Reviews

Playing to Win by Jaci Burton

laurenjodi's review against another edition

2.0

Playing to Win
2 Stars

Unfortunately, the books in this series have lost their originality and it is simply more of the same in each installment. That said, this one does have a some plot in between the sex scenes, which makes it an improvement over the last book.

Cole starts out as a narcissistic jerk who is only interested in getting in Savannah's pants. He does change over the course of the book but it feels forced rather than as a natural consequence of Savannah's advice.

Savannah runs hot and cold - jumping on Cole minute only to run home as fast as she can in the next. She has issues with abandonment that she also gets over quite easily.

Have no idea why I keep reading this series - perhaps I'm hoping they'll get better.

geo_ix's review against another edition

3.0

I'm sitting on a 3.5-4 rating because while I liked the story, I didn't exactly feel their passion... I dunno maybe it was me, but basically it's about Cole Riley who we met in a previous book, who everyone sees as a tosser, and has been passed around football teams in his career due to being a PR nightmare. He gets picked by his home town St. Louis and is told he must work with a image consultant, Savannah to work on his bad boy image in the media. He realises he has no true friends until she makes him befriend players on his new team, something he's never done as he keeps to himself thinking the other team mates are his competition not people looking for the same goal. Anyway, even though she tries to be professional she succumbs to his charms and they get jiggy with it. He eventually realises after his head is out of his ass long enough to breath that she isn't so put together as she seems, scarred from a bad childhood. He helps her to open up, stops being a douche and they fall in love. Most of the sex scenes felt all the same, but if you read these for the love story like me, it's not so bad. A little less talk on sports in this, the others had a little too much for my liking, in terms of games and stuff because it confuses me when I have no clue what is being talked about. This is mainly because it's preseason and focuses more on his media coverage than play time. But it's still in there, clearly.

sten89's review against another edition

funny hopeful lighthearted slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

faustin2nd's review against another edition

3.0

I'm glad I took a break from reading this series before reading this book. It did feel a little formulaic in parts, like I was reading about Gavin and Liz all over again. But since I really liked the Gavin/Liz pairing, I wasn't all that disappointed.

A part of me did not take Savannah seriously at all. Do people actually do this for a living? It sounded more like play than work, take the hot athlete to dinner, watch him play, then tell him how to behave? Are you serious? I could do that job.

I liked Cole though. And my favorite parts were mostly written in his perspective. I liked the couple, I'm just not sure I looooved it enough to read it again.

But it was an okay, entertaining read.

smarkies's review against another edition

emotional fast-paced

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

3.5

msmattoon's review against another edition

2.0

This was okay. I was intrigued by the setup, Savannah is an image consultant rehabilitating football player and bad boy Cole Riley's image. The writing was okay, the love scenes okay, but I had to DNF because the heroine called herself a cock tease and there weren't enough redeeming qualities for me to continue after that.

I am trying another book by Jaci Burton in case I judged this one too harshly.

elliefufu's review against another edition

3.0

My least favorite in the series so far. Cole was a jerk with a horrible attitude problem and everything he did turned me off from liking him. Savannah seemed like a Stepford wife sometimes so the two of them together wasn't as much fun. I love this series and am super excited for Coles sister Alicia's book next

goaskalix's review against another edition

2.0

Whiny, entitled, hot-headed manchildren are not my thing. Who knew?

lphr3ads's review against another edition

5.0

i loved this book. the book was realistic in dialogue and actions. More in depth review to come.

kayleigh_reads_romance's review against another edition

4.0

This one was a big surprise for me in this series!. I definitely prefer hockey romances to football, purely because I prefer hockey to football when I watch sports too. But I was pleasantly surprised in this one. I will admit I skimmed the descriptions of the games, but as for the couple I was completely invested from page one. I also love a good stand-alone series, so having a scene at Liz and Gavin's wedding was gold!