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Power Play  By  cover art

Power Play

By: Maria Luis
Narrated by: Elizabeth Hart,Joe Hempel
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Publisher's summary

He (was) the hottest player on the ice.

She's a (struggling) sports journalist looking for her big break.

Charlie Denton has been handed the most impossible assignment from her stick-in-the-mud boss: get an exclusive interview with the NHL's golden boy, Duke Harrison.

The catch? She's got eight days or she'll be demoted. Fired. Kicked to the curb - no way is she letting her future rest on the broad shoulders of a goalie who is at least three seasons past his prime.

She has eight days to convince Duke that the loyal fans of the Cambridge Tribune (annual circulation: 1,000) are dying to know about his life, on and off the ice. Eight days to stand toe-to-toe with a man who is pure sex on a stick. Eight days to remember that every mind-blowing kiss is nothing but a power play.

What could go wrong?

Contains mature themes.

©2017 Maria Luis (P)2017 Tantor

What listeners say about Power Play

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  • 4 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

goalies dont goto the penalty box... enough said.

okay, author... i hope you read this because i went from being alright with some small inaccuracies for the benefit of the storyline to hoping you are never published again. You cant write that the goalie is placed in the box ever, because a goalie CANT goto the damn box! think about that even... its illogical to say a team plays without their goalie as a powerplay! do atleast a bit of research or watch a hockey game if you plan to write about it, your lack of any simple knowledge of hockey is sickening.... and i hope you realize how ridiculous and humiliated you should feel as the 'author' of such a lack of any commitment to your job... let alone what is supposed to be YOUR art... figure it out! good enough storyline plots thin-ish, if you want a brainless resonance with done reference to sports and don't care about impossibility in your romance, its not bad, but the authors lack of intellect or research makes the mc's worse the furtger you get into it.
story- goodish, narrator- great, author- needs to be black-balled or never given the ability to write again.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Score Big With This One

What made the experience of listening to Power Play the most enjoyable?

Maria Luis' writing style is smart, funny, witty, and she nails sexy banter and romantic scenes.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Power Play?

There's a scene on the rooftop of a hotel...STEAMY. That scene made you forget that they were in Boston during the winter!

What three words best describe Elizabeth Hart and Joe Hempel ’s voice?

Clear, strong, and confident

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Absolutely. I hated having to press pause and couldn't wait to resume the story.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Hot

Not normally a sports romance listener but I had credits to use, glad I did.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Just ok

I don’t know why they even listed Joe as a narrator. It’s really disappointing you don’t hear from him until the Epilogue. The build on the story is so slow that I almost gave up and moved onto something else. Really wish this was a better read.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Cute listen if free, Joe only reads Epilogue

First time with this author.
It's cute, but missed the mark.

Narrators shouldn't even list Joe...he only did the epilogue. After 17 chapters, the listeners are totally accustomed to Elizabeth's rendition of Duke.
Joe's voice felt out of place.

Elizabeth has an audible inhale at the end of each line, which drives me crazy. I'm realizing now she tends to be in hockey stories.... so I minimize the irritation by increasing the play speed to 1.3
I enjoyed her voice transitions in this book. So, I will listen to the others in the series included with my subscription.

The hockey knowledge I have would fit on a standard 2x2 post-it note, and EVEN I KNOW GOALIES DO NOT GO INTO THE BOX..... FAIL. Huge ball drop for the author, editor, fact checker, and proofreader. I mean seriously, was this story a blog that went directly to audible?

Charlie should have been a bit more confident, considering she wanted to be a journalist. Seems she never sought counseling after the loss of her father and stayed locked in that trauma, going through the motions.

Duke, as a 33yo professional sport star.... stop playing games. If you're into someone, say so.
Don't beat around the bush.
The attraction and chemistry is there, act on it directly, especially if you're chasing naive adult.
Spell it out with Grown-up communication.

The minute Charlie said "tossed it in the trash" everything went downhill in the typical Hollywood Lifetime Hallmark script fashion..... of course, that is what gets published; dumbass have you never ever watched a movie? You shouldn't have even written it.

The groveling to Gwen and Duke was perfect.
The epilogue was a nice HEA tie up everything.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Huge let down

I was hoping for a great book with some spice. I had to stop listening half way through. It was such a slow build that I couldn’t finish. Everything was so predictable. The performance was okay, but you can only do so much you’re given to work with. I am a person who listens to multiple books on my commute a week, frequently re-listening to books and this was a huge let down.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Fun, but not memorable for me...

3.5 stars — Well…. I enjoyed myself, but not as much as I was expecting to.

First, the presence of dual narrators confused me as the book went on with only Charlie’s POV. So just FYI, we only get Duke’s POV in the epilogue. Despite that, I really enjoyed Ms. Hart’s narration in this one. I particularly liked her Duke voice!

If you’re a fan of hockey and actually know the rules, and inaccuracies bother you, welp…liberties are taken in this book. I can accept some because, you know, *fiction*…and sometimes fiction is over the top and unrealistic. But when a goalie takes a penalty, they don’t go to the penalty box. OK, done, got that off my chest. 😛

I enjoyed both Charlie and Duke well enough. Their flirting was super fun, and Duke was kind of adorable with his pursuit. But at the same time, neither of them really stood out that much. And at a certain point (past half way, but not sure after that) I knew *EXACTLY* what the conflict/resolution was going to be. I don’t mind tropes, but this was so obvious that it felt a bit…phoned in? I don’t know. I was disappointed anyways, it just felt very cliche to me.

The chemistry between the two of them was pretty solid though, and again…there were a lot of fun moments. But in the end, it just wasn’t a standout for me.

Wow, that was a short review. Huh.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Sweet, funny, short

First things first: I listened to the audiobook of Power Play and don't have any complaints. Elizabeth Hart is doing a decent job narrating Charlie. We get an epilogue read by Joe Hempel, which I wouldn't have minded hearing more of during the book.

Charlie is a former hockey player who turned to sports journalism because she never was an exceptional talent. She is ambitious as they come and that is one of her strengths but also her weakness. Charlie was cute, a bit sassy and definitely likable.
When she meets Blades goalie Duke Harrison she insults him. Although Duke is actually more of a brooder he is a good sport sport about it and they hit it off pretty fast.

Since this is a novella you can't expect much in terms of character development. The chemistry between Duke and Charlie needs to be pretty much instantaneous for that reason. Admittedly, the story is predictable and you can see the conflict coming from miles away but that didn't negatively influence my enjoyment.

Power Play is a bite-sized sexy little number that is perfect after finishing a heavy, angst-filled book. It does lack the depth of a full length novel but Maria Luis's funny writing style in this sweet rom-com will put a smile on your face.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Knowledge of a sport is recommended if you plan on including said sport in the story

I would recommend better beta readers who know the sport of hockey, goalies do not serve their own penalties. This story is full of plot holes and timeline confusion. Overall it was ok when you get past these issues

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

I tried to get past the obvious lack of hockey knowledge

Please, please don't bother if you actually care about the hockey aspects of this story - it's so painful. The goalie serving his own penalty was annoying but I got the scene set up. But what really killed it for me was how often players were referred to as "second string." That's... not how it works and it was repeated SO many times. Not to mention a forward turned goalie in the MIDDLE OF A PLAYOFF GAME? I had to stop there, I don't care at all what happens in the last 20 minutes.

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