Playing the Game

by Lisa B. Kamps

Oh My Good God!!! How have I never read anything by this author before, I am ashamed of myself!

I could kick myself, honestly because while I am an absolute sucker for a sports story, even I would describe myself as a complete wh**re when it comes to books about hockey players, so this was off to a good start just by the front cover, a couple of pages in and I was besotted.

The story was fabulous. The real Harland Day was so much more than he let anyone see, he kept his secrets firmly locked away and had become a master of living a life that wasn’t so much a lie, more a glossy picture of what he thought other wanted to see and hear from him.

But the issues he had buried from his past were influencing the one thing that he had hoped would remain untouched by what happened before he left home…they were taking their toll on his game and it was safe to say that his game was tanking! Easily riled and angry, his angst didn’t just lead to his attitude it fed it, it also powered a level of self-doubt that at times had an almost crippling effect on him and his game.

Eventually he ends up back where he started, having been shunted not only back to the minor leagues but also to his home town…d*mn! Facing the unfinished business that he left behind is now no longer a perhaps or a what if, nope now he had no choice but then again, he didn’t know the whole story either!

Courtney Williams lived a simple but busy life, work kept her on her toes but it’s her home life that absorbs her and she wouldn’t have it any other way but when she comes face to face with the guy she never thought she would have to see again, life was about to become a lot more complicated.

Harland broke her heart when he left but she wasn’t alone, he smashed his own at the same time and neither of them have recovered, could they find a way to solve that together?

It wasn’t pretty, nothing about the situation was nice, there was hurt on both sides and accusations that neither of them could deny, while Harland has been stupid and harsh, Courtney had been duplicitous and the situation now was far from stable, they were both willing to wield the pain they felt like a weapon almost.

But when the dust settled and they both took a second to just look at the bigger picture, it was blatant that they had to resolve the situation and they had to do it fast. I just didn’t know whether or not they could find a way to do that and for them all to come out of it unscathed!

Emotionally this was beautiful and the author was cleverly creative with the release of even the most minute of details. Every twist and turn was pitched perfectly and some of them caught me completely by surprise.

Did I cry…well that would be a yes.

Did I Swear…well that too would be a yes.

Did I skip pages…not a chance, the book, the story and the characters were too good!!!