The Player and the Pixie

by L H Cosway and Penny Reid

[stacey_is_sassy]

I loved the audio too.

Another Romance Package download and I'm thinking that maybe this package will be a great opportunity to re-read some of my favourite stories.

The narrators do a fantastic job, but I'll be honest, I think the female narrator was the better of the two. Her voice is very easy to listen to and quite soothing. Her American accent wasn't fantastic (I'll laugh myself silly if I find out she's American) but her Irish accent was beautiful. I could easily listen to her narrations over and over and over again.

What to listen to next...that is the question?

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I didn’t like him at first.

I started The Player and the Pixie without reading the blurb. I’m sure…well fairly certain I read the blurb when it originally hit my radar, but time has flown and I forgot, so I went in practically blind. In the first 5% of the book, I’m shaking my head, mumbling, grumbling and feeling a wee bit surprised. There is NO WAY they would have Sean “The Douchewaffle” Cassidy as the hero of the story. I’d met him, didn’t like him and was convinced he belonged in the bowels of hell. Well, maybe that’s a slight exaggeration, but after reading The Hooker and the Hermit I was convinced Sean was evil and mean. Turns out that Sleazy Sean - The Player, is really just misunderstood. Well, to be honest, he’s still an arse, but now we know why.

In the beginning, we meet Lucy. She’s the sister of the captain of the Irish Rugby team, Ronan Fitzpatrick. Being the sister to a famous rugby player isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Men and women befriend her to get to him. Lucy’s mother loves that her son is a famous rugby player and hates that Lucy is different. Dealing with her mother has left Lucy with self-confidence issues. She’s fairly confident when she’s away from her mother, but as soon as she’s back in her presence she is stressed. Her only way of dealing with the situation is a habit that is very unsavoury and leaves her feeling guilty and embarrassed. I think all mothers have the power to make us feel insignificant, but Lucy’s mother goes out of her way to make her feel bad. Can’t say I was a fan of Jackie Fitzpatrick, her attitude and comments were horrible. Lucy tries her hardest to be as happy and upbeat as possible and stay true to herself.

Sean is a snob. Rugby is his life, his cousin Eilish is his favourite person in the world and driving Ronan Fitzpatrick to commit murder is his mission in life. Sean and Ronan do not see eye to eye at all. Neither of them helps the situation, but Sean committed the cardinal sin, he slept with his teammates girlfriend kinda...maybe not...bad intentions, either way, . Imagine Sean’s surprise when he starts to have feelings for his enemy’s younger sister. At first, he convinces himself he’s pursuing her to piss off Ronan, but soon he realises his feelings are new and something he’s never felt before. Sean has a new mission, to make Lucy his.

The trials and tribulations for Sean and Lucy are vast, but there is such a huge attraction between them that they can’t stay away from each other. Sean convinces Lucy to become his tutor…in the bedroom. Lucy is gobsmacked when the first time they are intimate, she discovers that Sean sucks in the bedroom. I mean the guy has a reputation for being with a lot of women. Funny enough, it’s soon very obvious that ALL the women he has been with previously were wearing rose coloured glasses…or fan goggles. Lucy feels a little sorry for Sean and decides to take on the job.

Bloody pesky emotions, doesn’t take very long for Lucy and Sean to realise that it’s more than a teacher/student relationship. It’s not even a friend’s with benefits situation. There’s feelings involved, they start to like each other and miss each other when they're apart. What will Lucy do when her beloved brother finds out she’s having relations with his archenemy?

I absolutely loved this story. There was a vulnerability in both Lucy and Sean that made me want to hug them. Lucy has her secret coping strategy and Sean pushes people away before he is abandoned or hurt. Both of them has families that drive them crazy and make them feel unloved. When they recognise it in each other, they realise they can help each other get past those insecurities. I loved seeing them both defend each other.

The Player and the Pixie was a very steamy read. There were plenty of intimate scenes and Sean and Lucy’s tutoring sessions were HOT!! It’s not often the woman takes the lead in the bedroom, but in this case, it never felt weird or unusual. It wasn’t all Domme taking a whip and forcing him to perform. Lucy was just teaching him the basics of what women really want.

This is the second book in the series and definitely my favourite of the two. I liked the first one but I loved this one. Sean’s vulnerability made my heart break a little and his feelings for Lucy were never in doubt. Lucy’s devotion to her brother was admirable but I was glad that she finally made a decision to look for her own happiness.

I’m already cranky about the next in the series The Cad and the Co-ed. Bry-Bry certainly has his work cut out for him getting back into my good graces.

I received a complimentary copy of The Player and the Pixie via the author for an honest review.

To pre-order your copy of The Player and the Pixie from Amazon - http://amzn.to/1Yn3sRJ