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Playing the Game #0.5

Beginning the Game

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An End Game Prequal Short.

A broken British girl.
A godlike alphahole football king.
One night to forget.
Whats the worst that could happen?

Kindle Edition

First published July 2, 2019

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About the author

Olivia Rose

4 books52 followers
Olivia Rose is an author of contemporary romance ranging from YA to adult. She lives in Peterborough, England, and over the years, she has developed an unhealthy appreciation for cheesy YA Films, cupcakes and bad pop music. She adores fairy tales and ballet, drinks too much hot chocolate, and watches an ungodly amount of Netflix. When she's not busy writing, she can be found exploring the world with her husband and chocolate Labrador.

If you would like to send Olivia an email, you can reach her at olivia@oliviarosebooks.com
Want to sign up for her mailing list? You can sign up on her website!

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5 stars
20 (38%)
4 stars
17 (32%)
3 stars
10 (19%)
2 stars
4 (7%)
1 star
1 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 28 of 30 reviews
Profile Image for Meredith Wilson.
383 reviews39 followers
July 1, 2019
Due to a terrible tragedy, Indie is forced to leave London and move to the States where her father lives. There she enrolls in Harbor View College, but she has no desire to pledge a sorority or party, especially on Greek Row where all of the jocks will be. But shortly after arriving, her new roomie Ally convinces her to hit the town after downing a couple of shots. While out at a party, she runs into her stepbrother and his best friend Clay, who is the team's QB and a football God. He is gorgeous, flirty, and she is feeling a bit tipsy. What follows is a whirlwind of events that upon waking the next morning, she instantly regrets. She was reckless, wild and reminded of why she never lets loose. Now all she wants to do is forget. But will she be able to or at least pretend that she has?

Gah! Beginning the Game is an amazing novella and prequel to End Game. The heart pounding, jaw dropping and hot and bothered moments made me savor every single word of this well written and all-consuming story. It was a quick, fun and sexy read that was sheer and utter perfection! Well done Olivia and Raven! I can't wait to see where the story takes us next! 5 stars!

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Profile Image for Jen.
790 reviews117 followers
Read
July 3, 2019
Great prequel! Really looking forward to more!
Profile Image for Jan .
2,157 reviews45 followers
July 9, 2019
OMG nooooo, I need more now!!.

You know when you start a book, begin to get to know the characters and get that feeling this is going to be a good one? well, this ended all too soon.

I know this is a novella, but seriously I feel like I have just read an Amazon sample and I want to one click that baby.

I liked the characters, Indie has a hate for typical Jocks while Clayton is that typical jock. The chemistry is electric the love hate thing is going to be entertaining and after their one night of drunken debauchery I cannot wait to find out how its going to play out.

A brilliant teaser and I can't wait to read the remainder of the story in End Game.



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Amazon UK ~ https://amzn.to/2X2YDXM

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Profile Image for Anne OK.
3,695 reviews528 followers
July 4, 2019
A very short intro to a new sports-related series and Indie and Clay. He's your norm college QB bound for the NFL -- worshipped by all and every college girl's dream. Except Indie isn't your norm college girl. She definitely sees something in Clay, but runs as fast as she can to hide -- especially after a one-night drunken slip-up.

No date set yet for the first full book in this new series -- and one that will continue with Clay and Indie's story.
Profile Image for Karen.
5,386 reviews71 followers
July 3, 2019
No a book or hardly a story...more like a longer blurb for a new series. Promising!!
Profile Image for Brittany from Can’t Quit Books.
423 reviews23 followers
July 2, 2019
I’m hooked! I need the full length novel immediately now!

Indie and Clayton have this instant attraction, but both want nothing to do with each other. Both have their own agendas and don’t have time for relationships.

This novella was quick, established connections, and left me wanting more. I can’t wait to see how their story develops.
Profile Image for Eve Jones.
444 reviews3 followers
June 17, 2020
I received an ARC copy of this book for an honest review.
This short prequel is a really good introduction to Indie and Clay, and how they meet. And how they first felt about each other.
I for one can't wait to read their book to see what happens next, because I already love them both.
I also love the other characters that were in this prequel, her roommate for one, she's definitely someone to watch out for to see what sort of trouble she can get up to with Indie 😂
This prequel is definitely worth a read to be introduced to some characters, and also see what happens to Indie to bring her to America in the first place.
Profile Image for TheMommaBookClub.
256 reviews
June 30, 2019
Beginning the Game [An End Game Prequel Short] by Olivia Rose and Raven Moore

𝙊𝙣𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙮, 𝙌𝘽, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚’𝙨 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙖 𝙜𝙞𝙧𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙠𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣’𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙞𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙩𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚’𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙙𝙤 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙛𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙞𝙣 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚.
*~*~*~*
𝕊𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕪𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕖: After the tragic death of her family, Indie moves across the pond from London to Harbor View to live closer to her one remaining family member, her dad. This new life brings in a new step-brother (Ryan), a new school, and new friends.

Ryan is one of the star players of the university football team. He and his QB/best friend, Clayton can have their pick of any girl—and Clayton has his eye on Indie.

Indie is uninterested in parties, football, and Clayton. She can’t stand his cocky man-whore attitude. However, one night of drunken debauchery has her rethinking a purely physical encounter.

Will one night be enough for these two?
*~*~*~*
𝕊𝕖𝕩 𝕊𝕔𝕖𝕟𝕖𝕤: Oh. Mah. Gaht. Book clubbers, this is a short, so we only get one scene; BUT OH, WHAT A SCENE! It’s hotter than the seven shades of hell—🔥🔥🔥🔥.5 out of five!! It’s hot, heavy, and we were only missing some dirty talk. Yowza.
*~*~*~*
【$】: $0.99 on Amazon!! A very fair price for a steamy encounter. This prequel has definitely whet my appetite for the follow-on full-length novel.

𝙼𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚊 𝙲🍀

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1,264 reviews45 followers
July 3, 2019
Indie’s world gets torn apart and the person she wakes up to is her dad. Not happy with her father’s decision to move her over to the states with him she knows it’s the right one.
Women are the one thing Clayton has never had a problem with, but he’s friends let him know one will bring him to his knees and he will fall in love. After what happened Clayton has sworn, he will never be tied down to one woman again.
Indie planned on studying, but when her flatmate comes in, she asks if she wants to grab something to eat, it was meant to be just dinner, but ended up as a party and drinks.
At the party seeing the girl heading to Ryan, the girl was his first, but he didn’t expect it to be Indie, looking good enough to eat and her looking like she wants to eat him and also too much to drink. With Ryan having too much to drink, Clayton has to help Indie home.
Indie knows Clayton’s watching her so decides to give him a show, knowing she’s going to hate herself tomorrow, but it’s only one night. The next morning realising what she did, she hopes she can forget about Clayton.
Profile Image for Lauren.
6,131 reviews52 followers
July 27, 2019
3.5 Stars
Beginning the game is the prequel to the playing the game series. This story is short, fast paced and an entertaining read. I read this book in one sitting and was left wanting more. Beginning the game is the first book of Olivia Rose & Raven Moore’s that I have read. I found the writing style easy to follow, the characters likeable and the storyline entertaining.
After a heart breaking tragedy, Indie has no choice but to move to America with her father and her stepfamily. Starting a fresh isn’t easy but it is what is best. On her first day of university, she is literally knocked over by her stepbrother’s best friend. She knows Clayton is a player but she cannot stop herself from being attracted. When the opportunity arises for them to get hot and heavy, will they give in to the mutual attraction?
I really liked Indie. She wasn’t fake and didn’t try to be someone she wasn’t. I liked that she was nice to her roommate when it was needed. I definitely saw a spark between her and Clayton.
The storyline for this book is easy to follow and an enjoyable read.
Profile Image for Christina ( The MasqueReader ).
536 reviews69 followers
June 21, 2020
Holy smokes!!! What a way to kick off a series! I knew this was a short prequel going in but man I NEED MORE of Clay & Indie!!!! Beginning the Game is a short prequel to End Game.

After tragedy strikes her mom & family in London, Indie has no option but to move to the states with her dad and his family. She starts college that Fall and has plans to start fresh. Unluckily for her, her first experience on post is running into Clay; the schools football star!

The author did a great job setting up this book, showing how college really is for a large percentage of freshmen. Starting college is always lots of fun and no matter how set in her ways, she has a friend who brings out the college kid in her right away! After a night out at a party ends in what I would say is the best possible way...I can’t wait to see how Indie will handle things!

I mostly can’t wait to see if playboy football star Clay keeps up his player game in the next book or perhaps someone has caught his eye.
Profile Image for Maddy Max.
1,367 reviews60 followers
July 7, 2019
Well, if End Game happens to be half as good as Beginning the Game then I'm in deep sh*t and apparently I'm about to love to swim in it. ^^ Didn't I say a few days ago that college romances are hard for me to truly enjoy? And that only a very very short list of authors manage to make me like them? There's a high probability for Olivia Rose to be on her way to become one of them. With just a short novella, she made me crave for more - I honestly wish I could be reading End Game right now.
Beginning the Game was super well written, a great introduction of the main characters and the story to come, and it was smoking hot. (Indie is my new heroine and while Clay is an arrogant kinda cliché guy, I already love him as well.)
So, how is it surprising that I'm now truly excited for End Game?
Profile Image for Sarah Dale.
2,908 reviews73 followers
July 9, 2019
OMG when is the next one out??

This is the one thing I love/hate about prequel novella's they tease me and make me want MORE NOW!!

Once you start this book you are gripped! I literally managed to devour this whilst waiting 45 mins for my husband whilst he was on a ride at Thorpe Park! Once I started it I didn't want to stop, theme park be damned!

I am 100% invested in Indie and Clayton. Their push/pull love/hate relationship was entertaining to watch develop and play out. The chemistry between them is off charts combustible and after that one hot night I can't wait to see what happens next between them!

ARC received in exchange for an honest review from Bright Lights Publishing

https://ilovebookreviewscom.wordpress...
Profile Image for Eve Jones.
444 reviews3 followers
February 15, 2020
I received an ARC copy of this book for an honest review.
This short prequel is a really good introduction to Indie and Clay, and how they meet. And how they first felt about each other.
I for one can't wait to read their book to see what happens next, because I already love them both.
I also love the other characters that were in this prequel, her roommate for one, she's definitely someone to watch out for to see what sort of trouble she can get up to with Indie 😂
This prequel is definitely worth a read to be introduced to some characters, and also see what happens to Indie to bring her to America in the first place.
Profile Image for Donna Till.
231 reviews2 followers
July 3, 2019
So this is the prequel to the Playing the Game series and OMG i need more. Due to a tragic incident Indie has moved countries and college. Indie likes to keep to herself and tends to stay away from all the popular places and people. But her brother is part of the football team and she meets Clay who is the Quarterback. Clay is the type of girl she wants to stay away from but events at a party take a turn and their relationship changes.
I love Indie, despite what has happened she stays strong and well Clay is the popular hot football guy who every girl wants. I really cant wait to read the next book in the series.
Profile Image for Courtney-ReadonReader.
2,051 reviews2 followers
March 31, 2021
This is a really short prequel that we get that will lead us up to an amazing series. It’s just a taste of what’s to come but it is so hot and steamy yet starts of kind of tragically for Indie but then she meets Clayton her step brothers friend and they have an instant attraction. I loved the push and pull between these two and can’t wait for more. I also loved that she was happy and liked her step brother because we don’t see that a lot in books.
Profile Image for Joe Kendall.
577 reviews3 followers
July 4, 2019
This prequel is short and steamy. It really sets the scene for the heat that is sure to follow.
Indie and Clayton are great characters. Indie's back story is covered with compassion and tenderness. Clayton comes over as a typical jock, but you get a glimpse of potential layers.
I look forward to more from this series.
I definitely recommend this short read.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
Profile Image for Amo.
574 reviews
July 8, 2019
If you’re looking for something really fast paced this will be something you enjoy.


I was really looking forward to reading this but for me it was too quick even for a novella, it was missing depth for me. Especially when something happens right at the beginning of the book (no spoilers here) that doesn’t really get mentioned at all, it felt a little rushed.

I really liked indie at the beginning her character for me felt like she changed more than have growth in this story.
Profile Image for Angie Harvey.
721 reviews5 followers
June 30, 2019
Holy crap. I NEED MORE!! This was such a good prequel. I was basically left drooling and waiting to see what happens next. I love how different Indie and Clay are, it’s the perfect pairing. I can’t wait to see where this goes!!!
July 2, 2019
A great but short introduction into this new story from Olivia Rose and Raven Moore. I loved meeting Indie and Clayton, their chemistry is off the charts and Iook forward to finding out more about them in the very near future.
Profile Image for Christy Limrick.
15 reviews2 followers
July 3, 2019
This is a short novella but it’s oh so sexy, it’s a great introduction of indie and clay! You learn why indie has come to the US in the first place, we get a little insight into the characters and it makes you want more.
Can wait to read their full story !!
Profile Image for Lesley Robson.
772 reviews1 follower
August 11, 2019
This prequel is the start of a new series and it starts with a bang. In this book we get introduced to Indie and Clay and we find this sets the scene just nice for the next book. It gives just a hint of what is to come which leaves you needing more.
Profile Image for Nina's.
41 reviews
June 29, 2019
It was a nice start but way way to short but it will make you want more...cant wait for the rest
Profile Image for Louise Roach.
992 reviews43 followers
July 1, 2019
A great little introduction to the characters!

I loved how this super short story sets the scene for the End Game and I cannot wait to read it now. Bring on more Clay!

4 Stars

Lou
4TLOR
Profile Image for Naomi Webb.
23 reviews
July 2, 2019
I seriously need the rest of this story in my life! Why do you tease me so? There is so much Sass and Sizzle in this snippet that you need to read more!
12 reviews
Read
July 3, 2019
DNF.
I read only a few pages but the heroine came of as too judgemental for my liking and hypocritical. Some how she could spot a mean girl and a manwhore just by looking.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 30 reviews

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