Agent meet fixer…

I thought Gemma and Nick’s romance was a lot of fun! Nick was struggling to keep the confidence of a player who had somehow become derailed… Enter Gemma. Beautiful, with great ideas and a way of endearing herself. Sometimes. Luckily, Nick’s client Luke immediately clicked with Gemma. Unlucky for Nick, he didn’t. And neither did the team’s management…

I’m not sure which character I liked the most. Gemma was funny and smart, confident in what she could do and actually wanted to help the people she worked with. Her methods were charming and kept her client at the focus. She managed to bring everyone over to her way of thinking. Eventually…. Nick was the perfect partner for Gemma, once she got him on board with her way of thinking. Their relationship grew from combative to partners. Then more. Their journey was fraught with football, business and chemistry – all of it coming together in a fantastic sports-centric read.

This is the second story in the series and also the second one I’ve read. Once again, I read this out of turn but the books are stand-alone so are fine in any order. Good thing because I’ll be reading more!

An awesome sports romance! Loved Donovan's writing, and the chemistry between the main characters! I'll definitely be reading more of her books in the future!

Ok, so how does a sport agent named Gemma, who has already changed her own identity twice to avoid a danger, still an agent??? How does she keep changing her identity and still be a sports agent?
Made no sense to me....

I voluntarily read an advanced review copy of this book.

Nick Gutierrez has a hot shot client that needs all the help he can get. Gemma Jones is a part time image consultant that knows all about changing someone's identity.

Although both Nick and Gemma know that they need to focus on their client Nick can't ignore the heat between them and Gemma can't help but run into his arms when the demons from her past keep coming back to hunt her.

The only reason this book did not get 4 stars was a personal preference. I personally don't like when a character spends the whole book worrying about something. I completely understand fear, especially when a person suffers the way that Gemma did but this is my honest review and that is why I gave it 3 stars.

Another fantastic book by Mrs. Donovan. Gemma Jones and Nate Gutierrez are great together. When they first met they really didn't hit it off. They both had a mutual client that they didn't agree on the best way to handle his career.

Gemma is actually in witness protection and has been for most of her life. She is very secretive and likes to stay out of the limelight. Only one person knows of her real identity and thats her boss Harley. Gemma takes on a new
Client named Luke and his agent is Nick. Luke is a football player and constantly in the media. Luke goes on a talk show and the host is very rude to Luke and he also makes a nasty comment about Gemma. Nick punches the host on Gemma's behalf. They all got
to celebrate Luke handling the talk show
So well. At their dinner theFootage of Nick punching the host is shown and Gemma is shown. Gemma instantly deals and leaves. Nick goes to Gemma's and her and Harley explain that her father was murdered and her mom was almost killed by a man named Serra. Serra is on death row but Gemma who is actually Mia is sacred for her life.

From that point Nick decides he want to be there for Gemma regardless of the situation. This book is very sweet and worth the read. It's dual POV, with some sexy scenes.

I received a free copy of this book for an honest review.

This was a short and sweet read and a great addition to the "Play Fake" series by Donovan. I thoroughly enjoyed the character's banter and relationship (and there was even a bit of mystery/suspense thrown in, which I loved).

I loved this book -- I wish it had been a full length novel. Nick and Gemma are a great combination and it was nice to have the leading man not be a perfect athlete

Fantastic book by Kate Donovan! I was so enthralled by the book that I was sad to see it end.

This was an ok book, a little off the wall, but still entertaining. It was a little annoying how everyone fell in love with the heroine Gemma, I mean I can understand that she was supposedly gorgeous, but come on. Gemma was opinionated, but she did go to bat for her clients. Nick was loyal to his client, and also very cocky. I did like the secondary character, like Harry, he was my favorite, then we had Whimsy who was a good friend. Luke was still a little immature but grew on you. All in all still enjoyed.

Play Fake is the first novella I've read of the Play Makers series, and I can't say that I'm a huge fan now, but it was entertaining enough that I might check out some of the other books in the series. Gemma is a part time image consultant tasked with reinventing the image of up and coming young QB Luke Stoddard, whose reputation has crashed and burned thanks to out of control drinking and fighting. When Gemma meets Luke and his hot agent, Nick Gutierrez, she's instantly drawn to Luke, because he's almost childlike and so sweet. But it's Nick to whom she will have the biggest bond.

There was a lot going on in this novella, and I can't say that I really connected or quite believed everything. I think Gemma is an interesting character, and I love Harley, Gemma's boss and friend, and Luke, who is absolutely adorable. But, Nick, the hero, I didn't feel much of a connection with. He's rather bland and I think it's why I never quite felt his and Gemma's connection was very strong. Even the love scenes were kind of wooden, and the dreaded p word was used to describe his um, masculine parts, instead of a sexier word, and nothing takes me out of a love scene faster than that word. I do like Gemma's backstory, it amps up an otherwise fairly hum drum story, if only Nick had an interesting backstory and personality.

So I can't say that I love Play Fake, but it's certainly not the worst sports romance I've ever read, and it's got some interesting characters and those things alone save it from a lower rating.

This was a good book, I enjoyed it but it's not my favorite in the series. This book moves the series forward, and sets up Luke who I imagine will be next to get a story. Also this one didn't seem as light hearted as the rest of the series, it was a bit darker and had more tension, it reminded me more of her Trace Elements series than this one. I did like Gemma and Nick and I thought they made a great couple. I was also starting to like Luke more by the end, he bugged me so much at the beginning. It was good to see Coach Spurling again, even though his part wasn't very big, I love his character. But the end….not nice….not nice at all! I can't wait to get to the next one where hopefully we'll find out what happens next on that football field! I received an arc of this book from the publisher through net galley in exchange for an honest review.

Gemma has a secret that she seems willing to tell about anyone. What's the secret? She is in witness protection. Now, I'm not in witness protection and don't foresee ever being in witness protection, but I would imagine that I would keep that secret pretty close. I wouldn't have a job that puts me in a high degree of visibility.

So - when you read this book, be ready to suspend belief. After that, be ready to enjoy the story. Gemma is working with Nick to improve his client's public image. I liked the characters, especially Gemma's best friend. I would have like to see him featured more in the book. The story was a quick read that kept my interest to the end.

3.5 stars

Kate Donovan writes a sweet book. It's easy to read and good fun.

I liked the story although not quite that believable. Two great characters and a catch up with some faves. Definitely worth reading

Nick and Gemma's story. I liked this one overall, but a little short. This is part of a series that I have enjoyed a lot, and wished that more on the other characters would have been shown. A little creepy with the psycho stalking Gemma, but glad the worse was very limited. Would recommend this book and author, just wish it would have been longer.

Well not every book fits every person, if we all liked the same things, how boring life would be. This book is proof of those facts. It just didn't work for me. The story had so much potential, I loved the idea of Nick the sports agent teaming up with an image consultant to transform a fallen quarter back. The side characters all played their parts and I wanted to fall in love with them all. The twist with Gemma and her past made for suspense and excitement, sadly the writing did not work for me. I couldn't relate to the characters, I felt they were very cliched and a little unbelievable, the sex scenes felt stilted and unemotional. Not a good one for me.
I was proved with an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Not what I expected, but I definitely liked the story and the characters

3.5 Do What you Know Stars
It is said to become your expert in what you know... and that is what our gal has done... after all she had to re invent her self 2 times... so she should be an expert in helping a sports star who needs to fix his image.

The surprise element is the Sports agent, the one who brought her on board.
The sparks are happening and both are fighting the pull and then they just see it is fruitless to not give in...
An entertaining read

an ok read

Gemma Jones is all about creating new images for people and helping them to make the best of themselves and their circumstances. Due to unfortunate events in her past, Gemma knows all too well about recreating a new image since she's had to do it twice for herself. When she contacted by sports agent, Nick Gutierrez, to try to help resurrect his hot-shot QB's image after a spectacular crash and burn, she looks forward to it because she knows it will be right in her wheelhouse.

Nick is at his wit's end with Luke and he hopes that Gemma will be able to work her magic. What he doesn't anticipate is that her magic is going to rub off on him too. When he suggests that he and Gemma try to make a go of things, he can tell that while she's attracted to him, there is something holding her back.

With Gemma always trying to steer clear of any kind of entanglements, romantic ones most of all, she's terribly torn due to her extreme attraction to Nick and the fact that he makes her feel safer than she has in years. Will she be able to put the ghosts of the past to rest and focus on this funny, sweet, not to mention hot, guy?

This was a great addition to the Play Makers series by Kate Donovan. The characters are well developed and there is an air of mystery as you are just waiting to see if the other shoe is going to drop. I liked that Gemma was such a strong female character, especially due to what she's already been through in her life. Nick for me was great as well because he was confident, yet sensitive too. This was a really enjoyable read!

A sports romance leaning towards suspense in Gemma's history and life. She and Nick are compliments to each other, with a chemistry that'll draw you in. The secondary characters play an important part in the overall scheme of the story and are masterfully woven in to maximize the events that take place. The pace really picks up towards the end, but enough nuggets of background history are layered throughout the story to not frustrate the reader whole getting to the crux of the intrigue.

This book was provided by the Publisher and Netgalley, I am voluntarily providing my honest review.