I loved this book! It was a great follow up to book one, Lights Out. Kate Green is a fantastic character. Kate used to be a National Soccer star, now she is a sports reporter. Someone is found dead at a soccer game and Kate is thrown into the investigation. Also I loved the narrator!

It was great being back on the beat with sports reporter and amateur sleuth Kate Green. Kate, who was once a soccer player, is now assigned to cover the women’s Olympic soccer team.

But when a member of the team is found dead, who happened to be a former teammate of Kate’s, secrets from the past get brought into the light.

This intriguing, fast-paced, and suspenseful sports thriller keeps you turning the pages. The use of dual timelines and the victim’s diary draws you right into these women's lives and pulls back the veil on competitive sports.

Kate is strong and intelligent, even if she seems to get into dangerous situations. Her authenticity makes her relatable, and I enjoyed getting to know her in 𝐿𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑠 𝑂𝑢𝑡 and now more so in this book. I look forward to seeing what’s next for her in this exciting series.

Thank you @suzyapprovedbooktours and @elisehartkipness for a spot on tour, a gifted book, and the fun book swag.

Thank you @brilliancepublishing for the gifted audiobook.

Everyone’s favorite sports reporter is back and covering women’s soccer at the Olympics. I really liked Lights Out and was excited to learn it’s a series. Amateur sleuths are usually in cozy mysteries, but this series has a little more suspense and thrill than your normal cozy.

It’s hard not to like Kate as she stumbles onto these murders then works to clear her name and save her job. I liked the dual timeline linking Kate to both the murder and the suspects.

Those twists got me. The intertwined story with Kate as a teenager worked seamlessly with the current story and kept me wanting more. I usually like one storyline over another, but I liked both equally and wasn’t disappointed when the story flipped back and forth.

This could easily be read as a stand alone, but you’ll understand Kate more if read together with Lights Out. Amazon lists a third book in the series and I cannot wait to read it.

Chanté McCormick is the narrator and did a great job. She kept the pace up and brought Kate and her story to life. Both young and present Kate.

This one didn’t really grip me but I think it’s got more to do with the narrator than the story. The story itself was pretty interesting, I didn’t see the twist which is always a plus. I’m not usually a sports person so the fact that I finished this at all speaks for itself. The narrator was a bit dry and that was distracting for me.

Sports reporter Kate Green is back, and this time, she’s in the middle of a murder investigation during the Olympics. When her famous former teammate is found dead, Kate’s focus shifts from reviving her career to unraveling a web of secrets and lies that could destroy her career and personal life.

Narrator Chante McCormick returns as the voice of Kate Green. McCormick perfectly captures Kate’s determination, investigative prowess, and bravery.

This twisty whodunnit is packed with well-timed reveals in the past and present timelines that will keep you guessing until the very end. The fast pace and short chapters make it a quick and engaging listen.

Learning about Kate’s intense junior Olympics soccer days as well as two other secondary plots add depth to this story and more context to Kate’s character.

If you love fast-paced, action-packed crime fiction, Dangerous Play is a must-listen!

Thank you to Brilliance Publishing for the gifted listening copy of this book.

And I’ll tell you, I know you will love this thriller!!! There are so many twists and turns that will keep you guessing till the very end!!! I was totally hooked and could not stop listening! This is a must add to your TBR!!

Thank you NetGalley for the advance reader copy!!!

A fast-paced thriller that’s fun!!! I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will look forward to more Kate Green!!!

Narration was perfect for this story!

Thank you Netgalley and Brilliance Audio for the audiobook to listen and review.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #BrillancePublishing for the book #DangerousPlay by #EliseHartKipness. Alexa and Kate were on the same competing soccer teams growing up. Kate has since played in the Olympics and is now a big time sports reporter. When Kate is covering the women’s Olympic Games, Alexa ends up there dead. Is this something to do with things that happened at the soccer camp years ago or is something else to blame?

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ (4.5/5)

I recently finished book #1 and I really enjoyed it. The 2nd book in the series is 𝗗𝗔𝗡𝗚𝗘𝗥𝗢𝗨𝗦 𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗬 and I just finished that one too! I think I liked the 2nd book better because in the 1st you’re getting to know the characters more but in the 2nd you get more into the crime at hand and also get a bit more knowledge about the characters and people aren’t always who they seem.

The way they find the body in this one actually shocked me and the timing couldn’t have been worse for these characters.

I think another reason I might gravitate more to the 2nd book is because I love soccer and am not really into basketball but honestly it doesn’t matter because Kate Green is where it’s at. She’s a great protagonist. I liked hearing about her time with friends at the soccer camp.

The audiobook on this one is excellent. Very well done. I also love authors who aren’t wasteful with words, Elise gets right into it and her books don’t have fluff or filler to hit a page or word count and I cannot tell you how much I as a reader appreciate that. She gives you enough for the story and character development and keeps it flowing.

This is a cool series and I’m pretty excited that I got to have a sneak peek and hype it for Elise! This is absolutely a series I’ll continue (and I don’t typically do series’ lol).

Check out one of the latest reads from Thriller Book Lovers—The Pulse! You won't want to miss "Dangerous Play" if you love thrilling mysteries or the Olympics. Even if you haven't read the first book in the series, "Dangerous Play" stands strong as a standalone.

Follow the gripping story of Kate Green, a former Olympic soccer player turned sports reporter, as she stumbles upon a shocking discovery during her Olympics coverage. A mysterious murder brings back memories from her past, and before long, she finds herself entangled in a web of secrets and scandal.

This page-turner kept me hooked with its cleverly intertwined timelines and a secretive journal filled with jaw-dropping revelations. Plus, thanks to the publisher's generosity, I had the pleasure of experiencing both the ebook and audiobook versions. The audiobook narration was top-notch and brought the story to life in a new way.

And check out the amazing book bling that the author sent over! It was like unwrapping a box of treasures. Who wouldn't love receiving such fantastic book goodies?

Thanks to Thomas & Mercer/Brilliance Audio and Elise Hart Kipness for providing the gifted ARCs through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Reporter and ex-soccer player, Kate Green is back in book two of the series, Dangerous Play. While this can be read as a stand-alone, I do recommend reading the first book in the series, Lights Out, before this one. I really liked Kate in book one and enjoyed getting to learn more of her backstory in book two.

While covering the US Olympic Soccer team, one of Kate’s previous teammates, Alexa, is found dead in the locker room. Since the woman who was murdered was once Kate’s best friend she gets involved in the investigation. Kate is smart, strong, and savvy yet relatable, which is what I look for in a female main character.

I loved how Kipness used dual timelines to not only help us to know Kate better, but also to learn more about the victim. Alexa’s diary entries were a nice addition to the story as well. This fast-paced story was full of red herrings and kept me guessing until the end.

I listened to the audiobook and thought that Chanté McCormick did a wonderful job of bringing this story to life. She was the perfect choice to voice Kate, and she sounded exactly like I thought she would!

If you’re looking for a page turning sports thriller with a strong female main character, then I highly recommend reading this series. This book shows a behind the scenes of competitive sports and does touch on some tough topics so make sure you check trigger warnings prior to reading it.

Thank you Thomas & Mercer, Brilliance Audio, and NetGalley for advanced copies in exchange for my honest review.

I loved Dangerous Play. It was the latest thriller that I’ve listened to. It was a twisty, turny book that was so good!

I mean this book was ok. I felt her first book was a lot better: more suspense, held my attention etc. I did find my mind wandering some with this one. Narrator seemed too friendly and chirpy for the story they were telling.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
This was a nice listen. A bit of a cozy mystery but not quite. I can see this working out well as a series. Decent characters and good storyline. Narration was great.

3.5 stars
I went into this book blind, but the cover was intriguing and made me think this would be a psychological thriller, perhaps? Instead, I would classify this almost as a cozy mystery/suspense with storylines that alternate between past and present.

Kate, Alexa, and Savannah were teen soccer prodigies who were selected to be a part of an elite summer soccer team. Something happened to Alexa one day during camp and she quit the soccer team and flew back home.

Flash forward to the present and Kate is now a sports reporter at the Olympics, Savannah is the coach of Team USA Women’s Soccer, and Alexa is found dead in the training room.

The storyline felt a tad amateurish to me and I was really hoping to get more from the conversations between characters and added details that make for a more immersive reading experience. Some of the conversations between characters felt like I was reading a young teen chapter book.

Audiobook Narrator- I hate giving negative feedback about something like this, but I did not feel that the narrator matched the book’s intention. She was great at differentiating the characters voices and being eager in her reading, but it was just too eager. It felt too over the top and a little obnoxious to listen to. It did even out mid-book and was easier to listen to, but the beginning and end were so bubbly, it was hard to remember someone died and people were experiencing hardships.

I’m very grateful for the opportunity to preview this book early in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Brilliance Publishing.

I received this book as an ARC. I was so excited about receiving this!!! There wasn't a dull moment in this and the pacing keeps you interested.