REVIEW: Playing For Keeps by J. C. Grant

Warning: the review you’re about to read is filled with gifs because I cannot fully or accurately express my feels on this book in words. For reasons.

Let’s get to it, shall we!

Austin is an aspiring actress doing temp work as her “survival job”. One day after work she meets David, a recently retired professional baseball player, while standing in line at the supermarket. This isn’t your run of the mill meet and greet. NOPE!

David swipes Austin’s phone out of her purse, programs his number and calls himself (so he’d have her number) all while going unnoticed by Austin.

Austin doesn’t realize what’s happened until David texts her that night wherein David and Austin go back and forth via text sort of getting to know each other a little. Of course, David being the unhinged, stalker that he is, proceeds to track Austin’s whereabouts a couple of nights later to a club where she and some friends are celebrating a fellow actor’s new gig.

And so the insta-love/lust fest begins.

I freely admit that David isn’t the type of hero who I’d ever want to meet IRL. I wasn’t swooning over his possessive, stalker antics, but there was something that I liked about him anyway.

“I love you so fucking much. I need you. I need you, sweet girl… I’m gonna make you fall in love with me,”

David vacillates between sweet, sexy, tender, and a controlling prick one moment to the next. He’s terribly insecure because of a woman in his past cheated on him. Let’s not beat around the bush here….David’s craaaaaazzzzzzzzy! And he’s bold enough to admit it.  Dare I say that there was still something endearing about him (for me) but he won’t be everyone’s cuppa.

“Can we just decide to be together? And deal with whatever comes our way? I know I’m possessive and jealous. And insecure as fuck with you. Sometimes I’m afraid I’m not enough for you. That I’m not good enough.”

Austin…she’s not exactly the most together heroine either.  She’s been through some things that have made her that way.  That’s all I’ll say about Austin’s ‘crazy’ because it’s revealed slowly; whereas, David’s is out in the open and in-your-face early on in the story. I did wish Austin’s issues had been explored more deeply though.

These two together…

I think that’s why the story worked for me — because both David and Austin are wackjobs, seriously. If I thought one of them had been juuuuusssst a little right in the head, this pairing would not have worked at all. I would have been like…

But two broken people making bad decisions together…that makes for something I can believe.

Now for the sexy…

You may need a change of panties nearby to get through Playing For Keeps.  Actually, you WILL require a change of undergarments and maybe some other thaanngs 😉 ! The author warned us that this is an erotic novel and I’m here to tell you, she told no lies!

There’s a lot of this…

And this…

And a lots and lots of this…

I tried to analyze why I liked Playing for Keeps as much as I did when I had serious issues with who these two protagonists were. I gave up.  It just is.

I will say this book could benefit greatly from a good editor…shit, if the author ran a spelling and grammar check in Microsoft Word, I’d give it another 1/2 star. Honestly, for a book that I got for free, I’m not going to quibble about the editing as much as I would if I’d paid some real coins for it.

So, I’ll end with this — if you’re in the mood for a dirty, sexy, WTF am I reading good time, pick up Playing for Keeps. If you truly cannot deal with characters who will do things that no sane person would/should do, then don’t waste your time.

Rating: ½

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