4 Stars for Play A Game with Me by Cadence Vonn

ARC received from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review … opinions expressed are my own & have not been influenced in any way …

Absolutely loved this book !!! This author has now been added to my TBR author list & I am hoping for a book 2 !! Max & Tess need to have their love story continue …

This book has it all :

Great plot with a few unexpected twists
I really ❤️ when a heroine plays a bit hard to get ❤️❤️
Great chemistry 🔥🔥

This is a great romance with a HEA that made me 😊❤️

Read in 24 hrs could not put it down ! Tess also has the most awesome bestie & wingman in Max’s cousin - great secondary characters as well …

The only reason I did not rate a 5 is because I wanted MORE …

An easy read that doesn't involve too much thinking! Perfect for those who enjoy a steamy read and fans of Fifty Shades will love this!

This was a copy courtesy of net galley - many thanks

If you are looking for a romance a la 'Fifty Shades' this is the one for you

Engaging characters, fast - paced, steamy - absolutely loved it !!

Play A Game With Me by Cadence Vonn is book One in the Games People Play Series. This is the story of Teresa Medici Staffordshire 'Tess' and Maximilian Westfield 'Max'.
Tess works to keep who she really is in the background wanting to be like for herself and not her background. Max has worked to bring a company back up from the brink. Then the main shareholder, aka...his mother wants him to marry someone of her choosing. Which to Max wouldn't really be to big of a problem until he meets Tess.
Both have their games going and I enjoyed read their story.

This was the first book in the series. Not as good as the second one but still enjoyable. The story was very straightforward and one dimensional.

If I were looking for a book in this set that is in the Fifty Shades of Gray mold, it would be Luca’s Lessons. I honestly found this one really tedious, as the writing was heavy handed and there was little plot progression at all. I couldn’t get very far, because the characters were so empty. This was also true with Play a Game With Me, which also dealt with a rich male being irresistible to the female protagonist and her token gay best friend. These tropes were getting pretty tiring.

Review will appear at provided link by 5/30/19.

To keep the family company that he saved, he must appease the major shareholder, his mother, by marrying the woman she chooses. Max doesn’t see that as a problem until he meets Tess. Can he find a way to keep both Tess and his company and what secrets is she hiding? Fast-paced read with off the charts steamy chemistry, great characters and a story that really draws you in. I loved it!

Play A Game With Me by Cadence Vonn
Games People Play #1

Romantic, steamy, fantasy novel with a whole lot of game playing going on. What kind of games? Bedroom, boardroom, family, corporate, marriage, dating, hiding/not coming out of the closet games and perhaps a few more. If I consider this more a fairy tale or fantasy than a real life believable romance then it rates higher than otherwise. Tess attends an event with her best friend Chris and meets Chris’s cousin Maximilian. The two strike sparks immediately and act upon them. After that the situation becomes more cloak and dagger for them to get together as Max is trying to hide from his mother (he is 34) and Tess is hiding her identity and wealth from Max wanting him to want her for herself. Anyway...lots of steamy times and hiding and sneaking and then of course the big breakup and finally the makeup and HEA. The plot is predictable but fun and the H/h seemed to click and belong together. The side story of Chris finding his match in Julian through an introduction by Tess was a fun addition, too.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wild Rose Press for the ARC – This is my honest review.

3-4 Stars

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I have mixed feelings with this book. It's almost as though one author wrote the first half and another author finished it. Or the first half is maybe a second or third draft and the last half a polished book. The writing, dialogue, story flow, etc. in the first half came off as stiff and unnatural. Somewhere along the line, it all changed. The writing felt more polished, smoothed out, and not at all clunky, and I was immersed in the story.

Despite the "station" in life these two held, I loved the down-to-earth insecurities, played up with mixed signals and misread situations. The mother was an excellent villain, but it would have helped to give her some humanity too. I enjoyed how the story played out at the end. But a major event came across as a little too deus ex machina to neatly tie it all up.

As someone else mentioned, the repetition of Tess's gay best friend's comments regarding her outfits, and how "hot" and fabulous she looked every time, and how all the men would be drooling... monotonous and unimaginative.

And the sex scenes... again, in the beginning, awkward and clunky. I didn't feel the passion so much as mechanics of body parts, almost uncomfortable to read. These scenes also improved as the story moved forward.

Had the quality of writing and story flow been there from the beginning, this would have been a solid four or five stars. As is, it's generous for me at three.

Cadence Vonn pushed my rating to a 4 because I realized that at the end I wanted more, I'm interested in reading book 2! That is a testament to the complexity pf her characters. The premise is rather interesting, the storyline reads easily. I really appreciated the dialogue that seemed to suit both character and situation. Ms Vonn writes with passion, her love scenes are plentiful, but they actually move the story along. There might be a bit more description in this book than I prefer, so some skimming took place. I would read more from Cadence Vonn.
I received my copy through NetGalley under no obligation.

Costume designer, Teresa Medici best friend Chris takes her to his aunt’s party where she encounters Maximilian Westfield. Chris warns her off as Max’s controlling mother is in the process of finding a suitable bride for him and Tess is in no way suitable according to their society. Nevertheless Tess starts a game of hide and seek with Max despite knowing she is putting her heart at risk aiming for the impossible. Intriguing and entertaining. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.