The Play (Briar U #3) by Elle Kennedy was such a fun read and yet another to add to the mix of her many sports romances that I have enjoyed!
Get ready for another binge-worthy romance from New York Times bestselling author Elle Kennedy!
What I learned after last year’s distractions cost my hockey team our entire season? No more screwing up. No more screwing, period. As the new team captain, I need a new philosophy: hockey and school now, women later. Which means that I, Hunter Davenport, am officially going celibate…no matter how hard that makes things.
But there’s nothing in the rulebook that says I can’t be friends with a woman. And I won’t lie—my new classmate, Demi Davis is one cool chick. Her smart mouth is hot as hell, and so is the rest of her, but the fact that she’s got a boyfriend eliminates the temptation to touch her.
Except three months into our friendship, Demi is single and looking for a rebound.
And she’s making a play for me.
Avoiding her is impossible. We’re paired up on a yearlong school project, but I’m confident I can resist her. We’d never work, anyway. Our backgrounds are too different, our goals aren’t aligned, and her parents hate my guts.
Hooking up is a very bad idea. Now I just have to convince my body—and my heart.
After reading Elle Kennedy’s previous book, The Risk, I couldn’t wait for more of this Briar U Series. I’ve absolutely fallen in love with her sports romances with their quirky characters and fun storylines, and The Play is yet another to now add to the mix!
‘Her intelligence, her sassiness, her craziness. She has the most dynamic personality.’
Demi’s character was so feisty and strong, and definitely a force to be reckoned with once she set her mind to something. Hunter’s character was really surprising, and I had such a different idea in my mind of what he would be like. Hunter was much more mature than I had thought with his determination to set an example and put his team first, and his ‘monkness’ totally cracked me up. Boy did he stick to it, and I also loved his tender and understanding side, which was really adorable!
Together, Demi and Hunter were playful and fun, and I really enjoyed their unexpected yet easy-going and genuine friendship. As their feelings toward each other simmered into more, Kennedy really kept me guessing at how they could actually be romantically involved with the major obstacles in their way. However, once those came out of the equation, it was game on. Although I thought Demi’s closure came about a little quickly, I definitely got it, because Hunter was quite the catch and pretty fantastic!
‘I’m going to stick by her and shower her with assurances that I love her, until she realizes she doesn’t ever have to worry about what I’m doing or who I’m doing it with – because she’s the only one who matters to me.’
Kennedy did a great job writing this friends-to-lovers romance, and while The Play was a light-hearted and fun read, she also mingled in some unexpected turns along the way that were really touching as well. I’ve just come to love this crazy yet endearing family of friends. Many of the characters from Kennedy’s Briar U Series were originally introduced in her Off-Campus Series, and their relationships have been such a joy to follow!
All of the books can be read as standalones, but I’m totally hooked and can’t wait to finish them all. The Play is also supposed to be the last book in this Briar U Series, but I’m really hoping for more and would love to have Conor’s story as well – pretty please??? Of course, you also MUST meet Pablo Eggscobar, so you’ll definitely want to grab this romance and series up!
ARC kindly provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
Purchase The Risk on Amazon today!
He’s obviously hiding something as he presses a few buttons on the machine to trigger the cool-down setting. When he glances at me again, his expression is sheepish. “I have a confession to make, but you have to promise not to be mad.”
“I will never promise that. Ever.”
“Seriously?
“Seriously. Tell me at your own peril.”
“Fine. I jerked off the other night—”
“Congratulations. Did your penis tingle when you came?”
“I wasn’t finished.”
“So you didn’t come?”
“I meant I wasn’t finished speaking,” he growls. “I jerked off the other night…fantasizing about you.”
My jaw drops.
Um. What?
“Oh. My. God.” I stare at him in utter disbelief. “Why would you ever tell me that?”
“Because I felt guilty about it. Like I needed to go to church and confess.”
I can feel myself blushing, and I suspect I’m redder than a tomato. Yes, I have many male friends, but this is the first time one of them has confessed to pleasuring themselves while fantasizing about me. I mean…it’s flattering, I guess? If TJ or Darius or—
I shudder at the mere thought of it.
Okay. Interesting response. The idea of my other guy friends masturbating to me is extremely unappealing. But the idea of Hunter stroking his cock and fantasizing about me is…
My thighs actually clench together at the dirty image.
Oh my God.
No.
Nope.
In. Ap. Propriate.
Hunter heaves a big sigh. “I feel so much better now that I got that off my chest.”
“Well, I don’t!” I can’t get the image out of my mind now, and that is so, so wrong.
His dark eyes twinkle. “Take it as a compliment.”
“No, thanks.”
He uses the hem of his shirt to mop up the sweat on his brow, which means he literally just flashed his entire chest to me and the rest of the gym. His washboard abs are glistening.
“Anyway, aside from the teeny little hiccup of me yanking it with you in mind, I’m truly digging this thing we have.” He gestures between us. “Promise me this will never change.”
“That what will never change?”
“That you’ll never want to sleep with me,” he says dramatically.
The sheer arrogance… I release a sigh of my own and reach over to pat his stupidly muscular arm. “I promise I will never want to sleep with you, Hunter.”
A New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author, Elle Kennedy grew up in the suburbs of Toronto, Ontario, and holds a B.A. in English from York University. From an early age, she knew she wanted to be a writer, and actively began pursuing that dream when she was a teenager.
Elle currently writes for various publishers. She loves strong heroines and sexy alpha heroes, and just enough heat and danger to keep things interesting!
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Love, love, love this review! I am so happy you loved this book. Hunter surprised me, too!
Thank you so much, it was such a fun and sweet romance. I’m going through your reviews today! ❤️
I loved The Play! 🙂 Hunter surprised me too, I was amazed by how committed he was to change his behavior in behalf of his team. I’m really hoping for more books in this series too, I’m definitely not ready to say goodbye.
Yay, I’m so glad to hear and definitely fingers crossed for more!! =D
So happy you loved it too! Pablo Eggsobar was one of my favorite characters in the book 😂
That just hilarious – loved it! ❤️😂