New Release + Review: Playing For Keeps by Jessica Prince

 

Title: Playing for Keeps

Series: Hope Valley

Author: Jessica Prince

Contemporary Romance; Small Town Romance

When it came to the men in her life, Charlotte Belmont was cursed. She’d known losers, cheaters, abusers, and criminals, so it went without saying, she stopped trusting her judgment a long time ago. Then Dalton came into her life; a good, dependable man who made her heart race and her body hot. When she felt herself falling for him, she did the only thing she could think to protect them both . . . she ran like hell. 

Dalton Prescott was a protector by nature, so when the woman he’d been tasked to keep safe was almost killed on his watch, he carried that guilt like a weight on his shoulders. What made matters worse was that before everything went south, Dalton had started to care for Charlotte in a way that had nothing to do with his job. 

She’s determined to ignore their attraction and keep him at a distance, but he’s playing for keeps and has no intention of losing. However, when ghosts from the past start popping up, bringing with them a whole new threat, Dalton may be the only man who can keep her safe this time.

**Hope Valley is a series of interconnected, standalone, small town romances.**

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His eyes were still dancing with humor when he finally got a hold of himself and looked back down at me. “What’s so funny?”

“The fact you thought you had to convince me you weren’t perfect,” he said, a chuckle still shaking his chest. “Believe me, Thumbelina, I’m well aware of the fact you aren’t perfect.”

My eyes narrowed into slits when he started cracking up again. “All right,” I said snootily. “You don’t have to laugh so damn hard about it.”

“You did everything you could to make my life miserable when I was put in charge of keepin’ you safe. You were loud, you picked fights constantly, you’re hardheaded, you had shit taste in music, you’re messy, and you were constantly eatin’ my yogurt, even though I put my name on it before stashing it in the fridge. Christ, baby. You pretended to have menstrual cramps just so you could sneak out on me when I was tryin’ to protect you. Straight up, you were a pain in my ass, so trust me when I say you don’t have to warn me.”

I squirmed in his arms until he was forced to let me go, and took a step back, planting my hands on my hips while shooting fire from my eyes. “First off, I do not have shit taste in music.”

“Babe, every one of your playlists is like bein’ trapped at the g***** Lilith Fair with no escape.”

“Second,” I continued, ignoring his dig, “I’m not messy. I know exactly where everything is.”

His brows climbed high on his forehead as he looked around my apartment to the piles of clothes and shoes strewn about.

“I got really tired after finishing my laundry,” I defended snappily.

“But I’ll have you know, they’re all clean, and like I said, I know exactly what is in each and every pile.”

He grinned arrogantly, and I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do more, kiss it or smack it off his sexy, stupid face. “Whatever you say, sweetheart.”

“And last, that yogurt was in my fridge. That means, labeled or not, it was fair game.”

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

This story was cute but not my favorite in the series. 

Let me start off by saying I am a HUGE fan of Jessica Prince and a HUGE fan of her Hope Valley series. However, Playing For Keeps just seemed like it was lacking in ways that her other stories haven't. 

For starters, I think had there been a prologue of the scenes between Dalton and Charlotte before the big incident that took place in the previous book, Love To Hate You, it would have set them up better. We, new and old readers, would have a better understanding of the dynamics between them and why they are the way they are in present day. 

While I loved the way Dalton handled Charlotte, I would have liked to have been in his head. I wanted to know why he needs the outlet he has. What pushes him? The majority of his POV was spent thinking about Charlotte. 

There were lots of fun in the story especially thanks to Charlotte's older neighbor, Ms. Weatherby. I loved her and all that happened when she was around. 

While it wasn't my favorite, it won't stop me from reading the next story in this series. There is lots of drama going on in this town and I can't wait to see what the author has in store. 

Visit Hope Valley
a series of interconnected, standalone romances

Read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited

Out of My League
Amazon US | Amazon Universal

Come Back Home Again
Amazon US | Amazon Universal

The Best of Me
Amazon US | Amazon Universal

Wrong Side of the Tracks
Amazon US | Amazon Worldwide

Stay With Me
Amazon US | Amazon Worldwide

Out of the Darkness
Amazon US | Amazon Worldwide

The Second Time Around
Amazon US | Amazon Worldwide

Waiting for Forever
Amazon US | Amazon Worldwide

Love to Hate You
Amazon US | Amazon Worldwide

Playing for Keeps
Amazon US | Amazon Worldwide

Born and raised around Houston Texas, Jessica spent most of her life complaining about the heat, humidity, and all around pain in the ass weather. It was only as an adult that she quickly realized the cost of living in Houston made up for not being able to breathe when she stepped outside. That’s why God created central air, after all.

Jessica is the mother of a perfect little boy–she refuses to accept that he inherited her attitude and sarcastic nature no matter what her husband says.

In addition to being a wife and mom, she’s also a wino, a coffee addict, and an avid lover of all types of books–romances still being her all time favs. Her husband likes to claim that reading is her obsession but she just says it’s a passion…there’s a difference. Not that she’d expect a boy to understand.

Jessica has been writing since she was a little girl, but thankfully grew out of drawing her own pictures for her stories before ever publishing her first book. Because an artist she is not.

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