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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
This book felt so real to me, it hurt my heart at times. It is a perfect balance of angst, steam, and sweet while touching on real world hard topics of guilt, addiction, foster care, dog rescue, caring for an aging parent, and struggling to find your voice/place in this world. It manages all of these topics without slut shaming the heroine or relying on the redemption of love alone to save the hero. This is a rarity in the romance genre and this book is a diamond.
I read this without having read The Pact or The Offer. I preordered because of Karina donating proceeds to animal rescue. I love her Experiment in Terror series and was looking forward to this story.
Thank you Karina for giving us Lachlan and then creating Kayla for him.
I read this without having read The Pact or The Offer. I preordered because of Karina donating proceeds to animal rescue. I love her Experiment in Terror series and was looking forward to this story.
Thank you Karina for giving us Lachlan and then creating Kayla for him.
Hot sexy times and a nice romance story (the intro broke my heart!)- but soap as a lubricant? Ouch.
The Play follows our latest McGregor, Lachlan, and our ever feisty lady extraordinaire, Kayla. My first thought when I started The Play was that it was incredibly long. Seriously, it’s like 2 books in one. I’m not really sure how I feel about the extended length. Perhaps it could have been condensed into a regular length novel, perhaps not. Either way, I still loved their romance and I continue to be impressed by Karina Halle’s ability to write such realistic characters.
Kayla is probably the heroine in the series that I identify with most. Everyone seems to have this image of her as this super confident woman who can deal with anything. Which she is and she does but she’s like this because she’s strong. When you are a strong person with a strong personality, everyone just assumes you don’t need help and so they don’t try to see if you need it. It’s actually a bit lonely and no one notices you’re lonely because you’re strong. It’s kind of a catch 22. Also it’s exhausting to for your friend group to constantly just refer to you as the “Samantha.” Kayla has a big personality and isn’t some blushing virgin. She’s a fun, sexually confident woman and it seems that her friends perceive her as being just one dimensional. She was just so much more than how other people perceived her and I just loved her to bits for it. Everything she said was magic because she had this incredibly honest and blunt way of saying what was on her mind. Here’s an example that shows her wit and sense of humor on describing Lachlan before their first official meeting:
Addiction is a difficult thing to accurately portray. It would be so easy to focus on all of the maudlin melodrama which just turns the portrayal in to an unpleasant caricature of a very dangerous disease. I feel that Karina Halle managed to walk the line where we can feel Lachlan’s self-loathing and misery over his addiction but she also doesn’t make excuses for him. We see the horrible side of being an angry drunk and a very wonderful side of being a loving sober man. Both are present in his personality and while I understood him on an emotional level I also felt like he needed a good kick in the pants in order to knock that shit off! It was a good dynamic in his characterization.
The romance between Lachlan and Kayla is actually very sweet. Even though they may not know each other incredibly well they do have kindred spirits. I think they both notice that same spark in their personalities before they get into anything further with each other. Even though things progressed rather quickly it still didn’t feel like “insta-love” even though it totally was. There was just something so organic in the growth of their relationship. It was like their whole relationship may be a bit odd at times but they are in it together no matter what. I was rooting for them to have a HEA more than anything!
So speaking of burning… the smut in this was on fire and frequent. I really liked the fact that no one had any weird sexual hang-ups. Also, Kayla wasn’t a passive woman in the bedroom. She knows what she wants and can ask for it. So to say the smut was extra hot may actually be an understatement. However, there were a couple of things that were a little off.
Overall, The Play is a mixture of a lot of really heavy subjects mixed in with a wonderful romance, hot sex, and lots of dogs… but not simultaneously because that would be incredibly weird. I totally forgot to mention that rescuing and rehabilitating dogs is a big part of the plot. So if you weren’t completely convinced that The Play was worth a read, just know that there are also adorable dogs in the mix as well. All of these things combined made for a fun read. I will continue on with the series with Brigs story, The Lie.
Kayla is probably the heroine in the series that I identify with most. Everyone seems to have this image of her as this super confident woman who can deal with anything. Which she is and she does but she’s like this because she’s strong. When you are a strong person with a strong personality, everyone just assumes you don’t need help and so they don’t try to see if you need it. It’s actually a bit lonely and no one notices you’re lonely because you’re strong. It’s kind of a catch 22. Also it’s exhausting to for your friend group to constantly just refer to you as the “Samantha.” Kayla has a big personality and isn’t some blushing virgin. She’s a fun, sexually confident woman and it seems that her friends perceive her as being just one dimensional. She was just so much more than how other people perceived her and I just loved her to bits for it. Everything she said was magic because she had this incredibly honest and blunt way of saying what was on her mind. Here’s an example that shows her wit and sense of humor on describing Lachlan before their first official meeting:
He’s a rugby player, he’s so mysterious, he’s built, blah, blah, fucking blah. All the stuff that I never needed to know because that sort of shit is my sexual kryptonite, especially in this city where a rough and wild man is a needle in a very metrosexual haystack.
Addiction is a difficult thing to accurately portray. It would be so easy to focus on all of the maudlin melodrama which just turns the portrayal in to an unpleasant caricature of a very dangerous disease. I feel that Karina Halle managed to walk the line where we can feel Lachlan’s self-loathing and misery over his addiction but she also doesn’t make excuses for him. We see the horrible side of being an angry drunk and a very wonderful side of being a loving sober man. Both are present in his personality and while I understood him on an emotional level I also felt like he needed a good kick in the pants in order to knock that shit off! It was a good dynamic in his characterization.
“I’m so in love with you,” he whispers, the roughness of his cheek pressed against mine. “So in love. There is no bottom. I just keep falling.”
The romance between Lachlan and Kayla is actually very sweet. Even though they may not know each other incredibly well they do have kindred spirits. I think they both notice that same spark in their personalities before they get into anything further with each other. Even though things progressed rather quickly it still didn’t feel like “insta-love” even though it totally was. There was just something so organic in the growth of their relationship. It was like their whole relationship may be a bit odd at times but they are in it together no matter what. I was rooting for them to have a HEA more than anything!
“I am wild to the touch and she is burning under my hands, and I’m lighting her fires like an arsonist.”
So speaking of burning… the smut in this was on fire and frequent. I really liked the fact that no one had any weird sexual hang-ups. Also, Kayla wasn’t a passive woman in the bedroom. She knows what she wants and can ask for it. So to say the smut was extra hot may actually be an understatement. However, there were a couple of things that were a little off.
Spoiler
So there is an anal sex scene in the shower. The shower really is the best place for that to take place but Lachlan used soap as lube. Excuse me, but that it a TERRIBLE idea! That would burn something fierce! Also, they used condoms but mainly just for birth control. They didn’t seem to care so much about STD’s. Like she had both oral and anal sex with him fully unprotected so I guess if either of them actually had anything the other person would already have it.Overall, The Play is a mixture of a lot of really heavy subjects mixed in with a wonderful romance, hot sex, and lots of dogs… but not simultaneously because that would be incredibly weird. I totally forgot to mention that rescuing and rehabilitating dogs is a big part of the plot. So if you weren’t completely convinced that The Play was worth a read, just know that there are also adorable dogs in the mix as well. All of these things combined made for a fun read. I will continue on with the series with Brigs story, The Lie.
I fell in love with Karina's writing while reading the Experiment in Terror series, way back when, and have loved so much of what she has written since then. The Play, however, was not one of them. Neither was The Pact or The Offer. This latest round of books is just not for me.
I love flawed characters and both the H/h have their share of flaws but unfortunately no chemistry. What really got me was the lack of character growth, especially from the heroine. Other than great sex, I don't know what made these guys tic as a couple. Don't get me wrong their were some good scenes that I did enjoy but overall, The Play was nothing special.
I know there are many readers out there that have loved this latest round of books from Karina, unfortunately I am not one of them. While I can appreciate that she is expanding her audience and branching out in a new direction, I am missing the Karina of old. :(
I love flawed characters and both the H/h have their share of flaws but unfortunately no chemistry. What really got me was the lack of character growth, especially from the heroine. Other than great sex, I don't know what made these guys tic as a couple. Don't get me wrong their were some good scenes that I did enjoy but overall, The Play was nothing special.
I know there are many readers out there that have loved this latest round of books from Karina, unfortunately I am not one of them. While I can appreciate that she is expanding her audience and branching out in a new direction, I am missing the Karina of old. :(
3.5
I liked the plot, but I feel like Kayla and Lachlan went to being fuck buddies to in love in 0.2 seconds. There was no substantial relationship development until the last 1/3 of the book.
I liked the plot, but I feel like Kayla and Lachlan went to being fuck buddies to in love in 0.2 seconds. There was no substantial relationship development until the last 1/3 of the book.
It has been a long time that a book has made me tear up/cry. This was written so perfectly that I didn't care that it was significantly longer than the others in the series. Ugh, amazing!
Damn it, Karina. Cried again.
I do appreciate that there is a much deeper look into alcoholism and addiction. It often becomes either too briefly acknowledged (if at all) or the focus of the whole story. "The Play" found a balance.
I do appreciate that there is a much deeper look into alcoholism and addiction. It often becomes either too briefly acknowledged (if at all) or the focus of the whole story. "The Play" found a balance.
I'm screaming inside with joy. The words of this beastly book are still swirling in my mind. I'm still screaming in my head. Oh dear Lord, what a book! It was definitely an emotional roller coaster, feelings and hormones all over the place. Karina Halle is my new favorite author of romance/erotica genre! Every scene was layed out in a well defined and calculated manner and the reader just got the perfect picture of what's happening and moreover, it was intriguing since the male lover is a man of secrets. The love story will make you cry and leave your heart in bits, I can guarantee.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
I'M STILL SCREAMING IN MY HEAD!
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
I'M STILL SCREAMING IN MY HEAD!