The Players We Hate (Rixton U 2) by Brooke O’Brien-review

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I never should’ve let Wren Perry get close—not with everything her last name cost mine.

She’s the governor’s daughter. Untouchable. Off-limits.

A walking reminder of everything I should hate.

She was a distraction I had no business touching. The kiss we shared? A cheap shot meant to rattle her brother, not leave a mark. But her lips hit harder than I expected, and the memory stuck like a bruise I can’t shake.

I’ve been off my game ever since. Now she’s back in my life, tied to my team in a way I can’t avoid. I don’t trust her. I shouldn’t want her. But every time she looks at me, I forget why I ever let her go.

Our season’s already hanging by a thread. Stats don’t match the game footage. Players are faking injuries. And Wren’s dropping clues like she wants to help me find the truth without ever saying a word.

They’re waiting for us to fall apart. They think I’ve lost my edge. But I’ve never backed down from a fight. This time, I’m not just playing for my team.

I’m playing for our season. For the truth. And for the girl I should’ve hated… but never could.

••••••

REVIEW: THE PLAYERS WE HATE is the first full-length instalment in Brooke O’Brien’s contemporary, new adult RIXTON U erotic, hockey romance series, a spin off set in the author’s BRAYSEN U world. This is team captain Talon Pierce, and the governor’s daughter Wren Perry’s story line. THE PLAYERS WE HATE can be read as a stand alone but for back story and cohesion, I recommend reading the introductory novella THE PUCKS WE FREEZE. The events of THE PLAYERS WE HATE cross over with, and run parallel to the events of THE PUCKS WE FREEZE.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Wren and Talon) THE PLAYERS WE HATE follows the building but tempestuous relationship between our story line couple. Wren Perry has been raised to be the politician’s picture perfect daughter, for the picture perfect family that was anything but perfect but when the university’s hockey captain took a liking to our heroine, Wren was hoping to step out of her comfort zone, if only for a short while. Talon Pierce was aware of Wren Perry’s family, and the name that destroyed his family back home but Talon saw something different in our story line heroine until mistrust and previous betrayals had Talon pushing Wren out of his life. Months would pass, and the betrayals grew darker, until our heroine revealed the truth that would send the entire sports department into a spiral. Desperate for forgiveness, Talon would being another slow seduction of the woman with whom he would fall in love, a woman who would place her life and her future in the direct line of fire.

The world building follows Wren as she goes from the perfect daughter to a woman who is willing to risk it all for the truth. As our heroine begins to dig deeper into a possible scandal and corruption leading all the way to the top, Talon watches from the sidelines believing the betrayal comes from our story line heroine.

The relationship between Wren and Talon is a friends to enemies to frenemies to lovers in which issues of trust, secrets and miscommunication threaten the fragility of an already questionable relationship. Wren had hope Talon would see beyond the secrets she so desperately wanted to reveal but a past betrayal threatened any hope of a possible reconciliation. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

There is a large ensemble cast of colorful and energetic secondary and supporting characters including Talon’s teammates: Gavin, Rowdy, Kate, Owen, Coach Dawson, his sister Tatum, as well as Wren’s parents Governor and Mrs Perry,her brother Wells, and her roommate Alisa.

THE PLAYERS WE HATE is a story of secrets and lies, betrayal and vengeance, power and control, threats and blackmail, family and friendships, relationships and love. The character driven premise is dramatic and edgy; the romance is seductive and impassioned; the characters are determined and charismatic.

Click HERE for Sandy’s review of the prequel novella THE PUCKS WE FREEZE

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

USA Today Bestselling author Brooke O’Brien writes steamy and swoon-worthy new adult and contemporary romances.

She believes a love worth having is worth fighting for, and she brings this into her stories where her characters risk it all for love.

If Brooke’s not writing or reading, she’s probably spending time with her family, binge-watching the latest crime documentary, indulging in chocolate, or watching Hawkeye football or NBA basketball.

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