Tempting the Player

Gamble Brothers, Book 2

By: J. Lynn

Narrated by: Kaleo Griffith

Length: 7 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

Chad Gamble, all-star pitcher for the Nationals, is one of the best players on - and off - the field. And right now, the notorious bad boy wants Bridget Rodgers. But with her lush curves and snappy comebacks, the feisty redhead is the kind of woman a man wants to settle down with...and that's the last thing Chad needs.

When the paparazzi catch them in a compromising position, Chad's manager issues an ultimatum: clean up his act or kiss his multimillion-dollar contract goodbye. To save his career, his meddling publicist says he'll have to convince everyone Bridget isn't just his flavor of the week, but his girlfriend.

Being blackmailed into a fake relationship with Chad Gamble isn't easy, especially when the sizzling physical attraction between them is undeniable. With a month to go on their arranged pretense, it's going to take every ounce of willpower they have not to fall into bed together...or in love.

©2013 Jennifer L. Armentrout (P)2013 Tantor

Worth a listen

TERRIFIC narration (especially of male characters) by Kaleo Griffith, and a couple of the BEST written steamy scenes EVER make the rest of the book well worth the read. *YUM*.

Very good addition to the series :D

4 stars

This was a very good story. I liked Bridget and Chad and their story was very good. I was pleasantly surprised with how much I liked this story since I wasn't majorly impressed with book #1 in the series.

Bridget works as an assistant to her friend, Maddy (the heroine from Tempting the Best Man), both of them working in the volunteer department of the Smithsonian. Bridget is a curvy woman and has worked hard to love her curves but her past boyfriends haven't always felt the same so she hasn't dated in around 2 years.

Chad is a pitcher for the Nationals baseball team. He's in the prime of his career and is highly talented. The problem is that Chad sleeps around and parties and it's gotten to the point where his antics are outshining the baseball itself. His team management is insisting something be done or they'll drop his contact. Chad could go to any number of other teams but he doesn't want to leave his home town or his 2 brothers he's very close to.

Bridget goes to an exclusive bar with a friend of hers. Soon after arriving, Bridget meets Chad when he comes over to buy her a drink. She knows who he is but not the way he thinks. He's famous so she lets him think she recognizes him that way but really it's through Maddy. Maddy is dating Chase, Chad's brother, and although she and Chad have never met before, Bridget has heard a lot from Maddy about Chase and his brothers. Since Chad seems interested in her, Maddy doesn't tell him who she is fearing he wouldn't want to flirt with her if he knew she was friends with Maddy (due to complications later). Chad has actually been having a problem finding woman that perk his interest and he hasn't been sleeping around nearly as much as the papers make it seem. When Chad meets Bridget, she's the first woman he's found intriguing in quite a while so he decides to pursue things. They talk for hours and get along really well. Later they go back to Chad's place and things start to get hot. Unfortunately, Bridget really doesn't believe that someone as hot and famous as Chad would really want her and she lets self doubt rule her and takes off leaving Chad rather confused.

Bridget and Chad don't see each other for a while until an unexpected encounter at lunch. Chad is still interested in Bridget and when he tries to talk to her they end up kissing, a kiss that's caught by a photographer and spread all over the newspaper. Chad's team hired a publicist (Ms. Gore) to do a "makeover" of Chad's image and when the photo comes out the team management isn't happy and she blows a gasket. With her professional reputation in danger and Chad's contract threatening to be cancelled, Ms Gore decides the best way to get out of things is to get Bridget to play Chad's girlfriend until things blow over. Since Bridget is a "normal woman" it'll look really good for the press and fans. Gore tries to get Bridget to play along but Bridget doesn't want to and ends up getting blackmailed in to it by Gore with a threat to her job and her reputation. This doesn't help things when Bridget and Chad start their "fake" relationship because Chad doesn't know why Bridget agreed to the deal and isn't sure he likes the possible reasons for it (thinking maybe she's in to the fame and all that goes with dating him). Bridget goes along with the deal but tries not to get too caught up in what's going on because she finds very quickly that she could fall for Chad very easily. Regardless of Chad's concerns about her reasons, he soon finds that Bridget is still very intriguing to him. They date for a month with some ups and downs and even though she didn't want to get involved, Bridget finds that she's going to miss Chad and doesn't want it to end. Chad is feeling some deeper feelings as well and doesn't want things to end either. Unfortunately, There is some final drama that causes issues between Chad and Bridget but thankfully, Ms Gore doesn't end up being a total beast and interferes enough to help them back on track so they end the story starting their HEA together.

I enjoyed this story very much. I liked Bridget very much and Chad was a little full of himself but overall was a pretty good hero. I will say that although Ms. Gore helped things in the end I'm not sure what I feel about her being the heroine in the next book considering her actions (but I'm still planning to read it). Overall, the story was very good and had some drama to keep things going but it wasn't OTT. I'd recommend this story. Thumbs up. :)

J. Lynn PLUS Kaleo Griffith = Hot Read and Listen!

What made the experience of listening to Tempting the Player the most enjoyable?

I'm stingy with my stars, so to receive 5*'s in all categories is difficult for MOST to achieve.


What a fantastic book! The plot was great and if you can accept the founding premise (it was a bit 'unrealistic,' but this IS fiction.)

Tempting the Player was one of the few listens that actually pulled at my heartstrings a bit (that IS a feat, as I have a cold, black heart.) I really like J. Lynn aka Jennifer L. Armentrout. I will continue with this series. I will also check out more of her work-with caution as most of her work is YA, not a genre I like - but thus far, her contemporary, adult category books all sound good.

The bad boy baseball player needs to clean up his reputation as a player (off the field) in order to keep his baseball contract. He meets the beautiful friend of his sister-in-law and they are instantly attracted to one another. However, unlike the usual plot one might expect from a book in this style, it takes them a while to discover their feelings for one another, good or bad.

The boring, self deprecating girl is offered and then blackmailed to play the part of the girlfriend for a month or so. The book is a bit unique even though the plot seems like it has been done before. It is not a deep and dark-no past abuse, etc. If you like JC Burton and her Players Series then I think you will like this book as well.

Kaleo Griffith's performance cannot be topped. Griffith is very good, as always. My only tiny gripe with him is that his way of feminizing female characters is to speak with a lisp. That is a peeve of mine and should not render into your decision whether or not to listen to this book.

Note: Mature themes and strong language

Credit worthy: Absolutely.

If you have found my review helpful please rate just below this.

Short and sweet

Easy listen- not a lot of angst, twists and turns, or drama. Cute, fun and lighthearted with a little spice. I find myself liking when men (selectively) narrate the whole book and I like his voice for Chad. First book I listened to with this narrator- not my top favorite but he did a good job and will listen to him more.

Blackmailed Into Love...

I was surprised to find that I actually enjoyed this book a lot more than the first book. The story is about Chad Gamble, the star pitcher for the Nationals, who has a bad reputation. He's a bad boy that needs to clean up his act before his team decides not to renew his contract. Meanwhile, Chad meets the insecure, quirky Bridget at a night club. She makes a big impression on him and he takes her home. Bridget knows all about this Gamble brother. She knows that she is not his usually type of women is...hot bomb shell model type.Chad really wants her but she basically runs from him instead.
To make a long story short, they eventually run into each other, he gets busted kissing Bridget by the paparazzi. The team gives an ultimatum and the team publicist ends up blackmailing them into a fake relationship. Little does the couple know that the relationship is far more than just fake.

Tempted!

I loved this book! It was SO good. I’m not overly fond of books with sports as a theme... but this was just so good.

It was also full of chemistry and heat... and some very well written sex.
Kaleo Griffith did a very good job with the narration . I’m not fond of his female voices, but the yumminess of the male voices makes up for it.

Never read book one. Can’t decide if I’ll go after book three. Glad it was romance package but would have happily used a credit for it too.

Good story.

Good story. Really likable characters with the exception of the PR Devil. I did feel like some parts were rushed and should have been developed differently. Nonetheless, really good.

Entertaining

Story and narration were surprisingly good. Don't be deceived by the cover, which does not match the story. My favorite character was the publicist. You can't help but both hate and love her.

Sweet. Really liked it.

Very Sweet and funny story. Some typical romance novel drama. Ireally enjoyed it.
Great narration by Kaleo Griffith as always.

What a player

This was a quick read for me, I’m not really into players and I knew it would be a bit of a hard read but I ended up liking chad. It was an easy read if you’re looking for something quick. I love JLA but am glad her style has evolved from this traditional romance to something so much more.