The Perfect Play (Play-By-Play, #1)

by Jaci Burton

New York Times bestselling author Jaci Burton presents a story about love and the games people play in the first irrisistible novel in the Play-by-Play series...

The last thing event planner Tara Lincoln needs is the jet-set lifestyle of a football pro like Mick Riley; even though their steamy and passionate one-night stand proved that Mick is an all-star-both on the field and in the bedroom.

Tara played the game of love once and lost big, and she doesn't intend to put herself out there again, especially with a certified heartbreaker. But when Mick sets his mind to win, nothing will stop him. And he has the perfect play in mind to catch this sultry vixen.

• ISBN10: 0425238814
• ISBN13: 9780425238813
• Publish Date: 1 February 2011
• Publish Status: Inactive
• Out of Print: 22 January 2025
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: Penguin USA
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 336
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780425238813

Reviews

[Sam@WLABB]

Hey, I am a sucker for a Cinderella story and the old "I don't date" man being won over. Tara is an enterprising single mother, who was lucky enough to cater an event for the local NFL team. She captures the fancy of Mick, the team's quarterback. She thinks it's a one night stand, Mick has different plans. I loved watching their relationship grow and waiting while they tried to navigate the bumps in the road. I was rooting for love the whole time. I smiled, I laughed, I was frustrated, I was disappointed and yeah, lots of hot stuff in there too. Good, romantic read.

[nitzan_schwarz]

The Perfect Play (Play-by-Play Series #1) This book was difficult to rate. I read it and enjoyed it, but I also had a lot of complaints.First, it was a hot read. I don't think anyone can disagree about that. BUT. It was a little... too much, you know what I mean? Every time they met, it was more touching than talking. It's like most of the story was about the sex, and frankly, there wasn't much story.Girl meets famous boy - boy meets girl.Girl is afraid to share her secrets and commit - boy is afraid of the same.Girl shares - boy shares.Everything is solved but we have more pages to fill so we add all kind of issues of the boy's manager trying to separate them, but boy makes sure she understand he had nothing to do with it and he loves her. Girl being afraid and refusing the guy even though she loves him.They get back together.THE END.That pretty much describes the plot of this entire book. Take down all the sex scenes and you have about, what, 150 pages of actual story?...I also really disliked Tara's way of thinking. She has a gorgeous lover who is simply the best and planes the most awesome dates for her and thinks of her of the world, and she refuses to accept love because she is independent and doesn't need a man in her and her son's life? Really? More so, they've been dating for months and yet the both of them talk as if they doesn't do relationship (then this is all just sex, right?) and believe it's going to break off, but they chase one another all the time. What is it with that?Also, one moment Tara is set upon leaving, the next (literally) she gets into Mick's car and has sex with him. Freaking make up your mind. Another thing that bothered me was the Football scenes, but only because I don't understand any of the terms and so I was left with understanding Mick and Nathan were running with a ball....Anyway, good writing but I felt the plot lacked big time and wasn't really all that interesting. Half way through I wondered what was going to keep the plot moving, and when I realized it's the whole 'I'm afraid of love' shit I got angry. Will read the next one regardless.

[leelu92]

Good enough for me to keep reading the series :)

[mitabird]

This story could have been a lot better if it were shorter. I felt that things dragged on during the middle and I started getting bored. Mick was an absolute sweetie and I wanted to knock some sense into Tara. I don't understand how blind she was to Mick's feelings for her. Her constant doubt, stubbornness and need for independence was so frustrating. I also felt there were too many sex scenes and I ended up skimming the rest in the book. Not a bad read, but not great either.

[Ing Cruz]

My Synopsis:
Mick Riley is the star quarterback for the San Francisco Sabers. He's handsome, charming, and a playboy. Mick doesn't do relationships. A chance meeting with a woman lost in the basement of the Sabers practice facility sparks some major chemistry. After helping said woman find the front office, Mick watches her walk away not expecting to ever run into her again.

Tara Lincoln is the owner of The Right Touch an event planning company. She is watching all the festivities around her and making sure all is going smoothly. This is biggest name client event that she and her team have organized. Tara is hanging back watching things when she is approached by Mick. Mick had helped her earlier when she was lost and Tara didn't expect him to notice her at the event.

Neither Mick or Tara can deny the sparks between them. Mick and Tara hit it off. They end up spending a scorching burn your sheets night together. In the morning Mick is left alone and wanting more of Tara. After the help of his agent he learns where Tara works and begins to pursue her. Tara didn't expect to see Mick after the one night. She doesn't normally do things like that. She has avoided any relationship and has been focused on raising her teenage son and getting her business started. Mick doesn't understand why he wants to be with Tara so much but he's going with it. Tara on the other hand is hesitant to start anything with Mick but she can't deny what's between them either. What started off as just sex turns into something more.

My Thoughts:
I have wanted this book from the first moment I saw the cover. I read the blurb and wanted it even more! I love football and I love romance so with this combination plus the cover I had high hopes. Jaci did not disappoint. The book was a perfect balance and blend of football, romance, and smoking sexing! Mick with his black hair, blue eyes, and Irish background had me at hello! He is caring, considerate, aggressive (I lurve me some aggressive men), confident, and just downright delicious. You would think with all those adjectives he'd be a cocky jerk but he's not. Mick is drawn to Tara he goes with it and treats her and her son Nathan with nothing but care. He's not perfect. He's fought his own demons and he has his moments of male clueless. This just made his character more endearing.

Tara is strong. I think that's the best word to describe her. She basically raised herself and fought hard to give Nathan a wonderful life. She loves her son. All she does is for him. I could relate with Tara on all levels as a mother myself. I think her character was pretty realistic in her hesitancy to jump into a relationship with a known playboy football star. There were times when I wanted to shake her and tell her stop it though. LOL! Overall I liked Tara. She was a well developed character.

There is a lot of scorching sexing in this book. I mean the chemistry between these two is very palpable. I love watching them discovering things about one another and slowly falling from lust to love. All the secondary characters from Nathan (Tara's son) to Mick's family added to my love for this book. The relationship Mick has with his siblings and parents was a nice part of this book. Mick wins me over even more during his moments with his brother Gavin and his talk with his mother. He also does and share something with Nathan that made me root for him and hope he would win his girl in the end. I can't wait for the next book which will be Gavin's story. He is a baseball player and his heroine Elizabeth has a big appearance in The Perfect Play. Elizabeth came off has a big BITCH in this book so I can't wait to see how Jaci will make the readers root for her. I'll be rooting for Gavin.

If you love sports and romance then I think you will definitely enjoy this book. It had a nice storyline and characters that were pretty well developed. The romance will keep you turning the pages to watch these two characters find love.