I really enjoyed this book. It was almost 5 stars for me, but the ending left me a little confused and I felt the pacing was off some. Other than that, the story kept me wanting more! This is book one, so I will read the second when it comes out. Also, Brianna Bronte did a great job with the narration!! There should be a trigger warning as there is a scene at the beginning of the book where the FMC is captured and mentions sexual or attempted sexual assault. There is also mentions of murder and torture.


Tropes:
Friends-to-Lovers
Military/Seal
Second Chance Romance

This book was good, but I am no sure I liked how it was narrated. The story was really good and I loved the story that developed between them.

I loved this book! I loved the character development and the story. It kept me intrigued and I absolutely loved the military romance trope!! I listened to the arc of this thanks to NetGalley and the publisher!

✨🔮🌞🌕🍄🌕🌞🔮✨
ARC Audiobook Review

Play Dirty - Lora Leigh

4/5⭐️
4/5🌶️

✨✨✨✨✨✨
Poppy and Jack, I seriously loved listening to their story 🖤 The Narrators did an amazing job making this come to life in my head. I truly felt as if I was there with the characters. I loved the way Jack would speak with Poppy and just how protective he was. Sadly with his mission it was gonna hurt Poppy. Jack just couldn’t resist his Poppy.

📚📚📚
If you like to read:
~ Secrets
~ Artificial Intelligence
~ Morally Grey
~ Protective MMC
~ Mine
~ Ex-Navy Seal
… You should definitely check this out

📚📚📚

Thank you so much for sending me a copy for an honest review in my own words.

✨What is a morally grey character you love?

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This was not one of my favorites. I feel like it would have been better with more storyline and less sexual scenes. The story line was great. Jack was protective and mysterious. Poppy just wanted to be cared for and loved.

2.5 Stars
Lots of potential, but it didn't meet my expectations

I really enjoyed the beginning and ending of the story. However, I feel like the middle part could benefit from more diverse content to keep the reader engaged. I believe incorporating more action scenes, especially with the A.I, would make the story more thrilling. (Things got too repetitive in the middle.) Additionally, I think it would be better if the narrator didn't change her voice for the male MC, it sounded very unnatural. Overall, I see a lot of potential in the story, and with some minor improvements, it could be a truly immersive experience.

***Thank you to NetGalley, Lora Leigh, and Macmillan Audio for graciously sending me the audiobook to review. As always, all thoughts are my own.***

The story had a well-written spicy aspect that I enjoyed, and the narrator's performance was okay. However, I found the pet names cringey and the main male character's forcefulness off-putting. His morally grey nature made it difficult for me to connect with him, and I struggled to follow the plot at times. Additionally, the southern accent for the MMC was a bit challenging for me. Overall, while the story had its merits, it unfortunately wasn't to my liking due to these drawbacks.

First thought: An intriguing storyline. If you’re looking for an action packed, morally grey, dark romance this one’s for you.

Poppy saved Jack when he was 14years old. Then a few years later he rescued her when she was being attacked. He was always there for her, to protect her and keep her safe. Poppy knew she was in love with him that day and will always be. But Jack knew she was too innocent and couldn’t be his.

Now years later Jack many years serving in the Navy Seals he was just given a mission that would take him back home. Him and his team had to intercept a deal and recover a new form of Artificial Intelligence, that threatened the safety of all. His connection in town would be Poppy as she worked for the men secretly brokering the deal. He however couldn’t let her know his mission and to do that he had to play a part and in doing so would betray her.

But when Jack got to town he couldn’t resist Poppy, she was everything he craved and his need to have her and protect her would make this the hardest mission of his life.

This was the first book in a series so after reading the epilogue I can see a vision, but this one just needed a bit more for me and it missed the mark. I don’t do half stars but it was a 3.75⭐️

I personally didn’t like the voice variations of the narrator, the accents were really bad. If she didn’t do accents it would have been better. Recommend book over audiobook for this one!

Literally Themes you’ll find:

* Morally Grey
* Ex Navy Seal
* I’d Kill For You
* Secret Mission
* Artificial Intelligence
* Your Mine
* Dual POV
* Dark & Spicy 🌶️

Spicy! I love it! I liked the dynamics of the characters and how protective he was of her and just everything in between. I liked the narrators and their accents because it really added to the story.

"Play Dirty" by Lora Leigh, as an audiobook, delivers a steamy and seductive romance that will leave listeners breathless with its passionate encounters and irresistible chemistry between the characters.

Simple, fun, and full of great chemistry! This was my first Lora Leigh book and I was happy with the quick read. I liked that this book felt a bit more grounded than other romances I've read.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I thought this audiobook was great. Loved the touch of sci-fi that was in it with the AI.
I liked their relationship dynamic for what his job was. Narrator did a great job narrating, I thought the accents were great, made it feel more authentic to me. There was a lot going on with the plot, but it all came around to the ending. Overall I would recommend.

I really struggled with this book. It started off great and kept me interested, but then lost me about 15% in. I wanted to DNF it, but struggled through it hoping it would get better. It never really grabbed my attention again. I enjoyed the narrator for the female voice, but just couldn't get past the attempted male voice.
Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the audio ARC.

I only made it about 10% of the way into this audiobook before I DNF'd it.

Why is it a DNF? We're at nearly 10% and there's nothing at all I'm invested in. Nothing. I should be invested by this point. At least a little bit anyway.

Neither of the characters have much in the way of redeeming qualities and then there's an AI situation thrown in that requires the dude to get out of military imprisonment? I get that this is fiction, but really?

Also of note, there's zero chemistry between the "hero" and "heroine" leading up to this yet I'm supposed to be getting romance vibes? They've saved each other and they may say there's feelings there, but I'm not feeling it at all. Rather disappointed by that because Ms. Leigh's The Breeds series is chock full of chemistry.

The book started out pretty good and I was into it. About 25% of the way through I got lost in what was actually happening. I had no idea what the "mission" was and who was active bad guy. It just didn't keep me hooked. The spice in the book started out decent but it took a drastic turn. After the first steamy scene, all of the ones after that were talked about so scientifically that it ruined what it could have been. The last chapter from the AI robot's (yeah, I still don't even really know where that comes into play) perspective was actually super interesting. If the whole book was about that instead of Jack wanting to bang Poppy and then not feel bad about "betraying" her, i totally would have been more into it.

Hot, hot, hot. Super spicy. Loved the story and especially Poppy, who, no matter what else was going on, stood up for herself. Sometimes with such alpha presence - between her man and her family, the FMC tend to cave and become simpering idiots. Not Poppy and I loved her for it. A great read!

3 Stars ⭐⭐⭐🎧
I received an ALC (Advanced Listener Copy) of this audiobook from NetGalley & Macmillan Audio.

I usually LOVE Lora Leigh books for the action-packed ride we go on; this has that, but not till much later. But wow, when we get there, look out, you're in for a ride.

I loved the connection and how much Jack just wanted to be around Poppy. She just wanted him to be safe and feel safe. And he just wanted her always to be protected even if he wasn't the one to do the protecting.

Oh man, it sure does get steamy!

The narration was just ok for me. I found the voices she did the best part; sometimes, it was almost robotic.

Poppy has loved Jack since she was a child. Jack left home to become a Navy SEAL and years later when he comes back home he sets his sights back on Poppy. The spicy parts of this book are great, but the overall plot/story was hard for me to pay attention to. I'm not sure exactly what it was, maybe it just wasn't for me.

Thank you for the ALC for my honest review.

The beginning of the book grabbed me but everything else was very hard to follow.

I recommend having a male narrator for the voices of men. The woman narrator did great but her male voices weren’t working for me.

But as I mentioned, everything was hard to follow.

I enjoyed this one. The writing was good. The conflict kept me interested from start to finish. The spicy scenes were HOT! Jack and Poppy had a past and a strong connection. I love how she always believed in him even when no one else did. I struggled a little bit with how controlling Jack was but I loved how Poppy put him in his place. The narrator didn’t have the best male voice, so at times, it was hard to imagine Jack actually speaking but other than that I liked the book. The epilogue was dynamite and definitely made me want book 2! Huge thanks to the audiobook publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to listen and review this book.