REVIEW: "Play" by Piper Lawson (Contemporary Romance)

Play by Piper Lawson
	Publisher: Piper Lawson Genre: Contemporary Romance Publication Date: September 14th 2016 (Affiliate links)
Other Books by Piper Lawson:
Description from Publisher:
I'm Payton Blake. A successful, balanced twenty-something girl living the dream. OK. So it's a big-ass lie. I could be all of those things. If I had friends outside of work. And if I didn't mainline watermelon slushies like they were a food group. It wouldn't hurt if I'd had sex in the last year, either. (My best friend insists Jorge the Nightstand Boyfriend doesn't count.) But when you know where you're headed, who needs to enjoy the ride? Even if part of me longed for a little between-the-sheets adventure, Max Donovan would be the last guy I'd call. Sure, he made the indie video game that broke the internet. His eyebrow piercing's sexy, in an 'are-you-in-a-band?' way, and fighting with him gets me off faster than Jorge on bezerker mode. But he's arrogant. Presumptuous. Colder than a cactus and twice as prickly. None of it changes the fact that I crave Max Donovan like a watermelon slushy on a hot summer day. I should ignore him. But I can't, because he just became my biggest client. And whether he'll admit it or not, he needs me even more than I need him. Game on, Max Donovan.
My Rating:	Heat Rating:
My Musings:
"You’re exactly who you’re supposed to be and I’m so glad I met you." Wow. I freaking loved this from the first page and was blown away every page after! Payton, our female protagonist, works at a bank and has to deal with the "boys club" that is prevalent in that industry. She is quirky and confident, and had a vulnerability that made me really like her. She is charismatic and funny, but starts to let her strength show through around the time that she meets Max. Max runs an up-and-coming video game studio and needs a loan to make his next game happen. When we meet him, he is snarky and cocky, though you know that there is a lot going on under the surface. The way their relationship developed was seriously a pleasure to read. The two of them together are funny and sweet and REAL. It was so much more than romance - they developed a wonderful friendship and such a fantastic connection! The depth of emotion, even in the beginning, was... *sigh* And they had ridiculous sizzling hot chemistry with the perfect amount of tension that drove you crazy until they acted on it! :) I also couldn't help but chuckle at some of the nerdiness and game innuendos (Level grinding... hahaha). I liked that there wasn't a lot of outside drama in this, despite some issues that crop up along the way. It was just enough to be very genuine feeling. And the happy endings weren't things all falling into place, but instead Payton and Max, separately and together, figuring things out. The writing was just fantastic as well. The descriptions vivid, the dialogue natural... I'm always a bit weary when reading about gamers or programmers in Romance, since too often things are oversimplified. As a nerd and the wife of a Game Designer, it just ticks me off when not enough research is done. So I was overjoyed to read this and definitely got a sense that Piper did her homework! The descriptions of the Games industry and the tech speak were practically spot-on, with very few artistic liberties taken, especially in regards to very small studios. The secondary characters were all fleshed out really well and made the world that much richer as a result. Charlie, Riley and Payton's mom, in particular, were wonderful supporting characters! This book gave me all the feels and really blew me away... I'm sad it's over!!
My Source: I received a digital ARC from the publisher to voluntarily review. This in no way influenced my review. My opinion is unbiased and my 100% own.

About the Author
Piper loves reading and writing stories about sassy, sexy, smart women and the guys who fall hard for them. Piper’s main household expenditures include books, shoes, and chocolate, not necessarily in that order. Coffee = life (and she’ll defend it accordingly, especially when cornered). Piper has two business degrees, neither of which she’s leveraged into a fashion label. Home is Canada plus occasional sunny winter escapes.