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.