Playing for Keeps by Alexandria Bellefleur

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I’m a little torn on this book. And I figured I would be when I requested it from NetGalley. I love Bellefleur’s writing. She’s got such great humor and I love her characters. But did I want to read what was essentially a Travis Kelce/Taylor Swift fanfic? Not really. I mean, I couldn’t not see Kelce in place of Cash. I didn’t see Swift when I read about Lyric though so that was nice. But I was reading for Poppy and Rosaline. Posaline, if you will.

Here’s the blurb:

Poppy Peterson’s life is finally back on track and she’s thriving as the publicist of the NFL’s most promising quarterback (and her childhood best friend), Cash Curran. So, she doesn’t appreciate when he makes an impulsive and public pass at America’s popstar darling, Lyric Adair. When Lyric’s notorious publicist Rosaline Sinclair reaches out, Poppy is ready to face her wrath, but instead learns that Lyric is equally interested.

As Cash and Lyric embark on their ill-advised whirlwind romance, Poppy and Rosaline are forced together, each determined to protect their own client from the other. Poppy is frustrated by Rosaline’s cool demeanor, while at the same time, as a legend in the industry, she’s determined to impress her. But, no matter what she does, she can’t shake the feeling that Rosaline doesn’t like her.

That is until one steamy night, when the two women contend with their unexpected feelings and begin a messy romance of their own. But with paparazzi, tabloids, and stalker fans nipping at their heels, Poppy and Rosaline’s loyalties will be tested in ways they could never expect.

So let’s take a brief look at the good and the bad, shall we?

The good includes great family discussion/scenes with Poppy’s family. I wanted to punch her mom in the throat numerous times. And Poppy nearly made me cry a couple times while talking with Rosaline about her family. I also liked the way Poppy and Rosaline’s relationship developed. I didn’t love it but it made sense, I guess. I wish I would have gotten more of Rosaline’s background or more of her POV in general. She seems like an interesting character – as was Poppy – but I didn’t get enough of her. And I loved Cash. I wanted to hug him and hang out with him and be his friend. Again, since the book was in Poppy’s POV, we didn’t get a lot of Lyric’s story beyond the basic child-star who was taken advantage of by her parents sort of thing.

The bad that didn’t get mentioned above is mostly all the tweets and “news” articles. I know this is a device used to share a lot of information but it was so impersonal in the middle of a very emotional book. I would have much rather had that information through conversations or inner monologue. The biggest bad I think was how the 3rd act break-up went. I mean, wtf?

So if you can deal with all the football player/pop star stuff, and you’ve enjoyed Bellefleur’s other books, you might enjoy this one. If not, you might want to skip it and reread one of your faves and wait for the next one.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for hooking me up with a decent book from a great author.



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