REVIEW: Changing the Game (Play by Play #2) by Jaci Burton

Author: Jaci Burton

Series: Play by Play

Pages: 299

Genre: Romance - Contemporary Sports

Publisher: Berkley Heat

AMAZON: Changing the Game (A Play-by-Play Novel)

Synopsis (Goodreads)

Sports agent Liz Darnell will do anything to win back her number-one client, baseball pro Gavin Riley. And Gavin's more than ready- especially when Liz is offering herself as part of the bargain. But when love unexpectedly enters the playing field, neither Liz nor Gavin are ready for the biggest game-changer of all.

REVIEW: 4 out of 5 stars

We are first introduced to Elizabeth Darnell in ‘The Perfect Play’ where she represented sporting star brothers Mick & Gavin Riley as their agent. But due to a terrible error in judgment, she was fired by Mick and has kept her distance from Gavin thinking he would also fire her due to association.

Gavin is a 29 year-old professional baseball player and has never mixed business with pleasure but he hasn’t been able to forget the kiss Liz gave him after she was fired by Mick, it showed a side to her he hadn’t seen before – scared and vulnerable. He didn’t want to fire her as his agent; he is his own person and doesn’t follow what his brother does but was somewhat indecisive about what he actually wanted.

Liz has secretly been in love with Gavin for years but has kept their relationship purely platonic and professional, until Gavin sights her at a banquet and invites her back to his home to discuss her recent avoidance and their professional future, what neither expected was to end up in bed together.

Liz has always maintained professionalism, she is great at what she does and has never truly let anyone into her personal life, her past has been her secret and one she doesn’t like to discuss, it is also one of the reasons she is fiercely independent and reliant on no-one.  I wish this part of the story was further developed; it was briefly touched upon in conversation but not expanded on and fully explained.

I loved Gavin & Liz together; Ms Burton certainly knows how to write a scorching hot smexy scene! The chemistry between these too was off the charts and it was nice they actually did things as a couple as well. When they had a disagreement though, it really showed Gavin’s weakness, he made a lot of mistakes but thankfully was able to redeem himself and make amends.

Elizabeth initially wasn’t the most endearing of characters for me mainly because of the way she was portrayed in Play by Play which put her in my instant dislike category but she showed a new side of her personality in Changing the Game that I came to like.

I absolutely loved Mick in The Perfect Play but he was downright rude and nasty in this book. His ongoing grudge towards Liz and his interference in their relationship was irritating and annoying; it would have taken me a lot longer to forgive and forget. I did love the rest of the Riley family, they have the most wonderful and normal family dynamic but I was saddened by what they had to endure.

Changing the Game is another wonderful book by Ms Burton, all of her characters are likeable and well developed, the storyline is consistent and enjoyable and the writing perfect. I look forward to reading Jenna Riley and Tyler Anderson’s story in the next installment Taking a Shot, scheduled for release in March 2012.