Side Game by Nicole Loufas was charming, 🔥, and sucked me right in. Read in a day. Highly recommended!

I thought this was an entertaining book, with good character development, the flow of the story moved at a good pace, the right amount of chemistry and an engaging plot.

this makes a change from some of my usual books but it was a lovely change. the story and the characters worked brilliantly together and flowed smoothly.
a funny sweet book that is relate able. this was a quick read for me and i am going to go back to the first book got mine as although this can be read as a standalone and it did not affect my reading experience i feel like i am missing out on something

Giovanni followed his best friend when his life changed and dropped out of college. Now a very successful erotic dancer who enjoys his job and the new job opportunity that has him leaving the states to the exotic Brazil. As Giovanni begins to prepare for a life changing job, his past comes back into the present. Giovanni is now struggling with keeping a secret from his best friend and helping the one person he thought of as the enemy.

Side Game is book two in the Men of Trance. It can be read as a standalone. I didn't read the first book, Got Mine, and I had no issues getting into this story but I'm definitely going to go back to read book one to get Theo' story. Side Game is Gio's story. Gio works at Trance which is the city’s only women’s club. He also takes side jobs to make more money, some of his side jobs are funny. Gio seems to be a decent sweet guy. Leeyan blows back into town. I wasn't really sure whether to like her or not. Leeyan is Theo's ex baby mama. It's a little different because she's the one that left Theo and her daughter. Gio's is Theo friend. There's a connection between Leeyna and Gio. Leeyna had me on edge a little because I didn't know where she stood with her feeling for Gio. This was a good read but it was a little too quick and I would of liked to get more insight of Gio and Leeyan.

This was the first novel I have read by this author but it won't be the last. This novel was a fun read. It had me laughing and smiling. I loved Gio. I want to go now and read the first novel in the series. I enjoyed the characters.

Side Game starts out as your typical New Adult romance seems to, It has a main character who is full of himself and is willing to sell his body for money. (please know that I do support this as a job and the work that sex workers and entertainers do.)
Our main character workers at an all-male strip club of sorts, and also works multiple side jobs to help make ends meet. He is also put in a slight predicament because the one girl he ever cared for has come back into town, but is also his best friends ex now. This makes his life extremely complicated now, and due to him potentially moving in order to get a new job soon things get even more complicated. With his best friends, ex back in town and old feelings showing up our main character has a lot to figure out in a short amount of time.

Overall I found myself enjoying parts of this book. Our main character truly did seem to care about certain things. The work that he did was done in a tasteful manner and there was never a lot of full on sex. We also see something that isn't shown a lot with male characters in the form of a slight eating disorder. I am interested in seeing what else this author writes in the future!

I did find several things extremely far-fetched when it came to this book. The main one being that he told his parents what he did for a living and them being somewhat supportive of it. I feel like that wouldn't really happen, especially not with him being a first generation immigrant family.

I was downright charmed by this story. Gio messed himself up: guarding his heart, secretly insecure despite outward appearances. This story got better and better at the turn of each page. Gio comes across as highly sophisticated and up to every trick in the book, but Leeyan is, and always has been, his Achilles' Heel. I don't want to give too much away: you have to experience this smooth, enthralling story yourself - no description will do it justice. (You won't regret the time you spent on it.!) Thanks to NetGalley. the publisher and the author, for a copy of the story in exchange for an honest review.

Side Game by Nicole Loufas was a nice little treat - a sexy fun quick read that you can devour in one sitting.

The beginning seemed really promising, so I was expecting endless of swoons and spice. There were plenty for sure, but I have to admit... I wasn’t crazy about everything. I thought the storyline was good, the characters were interesting, and the drama was quite intense. It was just missing that “it” factor for me. Maybe I need to read the first book or maybe I just wasn’t particularly fond of how the story was set up. That being said, even though I wasn’t ridiculously hooked, I was still intrigued enough to keep going and I’m really glad I did because the ending was satisfyingly delicious and so heartwarming. I also really enjoyed the humor and there were some really outrageous moments that made me laugh out loud. By the end, I definitely felt like I had gotten what I needed from this book – a sexy, relaxing, and entertaining few hours.

The romance wasn’t what I thought it would be, so I actually didn’t know how to feel about it…at least not at first. I was into it in the beginning, then I wasn’t and then I was and then not. I don’t know why, but for more than half of the story, I just didn’t like Gio and Leeyan together that much. I didn’t feel the sparks right away and even when they were in the friend zone, I couldn’t understand how they were just okay with each other. But, just as the story got really spicy towards the end, so did the chemistry between Gio and Leeyan. So yes, they won me over and as cheesy as it was, I liked the way their relationship turned out. Not perfect, still complicated, but full of love, laughter, and hope.

The characters were all relatable in their owns ways. I really liked Leeyan from the start and thought she was uniquely interesting. I liked that she wasn't afraid to admit her flaws and insecurities. I admired her opinion on things and her determination to right her wrongs. I wouldn't say I was instantly drawn to Gio, but he had this charming sex appeal and personality that kept me interested. I did want to slap him a few times, but in the end, I was totally swooning over him. Without a doubt, my favorite character was Lulu. She's just too smart, spunky and so cute.

Overall, I wasn’t head over heels in love, but I felt the swoons, got a few laughs and had a a really fun time reading this book. Oh and the Twilight references were just the best!! So if you're looking for a quick romance story to read while taking a break from wrapping presents, then pick this up.

I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. All thoughts, opinions, and feels are my own.

With this book, you pretty much get what you are looking for. It's a bad boy turned obsessed with a girl type of love story...but that's sometimes just what I'm in the mood for. There was nothing overly memorable with this book but it was a fast and interesting read.