big’ which again, is something that i enjoy when done properly. this however, just didn’t hit the mark for me.

THIS NEXT PARAGRAPH IS A SLIGHT SPOILER!
•
•

they both beta the same game and don’t know it’s the other when when they’re playing together. then one night they voice chat each other. tyson immediately recognizes rohan’s voice, yet rohan can’t recognize that it’s tyson’s voice. which is ???? you spend so much time talking crap about him to your friends and hear his voice a lot when you play against each other, but you don’t know his voice? it just ‘sounds familiar’ i’m sorry but that is just not realistic to me.

i did like that it seemed like the author knew a little of what they were talking about when explaining the video game they were playing and trapped in. i play games myself, not professionally or even in a large capacity, but i do know some things. so it was fun reading about being trapped inside a game.

now the biggest issue i have with this is the dialogue and how it sounds like it was written by someone in middle school. i don’t want to be too harsh because this is only the author’s second book, but it genuinely reads as a middle schooler’s fanfiction on wattpad. it all just was very basic and not very good grammar, especially when it was meant to be adults or ceos of companies speaking.

another thing that is probably just a personal preference, but the over use of exclamation points! you do not have to use one for everything! and i know that adults are NOT this happy to be exclaiming everything!

the spice was fine. i’m not going to lie, i skimmed it. the way it’s being promoted made me think it would be more in depth or better, but it wasn’t. it was just eh. could’ve been left out. but again, maybe that’s a personal preference.

also there’s a daddy kink. i did NOT see that mentioned in the tropes or anything so that kind of made me want to throw up because if i had known i wouldn’t have requested an arc. even if it’s only mentioned 3-5 times. it’s something that i really do not like and it would’ve been nice to know beforehand.

i am rounding this up to 3 stars, but it is a 2.5 for me.

[rosie reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had to grow on me. I went in prepared for some grammar or formatting mistakes, as this was an advance copy from the author, and there were some minor issues here and there. Usually dialogue mishaps, where dialogue from one character was in two different paragraphs, or dialogue from two characters shared a paragraph. However, it didn't particularly distract from the story. The overall writing style was very nicely done, though personally I feel more descriptions or imagery could've been used throughout!

This next part pertains specfically to the plot of the story and contains spoilers--

The characters themselves do not feel like the ages they are portrayed to be. They speak and behave in ways that are mostly adjacent to how teenage boys act. I think this story would still flow perfectly fine if they were aged down to match this, or if their dialogue was adjusted slightly to sound less childish. Very funny bickering though! Loved reading it. Just feel like there is a slight disconnect in their ages and their behavior.

I also feel the story progressed too quickly through certain elements; like there wasn't enough attention put on things that could've used more focus. For example, Rohan had a decent reaction to realizing he's trapped in the game. Panicked. Though Tyson was immediately moving past it, and consequently Rohan was too, meaning that the moment of panic and confusion about what was going on was very short-lived. I think this moment could've been a lot more impactful if it had more pages and time in the story. A longer scene. I could say the same for most high-tension or suspense scenes,, the fight with Noel/Leon, them being apart with the Jax, the amnesia trope. I think this would make the story much more impactful and spark real emotions if they were extended.

I also think their dynamic shifted a little too quickly? It went very quickly from fighting all the time to being attached to each other, which can be fine, I just feel that the interactions used to lead them to the attachment are a little shallow. Like, nothing spectacular happened to reason for such a quick change in how they view each other. These are my critiques.

For the positives, I looooved this book in the second half. Once they got past the whole miscommunication/rivals trope, their dynamic was so so cute and funny. I loved the way they interacted and helped each other become braver with their anxieties regarding the other. Fantastically done, so sweet and romantic with a healthy dose of realistic banter. Very entertaining to read, and kept me smiling. I laughed a lot in the end, and liked that they kept up their banter even after they settled into happy relationship era.

Would love to own a physical copy of this when it comes out, wonderful book, thank you for allowing me to be an advance reader!! xx

[Tooth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before I get started on my review, i would like to state that I was sent an arc copy. Thank you to the author! Now, into my review!
I want to first say the things I enjoyed:As someone who absolutely loves danmei, I was so excited about this book! I can say with confidence it really gave that vibe. Specifically it was reminding me of a mix between guide on how to fail at online dating with an isekia plot. Also loved Rohan’s character, as I have a serious soft spot for tsunderes so all these things mixed together felt like a total win for me. The interactions between him and Tyson were equal parts frustrating and cute. The push and pull between them, especially when it led to spice was just mmm! Delicious! The side characters in this were also a lot of fun!! A few of them had me wanting a book about them as well!!
Now, to things that are both spoilers and issues I had reading this:
Through the majority of the book, I had no clue that Tyson in the game had shadow abilities. It wasn’t until half way through the book, when he’s stuck in the dungeon, that I noticed it was brought up. After that, it suddenly becomes something he uses a lot, and I wish it have seen more of that earlier when they were fighting monsters. Another thing I was alittle disappointed by was that the isekia aspect really wasn’t all it could have been. I’d say it took up roughly 30% of the book, and it just didn’t feel like enough for me. I wished for a little more time in the game, as after all, the whole point was for them to be there together to work out the feelings they had for one another. I think if it would have been more fleshed out in that aspect, maybe an extra 100pages, it would have really alleviated the whole thing. I will say though, the Cupid character was such a fun, interesting concept!! Like I mentioned before, some of the side characters in this really made me wanna read about them. If this mystery Cupid were perhaps attempt to put some of those characters together, I would totally love that!
Overall, I think this author really has potential to be one of my favorites! With this being the second book they’ve written, I say it’s a step in the right direction. I look forward to reading more from them, and highly recommend this!

[Jay T · Rating 5 out of 5]

I honestly didn't know what to expect. But this book surprised me because I genuinely enjoyed it.

And I loved the chaos that followed throughout this book 😅🤐

Rohan is stubborn, competitive and absolutely refuses to make things easy, while Tyson loves teasing him and has secretly liked him for much longer than Rohan realizes. Their banter was one of my favourite parts of the book because these two could not have a normal conversation without turning it into an argument or teasing session.

The gaming aspect was also really well done. I liked how the quests, monsters, NPCs and game mechanics were incorporated into the story. Even as someone who isn't a gamer, I could follow what was happening without feeling lost.

The mystery surrounding why they were trapped in the game also kept me interested. There were quests, unexpected situations and characters that made me question what was actually happening.

And Leon? I KNEW that man was suspicious. 😭

But the romance between Rohan and Tyson was another highlight for me 😍. Watching their relationship move from rivalry and denial into trust and genuine feelings was beautiful.

Tyson also had a lot of character development, he had his own family issues to deal with, particularly with his father and I was genuinely happy to see him finally stand up for himself.

The final challenge had my heart in my throat because these two were willing to fight to save each other, I also enjoyed the supporting characters and the additional relationships because they gave the story more depth.

Overall, Our Final Game was such a fun combination of gaming, fantasy, romance, banter, mystery and forced proximity. The chemistry between Rohan and Tyson was entertaining from beginning to end and I loved watching their rivalry turn into something much deeper.

I'm giving this 4.5 stars

[Alyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review of advance copy received from Author

This is my first time reading Cherie Angels book and i want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to read a arc of this books. I enjoyed the concecpt of this book! if you are familiar with anime and the term isekai i would check out this book! We follow Rohan and Tyson who are rivals e-sports players every since Tyson took Rohan spot away. Which leaves them to hate eatch other and also teasing mosyly on Tyson side hehe

Rohan is stubborn and competive and you can tell right away and will do anything to avoid tyson even hiding from him at his work at the coffee shop that tyson shows up at to get his coffee lol. And then their is Tyson who will tease Rohan any chance he gets there banter is definitely one of my favorite thing in this book. You can also tell tyson liked Rohan since the begining. But little did these 2 know is that they have been talking to each other for a while since a certain game has been in beta. In which Rohan has been developing a crush on Tyson in game.

Now for them getting stuck in the game it was so fun to read about especially after they found out it was each other they been playing with. Rohan was for sure the most shocked while Tyson was mostly trying to figure out how to get out of the game. the banter through this whole journey was the best i was curios on how they would find there way out!

I can say for sure this was a good and fun read. I did fine myself wanting more when i was at the end of the book haha the last line had me keep clicking my kindle needing more lol.

[ArkiTek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Our Final Game by Chérie Angels

Thank you, Chérie Angels, for the advanced reader copy of this book.
I am voluntarily leaving this honest review; all opinions are my own.

Our Final Game is a standalone MM rivals-to-lovers romance filled slow-burn tension between two rival e-gamers, Rohan and Tyson, who find themselves trapped in a MMORPG called Understory. To figure out how to escape the game, they are forced to work together and stay within close proximity of each other to survive.

Told in dual POV, we slowly see the shift from the bickering and bitterness to desire and intimacy. While it does have explicit, descriptive sex scenes that happen more heavily toward the end, we see the build up beforehand through character-developing adventures and quests.

I absolutely loved the banter between Rohan and Tyson - it was comical and entertaining. The story felt like a nice balance between plot and character development. There were quite a lot of coincidences that felt too convenient, but ignoring all that, it was an amusing read. Having been a huge MMORPG player myself, the story felt relateable, which made this story resonate more deeply. If you enjoy MM rivals-to-lovers, e-gamer romances, or isekai, you will really enjoy this book!

“He really is breathtaking. But fuck, he’s so stubborn and ridiculous.”

[Autumn L · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really did enjoy the concept of these two rival gamers getting trapped into a game. I did like the fact that they didn’t know who each other well until they got into the game. And throughout their journey in the game, you get to see them connect and grow closer. But also they have a lot of things in common. And they relate to each other a lot. And for the game that they got sucked into it is very detailed and adventurous. And doing these quest got them closer together. There were parts in the beginning where I did have a hard time liking Rohan character. Because some parts I was like why would you say that? Why do you keep on progressively making the rift in between you guys worse. Even though Tyson could see through what he was trying to do. But that plays into the whole enemies to lovers trope. And I do like the fact that their friend group saw that there was a connection, and that the person that put them in this game saw it as well. At the end for the epilogues, you got to see how they involve as people individually and also in their relationship. Overall, I enjoyed reading the book.

[Maya Delgado · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ☆

"The only real thing in this world is you and I, Rohan."

Thank you, Cherie Angels, for an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

I had such high expectations for this book and oh, they were mettt! The amount of fun I had reading this has to be studied. The banter, the tropes, and the plot were all hitting.

I've never read a book like this before, and it was so entertaining. I didn't get bored once—I was flying through it with a smile on my face. When I tell you that the banter was good, I mean it. It had me giggling and kicking my feet. The sweet and the spice were balanced perfectly.

Rohan and Tyson were such lovable characters, and I just love them so much. The way they interacted with each other, the intimacy, and the acts of service—literally, they're both adorable. I loved the way they thought about each other and how considerate they were.

Not to mention the last page! Omg, I need more. Give me at least three more pages!! I had so much fun reading this. It's literally the type of book that can pull you out of a slump and just put a smile on your face.

[Amy Watson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this read. The chemistry between these two characters was off the charts. With Rohan, being the hardhead he is with his competitive nature, while Tyson is carefree and likes to tease and annoy Rohan every chance he gets. Their banter had me rolling.

I really love how the gaming portion of the story was written with so much detail, down to the quests and the NPCs. The forced proximity definitely played its part in this story. The longer these two were forced to be together, the more their feelings intensified and rose to the surface, resulting in them actually getting to know the real person that is behind the screen. Even if Tyson did take advantage of a few drinks to get the questions he was looking after. Which was clever on his part. Tropes: Rivals to lovers, slow burn, e-gamers, forced proximity, brat/brat tamer, and size difference.

[Kim Hinz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Over all 4.5

Why was this book a 4.5 read for me??
Let me tell you.. we’ve got the copy at the 11th of August. It was evening in my time zone and I lack a little bit in the self control department. So I told myself that I’m just gonna read the first chapter. Yeah well, let me tell you… I was pretty tired the next day at work.

I liked the story and also the plot. Sometimes I was like “Please just communicate properly” let’s be honest, pro gamers and good communication in one sentence is always a lie or faraday. I’ve played my fair share of games, so I know what I’m talking about.

Over all nice read. Nice story, secret crush, gaming atmosphere and a little rivalry to lovers

Why not a 5 star read??
Five star reads need to be live changing for me. I’m gonna remember this book, but I didn’t need to question my whole existence or bawled my eyes out. That why it’s a 4.5 for me

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Man did this book make me smile like an idiot! Ro and Ty are just so cute that I want to squeeze them! I absolutely was not expecting this book to take the turn it did but it was such a good surprise. Ro was so feisty but shy at times and Ty was so patient with him (usually) and caring that it just made me melt. As someone who reads a lot of high angst and dark books this book was such a great change of pace for me and I am SO incredibly happy I read it. I promise that these two and this book will not disappoint you.

Ro and Ty compliment each other in so many ways, it’s almost like fate brought them together!

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

[em :) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5 stars - ARC review🫶

first off i wanna thank chérie for sending me another ARC. our final game is the first book i've picked up since my book binge back in May. i think this book has taken me out of my book slump. it was an easy and fun read with a good amount of spice.

i docked half a point just because im not a big fan of enemies to lovers but the overall read was good. i think i found this book more bearable because it was significantly shorter than most of the books i read so the enemies part wasn't as drawn out.

(slight spoilers below🤭)
.
.
a part of me wants rohan and tyson to have another story because married life would look so crazy on them but the ending didn't leave an unfinished taste.

[Carter McCay · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this book as an ARC!
Thank you to Cherie Angels for sharing this ARC with me :)

This book was very interesting!
I liked how it started out initially!
I didn’t think I’d actually be as engaged as I was while reading scenes with esports gameplay in it but I was pleasantly surprised at how engaging those scenes were. I wasn’t bored and I was able to follow the scenes quite well and they were an excellent addition.
One thing I didn’t particularly love was how drawn out the rivalry was. I thought the enemies to lovers arc was made a little weaker by it. That’s my personal opinion however.
The smut scenes were S tier though, and extremely steamy!

Overall, it’s a nice smutty and heartfelt romance if you’re looking for something nice to read to turn your brain off!

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

***ARC Review***
OMG loved this! Absolutely a 5 stars read for me 💞
The characters felt real, I got so attached to them 💖. Their relationship is so precious omg. I was so sad and scared when Ty couldn't remember Ro, but thank god he eventually remembered. The game is really well described as same as the scenes descriptions 10/10. I dont want their story to end 😭. I also really wanna see Carter with Max, and Roman with Zayne!!! I can see a huge improvement since melt his heart; both in descriptions, plot, tension, characters and relationships. Absolutely an amazing experience reading this.

[Taylor Funk · Rating 5 out of 5]

(4.5)

This book was so good. I had never read an isekai book before, but had watched things like Sword Art, so I was familiar. I was obsessed with the two MMCs and their chemistry. The back and forth was amazing. I do wish that we got a little more when they first get transported to the game. It was kind of like "oh, how did we get here? I guess we go do quests" which I feel was a little nonchalant way of looking at it! Either way, the story progressed so well and I absolutely loved the plot. It was a great book and I am so thankful for the chance to read it!

[Naulee · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️ 2.5🌶
This was such a fun little time. If you've ever played any fantasy MMORPG games, imagine being trapped in one with all the NPCs, oh and your hot gamer rival 😂 I also got Sword Art Online vibes which was great. Add that rival to lovers energy and its MM? Perfection 👌🏻 Easy read, low angst, lots of bickering and black cat energy and a bit of Daddy/Kitten nicknames being thrown around 😏 OH and some shadow tentacle things 😏😏😏😏

[AnMei · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you again Cherie for the arc!!! This story was the perfect blend of rivals to lovers with that subtle touch of tension with every scene. Rohan and Tyson grew to love each other in the game and captured my heart too. If you want a light hearted read with tension and fluff this is the book for you 💖