PLAYMAKER (Breakaway #3) by LP Dover-Review and Excerpt Tour
PLAYMAKER
Breakaway #3
by LP Dover
Release Date: February 27, 2018
Genre: adult, contemporary, erotic, hockey,romance
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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date February 27, 2018
He knows every play in the book. But she’s calling the shots.
I’m Maddox Ledger, all-star winger and the reason the Charlotte Strikers killed it in the playoffs. Yeah, the tabloids like to call me arrogant. A real hothead. All I see is a guy who plays to win. Wreaking havoc on the ice, breaking a few hearts—that’s all just part of the game. And I’m sure as hell not sitting on the bench.
When my teammate asks me to be in his wedding party, I can’t refuse—but that’s the only way you’ll see me walk down the aisle. Commitment is for suckers. Lucky for me, the bridesmaid I’m paired with is the definition of eye candy. Lacey Easton is totally irresistible . . . and weirdly familiar. A glimpse of bare shoulder takes me back to a steamy Vegas night I can’t forget. One I’m eager to repeat.
Suddenly our one-night stand is turning into the sequel . . . and so much more. Still, Lacey’s keeping secrets. She doesn’t trust me. And maybe I deserve it. But there’s no chance I’m letting her get away—or letting another guy take what is mine. This time, I’m playing for keeps.
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REVIEW: PLAYMAKER is the third instalment in L.P. Dover’s contemporary, adult BREAKAWAY erotic, romance, hockey series focusing on the men and women of the professional hockey team the Charlotte Strikers. This is left winger Maddox Ledger, and twenty seven year old physician Lacey Easton’s story line. PLAYMAKER can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary. Lacey is Dallas Easton’s sister, and Maddox is Callie Davis’ cousin (Blocked #2).
Told from dual first person points of view (Lacey and Maddox) PLAYMAKER follows the acrimonious second chance relationship between physician/intern Lacey Easton, and the Charlotte Strikers resident left winger and bad boy Maddox Ledger. Two years earlier, while on vacation in Vegas during spring break, Lacey aka Paige and Maddox spent two wild weeks together that culminated in a Vegas wedding only to have our heroine disappear the next morning with no forwarding address or personal information. All Maddox knew was that his new wife’s name was Paige but had no idea her connection to the team or the man who despised his very existence. Hiring a detective Maddox goes in search of his wayward wife only to come face to face, not once but twice, wherein our heroine refuses to acknowledge his existence or their prior relationship. What ensues is the rekindling romance between Lacey and Maddox, and the potential fall-out as Lacey struggles to trust a man she considers nothing more than manwh*re, and the threat of other suitors who have no idea that Lacey and Maddox have tied the knot.
Lacey and Maddox’s marriage must be kept on the down-low as Lacey’s brother and fellow Charlotte Striker’s teammate Dallas Easton despises the very ground upon which our hero walks. Lacey has known all along the who and what of Maddox Ledger but our hero had no idea about the woman to whom he married or her connections to the Charlotte Strikers. Maddox’s reputation as a womanizer continues to dog our hero in the face of his changed ways and newfound love but keeping their marriage a secret is far more difficult than they could have imagined.
The relationship between Lacey and Maddox is one of mutual attraction, mutual disdain, and mutual love that requires our couple to remain hidden from view and the professional paparazzi. Lacey fears her brother’s wrath when her relationship with Maddox is exposed but Maddox is desperate to claim Lacey for the world to see. The $ex scenes are intimate, erotic and intense.
There is a large ensemble cast of secondary and supporting characters including most of the Charlotte Strikers players: Kellan and Kristen (Hard Stick #1), Callie and Dallas (Blocked #2), Justin and his ‘reality TV ‘ fiancé Miranda: Miranda’s friend Laura; Lacey’s best friend and Strikers player Braeden Wallace; Callie’s friend Hannah Martin; and Lacey’s co-worker Sophia. I am hoping for Sophia and Braeden’s story next.
The world building focuses on the team’s battle for the Stanley Cup; the friendship, camaraderie, and conflicts between teammates and family, as well as the Lacey’s earlier need to pull Maddox along for the ride.
PLAYMAKER is a bit of a frustrating read in the face of our heroine’s attitude and two year disappearance. Her flight from Vegas and subsequent refusal to acknowledge their marriage forces Maddox to remain on the side lines while those around him fell in love. For a smart woman Lacey is oblivious to her best-friends advances and attempts for something more; and her treatment of Maddox Ledger is questionable on so many levels. The premise is entertaining; the characters are colorful and charismatic although the heroine is exasperating for most of the story; the romance is provocative but struggles in the face of Lacey’s inability to trust, and her need to control our story line hero –a similarity she has in common with the previous story line heroine. Saying that, if I am unable to get past the main characters’ negative qualities, I have a difficult time with my enjoyment of the overall premise.
Reading Order and Previous reviews
Hard Stick
Blocked
Playmaker
Copy supplied for review
Reviewed by Sandy
He pulled me away, and I went willingly with him. I glanced back at Braeden and he started toward us, but I shook my head, stopping him midstep. Maddox turned the corner, his eyes burning like fire.
“I thought I could get through this, but I can’t. I’m so fucking tired of the lies. I know who you are, Lacey.”
My heart stopped. I pretended to be stupid. “Of course, you know who I am. Stop being silly. We need to get back to the wedding.”
He stepped closer, caging me against the wall, with his lips so close to mine. “No,” he growled low. “I mean, I know who you are . . . Paige.” Keeping his eyes on mine, he glided a hand down my bare back and reached inside my dress, circling his fingers around my strawberry birthmark. My whole body broke out in chills. “Did you seriously think I wouldn’t recognize you?”
“Took you long enough,” I snapped.
“Oh, I knew who you were right after you left me in Vegas.” My mouth dropped. “Yeah, that’s right, sunshine. A well-paid private investigator can find out anything.”
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author L. P. Dover is a southern belle living in North Carolina with her husband and two beautiful girls. Before she began her literary journey she worked in periodontics, enjoying the wonderment of dental surgeries.
She loves to write, but she also loves to play tennis, go on mountain hikes and white water rafting, and has a passion for singing. Her two youngest fans expect a concert each and every night before bedtime, usually Christmas carols.
Dover has written countless novels, including her Forever Fae series, the Second Chances series, the Gloves Off series, the Armed & Dangerous series, the Royal Shifters series, the Society X series, the Circle of Justice series, and her standalone novel Love, Lies, and Deception. Her favorite genre to read and write is romantic suspense, but if she got to choose a setting in which to live, it would be with her faeries in the Land of the Fae.
L.P. Dover is represented by Marisa Corvisiero of Corvisiero Literary Agency and Italia Gandolfo of Gandolfo Helin & Fountain Literary Management for dramatic rights.
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