Blog Tour Review: Playing Defense

Posted 3rd October 2017 by Emma in Blog Tours, Reviews / 0 Comments

Playing Defense by Aven Ellis
Also by this author: Connectivity, Waiting For Prince Harry, Chronicles of a Lincoln Park Fashionista, Survivng the Rachel
Series: Dallas Demons #5
Also in this series: Waiting For Prince Harry, The Definition of Icing, Breakout, On Thin Ice
on 27th September 2017
Pages: 238
Goodreads
Amazon Kindle, Audible
One Star

After a string of bad set-ups and boring dates, Reese Brannon is done with men. She’s focused on her job as a fitness model and blogger. Her life in the city is fun. She’s young. There’s no need to look for a man because she doesn’t want one. Especially when relationships usually end in heartbreak.

Jean-Pierre Rochat—known as JP— is done with women. All this Swiss hockey player has ever wanted is to fall in love, but his relationships never end with a happily ever after. Believing he’s always going to be dealt the friend card, JP is over it. If he’s going to be stuck in the friend zone, he’ll keep things casual for his new endgame.

But will one hot Dallas summer night change everything for Reese and JP?

Because when the two meet again when JP returns for hockey season, Reese finds her attraction to him hasn’t waned since their first meeting. Charming and intelligent, JP is different in all the right ways, but Reese realizes letting him in will make her vulnerable, something that terrifies her. JP never forgot Reese from their initial introduction last winter, and the sparks fly for him even more so the second time. But with Reese, his thoughts are anything but casual . . .

Can JP and Reese let their guards down to take a chance on love? Or will this simply be a game of playing defense?

Thank you to Aven for my copy of the book and for letting me organise her blog tour. It is an honour that I can never repay. While this is the 5th book in the series they can all be read as standalones.

I have loved Aven’s writing ever since I read Connectivity back in 2013. This was Aven’s first book and while a lot has changed since then my love for Aven’s writing has not.

This book follows Reese as she falls for hot good boy JP. I loved Reese because she is so real. She has a love of food, especially Oreos, which I totally get. I plan my day around when I can eat next so any character that is a foodie is going to win my heart. I also connected with Reese with her blogging side. I understand the difficulties and the loneliness there is from blogging, which is one of the reasons I love to chat and meet with other bloggers where possible.

JP is sick of being the friend. He’s always the you’re a great friend and a good guy but he’s never the one. His whole life he’s just wanted to to fall in love but for him it has never happened.

I swear I say this every time but this was Aven’s best book yet. The opening chapter is absolute perfection. I just can’t praise it enough. As I read more and more of Aven’s books they get funnier and funnier. I honestly cannot wait for what Aven brings us next.

About Aven Ellis

I live in the Dallas area with my family. I enjoy clipping out recipes I will never get around to trying, working out, and chatting with friends on social media. I’m a hockey nut (Go Stars!) and watch as much as humanly possible. I also love shopping and fashion and admit to being obsessed with whatever the Duchess of Cambridge is wearing. In addition to be obsessed with the Duchess, I’m equally obsessed with any show or cookbook featuring Gordon Ramsay.