Dakota has loved Colby since she was 10. He sees her as a friend, someone to protect and watch over. When he sees her sharing a laugh with her neighbor, he is not happy but he does not want to make any commitments since he believes he ruined a woman's life years ago. When Dakota finally gets him to see her as more than a friend, the woman from his past returns. Dakota is devastated. Will the woman stay? Will Dakota and Colby have a future?

I enjoyed this story. Colby is a silent cowboy. He does not give much away. Though his friends tell him to let her know his feelings, Colby stays silent. Dakota is bright and breezy but when she gets mad look out. When Colby breaks her heart because of how she learns of his past, I cannot say I blame her. He needs to open up. But in the end, I got the ending I wanted so I was happy but the mystery of his past and the woman kept me reading. I look forward to reading the rest of the series.

A delicious blend of hotness that pulls at the heartstrings with at times frustrating results. Snow is a temptation that I'm glad to have taken a chance on. Snow hit the taboo card and scored a 100.

For twenty-six-year-old rent boy Chance Matthews, surviving day-to-day in San Francisco is difficult enough. Then an ill-fated road trip to Wyoming to search for his biological father throws his life into a tailspin. When a string of catastrophes leaves him stranded and desperate, help comes from the last person he’d expect. His knight in shining armor is everything he could want and then some, but Chance is sure a man like that would never want someone like him. That’s the stuff of fairy tales, and he stopped believing in those a long time ago. 

This male-male contemporary love story is the ninth book in Alexa Land’s best-selling Firsts and Forever series, but each book can stand alone, so jump in anywhere. 

Review

This love story is pretty angsty and yet I loved it. I think because the angst was about the lives of each hero and not the relationship itself, the level of angst worked for me.

Chance and Finn are so good to each other. Chance finds himself in one mess after another as he follows his longing for a real parent. 

There is a lot of plot and twists in this one to keep us busy but so much good couple time and healing that this becomes a great love story.

Finn and Chance fumble a ton in their relationship but this is a happily ever after to believe in and root for.

Disclaimer: I received an eARC of this book from InkSlinger PR in exchange for an honest review. This does not influence my rating or the content of my review in any way.

This series keeps getting better and better with each and every book that comes out and I can't help but fall in love with Sydney Smoke's players.

It was nice to read a book where the roles were flipped, where the woman wanted a no-strings attached fling, while the man is leaning towards a proper relationship, I found that very refreshing. I also loved how Andrews at one point goes to show how comfortable two people can get with each other, that it's only really a matter of perspective, really. Ryder and Juliet have very different perspectives when it comes to how they view their relationship, and it's really interesting to read about that.

I liked Ryder. He was very funny and very sexy, and I liked that he was honest about how he felt about Juliet even though she wanted none of those pesky emotions. I also loved what he did for Tiny. He's such a good man just for taking care of Tiny as if that dog was his. I also liked that he admitted he needed help in managing Tiny, which is not something that most people even think about when getting a dog.

Juliet's story was pretty heartbreaking, really. I do understand why she didn't want a real relationship, although throughout the book it was pretty obvious she was lying to herself the whole time by not giving the proper title to what she and Ryder had. That was the thing I struggled with the most, the fact that ultimately she wasn't being honest with herself and with Ryder. At the same time, I liked that she was open and honest about what she wanted from the start, she didn't lie about her intentions.

Before I finish this review, let me talk a little bit about Tiny. The book starts with Ryder being emotionally conned into taking care of Tiny, and it is incredibly funny to see how he struggled with that dog. On one hand, I laughed like a lunatic, because it is funny, especially when Ryder took Tiny for his first walk and the first morning together. On the other hand, I cringed a little bit, because it was like I was reading about my dog at times (the walking part). I felt super happy to see that Andrews did a fantastic job into working dog training into the situation, which let's be honest, is something that not a lot of people think about when getting a dog. So yay for dog training.

The book was fast paced, it was funny, and it ended almost too fast. I am in love with this series, and I can't wait for book 5, because I am definitely keeping my fingers crossed that there will be a book 5.

My review cross-posted from Wit and Sin

Amy Andrews delivers the ultimate meet-cute when a hot cowboy/rugby player goes searching for help with the possibly possessed Great Dane he’s dog-sitting. Playing with Forever starts off on a high note as Ryder and Juliet’s initial meeting has all the humor and crackling chemistry I’ve come to expect from Ms. Andrews’s work. What follows is a seriously hot story that’s enjoyable, though not quite as engaging as the first three Sydney Smoke Rugby books because the characters didn’t feel fully developed.

Ryder was a pretty likeable hero who quickly went from a playboy to a man head over heels for Juliet. Ryder is charming, good-natured, and seriously sexy, but I never felt like I got to know his character well enough for him to hold my attention. As for Juliet…I really wanted to like her. She’s a woman with a dream who has been through a lot, but again, I didn’t ever really get a sense of who she was beyond the basics. Because of this, her rather frustrating habit of getting irritated with Ryder over little things made me irritated with her more often than not as the story progressed. Juliet isn’t a bad heroine, but I wanted more. The romance is mostly based on sex and because there wasn’t a lot of depth to Ryder or Juliet it was difficult for me to understand why they fell in love. That doesn’t mean Playing with Forever is a bad story. Ms. Andrews’s writing is so much fun that even with the issues I had with the romance, I still liked the story well enough. The supporting cast – both human and canine – added personality to the story. Tiny the Great Dane threatens to steal every scene he’s in and I adored any scene that featured Ryder’s teammates. So while Playing with Forever had its ups and downs for me, I absolutely love the Sydney Smoke Rugby series and cannot wait for more hot rugby heroes.


FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.