Playing Without Rules

by Rachelle Ayala

[Nadz@Totally Addicted to Reading]

Initially, I thought this was going to be a clichéd read. This thought was based on the book’s synopsis. I have read so many romance stories where the main characters have a romantic history and for some reason one ends up leaving. After some years had passed the party that left returns with the hope of rekindling the relationship and discovers that a child is now in the picture.
Personally, I believe these types of stories are predictable as such I was wary about reading it. However, after reading a few of the reviews I decided to give it a try. Well, my initial thoughts were confirmed, predictable plot and predictable characters. The one aspect that made it different from other books with similar themes is its focus on abuse.

Playing Without Rules tells the story of Brock and Marcia. Brock is a professional baseball player and Marcia is an entrepreneur. Five years ago these two were romantically involved with each other. However, based on issues that were happening in Brock’s life, Marcia rejected him, which resulted in him leaving town to pursue a career in baseball. The thing that Brock did not know was that Marcia was pregnant. He has now returned with the intent to rekindle his relationship with Marcia, but she had other plans. She does not want him to find out the secret she has been hiding. She feared that the issues from his past would rear its ugly head.

I found Marcia to be irritating and judgemental. She never gave Brock a chance. She chose to judge him based on his family’s history of abuse which I thought was unfair. Her reason for keeping him from his daughter was selfish. Another thing I could not fathom is why a woman who is supposed to be intelligent would give her best friend permission to sleep with her ex believing that it would help her to get him out of her system. She then sits and agonize over it. Sheesh! If that is not stupidity, don’t know what is.

All I can say is that I respect Brock. His level of self-control is very high in light of Marcia’s irritating behaviour. This alone proved that he is nothing like his father. The fact that he is willing to forgive her for keeping the truth from him proves that he is a man of character.
The story speaks to the longstanding issue of abuse. It depicts the physical and emotional effects it can have on the victim. The story also shows that secrets can destroy relationships and it can be used by your enemies to manipulate you.

My feelings about this book are mixed. There were some parts I liked and there were some parts that had me thinking WHAT THE HELL! It was the latter parts that stood in the way of me fully enjoying the book. For me it was an ok read. I know there are readers out there who would enjoy this book and its on this basis that I make my recommendation.