I am a sucker for an Amy Andrews book. After reading as much of her back catalogue as I can get my hands on, Ms. Andrews is an author that I just know is going to provide me a happy escape and a satisfying ending. Playing With Trouble is no exception. Additionally, it’s a creative bridge between two of her currently publishing series - Sydney Smoke and Creedence, Colorado.
On the Smoke end of things - which is about professional rugby players in Australia - our hero is Cole Hauser. He’s a powerhouse of a rugby player who recently had a career-ending injury and heads to a buddy’s house in rural Colorado to recover and plan the rest of his life. On the Creedence side of things, our heroine is Jane Spencer who is friends with characters from past books and has been tasked with helping to renovate their house in the town. Through a miscommunication, Cole and Jane both end up living there despite thinking they’d be alone.
Added bonus/complication is that Jane has her son in tow - despite his father’s promises to mind the boy for the time she was in Creedence. One thing leads to another, however, and Cole’s vacation turns into a spell as a childminder. Jane is prickly and paranoid about men around her son - largely because his father is a flake - but eventually lets Cole take her son on walks and plan activities to get out the abundant energy a four-year-old carries.
She simply insists that each night, she and Cole meet to do a performance review of his time as a childminder.
And also perhaps his performance of how he kisses her, since that keeps happening.
I liked this book a lot, but the romance felt a little rushed. The lust didn’t - Ms. Andrews is one of the best in the business at steamy scenes that feel emotionally grounded - but the love/happily ever after? That all felt… eh to me. I like that the book is 150pp because I got through it in one night, but I didn’t like it because giving the relationship more time to breathe would have made this a full try (rugby reference!) to me.
I’ve never met an Amy Andrews book I wouldn’t recommend, and this is no exception.
Buy it at: Amazon
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Sensuality: Warm
Publication Date: 11/2020
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