{Book Review} Play (Stage Dive, #2) by Kylie Scott

From Goodreads

Kylie Scott returns with the highly anticipated follow-up to international bestseller Lick.

Mal Ericson, drummer for the world famous rock band Stage Dive, needs to clean up his image fast-at least for a little while. Having a good girl on his arm should do the job just fine. Mal doesn't plan on this temporary fix becoming permanent, but he didn't count on finding the one right girl. 

Anne Rollins never thought she'd ever meet the rock god who plastered her teenage bedroom walls-especially not under these circumstances. Anne has money problems. Big ones. But being paid to play the pretend girlfriend to a wild life-of-the-party drummer couldn't end well. No matter how hot he is. Or could it?

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My Review

3 "It's Like Junk Food!" Stars

Anne Rollins returns home after a long work day to find her roommate gone and her apartment half empty. With rent due soon and not enough money to cover both her own half and her long-gone roomie, Anne is feeling pretty grim. With the coaxing of well connected her friend, Anne decides to put off sulking for one night and head to a raucous party for the popular rock band, Stage Dive. 

There she meets her teenage wet dream: Stage Dive's drummer, Mal Ericson. The cocky, charismatic and slightly manic bad boy is instantly smitten with Anne. Anne, as you can imagine, is starstruck. 

After speaking together, the two quickly strike up a deal: move in together, and start up a fake relationship in the name of good PR. With Mal wanting to straightening his image up, and Anne strapped for cash, it seems like a win-win. 

Of course, things can never be that simple. As they get to know each other better, secrets crop up and feelings begin to creep in. A whirlwind romance with your teenage fantasy... what could go wrong?

I've been in a major rockstar/music industry kick the past few days (why, I don't know; it's not usually my thing!), and after scouring my Goodreads TBR for something to fulfill that craving, I settled on Play. Admittedly, the cover is what sold me on it. ;) I have a thing tattoos and muscles. Who doesn't?

It was far from a perfect book, but I enjoyed it! Sometimes you just want a book where everything is straightforward, funny, and fast paced. Literary junk food is the best way to describe it. I breezed through Play, and while I shook my head at the characters more often than not, it was a very satisfying read.

First, the not so great:

- Mal. I'm really not sure what the intent was with his character, but half the time he came across as a complete idiot, and the rest of the time he seemed like an oblivious ass. His brand of humor was so egotistical. 24/7, around the clock self flattery. Sometimes it was funny, and a well few well placed doses of some of his banter could've made the book, but it was so extreme it bordered on aggravating. 

- Anne was a complete doormat. She was quintessential people-pleaser: falling over herself in order to make others more comfortable, making herself miserable so others can be happy, and all that jazz. The chick couldn't say no, and had zero backbone.She didn't even protest when Mal moved himself into her apartment without her consent, or any of the countless other times people walked all over her.

- Anne has some parental issues that didn't add much to the story and never really went anywhere. It felt like her problems were there solely because you can't have a stable family in the fictional world, because everyone loves drama.

- A second love interest that isn't a big enough play to make it a love triangle, but is prominent enough to be annoying. Enough said. 

- It needed some proof reading. I'm often forgiving of grammatical issues and typos as I read a good bit of self-published work, but these things were basic. Boy's when it should have been boys', a when there should be an an, and the like. 

We could deal with things alone. Of course we could. But it was so much better together. 

And the things I did enjoy!

- Despite my aforementioned issues with their individual characters, Mal and Anne had fantastic chemistry. Their romance is a bit (okay, a lot) insta-love, but it worked for them.

- Smokin' hot sex scenes, for all my fellow smut sluts.

- The side characters. This is book 2 in an interconnected series, and I was so intrigued by some of the other band members, especially the couple from book 1. I bought book 1 as soon as I finished this one! 

(They don't need to be read in order)

- A fast paced, absorbing storyline. This was a super quick read that I thoroughly enjoyed.

- I snorted with laugher on more than one occasion. Mal had some good banter going on with his bandmates, and even he and Anne had a few conversations that were hilarious.

- I'm not a rock star romance fan, but I loved the tone of the story. That's a winner in my book!

- Tattoos. 

- Mostly angst-free! 

"You're that good, huh?"

"Miss Rollins, you have no idea."

"You know, I honestly can't tell if your ego is repulsive or just impressive."

Overall, I'd recommend Play if you're looking for a fun, junk food read that you'll breeze right through. It was highly enjoyable, funny, sexy, romantic, and engaging. 3 stars!

"Whatever you're imagining, it's bigger."

"I'm not imagining anything."

"I'm serious, it's basically a monster. I cannot control it."

"Malcom..."

"You're pretty much going to need a whip and a chair to tame it, Anne."

"Stop it."

Stats:

Rating: 3 stars

Genre: New adult, contemporary romance

Series: Stage Dive, #2 (can be read as standalones)

POV: 1st person, single perspective

Warnings: Sex, swearing, very mild violence and drinking

Cliffhanger: No

HEA: Yes

On My Goodreads Shelves: 2015, Guilty Pleasures, Looking Forward to The Squeal, Fun and Easy Reads, Enjoyed

Length: 304 pages

Published: March 25th, 2014

My own copy

- The Bibliophile Babe