Wednesday, April 16, 2014

[Kame's Review]: "Playing It Close"

Playing It Close by Kat Latham
Publisher: Carina Press (April 14, 2014) 
Series: London Legends, 2
Genre: Contemporary Romance



Where do you go to escape everything when you're one of the most famous rugby players in the world? For Liam Callaghan, that place is a remote lodge on Venezuela's Caribbean coast. Perfect, except he doesn't exactly want to be alone with his thoughts. Enter Tess Chambers, the ultimate distraction.

Still reeling from a professional disaster that's made her all but unemployable, Tess understands the desire to move through life as somebody else. So when instantly recognizable Liam uses a fake name, she runs with it and creates a temporary new identity of her own.

Their time spent together in paradise is idyllic but brief—after one passionate night, Liam wakes up to find Tess gone. Returning to London, he's shocked to learn she's taken a job with his team's new sponsor. As the Legends' captain, he'll have to not only figure out how to work with the one woman who ever left him wanting more, but also convince her that their feelings in the present mean more than any lies they've told in the past.


Where to Buy*:
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Reviews of Latham's Previous Books:

Knowing the Score (#1) -- Kame


Kame's Review:




Tess Chambers needed to get away; she had been tabloid fodder in London for a number of weeks now and all she wanted to do was just be someone else and to try a few new daring things. She has a habit of making rash decisions, which explains the pink hair she is now sporting, but her courage is not strong enough to follow through with her plan to skinny dip in the ocean. Too bad she didn’t reconsider soon enough to bring a towel to the beach, which left her looking like a candidate in a wet t-shirt contest. She thought she made it through that bad decision unscathed when the rugby player who stars in her fantasies pushed his way through the elevator doors, Liam Callaghan. Tess will just be quiet in the corner of the elevator for the short ride and not be noticed – that was her plan; well until the elevator jerked to a stop between floors.


I just loved how these characters met. Two people who need to break from the chaos of their lives meet in an exotic location. The anonymity of it allows them to be their true selves.   I felt a connection with Liam while I read the first London Legends book and I was excited to read about him finding love. He is so broken after his mother’s death and needed a place to just be with himself without the constant push from others. Something I could entirely relate to. It seems this life event has also caused him to re-evaluate his life. He has seen his best friend find love and a greater purpose in life. Rugby is his focus and the women in his life understood their place. I enjoyed the changes in Liam as Tess becomes more important to him. Tess has many layers as a character and a few of the influences to her personality aren’t revealed until towards the end and it makes it all clear, and made my heart tear open for her. It reminded me that there are things we can see and can’t see that shape a person.  I could so understand her fears.


Kat Latham is becoming a favorite author of mine because of her plots. They aren’t cookie cutter and actually they aren’t flavors I have even had before. She makes her characters real. Liam has real grief and regrets over his mother’s death and they aren’t all just pushed away in one steamy love scene that makes him better. Tess has issues people can’t see and is terrified her big mouth will hurt those she loves. We get to see a glimpse of Spencer and Caityln from Knowing The Score, by seeing a few shared scenes from Liam’s perspective. I have yet to watch a rugby match but I was not lost, even though this book has more rugby scenes than the first. Many new characters were introduced. There are a few characters that intrigue me and I would love to read more about them. This was a romance book, but so much more than just a bunch of steamy interludes with some dialog to hold it together. It is a very well-crafted story that allows us to look into the lives of people who may remind you of friends you have in your life; they have happy times, sad times and they make mistakes, they aren’t perfect and at the end you can really believe they have found an HEA.



I am pleased a rugby team carries a lot of players because that means there are plenty of books in Kat Latham’s London Legend’s series to come – and I plan on reading each one of them.



4 1/2 STARS! 

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Kame received an e-ARC of this book from the author in exchange for her honest opinion.

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Thanks for the review, Kame! :) I still have book 1 on my list; I'll have to bump it up, since you've enjoyed this series so much! 

Do you enjoy sports romances? Do you have a favorite sport to read about?





Enjoy!


Until Next Time,


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5 comments :

Pat Egan Fordyce said...

Wow Kame, thanks for the great review, haven't read about Rugby players before! Time to start!

Donna Farrer said...

I have always thought Rugby was awesome, those guys are tremendous athletes! So to read about them might work! ;) I have been reading a great series by Roberta Grimes called Letters From Love, I love them. But I need to read a book in between hers to break it up a bit. This one might do just fine! robertagrimes.com is her site, a great series worth a look!

Lover Of Romance said...

I do love it when authors do something different that you dont expect. Great review Kame. I am starting this book today, so I am super excited especially after reading your review. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this one.

Red Iza said...

I like it when a book differs from the usual stuff, when you know what's going to happen because you've reached a certain % !

Judy-ree said...

I read the first book in the series and really liked it. I was thrilled to see on Netgalley and have it next on my reading list.