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A review by mariahistryingtoread
Playing for Keeps by R.L. Mathewson
3.0
TW: kind of murky consent in regards to the penetrative sex
I really wanted to give this 2 stars based solely on my enjoyment (or rather my lack thereof) but really it's just a bottom tier average romance book - by bottom tier I mean it leans more heavily to 2 stars over 4 stars even though it's ostensibly still 3 stars. Labeling it 2 stars would be making a kind of statement that I don't think this book deserves when the biggest sin is that it's dull.
I love friends to lovers and I needed something cute to balance out some stress in my life. I now can't believe that I wasted half the night reading this of all things.
The friendship part is the only part I'd say is well done. The reason the two did not get along until this juncture was plausible and their transition into friendship despite the previous 'bad blood' was believable. The early stages when the two are simply hanging out had good chemistry that initially boded well for when the sexual aspect would be added in.
Unfortunately, I was horribly incorrect.Once the sex happens it's all totally downhill.
They don't have penetrative sex because Haley is a virgin and waiting until the 'right moment'. Jason is unaware of her being a virgin but is willing to take it slow per her request. That's perfectly fine. I think penetrative sex is grossly overrated in fiction. The issue is quality and quantity.
They have sex on page four times. Once is the first sexual encounter. The next is when they do finally have penetrative sex. One instance of angry sex. And after that is the third act conflict makeup scene. The sex is vanilla in execution and action. I found them all very rote for sex scenes - slot A goes into slot B = orgasm. It's not fun or sultry in the moment. If you read fanfiction I'd put this at a Fanfiction.net M rating: so basically just above fade to black.
And the sex is exceedingly short to boot. You could have edited them out entirely and I honestly would have enjoyed the book a lot more for it because I wouldn't have the disappointment weighing me down. I don't need constant sex, but it was annoying to have weeks of apparently steamy encounters pass like water through a sieve. Also, if you're a fan of realistic first times look elsewhere - Jason forcefully takes her with no consequences on her end by way of pain or soreness.
The relationship trajectory is predictable which to a point is fine. I'm reading this for comfort not high literature. That's not to say it couldn't be high literature, it's just that romance novels of this caliber are serving a specific purpose that does not require the same level of quality I expect in other novels or genres.
Their fight had merit initially, but when it switched over to Haley needing to make it up to Jason it lost me. Not because I disagreed with her needing to make amends, but because I was bored going through the same exact motions Jason just went through like two pages beforehand only from her point of view.
So yeah, an overall milquetoast little adventure. All I can say is, at least it was short.
I really wanted to give this 2 stars based solely on my enjoyment (or rather my lack thereof) but really it's just a bottom tier average romance book - by bottom tier I mean it leans more heavily to 2 stars over 4 stars even though it's ostensibly still 3 stars. Labeling it 2 stars would be making a kind of statement that I don't think this book deserves when the biggest sin is that it's dull.
I love friends to lovers and I needed something cute to balance out some stress in my life. I now can't believe that I wasted half the night reading this of all things.
The friendship part is the only part I'd say is well done. The reason the two did not get along until this juncture was plausible and their transition into friendship despite the previous 'bad blood' was believable. The early stages when the two are simply hanging out had good chemistry that initially boded well for when the sexual aspect would be added in.
Unfortunately, I was horribly incorrect.Once the sex happens it's all totally downhill.
They don't have penetrative sex because Haley is a virgin and waiting until the 'right moment'. Jason is unaware of her being a virgin but is willing to take it slow per her request. That's perfectly fine. I think penetrative sex is grossly overrated in fiction. The issue is quality and quantity.
They have sex on page four times. Once is the first sexual encounter. The next is when they do finally have penetrative sex. One instance of angry sex. And after that is the third act conflict makeup scene. The sex is vanilla in execution and action. I found them all very rote for sex scenes - slot A goes into slot B = orgasm. It's not fun or sultry in the moment. If you read fanfiction I'd put this at a Fanfiction.net M rating: so basically just above fade to black.
And the sex is exceedingly short to boot. You could have edited them out entirely and I honestly would have enjoyed the book a lot more for it because I wouldn't have the disappointment weighing me down. I don't need constant sex, but it was annoying to have weeks of apparently steamy encounters pass like water through a sieve. Also, if you're a fan of realistic first times look elsewhere - Jason forcefully takes her with no consequences on her end by way of pain or soreness.
The relationship trajectory is predictable which to a point is fine. I'm reading this for comfort not high literature. That's not to say it couldn't be high literature, it's just that romance novels of this caliber are serving a specific purpose that does not require the same level of quality I expect in other novels or genres.
Their fight had merit initially, but when it switched over to Haley needing to make it up to Jason it lost me. Not because I disagreed with her needing to make amends, but because I was bored going through the same exact motions Jason just went through like two pages beforehand only from her point of view.
So yeah, an overall milquetoast little adventure. All I can say is, at least it was short.