{"id":80503,"date":"2025-09-14T08:00:23","date_gmt":"2025-09-14T12:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=80503"},"modified":"2026-03-26T20:56:00","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T00:56:00","slug":"arc-review-play-me-by-adriana-locke","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=80503","title":{"rendered":"ARC Review: Play Me (Play Me, #1) by Adriana Locke"},"content":{"rendered":"

Buy: \u00a0Amazon<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n
\n

\r\n <\/div><\/div><\/strong><\/h4>\n
\n

Blurb<\/strong><\/h4>\n

He\u2019s supposed to be playing rugby\u2014not playing me.<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t think it was possible to hate someone. Like utterly despise another human. Then I was hired to babysit the Royals\u2019 newest star and found out just how wrong I was.<\/p>\n

My job should\u2019ve been easy. Keep the hotshot on time and out of trouble. But that\u2019s hard to do when I dream of smothering him with his jersey.<\/p>\n

Every day delivers a new reason to detest Gray Adler. His truck is the size of a whale, and he uses the horn like a weapon. And, no, that\u2019s not a euphemism. He can\u2019t manage a sentence without being rude. And the universe, in its cruelest joke, gave that tattooed, walking red flag the body of a Greek god.<\/p>\n

Just when I finally get used to hating him, things take a turn.<\/p>\n

A scalding-hot, mind-blowing I can\u2019t do this with a man I work with sort of turn.<\/p>\n

Suddenly, those rough hands make my skin sizzle. His sinful smirks fade into grins just for me.<\/p>\n

And our banter shifts into something much more profound than it should.<\/p>\n

But Gray Adler is hiding something. And when those secrets collide with my vulnerable heart, I ask myself an important question. Is he finally telling me the truth, or am I still getting played?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Add to Goodreads<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Review<\/strong><\/h4>\n

3 stars<\/b><\/p>\n

A fun yet heartfelt enemies-to-lovers romance, this is the first book in a new series from Adriana Locke, and I enjoyed this one!<\/p>\n

Astrid is the personal assistant to the owner of a rugby team (who just happens to be Ren from The Proposal<\/a>, which is a fun crossover). Grey is the new arrival on the team, a player with a bad reputation who needs to toe the line. Astrid is brought in to keep him organised and in line, and it\u2019s a recipe for disaster from the very beginning.<\/p>\n

In a lot of enemies-to-lovers romance, it\u2019s often not truly enemies<\/i>, just general snark. But these two honestly hate each other. Their first meeting is an accidental encounter which ends badly, and when they start working together, they are determined to make life as difficult for each other as possible. It\u2019s entertaining to read, until it goes too far, leaving them both wounded and putting Grey\u2019s contract is in doubt. Desperate to make amends and hold on to his job, he pleads for a second chance and Astrid, needing the money the job is bringing, agrees.<\/p>\n

From the moment they agree to stop the antagonism and actually collaborate, everything changes \u2013 their personalities with each other, the way they interact, and everything about their working relationship. They see a different side to each other, and when they start to open up and show their vulnerable sides, they grow close. Attraction blooms and the sexual tension is so good, and I was madly flipping changes waiting for something to happen.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you didn\u2019t hate me, I might kiss you right now,\u201d he whispers.
\nHe\u2019s close enough to feel the heat of his breath. I pant, working hard to remember how to perform basic bodily functions.
\nI lift my chin, my inhale shaky. \u201cIf you didn\u2019t hate me, I might let you.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

When the romance comes it\u2019s sexy and swoony, and these two are so freaking good together! It\u2019s easy, it\u2019s natural, they tease and they\u2019re playful, and I really enjoyed them together, and watching them fall so hard is so sweet.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m giving you my heart because I know it\u2019s safe in your hands. And I want you to know that yours is safe in mine.\u201d I lean towards her. \u201cAlways.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

They are both dealing with drama in their lives, which brings the emotion, and Grey in particular is dealing with a really tricky situation. It felt a bit unnecessary to me, but for those who like some drama and angst with their romance, it does bring a bit of that.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re introduced to Astrid\u2019s friends who will undoubtedly get their own books, and who will likely be paired with Grey\u2019s brother or friends. We get to meet them all, and I must say, his are definitely more likeable as characters than hers are (the girly lunches did get a little repetitive). But I enjoyed making predictions on future parings, and I\u2018m keen to check out the next book.<\/p>\n

This is a fun and easy read, I loved Grey and Astrid as a couple, and I enjoyed seeing them get their happy ending.<\/p>\n

3 stars.<\/p>\n

An Advanced Review Copy was provided by the author for an honest review.<\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Play Me<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"\" \u00a0\"\" \u00a0\"\" \u00a0\"\"<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Play Me (#1)<\/strong> (Grey & Astrid)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy: \u00a0Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n

Try Me (#2)<\/strong> (Drake & Gianna)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0\u00a0Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n

Show Me (#3)<\/strong> (Brooks & Audrey)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n

Make Me (#4)<\/strong> (Hartley & Mira)
\nTo be released 24 April
\nPre-order:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Meet Adriana<\/b><\/h4>\n

\"\"USA Today and Amazon Charts Bestselling author, Adriana Locke, writes contemporary romances about the two things she knows best\u2014big families and small towns. Her stories are about ordinary people finding extraordinary love with the perfect combination of heart, heat, and humor.<\/p>\n

She loves connecting with readers, fall weather, football, reading alpha heroes, everything pumpkin, and pretending to garden.<\/p>\n

Hailing from a tiny town in the Midwest, Adriana spends her free time with her high school sweetheart (who she married over twenty years ago) and their four sons (who truly are her best work). Her kitchen may be a perpetual disaster, and if all else fails, there is always pizza.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Website\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0Goodreads\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Amazon\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0Facebook\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0Facebook Group<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0Instagram\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 \u00a0TikTok\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bookbub<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0Pinterest\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0 \u00a0Youtube\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0 \u00a0Verve<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Buy: \u00a0Amazon Blurb He\u2019s supposed to be playing rugby\u2014not playing me. I didn\u2019t think it was possible to hate someone. Like utterly despise another human. Then I was hired to babysit the Royals\u2019 newest star […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":79710,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","yasr_overall_rating":3,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[86,9,58,29],"tags":[763,59,48],"class_list":["post-80503","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-enemies-to-lovers","category-romance","category-sports-star","category-steamy","tag-adriana-locke","tag-arc","tag-review"],"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":false,"span_bottom":false},"number_of_votes":0,"sum_votes":0},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Play-Me.jpg?fit=200%2C300&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7gaNL-kWr","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80503","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=80503"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80503\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":82525,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80503\/revisions\/82525"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/79710"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=80503"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=80503"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=80503"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}