Sunday Spotlight is a feature we began in 2016. This year we’re spotlighting our favorite books, old and new. We’ll be raving about the books we love and being total fangirls. You’ve been warned. 🙂
Elle Kennedy writes such smart romances. I love the witty banter and smart women. I always get sucked right in. But I’ll be honest. I didn’t love how my boy Hunter was treated in the first book. I’m so excited to see him get his story.
The Play by Elle Kennedy Series: Briar U #3
Also in this series: The Chase (Briar U, #1), The Risk (Briar U #2), The Play
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: October 7, 2019
Genres: Contemporary Romance, New Adult
Pages: 422
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Series Rating:
A brand-new standalone in the New York Times bestselling Briar U series!
She’s the player he never saw coming…
What I learned after last year’s distractions cost my hockey team our entire season? No more screwing up. No more screwing, period. As the new team captain, I need a new philosophy: hockey and school now, women later. Which means that I, Hunter Davenport, am officially going celibate…no matter how hard that makes things.
But there’s nothing in the rulebook that says I can’t be friends with a woman. And I won’t lie—my new classmate Demi Davis is one cool chick. Her smart mouth is hot as hell, and so is the rest of her, but the fact that she’s got a boyfriend eliminates the temptation to touch her.
Except three months into our friendship, Demi is single and looking for a rebound.
And she’s making a play for me.
Avoiding her is impossible. We’re paired up on a yearlong school project, but I’m confident I can resist her. We’d never work, anyway. Our backgrounds are too different, our goals aren’t aligned, and her parents hate my guts.
Hooking up is a very bad idea. Now I just have to convince my body—and my heart.
Excerpt
He’s obviously hiding something as he presses a few buttons on the machine to trigger the cool-down setting. When he glances at me again, his expression is sheepish. “I have a confession to make, but you have to promise not to be mad.”
“I will never promise that. Ever.”
“Seriously?
“Seriously. Tell me at your own peril.”
“Fine. I jerked off the other night—”
“Congratulations. Did your penis tingle when you came?”
“I wasn’t finished.”
“So you didn’t come?”
“I meant I wasn’t finished speaking,” he growls. “I jerked off the other night…fantasizing about you.”
My jaw drops.
Um. What?
“Oh. My. God.” I stare at him in utter disbelief. “Why would you ever tell me that?”
“Because I felt guilty about it. Like I needed to go to church and confess.”
I can feel myself blushing, and I suspect I’m redder than a tomato. Yes, I have many male friends, but this is the first time one of them has confessed to pleasuring themselves while fantasizing about me. I mean…it’s flattering, I guess? If TJ or Darius or—
I shudder at the mere thought of it.Okay. Interesting response. The idea of my other guy friends masturbating to me is extremely unappealing. But the idea of Hunter stroking his cock and fantasizing about me is…
My thighs actually clench together at the dirty image.
Oh my God.
No.
Nope.
In. Ap. Propriate.
Hunter heaves a big sigh. “I feel so much better now that I got that off my chest.”
“Well, I don’t!” I can’t get the image out of my mind now, and that is so, so wrong.
His dark eyes twinkle. “Take it as a compliment.”
“No, thanks.”
He uses the hem of his shirt to mop up the sweat on his brow, which means he literally just flashed his entire chest to me and the rest of the gym. His washboard abs are glistening.
“Anyway, aside from the teeny little hiccup of me yanking it with you in mind, I’m truly digging this thing we have.” He gestures between us. “Promise me this will never change.”
“That what will never change?”
“That you’ll never want to sleep with me,” he says dramatically.
The sheer arrogance… I release a sigh of my own and reach over to pat his stupidly muscular arm. “I promise I will never want to sleep with you, Hunter.”
BONUS! Want more story? Get the bonus epilogue for The Play here.
Briar U
Giveaway Alert
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Are you as excited for this release as we are? Let us know how excited you are and what other books you’re looking forward to this year!
About Elle Kennedy
A New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author, Elle Kennedy grew up in the suburbs of Toronto, Ontario, and holds a B.A. in English from York University. From an early age, she knew she wanted to be a writer, and actively began pursuing that dream when she was a teenager.
Elle writes romantic suspense and erotic contemporary romance for various publishers. She loves strong heroines and sexy alpha heroes, and just enough heat and danger to keep things interesting!
This looks like a fun read!
I haven’t read this author yet, but I keep hearing the name.
Sounds like a great read.
I’ve read a few excerpts from this and it sounds so fun. A couple of the books I was most looking forward to this month were The Alchemist and an Amaretto by Annette Marie and the Pets In Space 4 anthology
I have that Annette Marie series in my TBR. I better bump it up.