Southern Player by Jessica Peterson

Category: Contemporary Romance
Publication date: 02/26/2019
Kindle Unlimited: Yes
Cliffhanger: No

I went into this one with a bit of trepidation. The word “player” in the title gave me visions of dirty manwhores, and I HATE dirty manwhores. But I’m so glad I didn’t let my manwhore prejudice get in the way of giving this book a chance, because not only was Luke, the hero, NOT a manwhore, he was a yummy cinnamon roll of the highest order. (And he was UNBEARABLY hot and sexy and a dirty talker, so...yeah, he was pretty much my book boyfriend catnip.)

Plot overview:  Grace is fresh from a breakup and lamenting her lack of good sex. She enlists the help of her brother’s best friend to help her check items off her sexual bucket list. EXTREMELY sexy times ensue, as do plenty of emotional, mushy feels. It’s a brother’s-best-friend, opposites attract, friends-to-lovers romance. 

Luke. Oh, Luke. Let me count the ways in which I adore him:

1. That sexy Southern accent. I don’t usually find the word “ain’t” hot, but bless his heart, he made it work. 
2. Right from the start Luke was honest with Grace about what he wanted. He’s a smitten kitten, which I love. He was willing to help her check items off her sexual bucket list, but he also wanted a relationship. He never pretended any different to preserve his ego or pride. He talked about his feelings LIKE A REAL MAN. 
3. No commitment phobia. Yay, Luke!!  
4. He lost his baseball career due to an injury, but he wasn’t a sad sack about it. He didn’t mope and whine and lament everything he’d lost. He adapted, moved on, and made a new career for himself. He didn’t use what he’d lost as an excuse to drink himself into a stupor or whore around. He acted like a real-life grown-up. 
5. He has chest hair. I can’t stress this enough: REAL MEN HAVE CHEST HAIR. I’m sick of all the hairless chests in romance novels. In fact, I wish the model on the cover of the book had chest hair. 
6. He had a few moments of insecurity at the end that made him act like an idiot, but he overcame them and groveled for Grace’s forgiveness in epic fashion. There was a FANTASTIC grand gesture at the end. It might have been 1 of the top 10 grand romantic gestures I’ve ever seen in a romance novel. It was LEGEN--wait for it--DARY. 
7. This is a sweet, gentle-natured, supportive, emotionally mature hero who is a dirty talking dominant in bed, but he’s also willing to be submissive in bed if that’s what the heroine wants . It was beyond hot. He was all about what Grace wanted, and I’m not sure there’s anything sexier than that. (Other than a man cleaning the house, which doesn’t happen in romance novels that much. But Grace did at one point think that Luke’s house was clean, so I’m assuming he does indeed clean, too. He’s pretty much perfect in every way.)

via GIPHY

Grace was a good heroine, too. I don’t want to make it seem like she wasn’t. She was smart, and talented, and not afraid to go after what she wanted in life and in the bedroom, and I loved that about her. But when she’s standing next to Luke who practically glows with awesomeness, it’s harder to notice her. Sorry, Grace. 

So, long-story-short, you need to read this one. Luke is the ultimate book boyfriend, and if you’re looking for a super sexy, super sweet read, you won’t find many that are better than Southern Player. Happy reading! 

Does this book contribute to or help crush the romance stigma?
No rehab needed. This one is stigma-free

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