Reviewed by Larissa

TITLE:  Playing the Player

SERIES:  Miami Piranhas, Book 2

AUTHOR:  Beth Bolden

PUBLISHER:  Self-Published

LENGTH: 331 pages

RELEASE DATE:  August 3, 2022

BLURB:

Center Logan Banks didn’t come to Miami looking for a best friend.

He came for football and for a chance at freedom—the freedom to live out of the closet.

But after a water main break, he lands an unexpected roommate, the new Piranhas kicker, Dylan Leonard. Between practices, games, and too many late nights on the couch, a best friend is exactly what he gets.

When Logan’s past rears its ugly head and threatens to destroy the freedom he’s hoped for, Dylan becomes more than just a friend. He becomes a lifeline.

But then their friendship gets incorrectly labeled as something more, and Dylan shocks Logan by suggesting they play along with a fake relationship.

Logan knows it’s off limits to fall in love with Dylan. He’s supposed to be straight, he’s his best friend, his roommate, and his teammate. But the closer they grow, and the more he and Dylan fake falling in love, the more real it feels.

The more real Logan wants it to be.

Making a play for love is the biggest risk he’s ever taken, but he wants it all and he wants it with Dylan.

REVIEW:

Beth Bolden’s Miami Piranhas series continues with its terrific, refreshing sports romances in Playing the Player.  This book focuses on the friends to lovers romance of Logan, an experienced NFL player who anchors the offensive line, and Dylan, a young, up-and-coming kicker.  

While this story is a standalone, it features references to events and characters from Bolden’s other stories, including book one of this series, Playing for Keeps, and her prior, highly enjoyable The Riptide series. The cross-references and cameos, which often include overlapping time frames and presentation of events from different viewpoints, are one of the things I like best about Bolden’s stories.  As a reader, I appreciate the comprehensive picture of her fictional universe.  It makes it feel more grounded in reality.  

Playing the Player seems to lean a bit more heavily on prior events and characters than some of her other stories, though.  Not enough to be problematic to read as a standalone, but the missing context is noticeable. Additionally, both this book and Playing for Keeps lay the foundation for Davis and Pax’s story, which is up next in book three. It hints at being a complex, riveting story, so for the best experience, read the series books in order.  Again, not a necessity, but it’s more satisfying.

As for Logan and Dylan, … well, I love both of these men. If you’ve read The Riptide, in particular book two, Rough Contact, you may recall Dylan is one of the many kickers brought in for tryouts with the Riptide.  In that book, he becomes BFFs with Jamie, another kicker trying out for the team. Jamie falls for veteran kicker Neil Fisher, whose Hall of Fame-worthy legacy is tarnished by a missed field goal that lost the Riptide the Super Bowl. (Note this is described in the blurb for Rough Contact, so no spoilers here). Jamie appears a few times in Playing the Player, providing a sounding board and moral support for Dylan, especially in his moments of doubt about his kicking and position with the Piranhas.  The pressure and loneliness Dylan experiences as a kicker are exemplified by Neil Fisher’s story (here’s an example of Bolden’s cross-referencing to helpful context), so reading Rough Contact will help understand Dylan better.

Dylan and Logan’s story begins in Playing for Keeps. We learn that he’s living with Logan because his apartment is uninhabitable due to some burst pipes and water damage. It’s clear that he and Logan are already close even though they’ve just met and started rooming together.  When Playing the Player begins, we see Dylan’s arrival scene from his point of view, and it adeptly captures his isolation and upset.  After the horror story of the Riptide tryouts three years prior (see Rough Contact), he finally settled in with the Raiders, only to be unceremoniously, abruptly traded to the Miami Piranhas. He’s reeling from having his home ripped away and then, adding insult to injury, arrives in Miami and doesn’t have a home to go to.

Enter Logan. He is a burly, massive, strong guy who’s a giant teddy bear. He’s goofy and sweet with a heart of gold.  His dedication, loyalty, and huge heart are so endearing that I just want to hug him. Logan walks in during the opening scene and invites Dylan to live with him without thought or hesitation. Their friendship forms rapidly, and if I have any complaint about the book, it’s that I wish we got more of the developing friendship. Instead, it moves to the mutual attraction/ instalust phase almost immediately.  Bolden makes it work, but their friendship is the rock-solid foundation for the healthy, mature romantic relationship that forms between them, so I would have liked to experience that more. 

Nevertheless, Bolden tells a refreshing, low angst, relatable story of these two opposite men who bond over shared interests and professional goals. She develops texture and depth in Logan and Dylan’s characters. They feel real, their struggles and fears palpable. Their developing attraction makes sense and feels right.  Plus, together, they are sexy and adorable in equal measure.

The fake boyfriend premise felt a bit forced, but it sets up a delicious “is it fake or is it real” dynamic that I love.  Bolden’s romances consistently strike a balance between mature, authentic issues and communication between the male leads, and evident, strong chemistry with hot, steamy scenes.  Playing the Player achieves that balance as well, and it makes for easy, accessible reading.

Playing the Player strengthens the found family of the Piranhas teammates, which makes this story all the better.  I’m really enjoying this series and the colorful, complex, kind, loyal men that inhabit the Miami Piranhas fictional world. I highly recommend Playing the Player as a great addition to this terrific series.

RATING: 

BUY LINK: 

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