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I’m the star right winger for the Vancouver Vipers, an unstoppable force, fast as lightning. My dream come true, and I’ve worked my whole life to get here. I don’t plan on giving it up, but if I want to keep playing hockey, I’m going to need all my limbs. To ensure my body parts stay intact, I only need to follow one simple rule.

Don’t touch my captain’s little sister.

Seems easy enough. She’s snarky and bossy and has a mouth like a sailor. Truthfully, I’m bordering on the edge of terrified when she’s around.

The problem is I’ve seen too much. Too much of her, inside and out. And now? Now I want more.

But she’s my best friend’s little sister, and nobody’s ever been as off limits as Jennie Beckett is to me.

Her collection of toys is impressive, but I plan on showing her how a real man can make her vibrate without all the batteries. These hands can handle a hockey stick; surely they can handle her.

C’mon, Jennie. Play with me.

569 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 4, 2022

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Becka Mack

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28,718 (46%)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 4,880 reviews
Profile Image for Val ⚓️ Shameless Handmaiden ⚓️.
1,916 reviews32.4k followers
November 14, 2022
Oooooof...2 Stars

After really enjoying book one and having high hopes for book two, I feel like a dick for not loving this. Especially since I really do enjoy the characters and friend group that Becka Mack has created here. And, despite not loving this, I do still intend to continue with the series.

That said...here is why this one didn't work for me:

***SPOILERS***

1) Bellvue Bullies, anyone?

While reading this, I couldn't help but be struck by how SERIOUSLY similar this book is to book one in Toni Aleo's Bellvue Bullies series, Boarded by Love. They felt oddly alike in many ways.

Both are about hockey.
Both have a heroine involved in dance.
Both have a hero who ghosts the heroine to deal with a family issues later on in the story.

Now, to be clear, I'm not making any nefarious accusations here or anything. I'm simply stating reading this felt...very familiar.

2) No one talks like this.

As a female in a male-dominated work environment, and as someone who has always been heavily involved in sports and dealt with a lot of male athletes, I just can't see a bunch of professional hockey bros saying shit like this to each other:

"Maybe I'm just giving up the dating fight. All it's doing is making me feel lonelier."
"So take a break. You're filling your spare time with the kids at the home, and you're enjoying that, right?"
His smile is instantaneous. "I really am. It's so cool to be a part of the reason some of these kids are coming out of their shells."
"Then focus on doing that for a while. Spend time doing what makes you happy. I know you want to meet someone, but you're not having fun doing it right now. Revisit it in a couple months."

And ALL the characters have constant conversations like this. Almost ALL the time. But really though.

Now, as a heavy romance reader, I am not here for 100% realism in my reading choices. Obviously. But when every single conversation sounds like an over-the-top therapy session with people who apparently know a lot about human psychology? I'm sorry. Regular people just do not have this many heart-to-hearts, all day, every day, in every single conversation.

3) Speaking of every conversation...

I felt like we were having some of the same ones. Over and over again.

Same with the thoughts. We would have the same insecure thoughts, a mage-therapist-like talk with another character about these thoughts, do something reactive anyway...and then repeat.

4) What happened at 75%?

Despite points one through three, I was still enjoying this fairly well until about 75% in. And then points two and three were apparently fed steroids, because holy shit. The last 25% of this took redundancy and friendship therapy plus to a whole new level. Issues and concerns were rehashed to DEATH, folks. Painfully. And the last 25% just draaaaaaaaaagged.

Carter's Reaction

One of the long-running themes of this book was the idea that Carter has made it known to his friends that Jenny (his baby sister) was off-limits. You know, your typical best friend/sister/oh the horror romance stuff. No biggie. I'm on board.

To a degree.

But when you have a grown ass man react the way Carter did when he finds out about it?

You are telling me a professional athlete - a man getting PAID LOTS of money to play a sport - who has contracts and, I don't know, professional ethics, is going to apparently pull captain rank and put a starter on second string because the starter consensually fucked your sister? And the coach supposedly went along with this??????

That would be like Tom Brady telling Bill Belichick, "Uh, hey man, you need to risk our NFL record and, subsequently, the future of every player on this team, and, um, not play Rob Gronkowski the next couple games. Because, yeah, well, he banged my sister. I mean, she was into it and, like, a totally consenting adult and everything, but I mean, I told everyone she off-limits and they were, like, hooking up behind my back, so, yeah. I mean, what the heck, right? And he also stole my Legos at recess."

Never would this happen. NEVER.

All of these things combined to make this just not work for me overall, sadly. As I said though, I enjoyed the characters still and enjoy reading about them. So I'll give this series one more shot with the next one. Fingers crossed.
Profile Image for Phuong ✯.
661 reviews7,419 followers
November 4, 2022
– 3 stars

Garrett (H) and Jennie (h) were likeable characters and cute together, but when I found my top couple in a series, every other couple that follows is white noise.. I have 50 highlights of this book and guess how many of these highlights were about the main couple? one. the rest was Carter Beckett being a supportive, loud, obnoxious husband, father-to-be, brother, friend and father 😌 i like you Garrett & Jennie, but at the same time Garrett and Jennie who?

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
TOP 10 BEST CARTER BECKETT MOMENTS EVEN THO IT’S NOT HIS BOOK
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

𝗡𝗼. 𝟭𝟬 – 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗻’𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝗻 ❌

With her brother distracted, Jennie lets the ball fly, sinking it with ease, and poor Carter’s gonna be so drunk by the end of this. He’s apparently decided to try his hand at another distraction tactic for this last round. When Olivia steps up to the table, he drags his shirt up his torso in slow motion, one finger on his lip as he gives her the eyes. “Like what you see, princess? Want me to take you upstairs and—ah, for fuck’s sake!” That, my friends, is the sound of Olivia sinking her last shot, all while looking her husband dead in the eye.


𝗡𝗼. 𝟵 – 𝗠𝘆 𝗯𝗶𝗴 𝘁𝗲𝗱𝗱𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝗮𝗿 🧸

Carter’s head swivels in slow motion. I mash my lips together at his expression, mostly to keep from laughing in his face. He may look threatening, but I’m fully aware he’s a giant teddy bear who spends his time singing Disney songs, carrying his dog, and plastering his ear against his wife’s stomach in case today’s the day he can hear the baby.


𝗡𝗼. 𝟴 – ✨ 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 ✨

“What in the sweet fuck are you wearing?”
“What? This?” Carter looks down at his shirt, tugging so the single word is visible, as if it weren’t already large and in charge. DILF. “Ollie got it for me.”
“It was meant to be a joke,” Olivia murmurs, “but it’s his favorite gift. He won’t take it off.”
“Wanna see the best part?” Carter pulls Olivia into his side, beaming proudly. “Show ’em yours, pumpkin.”
Her face flushes. “No, I don’t think I will.”
“C’mon.” He shakes her arm. “Be loud, be proud, Ollie girl.”
She does it, but she sure drags her ass about it, slowly pulling her sweater over her head, and I don’t know whether to laugh at her or cry for her. Because the shirt she wears underneath sports one simple sentence: I HEART DILFs.


𝗡𝗼. 𝟳 – 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳𝗳 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝘀 𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 💅

“Excuse me. I’m Arianna.” Carter doesn’t look up from his menu. “I’m married.”
I lift my own menu to hide my snort. Arianna opens her mouth, and Carter cuts her off before she can use it. “Happily.” He looks up with a grin and shows her Olivia’s smiling face on his phone screen. “Isn’t she beautiful?” He flips through his photos. “Here she is on our wedding day. Fucking gorgeous, right? And here’s the baby she’s growing right now. That’s my baby. What do you think? Girl or boy? We’re not finding out. We want to be surprised. I’m trying to convince myself I see a penis, though, ’cause girls are scary.”
Huh. Arianna might be faster than Jennie. She’s back on the other side of the diner before I can blink.


𝗡𝗼. 𝟲 – 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗢𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗮 🙏

“Would you stop looking at me like that?” Jennie finally shouts at her. “I get it, you don’t like the Christmas gift I got Carter! I’m not trying to die today!” Olivia gestures aggressively to where Carter is standing in the center of their living room with a microphone, singing the words that scrawl across their TV. “Two weeks, Jennie! He’s been singing every day for two weeks!”


𝗡𝗼. 𝟱 – 𝗪𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝗱 😌

Hank pats my hand. “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks. Carter can’t be changed.”
Maybe, but a year ago I would’ve never expected him to be sitting here playing the audio of his unborn baby’s heartbeat on repeat.
“Doc said his heart’s beating at a hundred-and-sixty-two beats per minute. Faster than the rest already.”
“Only you would be competitive about fetal heart rates,” I murmur.


𝗡𝗼. 𝟰 – 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗱𝗶𝗼𝘁, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗜 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝗺 😩

Cara hammers a fist to her chest as she folds forward, choking on her snack. “Please tell me he’s the type of dad who thinks he’ll poke his baby in the eye if he’s not careful.”
“He’s taken to warning the baby every time we’re about to have sex.” Olivia scrubs a hand over her exhausted expression. “Okay, little buddy. Daddy’s coming in. Make sure you move all the way to the back.” Her wide brown eyes are full of disbelief. “It’s the anxious chuckling that really gets me, and every time I move, he stops and asks if I’m okay. I just…I need him to fuck me, you know? Really fuck me.” She shifts in her seat. “This baby’s making me horny as hell.”


𝗡𝗼. 𝟯 – 𝗧𝗶𝗸𝗧𝗼𝗸 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗲𝗲𝗻𝘇𝘇𝘇 👯

He clears his throat, stuffs his hands in his pockets, and ambles over. “So…” He clicks a beat out through his pursed lips, head bobbing. “Thinking of changing my TikTok handle.”
“Oh yeah?” I check my nails. “To what?”
WorldsHottestDILF.”
“But you’re already so iconic as TheTrophyHusband.”
He sighs. “It’s a tough choice.”
“What does Ollie think?”
He rolls his eyes. “She thinks I should change it to my actual name.”
“Ew. So unoriginal.”
“Right? She wasn’t made for the TikTok world.”


𝗡𝗼. 𝟮 – 𝗔 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗲 🎵

“Time for another classic, this one by Elton John and Kiki Dee.” Carter whirls around, cocking one ridiculous eyebrow as he stares out at his six-person audience, microphone at his mouth. “With a one-of-a-kind Carter Beckett twist that, arguably, makes it better than the original.” Music roars from the speakers, lyrics starting to roll across the TV, and Carter stares Olivia dead in the eye. “Don’t Go Bacon My Heart.” He points at his wife. “This one’s for you, Ollie girl!”
“Jesus Christ,” I mutter from behind the palm I’ve buried my face in as Carter explodes into song and dance. It’s not so much dance as it is…gyrating? I don’t fucking know, but Olivia looks like she’s gonna cry. I give her knee a shake. “You okay?”
“Of course she’s not okay,” Emmett retorts. “She’s about to bring a baby into this world that’s gonna be a carbon copy of her husband.”


𝗡𝗼. 𝟭 – 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗱 𝗴𝗶𝗿𝗹 𝗱𝗮𝗱 🥺

Have you ever seen a six-foot-four hulk of a man cradle his tiny, newborn baby girl in his arms while singing “You Are My Sunshine?”


───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
CONCLUSION
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

i believe in Carter, Olivia and baby girl Ireland supremacy 💯✊

┍━━━━━━━━»•» «•«━┑
PLAYING FOR KEEPS SERIES

#1 Consider Me – 4.5 stars (Carter x Ollie)
#2 Play With Me – 3 stars (Garrett x Jennie)
#3 Unravel Me – tbr (Adam x ???)
#4 tbd – tbr (Emmett x Cara)
#5 tbd – tbr (Jaxon x ???)
┕━»•» «•«━━━━━━━━┙
Profile Image for Maditales.
609 reviews29.9k followers
October 19, 2023
I don’t even have an issue with the plot line because of course every brother’s best friend book has the exact same plot line.
What I do have an issue with is a 26+ year old professional hockey player that acts like a 5 year old and this is considered funny.
Carter in this book was even more annoying than in his own book (which I have not finished btw). How do you act like that? I don’t understand?
There’s this one tiktok audio that goes “he’ll be rewarded for never maturing for never understanding or learning” that is Carter. Wow he annoys me.
Profile Image for siff ♡ (semi - hiatus).
119 reviews989 followers
December 20, 2023
garrett and jennie is that cringy ass, sunshine, lovesick couple that everyone hates, but i secretly love because they make me happy

╰┈➤ #1 read - june 2023 ➵ 5 stars

-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈
y’all i’m sorry i haven’t been interacting so much these past few days. i’m in a massive slump, and i simply just don’t have the energy or motivation to be on goodreads so much, but i’ll be back full time soon, and then i’ll stalk each and everyone of you i’ve learned from the best… zaddy zade 💋
Profile Image for logan .
359 reviews2,823 followers
January 18, 2023
this book was truly impossible to put down, incredible from start to finish. if i wasn’t in my hockey romance era before, i certainly am now. garrett is a pro hockey player, and he’s secretly been lusting after his best friend’s sister, jennie (seeing him nervous & flustered every time he’s around her is so endearing). when jennie moves in to garrett’s building, they end up spending time together and forming a genuine friendship, while also enjoying other… benefits.

the trust that these two had in each other was just the best. i loved seeing them open up and truly care for each other, despite their initial “no strings” type of arrangement. jennie has a lot of trust issues due to past relationships, and the way they communicated in this was everything i wanted. garrett was so patient and sweet and i could not love him more. and they were SO. DANG. HOT. what starts as a sneaking around, friends with benefits situation turns into something unexpected that neither of them wanted to fight. they are each others’ biggest supporters and perfect match and i’m honestly not sure how to move on from this book. i loved that all the characters from book 1 were still a huge part of this book, and i cannot wait for the rest in the series!
Profile Image for Lit with Leigh.
561 reviews4,317 followers
January 28, 2024
writing: solid | plot: standard for the genre | ending: HEA

my opinion

Yezzzirrr another 500+ pg book done and dusted this month. Who am I??? And yes, I still read this after giving Consider Me 3 stars because I see the vision. I think Becka Mack can write, and I do think she can be VERY funny. I also think she needs a developmental editor to trim her first drafts and eliminate the butt-cheek clenching cringe scattered throughout.

Overall, I did like this much better than Consider Me despite them both being 3 stars. I just can't give this 4 stars because when the cringe hit, I was questioning everything. Please, I'm begging white authors to stop making sexual jokes that involve their kids. Did we need the following?? No. The only person who needed it was a social worker or a prosecutor as evidence.

"...Your baby does not have a gigantic penis." "His daddy does," is Carter's smug response."

"He's taken to warning the baby every time we're about to have sex... Okay, little buddy, Daddy's coming in. Make sure you move all the way to the back." What makes this more egregious is Olivia was saying all this to Carter's sister, Jennie. I'd projectile vomit immediately.

Also, why was I still subjected to hearing how teensy tiny smol bean Olivia is WHEN IT'S NOT EVEN HER BOOK? LEAVE. US. ALONE.

Anyways, this is your standard brother's little sister/brother's teammate affair with no unique twists on it. Garrett's backstory with his recovered alcoholic father was something different at least, especially given how Jennie's father died. Jennie's backstory was... okay? I did appreciate the attempt to highlight how making female friends can be difficult, her trust issues, and the reasoning behind her hesitancy with sex. But it wasn't quite adding up that she was nervous about not being good enough in bed as she was riding a dildo attached to the floor while giving gawk gawk 3000. Girl you pretty much graduated MIT with that move so I think you'll be fine.

And those scenes with the mean girls? LMFAOOOOOO. This is why the general advice is for authors to write what they know because you could tell homegirl had never been bullied. The dialogue was straight out of a teen show on The CW Network. Absolutely painful and cheesy.

Similar to Consider Me, there were a lot of unrealistic, therapy-speak coded monologues. Every time the dialogue got deep, it didn't matter who was speaking because it all sounded the exact same. Locate me one 26-year-old professional hockey player who's saying things like this to their FWB: "I think it's great you're able to be honest with yourself. That you acknowledge what you want no longer serves you..." No longer serves you? Fr? K.

Anyways, this is getting too long so I'll end it here: Don't microwave your undies to heat them up. A dryer exists. Thank you.

pros & cons

Pros: funny AT TIMES, she's fantastic at writing scenes with continuous motion—makes it very easy to visualize what's happening and feel close to the story, despite being long it's actually easy to get through, Garrett was way more normal than Carter and it made me realize how annoying Carter is lol, interesting backstories

Cons: when the cringe hit—it HIIIITTTTT, weird jokes, inconsistencies with both characters, too much therapy-speak, nothing unique about the plot, dialogue with mean dance girls gave me second hand embarrassment, ya'll just tossing around the term bestie eh?

____

Check out my YouTube and my TikTok
Profile Image for Mia.
2,368 reviews920 followers
November 14, 2022
If booktok and booktwt reccomend same book you know it's especially bad, and my God 460 pages there is literally no reason for that.
March 1, 2023
love love love <3

nothing too deep for me and i was a bit bored throughout but i still had a good time.
Profile Image for marwah.
481 reviews1,148 followers
November 21, 2022
dnf at 45%

STOP WITH THE MILLENNIAL HUMOUR AND THE SILLY GOOFY?? QUIRKY FMC PLEASE I AM BEGGING YOU. STOP.


this was a literal copy of the first book but with different characters and more traumatizing scenes…?
IM ALSO ONLY CONTINUING FOR THE ADAM CRUMBS so becca mack PLEASE give me adams book. It’s a need not a want 🙃
Profile Image for brooke.
95 reviews7,474 followers
October 20, 2022
”you weren’t made to fit in, jennie. you stand out way too much to hide in the shadows.”



this book was rly cute, but unnecessarily long and lacking a plot as it is more character driven. i adore garrett so much, i love how awkward and shy he would get whenever he was around jennie. she made him so nervous that he would trip over his words—it was so adorable to read. but when they are in the bedroom? a whole other story, bc he is FILTHY!!
— he is the biggest cinnamon roll mmc and just so loveable. i love how he was patient and protective over jennie <33
when he would give her back tickles — SWOONING.

jennie, i love her character so much, she is so well written. she is a loudmouth, but very feisty and independent and KNOWS her worth. she is also very vulnerable from past traumas and feeling like she lives in her older brother’s shadow. jennie and garrett brought out the best in each other and i loved to see that.

i love ollie and carter’s cameos, i was still swooning over him and he still had me giggling.

exhibit a:
“excuse me. i’m arianna.”
carter doesn’t look up from his menu. “i’m married”
arianna opens her mouth, and carter cuts her off before she can use it. “happily”

— now pls give me adam’s book !!!

tropes:
brothers best friend
hockey romance
forced proximity
found family
friends with benefits
Profile Image for Iqra.
453 reviews3,864 followers
January 19, 2023
3.5*

JennieGarrett were cute as fuck.

𝗦𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲:
ADAM ADAM ADAM (I’m intrigued by Jaxon!!) ADAM ADAM ADAM ADAM ADAM 🤭🦋💞💕💘🥰

𝗙𝗮𝘃 𝗤𝘂𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀:

“Are you having fun playing this little game of yours?”
“Funny you should ask. That’s exactly what I wanna do.” I capture her hands in mine, pinning them on either side of her head. “I want to play.”

“This,” I finally answer. “Right here with you is how I pictured it. Being with someone I love, someone who reminds me I’m already enough.”
“You are enough, Jennie. I used to be scared of how enough you were, unattainable almost. I wasn’t sure I could stack up. But I know now. Everything I was missing was something you brought with you, evening me out. I realized I was never not enough; I was waiting for you so we could be whole together.”
Profile Image for rasa&#x1f349;.
243 reviews462 followers
October 5, 2022


I was so excited for this book until his slutty ass just had to get his disease infested dick wet and sleep with another girl despite realizing he has feelings for the main character. who is also their neighbor btw. what a shit show. there’s absolutely nothing more i hate than being disappointed by a very anticipated read.
Profile Image for astarion's darling (wingspan matters).
851 reviews3,820 followers
Read
February 21, 2023
i'm so disappointed. so so so sooooooooooo disappointed. and sad.
jennie was a real pain in the ass who couldn't stop slut-shaming other women. i loved what i saw of her in the previous novel, and absolutely hate what became of her in this one.
garrett was a total angel and definitely too good for jennie, but i'm not interested nor patient enough to keep reading to see if things get better.
too bad this eventually went south so soon, because when i read consider me, i was really hoping the second book would be about them and couldn't wait to read it.



DNFing this at 30%
Profile Image for Aviva’s Library.
282 reviews3,663 followers
November 14, 2022
3.75 ⭐️

This is one of those books where you just get to hang out with the characters for a very long time… so if you like and connect with them, then you’re good - and since I loved both Jennie and Garrett… I had a good time reading this.

I really loved watching the progression of how they slowly built up their friendship and became each other’s person - I personally love getting to read about all of the small moments that build up a relationship… and Becka Mack does that so well! She puts in funny moments, serious moments, mundane moments… it’s like an overload of interactions… which did lead to the book being longer than it needed to be… but like I said, if you enjoy hanging out with the characters… then it just is what it is.

The thing is… I’ve realized over time that the whole friends with benefits thing isn’t my favorite type of story to read about - mostly because it always has this one trajectory and therefore it’s become too predictable for me — then add on the forbiddenness/secretiveness because of an overbearing brother… and I can lay out the entire story for you without even reading it… and that was definitely the case with this book - buttttt I still enjoyed it for what it was and think that it was done very well - so if you like that type of storyline, then this is a top tier version of that and I would definitely recommend giving it a shot.

I also really enjoyed how much we got to see of Carter and Ollie (previous book couple). I love them so much and this book just made me love them more. And while I’m on the subject of book one… I think I enjoyed it more because it was pushing for a relationship vs this one was a little more sexually driven which ended up with them naturally turning into best friends and therefore falling for each other… and there’s nothing at all wrong with that sort of setup… but as a personal preference, the general plotline of book one worked better for me than this one did.
Profile Image for Rebecca (life's chaotic catching up).
388 reviews990 followers
November 8, 2022
2.5 stars. I loved the first book, it had its issues, but I loved it just the same unfortunately this book missed the mark for me.

First of all, it's too long! It's so repetitive I had to do major skimming just to get through it. But the first one was also too long but I still loved bc I loved the characters, this one not so much.

The FMC was just not it for me, she couldn't decide what her personality was, she was sassy, strong, scary, but then shy, insecure, toddler level emotional IQ. A huge plot point was her feeling like she was living in her brother's shadow, but it was so juvenile! I just could not care about her she grated on my last nerve.

Garret was ok not as endearing as Carter but fine, I guess. I also think that this book went way to heavy on the contemporary references, the TikTok jokes were so cringe!!! And there are so many scenes where characters are talking with their mouths full! That's maybe funny once but definitely not multiple times.

I hung in there bc I love Carter and Olivia and I'm an Adam fan and I really want to read his book, I also love the chosen family dynamic and the scenes that they are all together were the best for me. I also really like the new hockey guy she introduced but hopefully we will get some more mature characters that have some emotional IQ .
Profile Image for Koko Casey.
209 reviews358 followers
August 14, 2023
REREAD: 1-8 ‘Aukake 2013
Reread as an audiobook and still absolutely LOVED!!! Definitely my favorite of the series so far. Love Garrett and Jennie to the ends of the earth. 💛

———

5⭐️s are not enough. I deem this book, TEN STARS. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I love this book with my whole heart. 💙

Garrett? On the top 5 book boyfriends list. Jennie? One of my favorite FMCs of all time. Garrett & Jennie? Absolute SOUL MATES.

I loved Consider Me, but Play With Me takes the cake. Consider Me was a light, fluffy, cute read that just made my heart extremely happy. Play With Me was all that with just a sprinkle of seriousness that made me fall so hard for these characters.

I love everything about this book. The reverse grumpy x sunshine, the brother's best friend, the fwbs turned more, friends-to-lovers, the found family, EVERY THING. This book was hilarious and SPICY🌶, but also heartwarming and just so incredibly beautiful. Garrett and Jennie were so undeniably made for each other. Their connection made me literally CRY from how beautiful it was. No joke. LITERAL F*CKING TEARS CAME DOWN MY FACE. I love them so much.

HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!! I will know no peace til the next book comes out.
Profile Image for Destiney Bomberry.
264 reviews1,418 followers
December 31, 2023
Hands down my favourite hockey romance , this was sooo good!!!!
Forgot to review this one as well, I’m awful
Profile Image for Ala.
32 reviews16 followers
October 4, 2022
Fuck this shit i just wanted a cute romance then this fucking asshole takes his neighbor home after being with the heroine (not intimately) even though he knows he likes her and has the hots for her
After all the bullshit stuff i red about how he’s golden retriever and cute and bullllshit .
I mean is this shit necessary it’s the first fucking chapter give me a break wtf is this like it adds nothing nothiiing to the story.
Good luck making me believe this love shorty.
There goes another book i was excited to read thanks authors thanksssss alot.

Oooo wait i just fucking discovered that the girl the hero and the heroine are all neighbors!! Yeppy yeyyy what a nice family.
Profile Image for isy | roth's wife.
227 reviews459 followers
June 22, 2023
Okay so this book.
I have mixed feelings.

On one hand I really liked it. I LOVEDDDD Gare-Bear and his shy, awkward side was AMAZING. I loved the friendships and overall found family sort of vibe. I loved the dynamic and fluff.
Also LOVED ALL THE CARTEROLLIE MOMENTS. They are such cuties.

One the other hand.... there were a few things I did NOT like. Jennie being one of them. She just really was not the FMC for me which is completely fine. No one is going to love every character, but when you dislike one of the main ones, it's hard for the book to be perfect. She had a lot of insecurities which I got but omfg, one chapter she'd be over it and the next she wouldn't. Like girl how many times do you have to be told him loving you has nothing to with Carter. And the girls aren't only your friends because of him. I just obviously got annoyed.
There were also times when I felt Jennie should have been the one to go and apologize or just go to Garrett rather then him to her. I felt like he just sort of overcompensated for some things.

Overall I enjoyed the story just not Jennie 🤣

Oh and when are we getting a Hank death trope?? I do not like that old ass man either.
Profile Image for elisha.
83 reviews44 followers
June 27, 2023
OMGGG this was so much worse than the first book. 😭😭😭
Profile Image for alyssa napolitano.
39 reviews140 followers
January 11, 2023
i didn’t think it was possible for this one to be even better than the first but WOW :,) need adam’s book like immediately
Profile Image for sil ♡ the book voyagers.
1,194 reviews2,955 followers
December 9, 2023
*ੈ♡⸝⸝🪐༘⋆ Becka Mack continues to craft amazing, swoony love stories that I can't help but love. Play With Me is charming, funny, heart-warming, and wholesome down to its core.

This book follows Jennie and Garrett who we've met in the previous book. Jennie is Carter's little sister while Garrett is a hockey player from Carter's team. Garrett has always had a crush on Jennie and whenever he comes close to her, he gets a little bit shy and nervous. It's so endearing and cute to see him try to find words, because he's so infatuated with her. But knowing that Carter is her brother, and his teammate, he knows that nothing can happen between them. Still, it doesn't stop them from starting a friends with benefits relationship, no-strings attached.

I absolutely adored this book. ADORED. Out of the two books I've read in this series, this is definitely my favorite. Garrett is so caring, sweet, but also really *fans myself* hot. MY GOD! He's the "shy on the streets, sexy between the sheets" type of guy. While Jennie is very confident and sassy 24/7, but when it comes to bed activities, she's very shy about it. We have two opposites that make so much sense when they're together and it's so BEAUTIFUL to see their relationship develop.

But before they get together, they start this friends with benefits relationship where they think they won't get attached. Soon though, they form a friendship like no other. They actually become best friends (they say it all the time!!!) and my heart couldn't withstand it. I mean, I was swooning every page of this book. Whenever they felt lonely or wanted someone to be there for them, they gravitated towards each other. The forced proximity trope of them living in the same apartment building definitely work on their favor because they literally spent all the time together when they weren't with their friends. It was so cute and adorable to see it happen.

Obviously you have the secret relationship trope because Jennie's brother doesn't want her to date, or rather, he is scared of someone hurting her so he's very intense of her not dating lmao. It's kinda annoying but because we met Carter in the last book, I feel like readers will not take it 100% seriously and can be confident that it won't be such a problem.

There are so many favorite scenes and moments in this book. I've highlighted every single chapter, I'm sure. The friendships in this novel are iconic and so very heart-warming. I love seeing them just hanging out together and having a good time. Play With Me is a 450-500 pages book, but I feel like everything works inside the story. Every scene is important for us to believe the development of the relationship. Plus introduces characters that we might find in future books.
Profile Image for Elle (semi-hiatus).
98 reviews24 followers
January 19, 2023
2023 · · · 3/50


he learned the parent trap handshake for her and gave her all the back tickles. garret has my whole heart! gare-bear can gare-bear my children. OHMIGOD, and getting to see ollie girl and carter become parents was too much, eek! i’m dead. i will be unreachable until further notice. BYE! 🥰

surprise, not much plot. just mindless fun that i fucking live for. i’m so done, i can’t even write a review right now. i can’t talk about it! i’m not in my right mind, it hurts and i’m SO done! seriously though, becka mack what are you doing to me? what are you putting in these books? it’s absolute shit, but it’s also absolute gold. i’m such a slut! do men like this exist irl? if so, where?

P.S. ready for jaxon’s book. considering he’s a man slut (😛) i’m kinda hoping he gets paired with an innocent/inexperienced girl cause that’ll be interesting and i can already picture him being sweet as a pixie stick to her! 🤰🏼



quotes and then i’m fr done


“I’m gonna worship all of you tonight.”


“And nobody fucking touches you. Except me.”


“Fuck ’em. You don’t need them. You’ve got me. I like you.”


“You’ll dance for me?”
“I’ll do anything for you.”


“You’re my sunshine.”


“I’m not like them. I care about you, and when you’re hurting, I’m hurting. So whatever I need to do to show you that you can trust me, I’ll do it. I want you to feel safe with me, Jennie.”


“I’ll do whatever the fuck you want me to do, Jennie.”


“That’s a good fucking girl.”


“His laugh is my favorite.”


“Just looking at you. Sometimes I can’t believe you exist.”


“My best friend, my sunshine, and my whole heart.”
Profile Image for casey.
309 reviews103 followers
December 29, 2022
♾️ / 5

Say hello to one of my TOP reads this year 🤍

I went into this book thinking I was just going to get a fun & spicy hockey romance, but got a therapy session out of it on top of all that 🤠 But did I love every second of it? YES 🤩

Garrett is a pro hockey player, and Jennie is a dancer who’s also his captain’s little sister 👀 They’ve known each other for a while, but when she moves into his building, they get a friends w/ benefits arrangement out of it and find a connection that can’t be ignored 🫢

This book felt like a therapy session for me because of Jennie’s character. I was literally sobbing because of how much I related to her and what she struggles with 😀 Jennie is a bold & loving girl w/ a sensitive side. While she’s surrounded by people that love her, she can’t help but wonder if others truly care to know about who she is, especially because of her famous brother. Enter Garrett, the hottest cinnamon roll of a man that proves her wrong… 💙

Garrett was seriously perfect from start to finish and is easily a new book husband 😫 He is truly for the ‘words of affirmation’ girlies with the actions to back it up, and I will accept no arguments 🫡 The way he loves and cares for Jennie is seriously unmatched, and I kept wanting to pull him out of the book so that he could be mine, but alas 🥲 And of course, he dances with Jennie + calls her ‘sunshine’ so… HE IS PERFECTION 😭

Overall, this book went above and beyond the typical sports romance for me. Garrett & Jennie growing into each other’s best friends first was so heartwarming, and even the brother’s best friend element had way more depth and complexity than I expected. Moreover, the cameos + ongoing found family vibes in this series is truly everything 🥹 Becka Mack always delivers with hilarious books that have so much heart, and I’m so excited to read more from her 🫶 ADAM I’M READY FOR YOU ‼️
Profile Image for monica ✨ romantasyreader.
456 reviews678 followers
October 10, 2022
3.5✨

“I’m so fucking tired of pretending.”
“Pretending what?”
“I’m so fucking tired of pretending I’m not in love with you.”

Play With Me
is book 2 of the Vancouver hockey player series that follows Jennie, Carter’s younger sister, and Garett, Carter’s best friend.

This book, much like book 1, is entirely character driven with little to no plot. There’s some tension, but this book has way more angst than book 1. Garett is such a simp for Jennie, and I loved that. Jennie is prickly, sensitive, and strong. I really love the two of them together but as a whole book, I have to say I’m a little underwhelmed.

With the lack of plot, I had such a hard time keeping my attention with the book. It dragged and dragged and there wasn’t much of a climax. Honestly, my favorite parts were the Carter and Ollie cameos.

I’d still recommend this series and I cannot WAIT for Adam’s book. But I definitely didn’t love this one as much as the first one.
Profile Image for Laurens.Little.Library.
409 reviews3,509 followers
May 16, 2023
10% is VERY early for me to DNF. (I typically DNF around the 50-60% mark if I bail on a book.)

Let that speak to how disappointing this was and how the prospect of continuing on with this BEAST of a romance novel was an absolute 'fuck no' for me.

I have zero patience for adult characters who act like 15-year-olds. Unless that is the point and specific to one single character.

But nooooooooo. The FMC, MMC, and whole damn cast behave like early teenagers.


Hard pass.
Profile Image for Holly.
164 reviews763 followers
September 16, 2023
Oh. My. God. This book was so damn good!!

First of all, Brothers Best Friend/Teammate!!!! I’m SCREAMING! But not only that, opposites attract AND FORCED PROXIMITY!!!

This book was delicious and I ate it up!! Jennie and Garrett were everything I needed! And the whole box incident (iykyk)!!! I was literally CRACKING UP!

The Playing For Keeps series is swiftly becoming one of my all time favourites and I cannot wait to continue it!
Profile Image for ikram.
225 reviews429 followers
November 1, 2022
this was really cute but so unnecessarily long. don’t get me wrong, garrett & jennie had great chemistry but was it worth dragging the story on for 600+ pages? absolutely ✨not✨ (also those CONSTANT tiktok references made me lose my mind like is this what literature has come to?? is this who we are as a society?? becka babe ily but i swear if you pull these stunts in adam’s book i’ll be suing for emotional distress)

speaking of adam i need his book the same way i need oxygen like it’s that serious to me (he’s gonna save this series i can feel it 😁)
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