A page turner! Joya Ryan is extremely talented and I’m glad I got the opportunity to read this wonderful story by her.  I couldn’t stop reading!

A very interesting book, loved and really enjoyed the reading. Strongly recommend the book if you are into page turning books.

Here are a couple of straightforward issues I had with Playing with Trouble:

1. The sex scenes seemed repitetive to the point that even descriptions were had seemed to be replaced with synonyms. You will notice this similarity between the first and the second sex scene in the book. I'm too tired to even highlight it here. 

2. Laura seemed to be making the same rushing mistakes she did with her husband. I would've really liked a decent glimpse in her past as well as Jake's to know where their feelings were coming from. 

3. Laura's father, Walt, the literally nonexistent character didn't quite match up to what Laura had been speaking of in the beginning of the book. 

4. I felt all the characters were under-developed and kind of set a boring tone.

5. I actually had a little hope thinking Jake and Laura are definitely going to butt heads, but it was so lame that I can't even begin to explain. 

On the whole, I was sorely disappointed. (

If I had to go by the first half of this book, I would have DNF'd it but I read it all and the last half at least gave it a couple stars.  I have to be engaged while reading and this book just left me feeling blah.

Did not get to review the book, kindle broke, by the time i bought a new one this was archived.. Hoping to rectify this by renting from my library and editing my review at a later date. If this is never updated my library did not have the book, Thank you for approving me and sorry for the inconvenience.
The rating i will be giving this books is their rating from Goodreads since i HAVE to give one to send this.

Laura returns to her home town feeling emotionally battered and broken after her divorce. She is determined to take over her mother’s flower shop  and make something of herself.
Once there she discovers it won't be so straightforward as someone from her past stands in her way.
Jacob crushed on Laura during high school and his feelings haven't changed, but he’s not going to let that stop him from being first in line to take over the business he has worked so hard for.
This is a sweet, easy to consume story. The characters are likeable and I enjoyed getting to know them. It is well edited, and the story flows well.
Ultimately, it is a little forgettable, but never the less, I don't feel it was a waste of time and I would happily read another book by this author.

A chick lit book with romance, laughter and baggage from the past. A new start in a new job. A striking attraction but also dislike at the same time. Twists and turns.

I am one of those readers that NEEDS to absolutely LOVE the characters.  Or, if I happen to not love them, I need to despise them or at bare minimum be able to feel what they are feeling.  I have loved to hate characters, I have felt anger towards characters, but these characters left me high and dry.

Although, I must say, the writing itself is spectacular, but I really just did not feel the characters and that is why I gave the rating that I did.  The story itself was was mediocre, and I do believe a lot of that comes from not being able to connect with the characters.  The "heroine" was dull, and the the love interest pretty much just existed, but the writing, the writing was well done.

A short and sweet love story with ups and downs. I liked the latter half of the book more than the beginning but all in all a quick steamy read.

I absolutely loved this novel! I felt like the hero was alpha to the core and the heroine was just as sassy. They were equally matched. Their banter was fiery and their passion was just as hot. I really enjoyed this story.

Playing With Trouble is the first romance in the Desire Bay series written by author Joya Ryan. I didn't find the characters or the story likeable. Thanks to NetGalley and Montlake Romance for the advance copy.

Recently divorced, Laura Baughman is taking her life back. After a decade away, she’s returning to Yachats, Oregon—the small town she couldn’t wait to leave after graduation—to take over her late mother’s beloved flower shop. Yet once she arrives, Laura discovers the store has been neglected and her father has partnered in construction with Jake Lock. The once-scrawny high school band geek is now successful—and irresistibly sexy—and set to inherit her family’s business. That is, unless Laura can prove in the next thirty days that she has what it takes to run the company.

Despite the heat between Jake and Laura, romance is out of the question. After her last disastrous relationship, Laura has sworn off men—especially one bent on crushing her dreams. That’s just fine with Jake, who thinks the gorgeous blonde is a pain in the neck…though admittedly one he’d like to put his lips all over.

Jake has a proposal to mix business with pleasure. But when a deal goes south, Laura is ready to pack up and skip town all over again. Does he have what it takes to convince her to stay?

 

* * * * *

 

I do have a tendency to avoid books with a lot of explicit sex because all too often I have found that as more sex that is added plot is removed.  I am so happy to say that this wasn't the case with PLAYING WITH TROUBLE.  It has a solid story line that will keep the reader interested along with some sex scenes which really heat up the pages.


I really enjoyed the characters especially some of the secondary ones such as Roberta, Laura's father's girlfriend.  She's a down to earth, big hearted woman with good advice who just happens to run a lingerie shop and a dirty book club.  I would also like to see a book about Hannah who is Laura's best friend.


All in all, I would give this book a thumbs up because it has a solid plot line, good pacing, great characters and witty dialogue.  I think that any of my readers who enjoy contemporary romance with some heat would enjoy this book.  There are some graphic scenes though so perhaps not appropriate for the younger generation.


*** I received this book at no charge from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.  All opinions expressed within are my own.

It's always difficult to let other readers know when I've had to DNF a book and this is one of those times.  I found it difficult to relate with any of these characters and to much steamy scenes for my liking.

A huge fan of Joya Ryan and this was easily one of her bests! Highly recommend!

The whole premise of the story was centered on a flower shop which was so uninteresting to me. 
The relationship between Jake and Laura was nothing special no chemistry. 
The heroine Laura just annoyed me; the first couple paragraphs knew I wasn’t going to like her. She was just so self-absorbed and always complaining. The hero Jake was just 😂

It has a pass....

This was the first time I've read a book by this author.

I enjoyed this book. It was unique and very sexy. If you're a lover of sexy moments... this is definitely the book for you!

Recv'd a copy via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was just not quite there in my opinion. The plot and premise of the novel was cliche and repetitive, the characters well-developed yet nothing new, and as a whole the novel was just a big disappointment because I was expecting quite something, considering the reviews the author has gotten, instead I got an okay book. 

And okay is just not good enough. I might try another of the author's novels in the future but it's not happening anytime soon.

The book was okay.  I didn't hate the book but I didn't hate it either.  I think I would have liked it more if I liked Laura more and didn't dislike Walt (her father) so much.

another good read, keeps you interested found hard to put down

*Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.*
This was a cute little book and it was very steamy.  Jake was hot, smart, loyal, funny, and has a wicked mouth. I really liked his character and I can totally relate to his fear of change. I tend to play it safe as well so I understood where he was coming from. I liked Laura, but I wasn't a huge fan of hers. I felt like she had so much anger and hurt from her ex husband still and just took it all out on Jake. I really enjoyed the banter between these two and the sex was hot. They are a cute couple and help balance each other out.  This was a cute story with hot sex, funny banter, trust issues, and learning how to let go of the past. I would recommend this book to friends and family and look forward to see what the next book in the series will be.