Play Dirty by Lora Leigh definitely kept me on the edge of my seat. The chemistry between the main characters was intense and had me hooked from the start. I loved how the tension built—there was something about the mix of danger and passion that made the book hard to put down. While the plot felt a little predictable at times, I was still fully invested in the characters and their journey. If you’re into romantic suspense with a lot of heat, this one’s definitely worth picking up!

Lora Leigh sure knows how to give a good uber alpha. If you've read any book of hers, then you know her formula. Uber alphas, sweet and relatable FMCs, suspense, all of the dirty talk and plenty of action.

Lora's Tempting SEALs series is one of my favorite romantic suspense series to this date. So when I saw it was getting a spinoff, I couldn't jump on it fast enough.

Poppy and Jack have known each other since they were kids. As a little girl, Poppy found young jack beat up and crying and took him under her family's wing. Jack was the epitome of boy from the wrong side of the tracks. When his father's abuse got to be too much, he took matters into his own hands, and then the army became his only answer. He knew from a young age that he's not good enough for Poppy and nothing has changed. But when he learns that she may be in danger and under suspicion of doing things that she would never do, he knows he'll entrust no other man to do the job. So he'll take it, spy on her, and avoid his attraction to the sweet girl who stole his heart years ago. But of course it doesn't take long for the chemistry to burn through his best intentions.

The suspense took me a bit to get into and there's a bit of a futuristic feel to it. But towards the end I was all in, even with the crazy plot twist. If you're looking for a super steamy suspense with plenty of dirty talk and a possessive, overprotective uber alpha, look no further.

I had high hopes that this would be an exciting steamy novel, but it fell short. There was a lot left unanswered at the end and no clear HEA. It felt messy and not well put together. The large cast of characters becomes quite difficult to keep up with, and I say this as someone who normally enjoys a large cast of characters.

I featured this book in a new release video prior to publication and was very excited to have a fun time with this! A lot of my friends are in the Navy and lmao I can't wait to talk about this when them. I'm sure this is going to a wild ride and I will update when my final review posts

I requested this book on NetGalley I’m sure at the beginning of last year when my reading tastes were so different than they are now. Now I stick to clean and closed door books with minimal language. That being said this is the complete opposite of all of that and I actually DNF this book about half way through. I like the suspense elements that are in the book since the MMC Jack is a Navy Seal and he is doing some undercover work I believe. The MFC Poppy actually was kind to Jack when she was just 7 and Jack was 14 and getting abused by his father. There is just too much spice in this book and too much language (lots of F bombs)! I do think if you liked 50 shades of Grey then you would also like this book! It just wasn’t a book for me and that’s ok.

What’s The Story Here?
Play Dirty by Lora Leigh is the first of the Tempting Seals: Triton series. Poppy works for some developers as a leasing/property manager. The developers are at the heart of a potential scandal that could destroy earth, I guess. So, Poppy’s crush, Jack, a retired Navy SEAL, moves in near her. He is part of a secret mission to uncover Poppy’s bosses. Oh, and Jack and Poppy had this encounter when she was seven and he was fourteen, where he was nearly attacked by his dad but Poppy sent him to her house and kind of saved him. He then sort of saves her when she is a young adult and nearly sexually assaulted, but she kills her attacker and he hides the body. So, there’s history there. Also, this story involves AI, but AI is evil. And Jack only apparently likes Poppy.

How Long Did I Last?
141 pages or 45% per my Kindle

Why Did I DNF?
I got the ick. I just could not get over the whole fourteen-seven years old thing. It just read to me like Poppy loved him and oh deep down he loved her. That was just so wrong to me. Maybe I was reading it wrong, but that was my perception and I almost tapped out right then, but thought maybe it would get better. I just didn’t believe the love story and felt like it went way too fast – like they haven’t interacted in years but all of a sudden they are getting it on in Poppy’s house and she saved herself for him? Nah. Plus Jack is so toxic and read to me as not the type of male main character I prefer to read. Oh and the AI piece was ridiculous too. You mean to tell me they built an AI robot that is undetectable from a human and is a killing machine. No. AI can’t even get hands right.

Is There Anyone Play Dirty by Lora Leigh Would Appeal To?
Readers who like alphas as the heroes
Readers who are really a big fan of spicy books — I am thinking those sorts of books are not for me, but am so happy for the people who love them.

The characters were really well drawn and there was obvious chemistry between the characters, I just found the execution of the plot not to my personal taste.

***ARC Provided by the Publisher via NetGalley***

DNF at 29%

I wanted to like this one, I really did...but there was something about the characters that felt really flat to me, like they never really were able to feel like more than people in a story.

I am unable to recommend this title.

While this had loads of sex and very little to the plotline, I was more sad that the MMC was made to be a hollow stereotype of military men with this brash Alpha Asshole thing. I can see where it can come off as sexy but much like Mr. Grey in 50 Shades he comes off as a walking red flag.

I really liked this. I enjoyed the audiobook and I used the ebook to follow along. I would recommend reading this book.

I went into this knowing it was erotica, as opposed to romance, so I wasn't surprised that the smut was larger than the plot but I was still disappointed. There was so much potential for the storyline, it just fell flat

2.5 stars rounded up, because I love the cover

I was in the mood to read some romantic suspense when a new Lora Leigh novel came to my attention. She’s been publishing books for more than two decades in the romantic suspense, erotic romance and paranormal genres. Play Dirty is the first in a new series, Tempting SEALS: Triton, a spin off from her Tempting SEALS series (originally published 2005-2008, with collections published since then).

Jack and Poppy have known each other since they were kids, but when Jack joined the Navy SEALs, he went out of his way to avoid Poppy whenever he came back to town. Now, after a secret deal with the Navy to keep him out of prison (he killed some black ops agents who were abusing innocents), he’s got a job to do: Protect Poppy, even if it means she’ll never forgive him for keeping her in the dark about why he’s back home. He’s after the men who are her bosses, real estate moguls who happen to be involved in seriously dirty crimes. He moves into the house across the street from hers (that he’d bought, but had left sitting empty for years) and the spark between him and Poppy hasn’t dimmed. In fact, he’s got the perfect way to keep her safe while investigating – make himself indispensable in her bed and her life, at least for a little while. But when Poppy finds out what’s really going on, will she be willing to forgive Jack for his deception?

The gritty aspects Play Dirty make themselves known in the prologue. A seven-year-old Poppy finds a disheveled, bruised and haunted fourteen-year-old Jack hiding behind the family dumpster. She tells her parents, and they take him in, feed him, and clothe him, but when they offer him a ride later to an uncle’s home, he declines and leaves. Soon after, the news is full of the story of Jack killing his abusive father who had already killed his mother. Eleven years later, Jack is a Navy SEAL, back in town, and hunting down a sexual predator who is after Poppy. Jack is too late to save Poppy from being sexually assaulted but Poppy defended herself, using a small knife (a previous gift from Jack), to kill her rapist. Jack, with the help of Poppy’s older brother, takes care of the body and no-one but the three of them know what happened, but Jack blames himself for not stopping the assault in the first place. And now, a further eight years later, the way into the viper’s den that Poppy has inadvertently gotten herself involved in is for Jack to find out things from the inside by finally involving himself in a relationship with the only woman’s he’s ever cared about.

For readers missing the uber-alpha hero, they’ll get one in Jack. He’s a cold-blooded killer (always of the bad guys) and is super possessive of Poppy once she lets him into her bed. ‘Poppy is his and he is hers and he will destroy anyone who gets in their way’ says the author’s website. The tag line for this book is ‘Fifty Shade of Grey meets hard-body ex-Navy SEALs’, which gives some insight into the kind of sex, language, and general plot-type to expect. Poppy is the girl next door, though to her credit she isn’t a complete pushover (I mean, she did kill her rapist after all). She’s smart and brave and friendly and isn’t afraid to tell Jack her real feelings for him even if he has trouble admitting the same. (Oh, he can tell her he desires her but love is another story).

There are shootouts, hostage takings, and general mayhem - as one might expect as the story progresses. But a main plot point (that also attracted me to the story) is under-utilized. The really interesting scenario is that Poppy’s bosses, besides being drug traffickers, are involved in mysterious shipments involving artificial intelligence, and no-one in the US military (Jack and his friends) knows what its purpose is. And it’s not until the epilogue that more of that is revealed. Jack and Poppy survive multiple shootouts and get their happy ending and it looks like I’ll be picking up the next book to see what happens next in the AI storyline (and to see if one of Poppy’s friends gets picked up by one of Jack’s friends, an almost certainty). Play Dirty is not the most sophisticated romantic suspense story out there but in the end I was entertained despite a bit of cringing over Jack’s ‘me Tarzan you Jane’ behaviour.

sadly had to DNF this one after getting over halfway through it. when i say the mmc was unlikeable i really mean that i COULD NOT STAND HIM. the dialogue was confusing and overall this just wasn’t a hit for me. this might work for some (i was super hopeful given the blurb) but just not me.

I was really excited for this book when I received it, the blurb looked great and I was really looking forward to diving in. Unfortunately, the entire book fell completely flat for me. There was a distinct lack of character depth for the female main character which made it really hard to connect with her or root for her and her naivety became incessantly irritating after a while.

The male main character was way too over the top. It's like we've taken every possessive Alpha-hole from every book and tried to out do the lot of them with one character. It was too much and he just came across as extremely dislikable.

The plot seemed to be a bit all over the place which made it difficult to follow and there were points throughout the book that you weren't 100% sure which character was supposed to be talking, which again became confusing and frustrating.

This review is quite late because I've had a lot going on in my personal life and I really did try and push through this on multiple ocassions but unfortunately in the end I did have to DNF .

This was my first book by Lora Leigh, but it won't be my last.

Jack returns to his home town after leaving the military under questionable circumstances . He moves next door to Poppy, the girl he has always had his eye on. He came home home not only to protect Poppy, but to claim her as his.

This was has some action and a whole lot of spice. What a fun ride!

I highly recommend this one!

I had a really hard time getting into this story. I could not connect with the plot or the characters. Unfortunately, some of the plot and progression did not flow and was unbelievable at times.

My Review (Rating 4.5 Stars)

What a fabulous book this one was! Play Dirty was a book I went completely blind into. It does have some connections to some of her other military suspense series most of which I have not yet read although after this book, I definitely am making it a goal to read more of.

Play Dirty is a story that surrounds two best childhood friends. Poppy was a young girl when she met Jack Lee Bridger and fell hard for this vulnerable boy who came from an abusive father. Poppy and her family showed Jack that there could be love, understanding and support in a home and it changed his perspective. From the moment Poppy was a teenager, she knew that she loved Jack and would do anything for him. Now its been years since she has seen Jack. But now they have a second chance at love again but Jack is under pretenses. Poppy has a job where she is surrounded by enemies and only Jack will be able to save her and get to the truth. But will she be able to trust him when everything is revealed?

What I loved the most about this book was the tender friendship between Jack and Poppy. They have such dear devotion to one another. Jack is the type of hero that might not be for everyone. He is a bit morally grey, we see what the abuse that he suffered as a child had affected him. He is possessive and protective and I just loved how he was with Poppy. There is such complete trust that they have together and that was literally my favorite aspect of the story. Now as this is a Lora Leigh then you can easily expect the spice to be super strong. So fair warning if high spice isn't your cup of tea, but if it is, then you know that Lora Leigh will deliver it to your hearts content. The plot was edgy and thrilling and kept me guessing on where the story would lead it too. Lora Leigh really delivers in some delightful shocks and delights with the reveals that happen throughout the story.

Overall I found Play Dirty to be a sensual, suspensefully provocative and packs a punch of emotional delights and a guaranteed writing style you won't be able to put down until the end! A GRATIFYING GEM OF THRILLS AND PASSION!

Poppy and Jack were childhood friends. Poppy saved Jack's life at one time and she's always had a crush on Jack. Jack is older and leaves for the military for years. He comes back to town a different man than when he left. He is undercover for his team who you meet in this story. Lies, secrets and betrayal abound in this story. An interesting story that kept me reading to the last page.

I received a copy of this book via Netgalley.

PLAY DIRTY will appeal to several genre fans from science fiction, military suspense, erotica, friends to lovers and second-chance romance readers. If you love a good steamy romance, small towns, suspense, motorcycles and families of blood and the heart then you will want to get your hands on PLAY DIRTY.

Reviewed by Annetta Sweetko for Fresh Fiction

Complete review: https://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=86043

When I read, "Fifty Shades of Grey meets hard-bodied ex-Navy SEALs", I knew I needed to check this one out!

Poppy and Jackson saved each other at different times in their lives, and also bonded over their trauma, but later on Jackson stayed away from Poppy, only to come back now to protect her.

I'm kind of disappointed? The story could have been either fleshed out more or just shortened for it to be a novella. While the romance is incredibly hot, everything else felt technical without it needing to be. Also, I personally think the sci-fi aspect could've been done without. The whole AI thing had me rolling my eyes too many times. And then to have it end in a cliff-hanger? This book didn't have me care enough to want to continue the series.