Perfect Play – Jaci Burton

The Perfect Play Series: Play by Play #1
on 2011-02-01
Pages: 336
Format: eBook
Goodreads

From the national bestselling author of Riding the Night comes an erotic story about love and the games people play.

The last thing event planner Tara Lincoln needs is the jet-set lifestyle of a football pro like Mick Riley; even though their steamy and passionate one-night stand proved that Mick is an all-star-both on the field and in the bedroom. Tara played the game of love once and lost big, and she doesn't intend to put herself out there again, especially with a certified heartbreaker.

But when Mick sets his mind to win, nothing will stop him. And he has the perfect play in mind to catch this sultry vixen.

Firstly, I must admit as to why I read this book. Is it because I love Jaci Burton and simply must buy everything she writes? Well, this is actually the first of her books I’ve read.  It’s purely because of the lovely man-flesh on the cover! Was it worth the amount of hassle that it took to purchase this book?  Yes, and the next one has been added to my wish list (cover included for your drooling pleasure at the bottom of the page)

Mick is a drop dead gorgeous hunk with black hair, blue eyes and a body to die for (have you seen the cover? *swoon*) He chases Tara with the tenacity of a Jack Russell with a bone; I really did like his character! His courtship of her was a fabulously unrealistic extravaganza of events, the likes of which only exist in romance novels, and I wanted him to win her over. When he started to build a relationship with the hero-worshipping, teenage boy who obviously needed a father figure…well that was it for me, I was in lust! Tara was a bit less likeable, but that’s because she used the circumstances of her life to treat Mick quite horribly at times.

When they first met, it was clear that the attraction was both mutual and strong. However, when Tara woke up the morning after, the self -doubt started to set in. She wasn’t a movie star, she worked every hour that she could and she had a teenage son; it was clear she was not exactly Mick’s “type”. He did everything that he could to prove to her that he liked her anyway; he wooed her, he bonded with her son and he generally was the most gorgeous man on the planet. Still, she jumped to conclusions repeatedly about his actions. I understood why; her son came first, and he was in danger of being hurt if it all went wrong. It still annoyed me. I think you could say I became a little protective of Mick! I liked her as an individual (the way she dealt with the bitch that was Mick’s agent was awesome) but I wasn’t convinced she could get over her many issues and become part of a healthy relationship. I wanted them to work it out; I just couldn’t see how all the issues she had could be resolved.

The important bit of the book is, of course, the sex scenes (Well to me anyway!) The sex scenes were smoking; we had oral sex, anal sex, anal play, beach sex…the list is endless! The chemistry is well written and the scenes were definitely enough to make my heart race. I only had one problem with the sex scenes and that was the dirty talk. I like dirty talk, but this was in every scene and became slightly annoying. It wasn’t particularly sexy and, to be honest, had pretty much the same script in every scene.  I could have done without them, and I ended up skipping through the dialogue to get to the juicy descriptions of the glorious man flesh that surrounded them!

I enjoyed the side stories and characters that kept this story moving. I really enjoyed meeting all his family, some interesting characters for the books ahead (especially bad-boy Gavin, he sounds yummy). The leading lady for the next book also appears and I’m going to have to see a different side to her to believe in their story!