Review: Play My Game - Lara Adrian

New York Times bestselling author Lara Adrian returns to the sizzling, emotional world of the 100 Series with Play My Game, a contemporary romance between a tormented, brilliant painter and the beauty he is determined to have at any cost.

She stands out like a flame in the dark. Out of place in my orbit, she is a bright splash of color in an abyss of darkness. An innocent in a den of sin. And I, Jared Rush, am a master of corruption.

Like my paintings—dark, carnal images that have crowned me the king of the avant-garde art world while also making me a very rich man—I don’t flinch away from my baser instincts. And now, every one of those instincts is hungry for the fresh-faced beauty who made the mistake of wandering into my lair.

I don’t know her name yet, but that’s inconsequential. I know who she belongs to. And while she has nothing to do with the bad blood that’s been festering inside me for decades, I can’t help thinking about that old, unsettled score. I’m thinking about payback. And I already have a price in mind. One that begins with her.

When it comes to getting what I want, I always play to win. But in the end, will the cost of my vengeance be more than I can bear to lose?

While this novel is Book 5 in the 100 Series, featuring characters introduced in earlier books, PLAY MY GAME can be read as a complete standalone with a swoon-worthy HEA and no cliffhangers. 

100 Series:

For 100 Days
For 100 Nights
For 100 Reasons

100 Series Standalone Romances:
(These stories are set in the same world as the 100 Series but can be read completely separately with each book featuring a HEA for a different couple)
Run To You
Play My Game

Visit Lara Adrian's website for more information

Review:
I've been a huge fan of Lara Adrian's Midnight Breed series for years now but I also really love her contemporary romances and Play My Game was right up there with the best of them. We've met the mysterious and brooding artist Jared in previous instalments of the 100 series so I was already looking forward to his book, I'm not sure if we saw Melanie before but she is friends with Eve so does have a link too. As always it was fun spotting previous character cameos but Jared and Melanie rightly take centre stage for their story.

Melanie is actually pulled into Jared's circle when she finds out that her boyfriend has a gambling problem and has got himself in trouble. Jared offers to bail him out but only if Melanie agrees to pose for his latest painting. She has no idea that she's been caught up in a revenge plot that Jared has been planning for months though and her life is about to get extremely complicated. I was glad to see that the boyfriend became an ex the minute Melanie discovered how much he'd been lying to her so if you're worried about any potential cheating issues you can dive into this book without fear. I actually had a huge amount of respect for Melanie from the beginning, she knows her own value and she won't put up with anyone treating her badly which makes her easy to root for. I always love a heroine with a backbone!

Jared is dealing with some pretty big demons and has been using alcohol as a crutch but when he sees how much it upsets Melanie he realises that he needs to do something differently. The attraction between them was pretty instant but I liked that it took time to develop into a relationship. Even though Jared went into things with an agenda he realises pretty quickly that Melanie is important to him and this didn't end up being a story with a huge amount of drama. I don't know about anyone else but 2020 has been bringing more than enough stress into my life so I really appreciated being able to just relax and enjoy this story! If you enjoyed the previous books in this series then you're bound to love Play My Game too but it would work just as well for someone who is new to the series as there are only a few cameos to link it to previous books.

Source: Received from the author in exchange for an honest review

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

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Review: Run to You - Lara Adrian

He will do anything to protect her . . . even if it means breaking her heart.

Combat veteran Gabriel Noble survived the war overseas, but the stoic Baine International security specialist is in for the fight of his life when he's tasked with bodyguarding beautiful lingerie designer Evelyn Beckham.

RUN TO YOU is a sizzling, suspenseful new standalone contemporary romance set in Lara Adrian's bestselling 100 Series story world. Swoon-worthy HEA, and no cliffhangers!

Lara Adrian’s sizzling, suspenseful 100 Series continues with Run to You, a scorching new standalone contemporary bodyguard romance featuring friends of billionaire Dominic Baine and his artist fiancee Avery Ross.

Once a celebrated model, Evelyn Beckham dominated the fashion runways of New York, Paris, and Milan. But life under the lights nearly destroyed her, and at the height of her career she walked away from it all. Now, five years later, Eve’s built a new life at the helm of Manhattan’s premier high-end lingerie boutique, L’opale. Chosen to design the bridal ensemble for billionaire Dominic Baine’s fiancée, Avery Ross, it seems Eve’s stars have finally realigned—until her return to the spotlight thrusts her into the crosshairs of a danger that’s been watching from the shadows, waiting for the chance to strike.

Gabriel Noble didn’t go to war to become a hero, but when he returned from the battlefield in Afghanistan it was with a chest full of medals and a broken body filled with shrapnel. Losing his leg derailed more than Gabe’s career, and when no one else was willing to take a chance on him, Baine International put him on their security team. Now, Gabe would do anything for Dominic Baine—including keeping a covert, protective eye on beautiful Evelyn Beckham as a personal favor to his boss and friend. But keeping Eve safe means keeping her close, and soon the lines between duty and desire begin to blur into a consuming passion too powerful to be denied. With Eve’s life in escalating peril and her faith in him certain to shatter, Gabe will have to risk everything to protect her while facing the most intense fight of his life . . . the battle for Eve’s heart.

100 Series:
For 100 Days
For 100 Nights
For 100 Reasons

100 Series Standalone Romances:
(These stories are set in the same world as the 100 Series but can be read completely separately with each book featuring a HEA for a different couple)
Run To You
Play My Game

Visit Lara Adrian's website for more information

Review:
Run to You is the first standalone romance set in the same world as Lara Adrian's 100 Series. If you're familiar with the original trilogy you'll enjoy spotting familiar faces but if you're new to this world then you won't have any problems diving in here as the romance stars a brand new couple and gives them a full happily ever after. There's no worrying about possible cliffhanger endings but we may see this couple again as side characters in future stories.

Evelyn Beckham was an international superstar who modelled all around the world until the lifestyle nearly killed her. Since then she's kept out of the limelight and chosen to focus on building her business designing bespoke lingerie for wealthy clients at her boutique. When she is chosen to design wedding and honeymoon lingerie for Avery Ross she knows this could be a massive boost to her business but when more and more strange things start happening in the boutique it looks like she may be in danger from an unseen enemy.

Gabriel Nobel is a veteran who lost a leg serving in Afghanistan that now works as the head of Baine International's security team. Gabe considers Dominic Baine, and his right hand man Andrew Beckham, friends but also feels he owes them for taking a chance on him and giving him the job he loves. When they ask him to personally keep an eye on Andrew's sister Eve he will to whatever it takes to keep her safe, even if it means keeping secrets that he knows will break her heart.

I was really pleased when I found out Lara Adrian is writing more contemporary romances, as much as I'm addicted to her Midnight Breed world I also really enjoyed Avery and Nick's story and I'm looking forward to getting to know more of the side characters. This book introduces us to Andrew's sister Eve and Nick's head of security Gabe. I'm not sure if we met either of them in the original books but if we did I don't remember them so they definitely weren't major characters and I don't think anyone would have any trouble reading this if they're new to this world.

Eve and Gabe don't exactly hit it off on the right foot, they're both quite fiery personalities who manage to rub each other up completely the wrong way the first time they meet so although the attraction between them is pretty instant neither of them is very keen on acting on it. Eve because she's busy focusing on her career and Gabe because he doesn't want to break the bro-code by going after his friend's younger sister. They're pushed into closer proximity when it appears that Eve's life is in danger but Andrew insists on keeping Eve in the dark about the fact that she may have a stalker so Gabe is forced to hide the fact he's trying to protect her. I have to admit I didn't like the way Andrew did that but because the story is told from both Gabe and Eve's points of view we could see how difficult Gabe found it and that made it easier to forgive him for his actions.

The two characters have a brilliant connection, in a lot of ways they're completely different. They have very different lifestyles and histories but at the same time they're also looking for the same things in life and they suit each other really well. It doesn't hurt that they have fantastic chemistry but they also enjoy spending time together out of the bedroom so their relationship felt totally believable and realistic. My one complaint about the story was that I found it a little too easy to guess who the stalker was but since this is primarily a romance and not a murder mystery that's really a very small niggle. Apart from that I loved getting to catch up with some familiar faces while meeting a whole bunch of new ones, the romance was both sweet and hot and I absolutely flew through this story. I'm looking forward to more books set in this world and already have a whole list of side characters I'm hoping to read about!

Source: Received from the author in exchange for an honest review

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Paperback / Kindle:

Review: For 100 Reasons - Lara Adrian

Love takes no prisoners…

Billionaire Dominic Baine stepped into Avery Ross’s life when it was at its lowest. Obsessed with the beautiful, struggling artist, Nick was determined to have her. What began as a scorching seduction soon burned out of control, exploding into a white-hot passion neither of them could deny.

Yet Nick and Avery are two damaged people, both haunted by dark secrets with the power to destroy them. And for Nick, the ugly past that shaped him cannot compare to the unforgivable deception that drives Avery from his arms, from his life. Now the man accustomed to having everything he desires must find a way to redeem himself to the only woman he has ever loved.

Avery Ross has known heartbreak. She has known betrayal and loss, but nothing like the pain that loving Dominic Baine has brought into her life. Reeling from the aftermath of his devastating revelation, instead of allowing despair to break her, she builds herself into something stronger—the fearless woman and artist Nick’s passion has taught her to be. Yet her heart is in pieces, and despite everything she has, the one thing she needs is the man whose possessive desires and consuming love holds the power to either save them both or shatter her forever…

100 Series:
For 100 Days
For 100 Nights
For 100 Reasons

100 Series Standalone Romances:
(These stories are set in the same world as the 100 Series but can be read completely separately with each book featuring a HEA for a different couple)
Run To You

Play My Game

Visit Lara Adrian's website for more information

Review:
For 100 Reasons is the third book in Lara Adrian's erotic romance series and I'd definitely recommend reading these books in order! The story picks up about a year on from where things ended in For 100 Nights when Avery walked away from Nick in Paris after the revelations about the way he had manipulated her life. She's spent the last year focusing on her art and becoming a successful artist in her own right but she's never gotten over the way things ended with Nick, she hates what he did to her but there is a big part of her that misses him too. When they run into each other at a gallery event it's clear that the attraction between them still burns hot but can Avery learn to trust Nick again after everything he did to her?

I've really enjoyed this whole series so I'm kind of sad to say goodbye to Avery and Nick but I'm also very glad to see them finally figure things out and get their happily ever after. They've both made a lot of mistakes along the way and I appreciated the way they learned to forgive each other and both strove to be better in the future. They were willing to talk through their issues, although Nick still had a few things about his past that he wasn't quite ready to bring out into the open, and I loved that Avery stood up to Nick when he was too overbearing. She won't let any man walk all over her no matter how much she loves him and you have to respect her for that and the way she set ground rules before she considered giving Nick another chance. Nick realised the way he'd treated Avery was wrong and I think the fact that he'd stayed away because she asked him to showed a lot of growth of his character, the man she first met would have pursued her to the ends of the earth whether she wanted it or not but he's grown enough to realise that you can't treat people like a business deal and he learned to put Avery's happiness above his own.

Although this book wraps up Avery and Nick's story nicely I am wondering if we might get a story about Avery's friend Lita at some point, there were certainly hints at some interesting things going on between her and a certain rockstar turned CEO so I hope we get to see more of them. I'd quite like to find out more about artist Jared too! To be honest it doesn't matter what Lara Adrian writes next, she's a favourite author of mine and will always be on my auto-buy list.

Source: Received from the author in exchange for an honest review

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

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Review: For 100 Nights - Lara Adrian

Avery Ross is living a dream. After struggling all of her life to make ends meet, a chance meeting with a powerful, darkly handsome man has catapulted her into a dazzling new world of penthouse luxury, elegant parties, and a wild, consuming passion with her billionaire lover, Dominic Baine. Nothing is out of his reach in business or in pleasure, yet the only woman he wants is her. Nick sweeps her to sensual heights she has never dared explore, commanding her body the same way he commands her heart. Yet Avery knows the fantasy she’s living cannot last.

With dark secrets and a dangerous enemy haunting her past, Avery must find a way to trust Nick with the truth before it destroys everything they share. But Nick is harboring secrets of his own as well. And when they come to light, Avery will be forced to decide if the love she feels for Nick is strong enough to endure a betrayal she may never be able to forgive.

100 Series:
For 100 Days
For 100 Nights
For 100 Reasons

100 Series Standalone Romances:
(These stories are set in the same world as the 100 Series but can be read completely separately with each book featuring a HEA for a different couple)
Run To You

Play My Game

Visit Lara Adrian's website for more information

Review:
For 100 Nights is the second book in Lara Adrian's erotic romance trilogy and it follows on immediately from the first so I'd recommend reading the books in order. I'm going to write this review assuming you've already read the first book so if you haven't it's probably best not to read any further. However, if you're looking for a hot new contemporary romance along the lines of Sylvia Day's Crossfire series then you're not going to want to miss this series.

At the end of the last book we saw Avery agree to spend 100 nights with Nick, completely on his terms and with no more barriers between them. Although she has come clean with him about most of her past she's still hiding a very big secret, unfortunately for her someone from her past has figured out her secret and when they find out she's dating a billionaire they figure they'll be able to make a fortune blackmailing her. Avery desperately wants to handle the situation on her own and I can understand why she doesn't want her past to impact Nick's life but I did get a bit frustrated that she kept things hidden from him for so long after everything they'd already been through.

It's hard to be honest with someone when you know they're hiding things from you though and Nick obviously has things from his past that he's just not willing to talk about. He's also not very open when it comes to talking about his feelings for her or where their relationship is going. Nick is brilliant at action - he's romantic, he puts her above his work, he treats her like she's precious and their sex life is phenomenal - but he's never told her that he loves her and Avery is hurt by the walls he keeps up between them emotionally. We do get to dig a bit deeper into Nick's past here but it's obvious he's not shared everything yet so I'm looking forward to learning more in the final book.

For 100 Nights is an incredibly hot read, Avery and Nick spend a lot of time screwing each other's brains out but I also enjoyed the more romantic side of their relationship and seeing them learning to trust each other more and starting to share their secrets. I will warn you that this book ends on a cliffhanger but I didn't actually find it was a bad one. The final book will definitely jump straight to the top of my to read pile as soon as it's released but I don't feel annoyed that I've only been given half a story like I sometimes do with cliffhangers!

Source: Received from the author in exchange for an honest review

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Paperback / Kindle:

Review: For 100 Days - Lara Adrian (+ Giveaway)

Pleasure has a price . . .

Just when everything in my life is falling apart, I find a chance to turn it around--to step into someone else's glittering world, if only for a little while. I become someone new, no longer the woman defined by an ugly past, but a woman freer and bolder than myself. A woman who isn't afraid to explore every passion, even at its darkest, with a mysterious and seductive man who believes my mask is real.

Handsome and commanding, enigmatic and irresistible, billionaire Dominic Baine is an obsession I cannot afford and should not risk. He ushers me into consuming new pleasures and addicting new desires, until the line between my real life and the fantasy one I've stolen with him begins to blur.

I know I cannot keep my truth from him. I know my past will not stay buried forever. But before I can make it right, everything comes crashing down. I have deceived this powerful, dangerous man . . . and now there is a price to be paid.

100 Series:
For 100 Days
For 100 Nights
For 100 Reasons

100 Series Standalone Romances:
(These stories are set in the same world as the 100 Series but can be read completely separately with each book featuring a HEA for a different couple)
Run To You

Play My Game

Visit Lara Adrian's website for more information

Review:
I'm a massive fan of Lara Adrian's Midnight Breed series (I love it so much that I even have a Breedmate tattoo!) and she's one of my favourite authors so of course I'm going to want to read anything new she comes out with. For 100 Days is the start of a brand new trilogy and it's a big departure from her paranormal or historical romances but don't let that put you off because it's still a wonderful story. The heat levels have been ramped all the way up and I think this might just be Lara's sexiest book yet!

Avery is a struggling artist who works six days a week as a bartender to make ends meet. Her life is going from bad to worse though - she's about to be evicted from her apartment because she can't afford a rent increase and her paintings have just been pulled from a prestigious gallery after the owner decided they weren't good enough. Things start to look up when she is offered the chance of housesitting for one of her customers and she suddenly finds herself living in an upscale apartment and crossing paths with gorgeous billionaire Nick. Avery knows that she can never risk a serious relationship, she has far too many secrets for that, but she can't resist the pull Nick has on her and they end up embarking on a passionate affair.

I really loved Avery's character, she's just a normal girl who is struggling to make her way in life and she's the kind of woman you can imagine being friends with. She obviously has major secrets but we're kept in the dark about a lot of the details until towards the end of the book, there are enough hints for us to make some informed guesses though and we can definitely see the affect her past has had on her. She finds it very hard to trust people and let them in and apart from one close friend from work she pretty much keeps to herself. She also has such a tight hold on her emotions that it's affecting her artwork and I think we're going to get the chance to see her really learn to open up in all kinds of ways as the series continues.

Nick is still quite a mystery, Avery isn't the only one who has secrets but because the story is told from her point of view we have very little insight into what's going on in Nick's head. In a lot of ways he's a typical billionaire, he enjoys the high life and has all the best things that money can buy, but at the same time he's not quite as work obsessed as some of the fictional billionaires I've come across. He seems to have a pretty good work/life balance and he's happy to put Avery's needs first which is something I liked about him. I loved the way he seems to see through Avery's tough outer shell and sense that she's quite vulnerable inside and I especially liked the way he handled things at the end when some of her secrets start to come out into the open.

If I have one complaint it was that I didn't like the way Avery told Nick so many lies about herself, I can completely understand her keeping her big secrets but she was less than honest about a lot of little things too. I could get why she didn't correct his assumptions when she just thought it was going to be a one night stand but didn't think she needed to carry on lying about things like her job when it started to get more serious between them. She did come clean in the end but I'm hoping she'll have learned her lesson there and be more honest with him in the future, especially after the way things ended!

For 100 Days is an incredibly hot read, Avery and Nick have off the charts chemistry and I loved that Nick was so alpha and in control without being overly possessive and jealous. They're a fantastic couple and there is actually surprisingly little drama between them which made a refreshing change. The conflict so far has come from outside sources and it looks like things are about to step up a gear so I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of For 100 Nights and see what happens next.

Source: Received from publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Paperback / Kindle:

In case you missed it earlier this week I posted an extract from For 100 Days that you can read HERE.

You can also still enter the blog tour giveaway below:

Giveaway:

To celebrate the release of For 100 Days Lara Adrian is giving fans a chance to win a signed copy as well as a stainless steel Midnight Breed tumbler. You can enter the giveaway using the rafflecopter form below, the winner will be announced via the widget and contacted directly by Lara or her assitant to arrange sending out the prize.

a Rafflecopter giveaway