A review by nickylovesbooks
The Player by Nikki J. Summers

4.0

I hate that I had to log that I read this as digital edition when I read paperback but paperback wasn't available.  I have tried to upload ISBN.

The Player is book 4 in the Soldiers of Anarchy series and follows Will Stokes & Briony Masters who we were briefly introduced to in The Joker.  

Briony is Shelley’s sister.  Will dumped Briony in a pond at a party at The Sanctuary as a way to try and get her attention.  He got her attention alright…just not in a good way.

Will & Briony are a little friendlier with each other at the start of this book.  Will makes Briony aware he is attracted to her and wants their relationship to move forwards while Shelley is still fighting her attraction to him.

At another party at The Sanctuary Will and Briony are both abducted and kept in a hidden location by someone who calls himself The Taskmaster.

He has “guests” (we read about him taking these people from their workplace/homes in earlier chapters) that he gets Will & Briony to play “games” so they get rid of these people for him.

At this point I will say this is the darkest book in this series so far, so please read the trigger warning for this one.

We find out The Taskmaster is someone both Adam and Will knew (even though Adam can’t remember him) from the care home they were both in when they were younger, Zye, now Isaiah.  We do get the backstory of how they all new each other and we do get to understand why Isaiah was doing what he did.  Despite everything you do feel some sympathy for him after what he went through in the care home.

The Soldiers do catch Isaiah and think they have him where he wants them, but then he disappears.

At the end we get briefly introduced to a registrar called Abigail who has an encounter with Isaiah.  Will we get a redemption book that involves these two as a couple??  I would love to see this.

I know the next book in the series, The Thief is Tyler’s story and from the ARC I have just received the FMC is Jess.  Is this the same Jess who was very briefly mentioned in the epilogue of this book.