Genres: Paranormal Romance
Published by Berkley
Released on November 12, 2020
Pages: 356
Format: eBook
Source: Library
The Delight
For my re-read, I felt much the same about it as I did the first time, but, yes, like with earlier books in my series re-read for the Books of My Heart Readalong, I didn’t feel as strongly about what got into my craw as last time. I still got steamed and impatient with Indigo and was more interested in the events around the romance than the romance for much of the time. However, unlike last time, I saw her in a more sympathetic light and didn’t have the urge to pop her on the back of the head. She is who she is as a dominant and questioning Drew’s place in pack and in a relationship fits in with who and what she is.
Review
Play for Passion is the ninth book in a strongly-connected series so shouldn’t be read out of order or standalone.
Original Review:
I will confess that Drew and Indigo’s story was one that had me a little edgy going in. I just did not see these two together based on meeting them regularly in the previous books. And I had the idea that it was going to be very similar to Drew’s older brother’s book because of the return to the two dominants who won’t submit struggling to make a relationship work.
When Play of Passion started up, my fears were being realized and not only that, Indigo, to push him away and protect her feelings of attraction said some pretty wounding stuff that no apology happened and she knew she was well into the wrong.
Let me pull over here and pause a moment- if Drew had talked to Indigo this way with no apology in sight-she emasculated him three times and once before witnesses- all in an attempt to show she’s the big bad she wolf (even though it looked to me like emotional cowardice b/c she’s attracted and having a freak-out), we’d hate him as a real jerk and not worthy of hero-ness.
So anyway, it started out poorly for me and my book date, but then things settled. I never really did get past her ugliness toward him particularly since him doing most of the work in the relationship made it imbalanced to me. However, as she unsnarled her own issues and appreciated what she really had in front of her, I could see Indigo and Drew being a good thing together. Drew’s an impressive male. He’s fun and charming- the whole pack relies on him to listen and notice when someone’s hurting, but he was strong enough to respect and love a strong female. As to Indigo, she got an eye-full of a bad relationship when a dominant female was with a slightly less dominant male and she doesn’t want that plus she struggles to see Drew as a mature enough guy for her. He makes his mistakes, but he owns them and he courts her and keeps on coming in the face of her really pushing him away hard.
Beyond the romance, things continue to fracture with the Psy hierarchy and the psy net is getting precarious. Henry and Shoshonna plot against the Changlings and against the two Psy Councilors in California showing war has started even if it isn’t outright declared.
I like to see how this series continues to move forward and create tension and excitement for what is to come with each installment.
Challenges Met
COYER Summer #17
Mt. TBR #85
Romance BINGO #40 library book
Library Love #11
About Nalini Singh
I’ve been writing as long as I can remember and all of my stories always held a thread of romance (even when I was writing about a prince who could shoot lasers out of his eyes). I love creating unique characters, love giving them happy endings and I even love the voices in my head. There’s no other job I would rather be doing. In September 2002, when I got the call that Silhouette Desire wanted to buy my first book, Desert Warrior, it was a dream come true. I hope to continue living the dream until I keel over of old age on my keyboard.
I was born in Fiji and raised in New Zealand. I also spent three years living and working in Japan, during which time I took the chance to travel around Asia. I’m back in New Zealand now, but I’m always plotting new trips. If you’d like to see some of my travel snapshots, have a look at the Travel Diary page (updated every month).
So far, I’ve worked as a lawyer, a librarian, a candy factory general hand, a bank temp and an English teacher and not necessarily in that order. Some might call that inconsistency but I call it grist for the writer’s mill.
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Excellent review! You make great points about both that we wouldn’t accept Indigo’s treatment of Drew from a male to a female, and also about the war happening even though it wasn’t outright stated. I didn’t quite get that until a couple books later. I mean I guess I thought the Council would still be meeting and making some decisions but they aren’t and things have just gone downhill between the Councilors.
Thanks so much for being in the Read-along.
Yeah, she really bugged me, but at least it wasn’t as much as the first time. Yeah, the psy civil war is really heating up here.
Loving the readalong, Anne!
I remember having such fun with this one here. but I did have issues with the heroine. I hate the double standard we sometimes in romance.
Yes, overall I was having a blast, but I couldn’t appreciate Indigo at all.
I didn’t get to this one when I was reading the series. I agree, she shouldn’t emasculate him even 1 time. And we definitely wouldn’t put up with that from a man! I don’t think I would like this one much. I have to like my main characters!
Yeah, her issues made her say some pretty obnoxious stuff. Fortunately, there is a whole lot more going on in this one so I read for all that and not for her. Then she finally got a clue. 🙂
Glad to see the series is still going strong.
Oh yes! There are some pretty big events going on and building up to more. 🙂
Gah. I know I’ll be annoyed by her antics when I get to this someday
Yeah, she was pretty intense with her business. Ugh. 😉
One day I will get back into her books because they do sound good.
Then I’ll enjoy seeing what you think. 🙂