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Verdict: A flirty, spicy, low-angst WNBA fake-dating romance with great representation and two likeable leads. Early readers split over whether it has any romantic tension at all — the couple are together almost from the start — and there is less basketball than the premise promises.
Best for: Readers who love fake dating, open-door heat and a nonbinary athlete lead, and don’t need much angst.
Heat level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️ (one early reader rates it four peppers)
Rating: ★★★★☆ (3.6/5 — a 3.83 Goodreads average across 35 early ratings and 3.86 on StoryGraph from 23 reviews; not yet rated on Amazon)
Tropes: Fake dating, one night stand to friends with benefits, meet-cute, celebrity athlete, nonbinary love interest, low angst.
Two Can Play That Game is Zakiya N. Jamal’s forthcoming contemporary sapphic sports romance, due from Berkley on November 17, 2026. Chelsea, a bisexual, sex-positive influencer who has never cared about sports, nearly takes a basketball to the face courtside at a New York WNBA game. Adrienne “AD” Davis, the six-foot-four star who jogs over to retrieve it, is notorious for never staying in a relationship.
Among early readers it holds a 3.83 average across 35 Goodreads ratings, with 65% of them four or five stars, and 3.86 on StoryGraph from 23 reviews.
What Is Two Can Play That Game About?
AD hopes to retire after the season and needs brand deals, but sponsors are wary of a Black, nonbinary lesbian with a messy dating history. Their agent’s idea: Chelsea pretends to be AD’s girlfriend. Chelsea wants to pivot her platform, so the arrangement suits them both until the season ends.
The ruse works — and the connection deepens until Chelsea is afraid of losing the future she’s building.
What Works in This Book
- Meet-cute: One early reader calls it their favourite of the year, and the flirting lands.
- Representation: Readers value a nonbinary WNBA lead, a bisexual heroine and Black love on the page.
- Chelsea: Readers who met her in Sparks Fly enjoyed getting her full story as a confident, self-aware lead.
- WNBA world: Fans liked the glimpse into life as a WAG in a league with many queer players.
Book Synopsis
An influencer and a WNBA star agree to a public relationship for their brands. It is strictly strategic — until it isn’t.
As the season winds down, both must decide whether the fake part was ever really fake.
My Review
This is a warm, sexy book with a lot of heart for its characters and community. Early readers praise AD’s vulnerability, Chelsea’s openness and the supportive friends and teammates around them, and it is lighthearted throughout.
The complaint that recurs is tension. Several readers say there is little or none: the couple sleep together immediately, nothing much stands in their way, and one says it could have ended by page 40. Others found it repetitive, missed moments of the two getting to know each other, or expected more basketball. One reader found AD indecisive at first.
My honest note: Pick it up for the vibes and the heat, not for the push-and-pull.
| Element | In Two Can Play That Game |
|---|---|
| Central relationship | Chelsea (influencer) & AD Davis (WNBA player, nonbinary) |
| Core tropes | Fake dating, one night stand, friends with benefits |
| Setting | New York and the WNBA |
| Heat level | 🌶️🌶️🌶️ |
| Length | 304 pages (paperback) |
| Release | November 17, 2026 (Berkley) |
| Content notes | StoryGraph users flag graphic sexual content, homophobia, transphobia and abandonment |
How Spicy Is Two Can Play That Game?
Readers call it spicy and sexy, with sex from early on; one ARC reader rates it four peppers out of five.
StoryGraph users flag graphic sexual content, moderate homophobia, transphobia and abandonment.
Who Should Read This Book?
You’ll likely love it if: you want a spicy, joyful WNBA romance with nonbinary rep. It is on our sapphic sports romance list.
You may want to skip it if: you need slow-burn tension or lots of on-court action.
In short: All chemistry, little conflict.
What Readers Are Actually Saying (September 2026)
On Goodreads the early split is 28% five stars, 37% four, 22% three, 11% two and no one-star ratings. On StoryGraph, every reader who answered tagged it lighthearted and called the characters loveable. These are advance-copy reviews; expect the numbers to shift after release.
Why readers love it (according to the discourse): The couple first. Second, the representation. Third, the heat. Fourth, the WNBA setting.
What readers argue about and complain about: No tension or stakes, above everything. Second, repetition. Third, less basketball than expected. Fourth, the renamed team.
The comparison worth making first: Home Court Advantage, a WNBA romance with the slow-burn tension this one skips.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does Two Can Play That Game come out?
It is scheduled for November 17, 2026 from Berkley. At the time of writing it is available to pre-order, and every reader review comes from advance copies.
Do I need to read Sparks Fly first?
No, but Chelsea first appears in Zakiya N. Jamal’s adult debut, Sparks Fly, and readers who liked her there were especially keen on this book.
Is AD nonbinary?
Yes. AD is a Black, nonbinary lesbian WNBA player who uses they/them pronouns.
How spicy is Two Can Play That Game?
Very. Readers describe a good amount of sex, the leads sleep together almost immediately, and one early reviewer rates the spice four peppers.
Is the WNBA team real?
Not quite. Readers note the book renames the New York Liberty as the New York Rebels while other real teams appear, which bothered some fans.
If You Loved Two Can Play That Game, Read These Next
Try Hoops & Heartstrings or Home Court Advantage, a slower-burn WNBA romance. For more, browse our sapphic sports romance list or the full Book Reviews archive.
The Bottom Line
Two Can Play That Game sets out to give sapphic romance its WNBA fake-dating book, and its heat and representation deliver. What holds it back is the lack of tension. Worth a pre-order for trope fans. Check Two Can Play That Game on Amazon →
The Eikna Overall Ranking
On the Eikna scale, Two Can Play That Game ranks as a good early read — hot, low-stakes.
The Evidence Scorecard
Overall ★★★★☆ 3.6/5
- ✓ 3.83 average across 35 early Goodreads ratings
- ✓ 65% of Goodreads ratings are four or five stars
- ✓ 3.86 on StoryGraph from 23 reviews
- ✓ Not yet rated on Amazon
Romance ★★★☆☆ 3.3/5
- ✓ Fake dating
- ✓ Great meet-cute
- ✓ Little tension
- ✓ Together early
Characters ★★★★☆ 4/5
- ✓ Loveable for all StoryGraph respondents
- ✓ Vulnerable AD
- ✓ Confident Chelsea
- ✓ Supportive friends
Writing ★★★★☆ 3.5/5
- ✓ Flirty
- ✓ Funny
- ✓ Repetitive for some
- ✓ Less basketball
Emotional Impact ★★★☆☆ 3.3/5
- ✓ Lighthearted
- ✓ Low angst
- ✓ Few stakes
- ✓ Feel-good
Heat Level ★★★★☆ 4/5
- ✓ Spicy
- ✓ Early intimacy
- ✓ Four peppers for one
- ✓ Open door
Ending ★★★★☆ 3.5/5
- ✓ Low-angst route
- ✓ Standalone companion
- ✓ Satisfying for fans
- ✓ Few surprises
Re-read Value ★★★☆☆ 3.4/5
- ✓ $10.99 Kindle pre-order
- ✓ 304 pages
- ✓ Companion to Sparks Fly
- ✓ Out November 17, 2026
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