📖: 🌟🌟🌟🌟.5/5
🎧: 🌟🌟🌟🌟.5/5
🥵: 🌶️🌶️.5

Playing the Game is the first story in the Playing the Field series. It follows Gabe Rivers, a playboy millionaire whose family owns the football club Calverdale United, and Miri Forster, a football player with money troubles. Gabe is forced to work with the women's team to prove he is ready for the men's, and his first order of business: convincing Miri to play for him.

I've been on the lookout for more British romance authors and boy have I found what I'm looking for! This was really nicely written, incredibly easy to get into, and I was drawn in immediately by that prologue!

Gabe is a great character, he's worked for one thing his whole life, when he isn't partying, and is so frustrated when he can't have it. His relationship with his family makes him a sympathetic character when he otherwise might not be. He's the classic playboy with a heart of gold.

Miri is the classic eldest daughter, trying to do it all. She makes some mistakes that put her and her family in jeopardy, but it certainly adds tension to the story! I

The chemistry between Gabe and Miri is off the charts, and I love the way they just can't resist each other even when they know they shouldn't. The spice was spicing, these two got themselves into so very naughty situations (hello Christmas on the armchair!) and the dirty talk was on point!

The narration was performed in dual style by Shane East and Lulu Russell. Shane is an old favourite and did a good job here, the perfect cocky millionaire. Lulu was new to me and I really liked her! She had a nice little London twang that wasn't too strong, and did a strong range of voices.

Overall, a great story from a new-to-me author. Bring on the next one!

This was such a cute listen. I found myself loving the dynamics between the two main characters cause I mean who doesn't love a BA female lead? Plus I mean workplace romance? Say less and i am there.

ALC Review
Playing the Game by Sasha Lace
Playing the Field - Book 1

Miri is struggling with the responsibilities of her career, caring for a sick family member, and worrying about a debt from an irresponsible ex-boyfriend. Gabe is a billionaire playboy who is rarely turned down, and wants to snag Miri for the women's team he is now running.

This was a quick and fun read. There was a good combination of tender, spicy, and tension filled moments. I absolutely loved seeing the story through the eyes of a female sports star.

The narrators, Shane East and Lulu Russell, did a great job bringing the characters to life.

Pick this one up if you enjoy:
*Billionaire romance
*Workplace romance
*Football/Soccer playing FMC x Club manager
*Just one night/get it out of our system

Thank you to NetGalley and montlake for the advanced copy of this audiobook.

Loved this sports romance. Not too many written about competitive soccer (football) players and this one was written very well. It introduced Miri who has always wanted to play professionally. She is talented, driven and wants to be the best she can be! Enter Gabe Rivers the billionaire playboy who is coaching the Calverdale Ladies professional football team. He sees her talent, knows he needs her on the team to achieve his goals and gets her for the team. The dilemma is he wants her for himself. He is torn because he needs her for the team but HE WANTS HER! She cannot believe a billionaire handsome worldly man wants her. Their romance is epic with many turns, ups and downs. At times I didn't even like Gabe but he won me over and in the end they both got their happily ever after! I love listening to Shane East and Lulu Russell's narration. They made the book come alive! A great engaging read/listen.

Miri is such a cool girl. And Gabe 🔥 loved this and listened to it so quick! I loved the audio narration of this!

Thanks Netgalley!

I thought this was a series I was going to fall in love with, unfortunately it felt really bland and flat for me. I couldn't connect to the characters. The story was boring for me and the narrators just didn't work. So all in all it made for something I didn't enjoy.

dnf 20%

i was really excited about this book it seems right up my alley i mean a steamy billionaire & a star athlete that’s a book i would read instantly. I don’t know if it was the writing or the narrators of the audio or both but something stopped me from being pulled into this world. I through the characters were okay i didn’t get far enough to care about them.

i enjoyed the female narrator i just couldn’t get behind the male narrator

I love this series and I am so glad it is in the audio version! It is great!! Shane East is great and I am so glad he did this audio book! If you have not read this whole series, you should! Audio version is a plus!

It was wild with twists, turns and lots of betrayal this romance was extra spicy! The characters developed well and those narrators did a fantastic job! Would recommend

I am loving everything about this series. It is so fun and the characters are great. I love their dynamic and sports development within the story. I'm so glad this is all coming out together so readers get to experience them as a whole, instead of waiting months for the next one because I see this as such a bingeable series. The narrators chosen work so well and are so easy to sit back and listen to.

Thank you to NetGalley and Brilliance Audio for the ALC of this book.

It was a short and spicy and fun read. The narrators did a great job. It's always nice to have Shane East talking my ear.

Sports romance where the FMC plays football (soccer) and the MMC owns the team.

I enjoyed it but it all felt surface level and then the epilogue just wasn't my cup of tea.

I'd probably listen to the rest of them because they were enjoyable and an easy listen!

3.5

This was a fun and quick listen. I really liked the plot and the main characters. The FMC was the strong and determined type which I appreciated! This man is down baaad for this girl. The secret identity element in this situation created an interesting dynamic, as the MMC found a deep connection to two women who had stumbled into his life who turned out to be the same person the whole time.

I appreciated how Sasha Lace was able to navigate complex emotions of betrayal and grief through her characters and it had an interesting twist at the end!

I wasn't a huge fan of the narrators in this one. I have always known that Shane East isn't a favourite narrator of mine, unless he is performing in duet, because I struggle listening to his "female" voice, but he performed as I expected. I was not a fan of Lulu Russell's performance in the beginning, because even though I was listening at 2x speed, it felt like her narration was very slow with awkward long breaks. That said, I believe her pacing got better throughout the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Brilliance Publishing for the advanced copy of the audiobook!

Miri and Gabe are so dang cute together! This book is so well done! Absolutely love this story and the revisions from the original!! 🙃♥️

3.5/5 I was genuinely surprised at how much I enjoyed this story. It was short and sweet and the smut was minimal and done well. The narrators were excellent. A fan time all around. Thank you Brilliance Audio for the ALC

Revised Previously published as Playing the Billionaire, this edition of Playing the Game includes editorial revisions.

This is Miri, the best striker on the women's football league, and Gabe, her billionaire owner, gonna be lover. This is a good start to the series. Gabe is a playboy, and Miri is tryin to help her family, but 2gether they are a match for each other. I love their story and all the ups and downs they have to go throu. Miri's siblings are adorable, and her mom is so sweet.

I was given a copy by the publisher via NetGalley (Thank U), and all my opinions are my own.

A steamy, billionaire x star athlete forbidden romance between the owner of a women's soccer (football) team and the all-star player he's trying to recruit and who he's also become obsessed with getting into bed for one night only. A misunderstood playboy and an exotic dancer slash soccer player heat up the sheets in this first Playing the field book that's perfect for fans of authors like CW Farnsworth or Liz Tomforde. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley, Brilliance Publishing and Brilliance Audio for this audio ARC!

I am rounding up to a 3 star here.

In all honesty, I struggled with this (audio)book. A little had to do with the female narrator, a lot had to do with the "story". There really wasn't one.

Miri is an amazing football player, and Gabe wants her on his team. (Only, the only thought he can seem to think about is getting laid) "I always get what I want, and I want you" is really the theme in this book.
Miri is keeping a secret.
Gabe can't trust anyone.

I felt like it was a constant "I want you" "No! You can't have me" on and on and on.

The plot fell flat, we didn't even see Miri doing what she "loves". I'm clearly not a fan of INSTA-LOVE in this situation either.

This author - wow! If you want sizzle and heart in a passionate story, here it is. As our FMC, Miri, thought "It was only the need that mattered.".

Playing The Game is one of those stories you get lost in. Sasha's writing style made her book incredibly easy to consume in one sitting. It just flowed perfectly! The world building was subtle but complete and solid, so everyone and everything felt real and relatable. There were characters from all walks of life and with all personality types. I had no trouble finding someone to love or dislike! The dual first person POV's let me get the clearest possible understanding of each MC's thoughts and motives and gave an immediacy that I loved.

It was well paced and there was always something happening to keep me happily immersed in the Calverdale world. While this is a soccer romance there were other story layers of family, friendship, personal struggles and the darker side of this male dominated world. There were emotional peaks and troughs aplenty that kept me engrossed in each character's journey as they moved through playful and profound situations.

Something I particularly liked was how Gabe recognised Miri's spirit and talent before being swept away on their shared personal roller coaster. This was not just about initial physical attraction but building a relationship through troubles and successes. Another scene I enjoyed was Gabe's dismissal of a staff member due to historical and ongoing misconduct. The empathy resulting from Gabe and Miri's having either been a victim of this staffer or a similar circumstance created another bond, and it was a gleeful moment of schadenfreude to see an antogonist get his come-uppance.

These narrators are beyond good! They are two of the best I've ever heard. This isn't a story being read but life at it's most real and vibrant being lived by actual people.....oops, characters. The tones of the narrators' voices, the range of voices used to differentiate between characters, the emotions they portray - absolutely fantastic! And it was only while listening to the audiobook that I caught on to the play on words that is the title of this story. So many of these characters have to 'play the game' to earn or hold their places in this world.

I look forward to spending more time in this world and with these characters. Definitely recommended!

This was such a short yet amazing sports book. The protagonists were both from sports field and it was quite interesting. The plot twists were brilliantly penned.
I enjoyed reading this book. The characters were fresh and new, very much different from the regular romance books, which added more refreshing vibe to this book.

I listened to the audio version of this book, which at first was a little hard to understand, but once I got the hang of it, I found it to be a surprising and entertaining book. I found myself laughing out loud with most of the things being described and it held my attention from the beginning until the end.