PLAYED is the fourth book in Jen Frederick's Gridiron
series. This friends-to-lovers romance is lots of fun and
full of Jen Frederick's skillfully written spice and
sizzle. Ara Martin and Ty Masters have been BFFs for the
past four years. They've supported each other through good
times and bad while navigating through the stresses of
college life. Nothing has ever happened to test the limits
of their friendship -- until one night. One night, after a
few drinks and while on a football victory high, Ty and Ara
give in to an attraction that has always simmered below the
surface of their friendship. The details of that erotic
encounter are told in flashbacks scattered throughout
PLAYED, while the main story takes place three weeks after
that event. Thankfully, Jen Frederick tells this story with
alternating perspectives, since initially Ara and Ty try to
hide their true feelings for each other for one reason or
another.
When it comes to planning for their careers, Ara and Ty have
a lot in common. Ara loves her famous artist dad, but she
wants to carve out a career in the art world on her own
merits. Likewise, Ty doesn't want to benefit from the
novelty of being a twin or ride on his brother's success.
Because their friendship is so important to them both, Ara
is afraid that becoming sexually involved will ruin their
friendship. Jen Frederick does a good job of getting the
reader into Ara's head and explaining her fears. Ty has
always taken his cues from Ara about the direction their
relationship should go in, even though he has found himself
increasingly attracted to her over the years. The worry Ara
has about being in a dating relationship with Ty is the lack
of attention he gives his girlfriends. Most of Ty's focus
is on football. While her observations about Ty's past
relationships are true, she fails to realize how much
attention and time he focuses on her. Once he realizes how
Ara really feels about him, Ty becomes an unstoppable force
of temptation directed at one woman.
PLAYED is about a beautiful friendship that turns red-hot in
an instant and changes everything. Jen Frederick is excelled
at capturing the physicality and eroticism in a romantic
relationship. Even romance fans who are used to steamy
scenes will be wowed at the heat generated by Ty and Ara
when they finally find their sexy together. Ty's sleazy
agent plays a minor villain in this story, but never really
does any damage or shifts focus from the romance. I look
forward to reading the next installment in Jen Frederick's
deliciously naughty Gridiron
series.
Ara Martin and college football star Ty Masters have been
best friends since the first day of school when Ty
literally ran her over. She fell for him immediately, but
having lived under the shadow of her famous father, she
knows a relationship with irresistible Ty would only end
in heartbreak. For four years, she’s kept her feelings
hidden. But one drunken encounter weeks before graduation
is about to expose Ara’s biggest secret and destroy her
most treasured relationship.
He’s been playing for keeps…
Ty is about to be drafted into the NFL, but his personal
life is a mess. He’s got an agent he doesn’t like, a
brother who can’t stop offering his opinion, and a
beautiful woman he craves but can’t have. He can fire his
agent and ignore his brother, but he’s not sure what to
do about Ara. Ty’s been able to run down every
quarterback he’s faced, but his sexy, stubborn best
friend keeps slipping through his fingers. Luckily, he's
not one for giving up, and once he gets his hands on her,
he's never letting go.