Playing House by Amy Andrews

Eleanor is content with her boring life—mostly. She’s even fine being the quirky sister in a bevy of beauties. So imagine her surprise when one of her brother’s Sydney Smoke mates hits on her at an engagement party. Her. The weird sister, who wears vintage dresses and prefers her books to parties.

Bodie is shocked the next morning to find the soft, sexy virgin who seduced him with corsets is his best friend’s little sister. If he could kick his own ass, he would. And two months later, she’s got an even bigger surprise for him. Now he needs to convince the corset-loving wallflower that he loves her uniqueness if they’ve got a chance at forever.

Series: Sydney Smoke Rugby #5 | Publisher: Entangled: Brazen | Release Date: February 12, 2018| Genre: Contemporary Romance | Source: Publisher | Rating: 3.5

Challenges Read For: All About the Trope (forced proximity)  Literary Pickers  - Dust/Cobwebs

 

She’s a wallflower with a love for all things Victorian and a penchant for wearing pantaloons. He’s a hotshot rugby player who’s been getting over his ex by going through a revolving door of women. How can things not get interesting when the two get together?

 

Here’s what’s going on. All Eleanor wants to do at her brother’s engagement party is blend into the background until Bodie strikes up a conversation with her and she realizes she’s finally found the one to lose her virginity to. Bodie can’t seem to get enough of Eleanor, even after he learns she’s his best friend’s little sister. And now that there’s a consequence of their night together, he realized he can use this as his chance to get to know the woman he can’t get out of his mind.

 

I loved Eleanor and Bodie. They were a bit like chalk and cheese but they were so good together, which is why I read this book in one sitting. Seriously, it was a put a do not disturb sign on the door, don’t answer the phone, let the hot tea go cold, can’t put it down type of book.

 

I really enjoyed Eleanor. She walks to the beat of her own drum and I admire that—I also admire anyone who can sew a corset without losing their mind and wear them daily without fainting. She’s lived her life on a cattle station (Australian ranch) with Jane Austen as her guide and a stack of Victorian romances that’s served as her personal dating guide. It took her a bit of time to find her footing and come out of her shell and I was really rooting for her to figure out how to balance the wallflower with the more outgoing person she was becoming.

 

Bodie’s been playing the field of a bit—he was hurt and figured a string of women was the best way to save himself from going down the same path and getting involved with someone who only wanted him for his celebrity and trust fund. So, when he meets Eleanor and she starts chattering away about Victorian hypnotist, he’s enthralled. He’s also just an all-around good bloke. He caring, considerate, and feels guilty that’s he’s sleeping with his best friend’s sister but he doesn’t want to give her. And when he learns about the consequences their one night together, he goes with the flow rather than having a meltdown.

 

The romance started as insta-lust then evened out but even at the beginning they had such great chemistry and it continued to grow. Neither was sure what to expect and they had a bit of figuring out to do.

 

While I loved the majority of the book, the last few chapters just seemed off, which thoroughly disappointed me. Given the foreshadowing, I figured what was going to happen but the fallout just seemed out of place and a bit like drama for drama’s sake. And I don’t understand why the blame was placed on Bodie and why he felt like he had to make amends.

 

So, this one was a sports romance and I wasn’t sure what to expect—they can go either way for me—but, thankfully, this one was centered around a sport I watch so I actually knew what was going on and I didn’t feel like I was out in left field. Of course, the romance was center stage, but I felt this offered a nice balance between the sport and the romance. This one made me realize I need to read more rugby romances.

 

Overall, while the last few chapters weren’t my favorite, I did enjoy this one. It was fresh and unique and I’m interested in reading the previous books in this series.

 

Sydney Smoke Rugby series

Playing By Her Rules

Playing It Cool

Playing the Player

Playing With Forever

Playing House