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3.0 AVERAGE
3.0 AVERAGE
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Hardback
DNF after 110 pages. I hate all these people, am not interested in art and nothing has advanced in the plot.
DNF after 110 pages. I hate all these people, am not interested in art and nothing has advanced in the plot.
Typical Barbara Taylor Bradford book. I think I'm getting over books where the characters fall in love at first glance and 3 months later are blissfully married/engaged. Plus being extremely wealthy and overcoming their poor, abused childhoods.
I like a story with a happy ending...but I want a feasible/believable story line. This book didn't have that at all.
But, it is a perfect mindless summer read
I like a story with a happy ending...but I want a feasible/believable story line. This book didn't have that at all.
But, it is a perfect mindless summer read
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Light, mindless. What I need right now while my brain is overtaxed with work.
This book is OK. Not as suspenseful as I prefer.
I've never read Barbara Taylor Bradford and a friend thought I might like her books. This was an okay read. I liked the characters enough, in particular Annette and Jack. However, for most of the book the events seemed rather slow. I kept reading because I did like some of the details about artists, auctions, paintings that are wrong, and the general art background. After immersing the reader in this art world, the author rushes through her big reveal ending where we learn who the true bad guys are and how they're connected. Left me feeling funny. I knew the identity of one of the bad guys because the author points it out from the beginning, but the details surrounding him and the rush to reveal were anti-climatic for me.
I liked this. The beginning was very captivating, but it became pretty convoluted so that made it a little less enjoyable.
Generally I really enjoy Bradford’s novels. The Emma Harte series was great even though it did get a little predictable towards the end. They’re a nice light read and I never expect anything in-depth, however when I learned Playing the Game was about someone involved in the art world, I had high hopes. I minored in art history in college and enjoy reading fiction books about artwork and artists. Most of the books I have read are well written and you can tell that the author took the time to research the paintings. Not so, with this book. I never really felt like I was in the world of art. Even though, Annette, the main character, was an art consultant, I felt like she turned to all her art friends for help and didn’t solve many of her problems on her own. Maybe that’s because she was used to being controlled by her husband and didn’t have a mind of her own, but I expected her to be more of an expert than she was.
I absolutely hated Annette’s husband, Marius, he was such a control freak and I just wanted to yell at her for staying with him. I didn’t see much indication that they had ever been happy together even in the early years of their marriage, which made me sympathetic towards Annette even though I found her character weak. Since she was supposed to be a successful businesswoman, I expected her to have a bit more backbone than she did.
At first I liked her secret relationship with Jack, the reporter who had been hired to interview her after she successfully auctioned off a Rembrandt, but after awhile it just started to annoy me. I was disgusted with the ending of the book. All of the major issues were wrapped up way too easily and it was almost too perfect the way all the characters were connected. It just really irked me. I’m happy that I finished the book and it probably won’t keep me from reading more of Bradford’s novels. The ones that I read in the past were good and I hope that her next book improves.
I absolutely hated Annette’s husband, Marius, he was such a control freak and I just wanted to yell at her for staying with him. I didn’t see much indication that they had ever been happy together even in the early years of their marriage, which made me sympathetic towards Annette even though I found her character weak. Since she was supposed to be a successful businesswoman, I expected her to have a bit more backbone than she did.
At first I liked her secret relationship with Jack, the reporter who had been hired to interview her after she successfully auctioned off a Rembrandt, but after awhile it just started to annoy me. I was disgusted with the ending of the book. All of the major issues were wrapped up way too easily and it was almost too perfect the way all the characters were connected. It just really irked me. I’m happy that I finished the book and it probably won’t keep me from reading more of Bradford’s novels. The ones that I read in the past were good and I hope that her next book improves.
It was good, long and slightly boring at times, but the story was ok, and the plot unexpected.