Reviewed by PizzyGirl
TITLE: The Playmaker
AUTHOR: Andrew Grey
NARRATOR: John Solo
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 6 hours, 11 minutes
RELEASE DATE: January 23, 2017
BLURB:
Professional football player Hunter Davis is learning that saying he’s gay is very different from actively being in a relationship with another man – especially in the eyes of his teammates and fans. So when Hunter needs a personal assistant to keep him organized, he asks for a woman in order to prevent tongues from wagging.
Montgomery Willis badly needs to find work before he loses everything. There’s just one position at the agency where he applies, but the problem is, he’s not a woman. And he knows nothing about football. Still, Hunter gives him a chance, but only because Monty’s desperate.
Monty soon proves his worth by saving Hunter’s bacon on an important promotional shoot, and Hunter realizes he might have someone special working for him – in more ways than one. Monty’s feelings come to the surface during an outing in the park when Hunter decides to teach Monty a bit about the game, and pictures surface of them in some questionable positions. Hunter is reminded that knowing he’s gay and seeing evidence in the papers are two very different things for the other players, and he might have to choose between two loves: football and Monty.
REVIEW:
For me, The Playmaker by Andrew Grey was steady, solid romance. It was predictable, but it was an easy and enjoyable read.
Both Monty and Hunter were easy to connect with. Both men had a bit of growing to do, with Hunter’s struggles stealing the show. It is always tricky balancing expectations and desires and his journey was not easy nor was it perfect. His decision to come out made for just enough angst to give this story some depth and to allow Hunter and Monty to show their personalities and growth.
I enjoyed the way Hunter and Monty’s relationship developed and I enjoyed the natural feel to the way Hunter and his friends handled the world of sports and all that came with it.
My biggest issue with this one was that I never really felt the love that developed between the men was adequately shown. I knew they were in love because they said so, but I never felt that love. I felt the attraction and I felt the friendship, but I was taken off guard with how quickly love was mentioned.
I think some of my lack of emotional connection had to so with the narration. While John Solo brought out the characters, he did not really bring out the softer emotions. He is a harsher narrator who is great for stories with alpha men or thrillers with lots of action. He is not a good choice for those stories relying on emotional nuances to show the reader love developing between former strangers. Maybe if I had read this one first it would have been different, but as it stands, I would recommend skipping the audio and giving the book a try.
RATING:
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