Playing To Win by Jaci Burton

Someone’s going to have to let down their guard...

Football star Cole Riley is notorious for doing as he pleases—on the field and off. He parties hard and fights harder, but if he doesn’t clean up his act, his career is over—so Cole reluctantly agrees to work with image makeover consultant Savannah Brooks. He’s not used to being told what to do, especially by some (admittedly hot) Southern belle. As for Savannah, she’s not convinced she can transform this cocky (and aggressively sexy) force of nature. But she’s determined to give it her best shot.

When the sparks start to fly, Savannah lays down the ground rules: no personal complications. If she can turn off the tingle she feels every time Cole gives her a hot stare with his gorgeous baby blues, he can turn off his desire as well. But for two people determined to have it all, a hands-off policy can only last so long before one of them yields.


When in doubt what to read next...pick a Jaci Burton read. I have been busy finally getting back to work after being out sick for almost three weeks. That meant catching up with a bijillion work email messages and zero reading time. I changed that this weekend. And what better way to kick off than with a JB read?

It was fun catching up with this series and the Riley clan. Ahh, I love athletes...even if I'm not a big fan of American football. I liked this book enough--sexy, fun, and I got to know another two well-written characters. I got myself smack in the middle of the other characters from the other books in the series. I always love it when I get to revisit with previous characters. Liz was probably my least favorite character in the first book but I definitely loved her in this.

This was another gem from JB. Never mind that I couldn't connect so much to the characters in this book but I didn't have a hard time finishing the book. I thought the story was simple though but with enough depth in the characters to decently carry it along from start to finish. 

Cole was a mystery from the previous earlier books but I was glad to finally have the chance to finally get to know him better. It was great reading about his transformation within the story and I liked it that he really seemed to heed Savannah's advice regarding his image, even if they were engaged in a relationship. I liked that pride didn't seem to play at all whenever they have disagreements and didn't let any quarrel fester. They always managed to talk things out. I think that was what I liked best in this book.


Final verdict: 7/10. Good read.


Play By Play series reviews:
The Perfect Play
Changing The Game
Taking A Shot