Reviews with content warning for Alcoholism - Play With Me

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Play With Me by Becka Mack

41 reviews

chrisljm's review against another edition

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slow-paced

Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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rachelmichelson's review against another edition

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medium-paced

3.5

It's very sweet but unnecessarily long. The middle part dragged. And then there's Carter, our heroine's brother.

it became uncomfortable how afraid everyone was of him. Sure, he could be protective of his sister and there's very real reasons . Since the book is so long, the fear around his reaction became . . . Worrisome. Adding that when he does find out no one stood up to him, handing him his ass. It was just weird.

Spice is 5.

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hazelgirl21's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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kaitlynnnng's review

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emotional funny lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

I love Garrett and Jennie. So much. Even more than Carter and Olivia.

My only major complaint is that the book should’ve been shorter. While I loved the characters very much, several parts of the story were so slow, and some of the conflict and dialogue were unnecessarily repetitive.

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amanda_reads13's review against another edition

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lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Garrett is one of Carter's best friends and teammates. Everyone knows the rule: Carter's sister is off limits. Carter surprises his sister Jennie with a condo which happens to be 4 floors down from Garrett's. After an awkward interaction (iykyk), they agree to a committed friends with benefits situation. After spending time together they both realize that this is so much more.

GARRETT. OMG Garrett. He is a cinnamon roll. He is so patient, supportive, encouraging, understanding, and sweet. At first he is so intimidated by Jennie that he could barely form a coherent sentence, but once he became more comfortable around her.... Wow did he ever gain his confidence. He leaves space for Jennie to be herself and never holds her back. He becomes her support system, her shoulder to cry on, her number 1 fan. He listens to what she needs and never pushes her beyond her comfort level. Plus he isn't intimated by her box of "toys". We all deserve a Garrett.

Jennie has been through so much. She has lost her father and

her highschool boyfriend betrayed her in a completly unimaginable way. Frankly, he should have been arrested. Plus her dance partner is a total creep.

Her trauma as lead to severe trust issues to the point where she hasn't been intimate with anyone since her highschool boyfriend. She is, understandably, closed off and scared of being hurt. She has always felt like the second Beckett, in the shadow of her brother and that all her friends only were her friends because of him. She suffered from a lack of confidence and withdrew from people. Garrett helped her learn to trust again and let people in. Eventually she realized that being in a relationship with Garrett added to her life, she could still be herself and find love.

The development of this relationship is so cute and fun. Their friendship slowly progressed as they learn to open up to one another and trust each other. They gradually develop feelings for each other, as Jennie said they didn't really "fall" in love.

Again the supporting characters are so much fun! I LOVE Hank and liked that we got Ollie and Carter throughout the book. Unfortunately, Carter continued to be a controlling man-child.

Also NO 3rd act breakup! Win!

I felt the book, like the last in this series, was a bit too long and repetitive. Also the who Toronto storyline was kinda pointless, she was never going to leave, that could have been taken out.

Tropes: hockey romance, secret relationship, "friends"with benefits to friends to lovers, found family, brothers best friend

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marine2907's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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thereadhersrecap's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

"But here's the thing, Jennie. You don't have to be strong and confident all the time. You're allowed to have insecruities, to be afraid, to feel lonely. Those things don't make you weak; they make you human

I have a serious love/hate relationship with this book. It starts off strong. Garrett has the hots for Carter (his teammate's) little sister Jennie. He's trying so hard to suppress them until Jennie realizes she has the hots for him too. They start secretly messing around (very descriptive) and in the process they become best friends.

First of all, it was way too long. AGAIN! I don't see the point of having 20 different sex scenes. I love the descriptions and I love how "alpha male" Gare is and how Jennie asks for what she wants and needs. But I don't need 300 pages of it.

Secondly, Garrett is..... intersting. I feel like BM couldn't decide if she wanted him to be shy and goofy or demanding and grumpy so she made him both. It was a little bit of a turn off for me. Give me cute, shy, and goofy or give me alpha-male, confident and grumpy. Can't do with the back and forth.

Jennie = LOVED. I thought BM did a great job portraying Jennie ask a badass but it was nice to see some of her insecurities come through. She is so much like Carter is was sooo soo good.

The best part.... Carter & Olivia. Seeing how they manage pregnancy and how Carter is so attentive to Liv's wants was something unexpected but amazing.

CW: alcohol/alcoholism, bullying, car accident, curing, death of a parent, emotional abuse, eating disorder, grief, sexual content, panic attacks, toxic friendship, sexual harassment

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kb33's review against another edition

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lighthearted medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

TW/CW: brief mention of minor spoiler

Non consensual video recording of sex in the past

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heathrinwonderland's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

He's the Vancouver Vipers star right winger, she's the captain's little sister and completely off-limits. But that's kind of hard when your Captain and best friend buys her a condo in your building and asks you to keep an eye on her. After being physically assaulted by Jennie’s expansive adult toy collection, he wants to show her that a real man can really make her vibrate. The relationship starts out very closed off, as Jennie has been through some trauma that she hasn't quite worked through. She doesn't trust, doesn't open herself up to anyone. She slowly begins opening up to Garrett. He makes her feel safe and helps her believe that she is more than just Carter Beckett's little sister.

I loved Consider Me, playing for keeps book one, so I wasted no time digging into Play With Me, book two in the series. Both books carry the same themes, etc are incredibly insecure and closed off to the men. They both have severe trust issues, both not thinking they're good enough. Insert big sexy Hockey player who has a hard exterior and a soft heart to show them that they are so much more than they give themselves credit for.

This book features the same characters and l love now they continue to develop as the storylines draw out. We get a glimpse into everyone's life while still focusing on the main characters' storyline. I love Garrett but have a complicated opinion of Jenny. She comes off as a huge bitch all the time. It's one thing to be strong and independent, it's another to be hatefully mean. She was very whiny and almost always through a temper tantrum over simple misunderstandings.

My overall rating is 5/5 stars. I instantly fell in love with Garrett, he's patient, flirty, and goofy. I loved getting to meet his family and learn about his history. Jennie's story was really slow to come out, but once it did, it was nice to understand why she was so guarded. The secrecy thy had to keep kept me engaged. Would they get caught? When would they get caught? Who would be the one to catch them? How would Carter react?

I give this a spice rating of 4/5, they were intense and the secrecy made them even better. The giant box of toys were put to good use.

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bookishaddy's review against another edition

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emotional funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

"I can't think straight when he watches me like that, like he's seeing color for the first time. My mind is a wonderful mess, where all I know is every single part of me lights up with his touch, lets me know that right here with him is exactly where I was always meant to be."

Garrett Anderson is a a hot mess... but only when it comes to Jennie. Jennie who just so happens to be his best friend, and team captains little sister. He knows it's a bad idea to chase after her, but he can't seem to resist her. Even though her and her sass scare him half the time.

____________________

Jennie and Garrett is such a great pairing. They're both such big personalities and definitely push each others buttons but it creates the best sparks. I am a SUUUUUUCKKKKERRR for brother's best friend/best friend's sister. The sneaking around? The undeniable chemistry? The sweet moments just between them?! Becka Mack did this trope so well.

This is definitely a book where I suggest readers look up tw/cw. The main characters go through heavy things that create the walls that fully keep them from diving into the relationship. I loved that we got to see Jennie's walls slowly come down the more she trusted Garrett. They had such a great connection and support system within each other.

I think my favorite part of this book was getting to see Ollie and Carter again though. We get to see Carter in full blown chaos, married, about to be a dad mode. He's the biggest teddy bear and absolutely crazy. I SOBBED at the end of this book and it was because of a Carter/Ollie moment. I still really loved Jennie/Garrett but Carter/Ollie supremacy. I can't wait for Adam's book to come because I think he's going to really get me. I'm rooting for that sweet man.

I great addition to this series and enjoyable if you like the brother's best friend/best friend's sister, friends with benefits to lovers, found family vibes.

4.5 stars

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