Levels of Love by Anabelle Stehl

A rivals-to-lovers forced proximity romance set in the competitive gaming world.

Bonus: Novel Haven, the cozy game at the heart of the story, is real. Play it for free on Steam today.

Lara vs. Luca.
Introverted vs Charismatic.
Cozy gamer vs. horror gamer.

Lara is a shy programmer in London pouring her whole heart into Novel Haven, a gentle pixel-art game about books, healing, and community. Luca is the confident developer behind Desolate Dread, a psychological horror game that mines his own nightmares for inspiration. They couldn’t be more different, yet both are fighting for the same prize at the prestigious GameChanger Convention: recognition, visibility, and desperately needed prize money that could decide the future of their studios.

Thrown together at a glamorous country estate for the convention weekend, they keep colliding in hallways, backstage spaces, and after-hours events–where sharp banter slowly gives way to late-night honesty, shared vulnerabilities, and a connection neither of them saw coming. Behind the facade of competition, they’re both secretly longing for someone who understands them off-screen. They could be perfect for each other, but with industry politics, viral scandals, and a single winner-takes-all award on the line, trusting the enemy might be the biggest risk of all.