Review by bribreez - Play Along

bribreez 's review for:

Play Along by Liz Tomforde

4.75

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

*Check TW⚠️

4.75⭐️/ 4🌶️

This moment has finally arrived where I finally catch up to reading more within the “Windy City” series. Isaiah Rhodes was the fun loving, playful guy on and off the baseball filled. With always a smile on his face, Isaiah’s infectious enthusiasm made anyone happy, but there was more to him than just his lighthearted personality. Kennedy Kay was the athletic trainer on the team, and kept her personal life and work separated. Some would even say that Kennedy wasn’t the outgoing person, but she too dealt with some things. For the past three years, Kennedy had been solely focused on her job, while Isaiah still had the biggest feelings over Kennedy. When a night out in Las Vegas turned into wild spur of the moment drunken decisions, Kennedy and Isaiah woke up to find themselves MARRIED! Liz Tomforde brought Isaiah and Kennedy’s story to life by illustrating the highs and lows each character went through, but also bringing plenty of joy from the previous characters with the series, and a whole lot of Isaiah and Kennedy having great.

I feel like I had been missing out on the whole hype around Isaiah and I can gladly say that I can see why so many people loved him. Before this book, I’ll admit, I wasn’t sure if Isaiah’s story was one that was going to be it for me, but again, Isaiah was actually a pretty amazing fictional man to adore. Isaiah had always been the guy who brought joy and laughter to those around him, but as seen through this book, he often hid behind his smiles of what he was truly feeling. As much as I admired Isaiah wanting to make others smile in their times of need, he was often left to bury his own struggles and didn’t have that sense of comfort to open up to someone. I will say, that once Kennedy got to know Isaiah she not only helped him shed his inner walls, but helped him get the necessary “tools” so to speak to help him. There truly was more to Isaiah and his outgoing personality, he was a lovable man, always there to help his friends and family, and more importantly his life changed in all kinds of way that led to growth and true happiness he hadn’t experienced before.

Kennedy was also someone who experienced really good character growth throughout this whole story. I had noticed that Kennedy was bit…mmmm… I feel bad saying this, but cold. There wasn’t much warmth to Kennedy, but respectfully there was a reason why Kennedy was the way that she was. Growing up in a rich and affluent family, Kennedy was often left to be cared for by nannies, sent to boarding school, and didn’t receive any time of affection or love from her family. Through learning this, I understood that Kennedy wasn’t comfortable nor had she felt true physical touch from others. Part of Kennedy’s story that stood out to me was seeing her learn to accept and feel comfortable with physical touch/ intimacy. As the story continued, I saw Kennedy go from a once closed off person to someone who laughed, smiled, accepted hugs from friends so casually, and even initiated physical touch too. While it might not seem like a big deal, I do think considering what Kennedy went through, seeing her become a vibrant, affectionate, and happy was so refreshing to see.

While Kennedy and Isaiah got accidentally married, their story was one that was filled with great banter, growth, friendship, respect, and love. Both, Kennedy and Isaiah had different expectations going into their marriage, but throughout the book I saw the way they helped each other in different situations, and supported each other through some hard times too. For instance, seeing the things that Kennedy dealt with working in a male dominated workplace was stressful but only because her boss made things difficult for her due to her gender. Seeing Isaiah step in and want to help her was great, but I also loved seeing how Kennedy gained the courage to take matters into her own hands as well. There were so many instances in which Kennedy and Isaiah were there for each other, and their marriage brought them together.

Overall, this was a great book that had so many wonderful moments as well as touched on some great topics that further highlighted aspects to Isaiah and Kennedy’s story. I love this series as a whole, and part of it wouldn’t be what it is without the characters and the characters from the previous books. With each book, the found family has grown, the couples stories have continued, and even the group gaining new members to include in their family. Isaiah and Kennedy were yet another couple to fully be immersed in the found family, and it just makes me happy to see how far they’ve come from the beginning. Needless to say, I was happy with the way Isaiah and Kennedy’s story played out, and how they became so much better together.

Content Warnings