Play by Piper Lawson

Title: Play by Piper Lawson

Genre: New Adult Romance

Rating: 4 Stars

**Netgalley provided copy for honest review**

Synopsis:

I’m Payton Blake. A successful, balanced twenty-something girl living the dream.

OK. So it’s a big-ass lie.

I could be all of those things. If I had friends outside of work. And if I didn’t mainline watermelon slushies like they were a food group. It wouldn’t hurt if I’d had sex in the last year, either. (My best friend insists Jorge the Nightstand Boyfriend doesn’t count.)

But when you know where you’re headed, who needs to enjoy the ride? Even if part of me longed for a little between-the-sheets adventure, Max Donovan would be the last guy I’d call.

Sure, he made the indie video game that broke the internet. His eyebrow piercing’s sexy, in an ‘are-you-in-a-band?’ way, and fighting with him gets me off faster than Jorge on bezerker mode. But he’s arrogant. Presumptuous. Colder than a cactus and twice as prickly.

None of it changes the fact that I crave Max Donovan like a watermelon slushy on a hot summer day.

I should ignore him. But I can’t, because he just became my biggest client. And whether he’ll admit it or not, he needs me even more than I need him.

Game on, Max Donovan.

Review

I was introduced to Play by Piper Lawson from The Girl Who Read Too Much aka Catia, so be sure to also head over to her blog to check out her review. 

Play is my second experience with Piper Lawson’s work, I have previously read and reviewed  Chased parts 1 + 2 and I really enjoyed them. If you are interested in checking out the review for these please click here.   

Play is a rather unique and rare book for me in 2 main ways, firstly it focuses on Video Gaming and the creative elements assosciated with creating a video game which in itself is something I haven’t experienced before.

Secondly this book is also unique for me because it includes a flip on gender and character roles which is something I really enjoyed.  Stereotypically in New Adult Romances we see the female lead having trust issues, suffering a betrayal or being in a ‘smaller’ type job role whereas in Play, Payton is in the big building acting as an associate and Max is the protagonist with the trust issues. I really liked this because it’s so rare to see a male character with trust issues and I liked the dynamic of Max having to learn to trust Payton and not think everyone is out to hurt him or betray him. It was definitely a nice change to read a male perspective on this situation and how a male character would deal with such emotions especially as I have only experienced this from a female perspective in previous readings.

In terms of characters, Payton is one I loved. To sum her up simply she doesn’t care, when she wants something, she goes for it. One example of this would be  when Max is avoiding her so she tracks him down to a strip club where she proceeds to get a lap dance right next to him in order to talk to him, which is pretty awkward for Max but also a pretty funny situation. Alongside Payton I also really liked Charlie and Riley who are her and Max’s best friends, they are both equally funny and it adds some more humour alongside the romantic elements.

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Overall Play is a fast paced book and Piper Lawson’s writing is very easy to get into. If you are a fan of New Adult Romance then I would definitely recommend this, especially if you are interested in Video Gaming as well. Play was a 4 star read for me and my favourite element was most definitely the gender roles flip, it was refreshing to see a male perspective on suffering from trust issues and it was nice to have the character roles switched so the female lead was in a high-ranking job in the big office and Max was the little creator needing her help/advice.

• Fast Paced and Easy to get into
• Very Humorous throughout
• Gender Roles Flip – Max suffers trust issues whereas Payton is in the big building with her own office as an associate
• Focused on Video Gaming and creative elements – unique, rare.

 

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Useful Links

Goodreads – PLAY book Page  | Goodreads Author Page – Piper Lawson |  http://www.piperlawsonbooks.com/

Let me know in the comments below your initial thoughts on this book and if it sounds up your alley! OR if you have already read this book be sure to let me know your thoughts.