Playing It Cool (Sydney Smoke Rugby, #2)

by Amy Andrews

• ISBN10: 1682812995
• ISBN13: 9781682812990
• Publish Date: 12 September 2016 (first published 24 August 2016)
• Publish Status: Unknown
• Imprint: Entangled Publishing
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 220
• Language: English

Reviews

[Sam@WLABB]

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Dexter didn't date. Not because he didn't like women, but because he had to focus on his career. Along came Harper, and he was so taken by her, that he forgot his own no dating rule. I enjoyed seeing these two together. There was a ton of chemistry, and I thought they were good for one another. Harper struggled a bit with her body image due to her stepmother's nit-picking. But, Dexter loved the whole package. She did a lot of Dexter too. He always felt like he had to maintain some level of performance, but with Harper, he could just be himself.

I totally understood the root of the drama, but at some point, I wanted to smack Dex, and tell him to snap out of it. I did enjoy the grand gesture, and the epilogue made me super happy too.

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[stacey_is_sassy]

They were COOL…then they were SMOKING

Group huddle…Ok peeps, it’s come to my attention that we (the reader) are not really appreciating book covers enough. I just read an article and they were talking to the models of Romance covers. Maybe it’s just me (probably), but book covers aren’t necessarily the be all and end all when it comes to picking a book. I’m more of “the whole package” kind of shopper. The author, blurb, hype and the cover are the things that must all come together to grab my attention. Silly me, I need to stop that craziness. Turns out that those poor cover models that I may or may not ogle (a wee bit), are starving and dehydrating themselves, for our pleasure. Have you once stopped to think that those poor buggers need to make those ripply bits in their tummies stand out? Those veins you may or may not have noticed, need to be coaxed to pop…did you know that? I’m glad that I have brought this all to your attention. Please, take note of the covers. Study those ripples. Check for those veins. Admire the muscles. Someone went hungry…went thirsty…to bring us HOT COVERS.

I really like these Sydney Smoke Rugby blokes. These stories are little packages of goodness that tick all the right boxes for me. A not so perfect heroine meets a not so perfect hero…and they find that their not so perfectness makes them completely perfect for each other. She has a rack and butt that can’t be missed. He has a bump on his nose and had his face pummelled a few too many times. He loves the rack and butt and thinks she’s curvalicious. She thinks his size and muscles are sexy and the bumps give him character. BUT…the best part, they like each other's insides as much as the outsides.

Harper’s brother is a wanker (please excuse my vulgar language). Chuckers (Harper’s brother) is a pretty boy sports reporter who takes great delight in finding fault in Harper, especially her body. He and his mother talk down to her and make her feel fat and ugly. Harper is a sweetheart and tries to ignore their comments. She only spends time with them because of her 11-year-old twin half brother and sister who she looks after regularly. One day, she takes the twins to watch a rugby game that Chuck is covering. Chuck being the horrible person he is, makes derogatory comments in front of the players. Silly Chuckers had no idea he was insulting Dex’s ideal woman.

Dex is completely focused on rugby. It’s his life and he knows that he probably only has a few good years left of playing at this level. He doesn’t want the distraction of a woman in his life and avoids them as much as possible. When Dex hears the idiot reporter insulting the woman he’s been ogling for the last half hour, he can’t help but react. He thinks a few dates here, a few dates there, won’t distract him too much. And then he touched her…

Seriously, Playing It Cool was great. There are plenty of steamy scenes to see the connection that develops between Harper and Dex. We get the awesome realisation that one man’s chubby chick is another man’s Goddess with curves. It’s not all plain sailing for the couple as they realise that they are starting to have deeper feelings for each other. Dex makes some monumental stuff ups and at first, you want to kick him, but then you realise he’s struggling. His plans are being derailed. Feelings are messing with his dedication to rugby. Dex needs to look at things a little deeper to work out where his priorities lie. Luckily, he has some great mates who help him see the light.

I really, really love this series and I can’t get enough of the guys from the Sydney Smoke Rugby team. I will be waiting with bated breath for the next in the series. I’m kind of hoping it will be Linc, but I think I can trust that Amy Andrews won’t disappoint whoever she gives us.

To buy Playing It Cool from Amazon - http://amzn.to/2cMC95M



I’m an Aussie chick who loves to read and review romance, drink coffee, be a Style Setter and stalk David Gandy. To see more of my reviews, fashion, food and pervathons -

[Eve1972]

From author Amy Andrews comes book two in the Sydney Smoke Rugby series...



Harper Nugent is a big girl. Always has been, always will be. When her douche of a stepbrother insults her in front of rugby star Dexter Blake, she is embarrassed and just wants to get on her way. She is more than a little surprised (and sceptical) when Dexter stops her from leaving to ask her on a date.



Dexter Blake's whole life is rugby. It was his ticket out of poverty, and there is no way he is going to let anyone, especially a woman, come between him and his career. When he overhears some douche reporter call the woman he has been eye-f@cking "fat" he finds himself asking her on a date.

One pretty great date later, and a plan has been hatched. Harper and Dexter will pretend to date. A little bit of fourberie to get one over on Harper's stepbrother and stepmother.



But when one date leads to another, and another, and another. Will these two be able to keep their hands and their growing feelings to themselves??


"“Hey, you want to talk masturbation? I’m up for that. But you’re talking to an expert here.” Her lips quirked, dragging his gaze south to their full, glossy pillows. “Expert, huh? “A Jedi,” he deadpanned. She laughed, but it was husky, the sound going straight to his balls. “A Jedi?” He nodded. “Obi-frickin-wan, baby."


To say I was excited to get an ARC for this book would be an understatement. I ADORED book one in this series Playing by Her Rules and could not wait to dive right into this one. I was NOT disappointed. The same great characters. Fabulous writing. Humor and heartache. A great supporting cast. Like the first book there isn't any OW/OM drama. No groupies hanging around. Neither were virgins. Dexter wasn't a manwhore. In fact very little space is given to their past sexual history (thankfully).



Harper was a great heroine. She was funny and strong, and a bit nerdy. Very likable, and wasn't a pushover. She had issues with her size due to her stepbrother and stepmom, but I didn't think they overshadowed the book. She got over them quick when the sexytimes with Dexter started and they only popped up a bit again towards the end. That said. "I" did have a slight problem with her size, or rather the way she is described. It's why I enjoyed this one SLIGHTLY less than the first. Harper is described on several occasions as "amazonian" and "big" and "thick" She is 6´ tall and stands the same height as Dexter. Her calves at one point are described as "muscular" and her thighs could "crack a walnut" Now had this been mentioned once I would have been OK, but it's repeated several times and all I could picture was a giant "mannish" looking woman with "tits and ass." That said, it was only slightly distracting to me so I only took half a star off.


"I think you may just be the perfect woman.” “Oh?” She kicked up an eyebrow. “Curvy,” he said, his gaze drifting to her breasts then lower to her hips and belly and lower again to follow the line of her thigh, “and kick-ass. My two favourite traits."


Dexter was a fabulous hero. Not as great as Tanner from book one, but still right up there. He was sexy and sweet and smokin hot. The friendship (with benefits) he developed with Harper was cute. They were both secret nerds that loved gaming and Star Wars. That isn't to say I didn't want to slap him upside the head and tell him to get his head out of his ass. Thankfully Tanner did that job for me. The conversation Dexter and Tanner have near the end of the book was hilarious.

Overall this was yet another fabulous read in this series. I enjoyed it just a SMIDGE less than the first book. It had the perfect combination of laugh out loud moments and teary eyed agnst. I can't wait to read who from the Sydney Smoke team is going to fall next (except Link. I am not totally sold on Link yet) Two thumbs up from yours truly...