Playing by Her
Rules by Amy Andrews Sydney Smoke Rugby #1
Publication Date: July
18, 2016
Genres: Adult,
Entangled Brazen, Contemporary Romance
BUY:
Amazon: http://amzn.to/29LVj6G
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/29ETjxr
Amazon CA: http://amzn.to/29GgTcb
Paperback: http://bit.ly/29ZXVTt
Kobo: http://bit.ly/29ET714
iBooks: http://apple.co/29RtRYc
Synopsis:
In this grudge match,
the first to score…
When style columnist
Matilda Kent accidentally lets slip that she was once involved with the captain
of the Sydney Smoke rugby team, she suddenly finds herself elevated to the
position she’s always wanted – feature writer. The catch? She’s stuck doing a six-part
series on her ex. Still, there’s no way she can turn down a promotion…or the
chance to dish the dirt on the guy who so callously broke her heart. …could
win it all! Tanner Stone wants to be involved in a feature series about as
much as he wants to snap an Achilles. But the thought of seeing Tilly again is
a bonus—and has him more worked up than he wants to admit. Only he’s not
prepared for how different she is – all cool and professional. His Tilly is
still in there, though…and he still wants her, now more than ever. All he has
to do is charm her into giving him a rematch. And this time, winner takes all!
Title: Playing by Her Rules
Author: Amy Andrews
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Sports - Rugby
Series or Standalone: Standalone Series (Sydney Smoke Rugby #1)
Rating: ★★★★1/2 Stars (Rounded to 5 for Goodreads and Amazon)
Reviewer: Melyssa
Rating: ★★★★1/2 Stars (Rounded to 5 for Goodreads and Amazon)
Reviewer: Melyssa
Amy Andrews, you lady
have made one hell of a believer out of me.
I’ve never had the
pleasure of reading works by this author before, but after this, the love story
I just had the pleasure of devouring in one sitting, I can say without question
I will be reading her again. Repeatedly.
Wow.
Sports books have a
formula usually. First, you’ve got the manwhore sports guy and the tamer
different, sometimes even quirky girl that turns him around.
Forget what you know
about previous books because this one, this guy and girl respectively, well
they change the mold. We’ve got Matilda the writer, a woman with a backbone and
who isn’t afraid to give it back as good as she gets it and then on the other
end of the line we’ve got Tanner the rugby captain with quite possibly the
best, and sweetest, heart of gold I’ve ever seen.
It should be stated
right away that this is a second chance romance and in my previous travels,
those books, they come with a lot of drama. Whether that be exes, family or the
like, there is always usually something and the book is just drenched in it.
That again, does not happen here. At all. The drama that is here, and there
really isn’t much, is very realistic in that it stems from their past and what
brings them to this point, making it a second chance romance to begin with.
They are issues that they need to communicate about and overcome and in the
end, I was so invested in seeing that happen that I couldn’t put it down.
I can’t let the
review go any further without talking about the supporting cast here. Whether
it be Matilda’s family (grandmother specifically) or Tanner’s teammates, they
all brought something unique to the story and fit right in, making me love them
all as much as I did the main characters. There was humor, in spades, with
these people and they kept the book from becoming heavy emotionally, which was
such a treat.
As far as hero’s go
in romantic fiction, especially sports fiction, Tanner takes the cake. This
man, the boy even, was such a beautiful soul. So unique in a story, and I bet if
he was real, in life as well. He made a decision in his younger years that had
long lasting repercussions but his heart, in that moment really was in the right
place and honestly, the man he grew into, the person he became, was much the
way he was then, but even better. He loved his girl, and nothing would deter
him once they crossed paths again to right wrongs and get her back. He sold me.
I swooned. Hard. He was just a beautiful character and there honestly wasn’t anyone
better suited for him than her.
Matilda was spunky, a
spitfire of sorts, determined, driven, but also real in that amidst all of
that, she still felt. She still hurt from events of the past and even after
learning everything, the truth of that time in their lives coming to light,
still has the gumption to say “you know what, that is not okay”. I can’t put my
finger on just one thing about her that I liked, because it was an overall
thing, but she read very real and that made the connection to the both of them
easy as pie to make.
My only issue with the
story overall was the timing of the revelations between the two. I think for me
personally, I wanted it a little sooner, so I could enjoy just a little bit
more of them happy, but the way it was put forth didn’t take away from the
overall enjoyment of the story for me much at all. I loved it. I’ll always love
it. It really was one of the best sports books I’ve read.
The writing was
fantastic, the characters were real and the love story was very organic. This
is second chance romance at its finest.
If you’re a fan of
sports related stories, second chance romances or even books with the right
amount of humor mixed in with the emotional, I’d give this one a try.
My thanks to the
author and all others involved in letting me read an ARC of this story. Tilly
(ya ya, I know it’s Matilda) and Tanner’s journey is one that I am so very glad
to have taken and been a part of. I can’t wait to see what the author brings to
the table for this series in the future.
Exclusive Excerpt
Matilda
straightened her spine as they circled on an endless loop through her head. No
matter how mellow she was becoming, she wasn’t in the game anymore, and she’d
be damned if she was going to let him turn her on in front of a couple of
hundred people. Not without a fight anyway.
See
how he felt taking a little of his own medicine.
“You
think,” she said quietly, deliberately shuffling her body closer until it was
pressed along the length of his, “I should have told everybody that Tanner
Stone went down to—” she lowered her voice for dramatic effect. “Lady town?”
He
chuckled and it disturbed the wisps of hair at her temple. “Hmm. Maybe that
would be a bit too much information.”
“Oh,
I don’t know, Tanner,” she tipped her head back to look him in the eye. “A man
with a gift like that shouldn’t be shy about it.”
“I’m
gifted, huh?”
Amusement
laced his voice but Matilda could also discern the husky edge to it and was
intimately attuned to the tightening of his hand on her back.
Maybe
this conversation was having an effect on him, too?
“You
should rent a billboard.”
If
he was confused by her banter, he didn’t show it, but he did search her gaze
for long moments as they swayed to the music. Long moments during which she
became aware of the hardening ridge of his arousal. Her pulse spiked as it
pressed with more and more urgency against her stomach.
It was
having an effect on him.
She
shifted against him deliberately, goaded by his brazenness and the wild pulse
between her legs. It felt good.
“Any
time you want my services, you know my number.”
His
voice was like gravel now and it was all she could hear as the world narrowed
down to just the two of them, rubbing against each other more than dancing. The
music faded, the people pressing in around them faded, propriety faded.
“Oh...you
do house calls?”
“For
you?” His gaze dropped to her mouth before flicking up again. “Absolutely.”
“That’s
very selfless of you.”
“Not
really. I get plenty out of making you come.”
Matilda’s
breath hitched. If that was a line, it was a damn good one. “You wouldn’t want
a little...” she shifted against him again and a triumphant buzz coursed
through her body as his hand clamped harder in the small of her back,
“something in return?”
He
smiled but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Only what you’re willing to give.”
“Like
some...necking?”
He
stared at her mouth again. “That could be quite nice.”
“Maybe...”
She slid her hand from his shoulder up into the hair at his nape, “second
base?”
His
gaze dropped to the artificial depths of her cleavage. “I do like second base.”
“What
about a...blowjob?”
He
glanced up, swallowing hard and huffing out an uneven breath. “I wouldn’t say
no to that.”
“Oh?”
she asked innocently. “You like blowjobs?”
“I’m
quite partial to them.”
“Really?”
More wide eyed innocence.
He
lowered his lips to her ear. “If you think I haven’t been fantasising about
your mouth around my cock, then you’re crazy.”
About Amy Andrews
Amy is an
award-winning, best-selling Aussie author who has written fifty plus
contemporary romances in both the traditional and digital markets and been
translated into over a dozen languages including manga. She is a USA Today
best-seller and has sold in excess of one million books featuring lots of sex
and kissing. She likes to make her readers tingle, laugh and sigh. She
loves good books and great booze although she’ll take mediocre booze if there’s
nothing else. At sixteen she met a guy she knew she was going to marry and she
did. They’re still married and have two grown kids who never stay away long
enough to be missed. She lives on acreage on the outskirts of Brisbane
with a gorgeous mountain view but secretly wishes it was the hillsides of
Tuscany.
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