Playing By Heart is now live!
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Blurb
Jesse Lee is the worst!
He’s a multi-millionaire, triple-platinum-selling, Grammy-Award-winning man-slut—a worldly, self-indulgent heathen. I wouldn’t sleep with him if he were our last chance to ensure survival of the human race. The only reason I put up with him is because he’s my boss’s brother.
Whatsherface is one of those holier-than-thou types.
She’s bossy, has a horrific singing voice, and she’s so ordinary, she practically blends in with the eggshell-colored walls—the complete opposite of anyone I’d bang. The only reason I put up with her is because my career is on the line.
Playing by Heart is an enemies-to-lovers romance where opposites not only attract, they ignite.
Review
4.5 stars!
I love this book! An enemies-to-lovers rock star romance with great banter and chemistry, and a gorgeous love story that is sweet, sexy, and beautifully heartfelt. J.B. Salsbury has delivered another fantastic read that is lots of fun, with imperfect characters that you cannot help but love, and all the feels!
Jesse Lee is the quintessential bad boy rock star – tattooed, foul-mouthed, spoiled, entitled and drowning in drugs, alcohol and women. His latest bender is the last straw for his band and his label, and he is shipped off to Arizona to stay with his estranged brother in order to straighten himself out and get writing again in a last-ditch effort to save his career.
Bethany is a good girl who has recently had her heart broken and is struggling to move on. She works for her church’s pastor as a nanny for his adorable four year old, and the last thing she was expecting, or wanting, was to have to deal with an angry, broody, broken rock star staying in her boss’s house.
The circumstances of their first meeting are awkward, and it all goes downhill from there. Jesse, resenting everything about his stay in Arizona, dismisses Bethany as plain, boring and no fun, and Bethany has no time for such a rude, crude and angry man, no matter how gorgeous he is or how many records he has sold. The snark and banter is highly entertaining as they bicker and antagonise each other, but there’s also a reluctant attraction there, creating a fantastic dynamic that is so much fun to watch.
I never allow people to get under my skin, and it’s been pretty fucking easy since adolescence. The less I care, the easier it is.
So how the fuck does this no-name girl manage to irritate the shit out of me?
Jesse obviously has issues, though he is reluctant to deal with them, wanting nothing more than to get back to his life of excess back in LA. But sobriety and his new circumstances change him, and Bethany is a big part of that, not taking his crap, and treating him like a real person instead of bowing down to his every whim like everybody else in his life. She truly sees him, and he begins to soften towards her, truly seeing her as well, and that’s when everything begins to change.
I love this love story! It’s a slow burn as these two opposites find their common ground, and they are surprisingly and beautifully natural with each other. And watching foul-mouthed Jesse tease and poke at prudish Bethany is so funny! I laughed out loud at his lack of filter, and watching them together is so much fun. The sexy time is passionate and intense, and the emotion between them is gorgeous, and I was easily swept up into their romance.
“Say you’re mine.
Please, just tell me you’ll be mine.”
But Jesse is still figuring himself out, Bethany is dealing with things from her past, and their everyday lives couldn’t be more different from each other. They have a lot to sort through and it’s a rollercoaster of emotion as they do it, but I loved watching them deal with it all and find their way forward, with more than one epic moment along the way.
This is a fantastically fun read that kept me glued to my kindle. I read it in a day, unable to put it down, and I fell in love with these characters and their story.
“You have me now. You’ve owned me from the start. There’s no playbook on how to love you, so I’ll keep playing by heart.”
It is a standalone, but Salsbury fans will love the loose tie-in to the Fighting series, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a follow up book for Bethany’s best friend, who is an absolute riot!
Such a great read, I loved it! 4.5 stars.
An Advanced Review Copy was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
See our J.B. Salsbury Author Spotlight for more great reads!