Reviewed by Larissa

TITLE:  Playing Deep

SERIES:  Miami Piranhas, Book 5

AUTHOR:  Beth Bolden

PUBLISHER:  Self-Published

LENGTH: 366 pages

RELEASE DATE:  February 15, 2023

BLURB:

Kenyon Ellis knows getting involved with Julian Anderson is an enormous mistake—but from the very first night, he finds him annoying, intriguing and ultimately, irresistible.

One, Kenyon is a player, and Julian is a reporter, so hooking up with him, no matter how spectacular the nights are, is a terrible idea.

Two, he’s falling for him, even if Julian continues to be prickly and impossible. But every time Julian’s walls shift, Kenyon sees the real man behind the attitude, and he only wants more.

Three, between the Piranhas and the charity work he’s committed to, Kenyon really doesn’t have the time for a relationship—but a relationship with Julian turns out to be exactly what he wants.

Maybe even exactly what he needs.

But when Julian starts calling out his performance on the field, the last thing Kenyon expects is his betrayal. But is it betrayal? Or does Julian see something in Kenyon that he’s lost?

The answer leads him not only to love, but to the biggest crossroads of his life.

The fifth and final Miami Piranhas book.

REVIEW:

Beth Bolden’s Miami Piranhas series comes to its natural conclusion with the story of Kenyon and his secret hookup, Julian.  We don’t know much about Kenyon coming into this story; he’s hovered in the periphery in the previous books.  We know he keeps to himself and doesn’t attend many, if any, of the team outings.  He’s always busy with charity work, and even then, he doesn’t let his teammates in enough to tell them why it’s so important to him.  He’s burning the candle at both ends, but football is really just a means to supporting his charity – that is until Asa took over as the new coach and created an inclusive, supportive team environment that Kenyon finds he wants to be part of.

At the end of Winning the Season, Coach Asa runs into Kenyon in the hotel stairwell as they each sneak to their clandestine hookups.  Kenyon is meeting with Julian, whom he initially hooked up with in a bar before either knew who the other was. That one-time, hot-as-hell encounter leads to six months of hookups. They just can’t get enough of each other, both willfully ignoring all of the signs that there’s a whole lot going on here beyond platonic FWB.  They’re even exclusive with each other, yet make no commitments and try to keep any feelings far away.  Eventually, their plan begins to fall apart, and the cracks in their armor start to show.  Kenyon recognizes and admits his feelings more readily than Julian, who resists the obvious deep feelings they have for each other.

We know nothing about Julian at the beginning of this story. Still, Bolden expertly creates his character, quickly endearing him to us and showing why he and Kenyon work so well together despite their many differences. The anti-relationship, forbidden romance theme can easily feel trite unless done well, and Bolden overwhelmingly succeeds here.  She takes two virtually new characters and anchors this excellent series with their romance, closing out the series seamlessly and opening the door to a new series to follow.

Playing Deep overlaps with events of the previous stories, especially Winning the Season.  I recommend you read the series in order for the best context and to avoid spoilers.  Bolden adeptly balances the riveting on-field football action with the off-field challenges that face Kenyon and Julian as they navigate their growing relationship.  As usual, Bolden’s football knowledge shines through. She includes the palpable tension of playoff football along with complex plays and intriguing strategy.  But as with all of the books in this series, the ultimate focus is on the found family of this football team and the deep bonds they’ve created with each other.  It’s great to see how far they’ve all come since the first book and how they are making their mark on the sport, paving the way for more LGBTQ+ players.  

I’m sad to see this terrific series come to an end.  I’ve enjoyed every book enormously, and Bolden crafted the storylines with great thought and care especially as she overlaps the characters and plots, showing different vantage points on the same events. The series contains five low-angst, redeeming, feel-good stories that I could easily reread many times.  I highly recommend Playing Deep and the entire Miami Piranhas series, and I am so glad that more stories in this fictional universe are on the horizon.

RATING: 

BUY LINKS: 

Amazon