Today, I have the tour for the novella, Play With Me by Piper Shelly, hosted by Xpresso Book tours, on the blog. Check out my review and enter the giveaway!
To follow the rest of the tour, click on the tour banner above.
To follow the rest of the tour, click on the tour banner above.
Play With
Me
(Grover Beach
Author: Piper Shelly
Publication Date: December 8, 2013
Genre: Young Adult
Source: Author & Xpresso Book Tours
~Synopsis~
Ryan
Hunter's parties are legend. And tonight she's going to be there.
Liza Matthews anticipates the return of her best friend and only love since kindergarten from soccer camp. But when Tony finally shows up, his mind is more focused on another girl. And worse, she's a soccer player. Fighting for the attention Liza craves, she's just a hairbreadth away from making a very stupid decision. But when extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures, she's prepared to play ball to get her man.
The tryouts are hell, the first match ends bloody, and the morning after the selection party she wakes up in the worst place possible—in the arms of the captain of the soccer team. The hottest guy in school. Ryan Hunter.
Liza Matthews anticipates the return of her best friend and only love since kindergarten from soccer camp. But when Tony finally shows up, his mind is more focused on another girl. And worse, she's a soccer player. Fighting for the attention Liza craves, she's just a hairbreadth away from making a very stupid decision. But when extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures, she's prepared to play ball to get her man.
The tryouts are hell, the first match ends bloody, and the morning after the selection party she wakes up in the worst place possible—in the arms of the captain of the soccer team. The hottest guy in school. Ryan Hunter.
~Review~
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Novellas
can be hit or miss with me, especially when they are a stand alone and not a
spin off of a larger novel. However, Piper Shelly did an amazing job with Play
With Me and I was so impressed by the depth of the characters and the plot for
such a short story. I felt like I really connected with Liza and got a good
sense of who she was as a character. I adored her and thought she was funny,
witty and determined. I worried that she might be a bit awkward and shy,
especially since she has had a crush on her best friend from childhood, Tony,
for like ever but never did anything about it. She really impressed me with her
charm and spirit. Ryan is a gorgeous, popular guy and she is not at all
intimidated by him. I was cracking up at some of their interactions and I
really liked the way she opened her eyes and looked beyond Tony to see someone
else. She definitely battled some internal turmoil over her feelings for Ryan
since she has only ever loved and had eyes for Tony.
I
liked both Tony and Ryan but I felt like Tony took his friendship with Liza for
granted. It's like they say, "You don't know what you have until it's
gone." He was a typical 17 year old boy, thinking with the wrong head, and
he started dating Cloey and kept it from Liza. Cloey was a real bitch to Liza
and the fact that Tony didn't stand up for her rubbed me the wrong way. My
heart broke for Liza when she found out because I felt like Tony still led her
on a bit by the constant flirting he did with her. Luckily Ryan was there to
swoop in and pick up the pieces and the way he took care of Liza and distracted
her from her broken heart was sweet. There was definitely more chemistry and
attraction between Liza and Ryan than her and Tony which is why she was so
confused. She had loved Tony for forever but being with Ryan gave her feelings
that Tony never did. It was entertaining watching her try to fight it,
especially with Ryan's charm and persistence.
I
liked the way Liza handled the situation with Tony and Ryan when everything
came to blows. She didn't allow Tony to just jump back into her life like
nothing happened. He really hurt her and she was able to recognize that their
friendship had changed. Ryan messed up too and I was glad to see that he didn't
just give up and move on. It was clear that he had real feelings for Liza and
now that he had finally got a hold of her, he wasn't going to let her go so
easily. I was supremely happy with Liza's decision in the end and I felt like
Piper really tied up the story well.
Overall,
I was thoroughly impressed with how well written this story was and how well
developed the characters were for such a short book. I definitely had a handle
on who Liza, Troy
~IPOD
Picks~
“Hurricane” by
Bridgette Mendler
“I Don’t Want This
Night to End” by Luke Bryan
PURCHASE LINKS:
Play With Me is FREE on Kindle for the month of October so pick up a copy today!
AUTHOR BIO
I’m a cool girl with a passion for writing.
The genres you’ll find me hanging out at are contemporary and paranormal YA, but I’m also snooping into some adult paranormal right now. All of them romances…of course.
The nitty-gritty:
I’m an Austrian lass—totally uncomplicated and up to anything fun.
I grew up in Vienna, not by free will but because my parents decided to move there when I was only 4 years old. I. Hated. The. City. Everything about it. So right after graduation I moved back to Upper Austria, where I settled down with a nice husband and an awesome laptop.
I’ve been a storyteller all my life. Already in kindergarten, I came up with the most exotic fantasies and tales. My teacher would call me a liar. I call it the cornerstone of my writing career.
People always told me you can’t make a living with being an author. So when my first novella PLAY WITH ME came out and shot straight to the stars within the first week, I was totally dumbstruck. Took me a while to realize what was happening, LOL.
And the personal stuff:
At the (awesome) age of seventeen, I met the love of my life. But he was a playboy, and I was so not going to be his next trophy. It took him another four years of fighting for me until I finally decided to give that “couple-thing” with him a shot. I’m now married to this man. ;-)
We have an eleven-year-old son, and together we travel a lot…although I sometimes wish the trips were shorter because I can’t wait to get back to my laptop and my many stories. Unless we’re in Disneyland. No stress to go home then…
If you still want to know more about me, my FAQ page is the right address for you. ;-)
http://pipershelly.com/faq/
The genres you’ll find me hanging out at are contemporary and paranormal YA, but I’m also snooping into some adult paranormal right now. All of them romances…of course.
The nitty-gritty:
I’m an Austrian lass—totally uncomplicated and up to anything fun.
I grew up in Vienna, not by free will but because my parents decided to move there when I was only 4 years old. I. Hated. The. City. Everything about it. So right after graduation I moved back to Upper Austria, where I settled down with a nice husband and an awesome laptop.
I’ve been a storyteller all my life. Already in kindergarten, I came up with the most exotic fantasies and tales. My teacher would call me a liar. I call it the cornerstone of my writing career.
People always told me you can’t make a living with being an author. So when my first novella PLAY WITH ME came out and shot straight to the stars within the first week, I was totally dumbstruck. Took me a while to realize what was happening, LOL.
And the personal stuff:
At the (awesome) age of seventeen, I met the love of my life. But he was a playboy, and I was so not going to be his next trophy. It took him another four years of fighting for me until I finally decided to give that “couple-thing” with him a shot. I’m now married to this man. ;-)
We have an eleven-year-old son, and together we travel a lot…although I sometimes wish the trips were shorter because I can’t wait to get back to my laptop and my many stories. Unless we’re in Disneyland. No stress to go home then…
If you still want to know more about me, my FAQ page is the right address for you. ;-)
http://pipershelly.com/faq/
Author Links:
Website: http://pipershelly.
Facebook: https://www.
*An eBook copy was provided to me in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions expressed are my own and unbiased.*
Aww this does sound cute! Novella's are always a hit or miss for me too, like you, I always feel like I don't have enough to.. connect. I'm glad you did though! Going to pick this one up now :)
ReplyDeleteOoo I got this a while ago but when I realised it was a novella kinda forgot about it because I thought it would be too short for me to care so I'm glad that isn't the case! Great review hon, glad you enjoyed it so much!
ReplyDeleteI'm a sucker for romances! Thanks for this opportunity :)
ReplyDeleteOhh this sounds good! I love it when sports are involved too. Glad you enjoyed this one!
ReplyDeleteIt is really cute and I was actually surprised by how much I liked it. I wasn't sure since it was a novella but the author actually did an amazing job. Yes, grab it. It's free right now.
ReplyDeleteThanks! Yes, I was surprised by how much depth the author was able to included for the characters and the story considering the length.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome! This was a very cute YA romance.
ReplyDeleteI love books with sports too! This was a cute novella.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a great novella! I'm like you with short stories - sometimes they're good and sometimes they just fall flat. But the fact that the character & plot development is good make all the difference! Off to Amazon to 1-Click this one :)
ReplyDeleteYay! It is one of the better novellas I have read, especially since it is a stand alone. I hope you enjoy it.
ReplyDelete