Title: Players
Author: Jayne Dixon
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Standalone
Length of book: 250 pages
Synopsis/Blurb:
"When
Gretel mistakenly crashes into her one-night-stand while sheepishly
trying to escape out his front door, she is surprised to find that they
are both equally committed to non-commitment – he was trying to run out
on her, too. In a moment of brilliance, she offers a mischievous
proposition: Why don’t they team up as Pennsylvania’s most successful
wingman duo?
The scheming soon begins. But their perfectly-constructed manipulation of the Game of Love starts to fall apart at the seams when a friend and professor of psychology offers them five-hundred dollars each to participate in a very suspect experiment to test her theory of the workings of personality type. As emotional walls fall and these two “players” begin to face the demons of their past, the big question quickly becomes: Who is manipulating who?"
Players is the first book I’ve read by Jayne Dixon. It is a very enjoyable romantic comedy with a
little psychology included.
After reading the blurb, the
first thought that came to mind is this can be really good or just plain yucky
but I am in the Rom-Com frame of mind lately so I gave it a go. I don’t like over-the-top characters who use
other people, and I expected a bunch of sexcapades. Fortunately, Ms. Dixon shows the two main
characters realistically as they are adapting to life after major hurt and
disappointment in their past. Both
Gretel Bigley and Breccan “Brec” Hide are good people who are protecting their
hearts the only way they know how—as Players.
Players is essentially Gretel’s story written in first person
from Gretel's point of view. She is a
love em and leave 'em girl who hooks-up with a love ‘em and leave 'em guy. They hit it off when they realize neither of
them are into commitments. That
realization allows them to move forward as good friends and roommates. The third roommate is Angelika, Brec’s
cousin. She is working on her PhD in
psychology and allows her roommates to talk her into using them as part of her
personality study. I did a little eye
rolling during the study as I don’t think the Meyers-Briggs boxes are always a
perfect tool but hey it is fun to think a personality device can be a
relationship measure.
The banter between the
characters is often funny and light with the occasional angst filled moments
thrown in for added spice. Angelika is a
perfect support character that brings out the real people hiding in plain
sight, so to speak. Gretel and Brec
have so many walls that hide the hurt it takes a lot for them to break
down. I love the roommates and the crazy
hook-ups they plan.
Players is a sweet friends-to-lovers romance. The story got a little off (for me) in the
middle. I get a tired of the push-pull
trope if it hangs on too long. I
understand why the story and the push-pull is written this way it just felt a
little long. Seventy-five to eighty
percent of the story moves at a quick pace with an excellent conversational
flow.
Jayne Dixon tells a good
story. Her characters become the
readers’ friends as the story progresses and that makes the reader continually
turn the page. I recommend Players to
anyone who likes good friends-to-lovers romantic comedy. It is a delight to read. The psychology behind Angelika’s study made
me curious, and I did a little research. When Players ended, I’m thinking there
is more to learn about Angelika, Peggy, and Kinny. It will be interesting to see if these characters
have an opportunity to carry their own story in the future.
4
STAMPS
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