3 to 3.5 stars

ARC copy of this title received via Netgalley

Brooks is a highly sought after personal trainer and successful gym owner after years of effort and hard work, but no matter how successful he becomes it cannot erase the sting of being deemed not good enough for the first love of his life and mother of his child by her wealthy elitist parents. After 18 years he still holds out hope that Alice may change her mind and allow them to be a real family but recent news has made it clear he needs to face reality and abandon that dream no matter how painful that realization is.

Izzy is a 28 year old aspiring fitness instructor who lives off Mummy and Daddy in London despite their disapproval of her career choices. They see her book deal and dance videos as a rebellious act meant to annoy them and a pause that she will eventually get over. She arrives in NY to meet with her bull-in-a-china-shop publicist and promptly manages to piss off Brooks by barging into his gym and demanding celebrity treatment. The sniping begins, and when their feud over whose lifestyle choices and health methods work better escalates publicly, they find themselves forced into 2 weeks of close proximity as part of a PR stunt.

Izzy brings out all those old feelings of inadequacy in him again with her spoiled little rich girl moments she doesn't want to acknowledge, and he turns into a growly beast in her presence. They certainly bring out the worst in each other, but they can't deny the underlying attraction is mutual either. It's a fine line between lust and hate that is crossed in due time, but love should have nothing to do with it... right? After all, she is going back to London in a few weeks and he can go back to his dull, peaceful existence so there is no need to spill his secrets to her.

I really wanted to love this book, but in the end both characters made me grind my teeth too much to make it a truly enjoyable read for me. Izzy acted like a spoiled teenager with the accompanying mood swings; hell, Brooks' 18 year old daughter Cady was more mature than she was! As for Brooks- well, he was a little too far down on the broody caveman "I'm just never going to be good enough" charts for me although I definitely liked him far more of the two main main characters.

That being said, the story itself was well written despite my lack of connection with the characters. The glimpse of the next book in the series provided at the end of the story looks intriguing too so I will likely check it out when it becomes available.

This is the second book in the Brits In Manhattan series and if you like enemies to lovers romance then boy, you’re in for a treat.
Laura Carter’s writing is extremely effortless and I find that I lose myself from the very first page.
Oh my did Brook’s and Izzy get off on the wrong foot! I’m the beginning their disgust of each other was so strong I honestly wasn’t sure how it was going to play out and still be believable but it was. It was believable and wonderful!
My heart broke for Brook’s. I can’t imagine going through life feeling the way he does.
Izzy also has her own life struggles to work through and I loved the fact that they took some time on their own before giving in to the inevitable.
It was addictive, funny and flirtatious! It was everything!

Playing to Win by Laura Carter a five-star read that will leave you with a winning feeling. This is the second book in the Brits in Manhattan series but I haven’t read the first and didn’t need to have to get this story, I will how ever be going back to read it before the next book in the series is released as I may have just found another fave author. Her writing is great, it shows a talent that you don’t often see. Brooks Adams isn’t your typical broodish bad boy filled with tattoos, he has spent the last 18 years of his life trying to be someone, prove to everyone he is worth believing in, his Gym is a major success but does he see that himself? Izzy Coulthard is seen as the ditzy spoilt rich girl but with her ‘Salsa Yourself Slim’ she has a plan, she just needs people to believe in her. When neither of them believe each other’s gym plans work a challenge is set. Cue some hilarious circumstances and some great enemies to lovers scenes including some that will warm your heart. Overall this is a great story and you won’t want to put it down once you pick it up.

Playing to Win - the second book in the Brits in Manhattan series....

This is the first book I have read from Laura Carter, and color me impressed!

This is the story of Izzy (Isabella) and Brooks and what a chemistry they have!

Izzy was a bird in a gilded cage, but wanted so bad to be free, to break the chains of upper crust British family and be her own person, to do the things she loved.  I admired her tenacity and I wanted to shake her when she made such poor choices and bad mistakes! But in the end I loved her for breaking away and becoming happy doing what she wanted to do!

Oh Brooks, my heart broke for him. His history with Alice and the result in Cady was so sad.  It really did follow him and dictate his life and choices for the years following.  He's had his heart broken and it was going to take a strong person to get through to him.

Like I said earlier, Izzy and Brooks chemistry is off the charts! Their bickering and fighting was foreplay to them and it was fun to read! It wasn't all hearts and flowers which made it more real! There was some laughter from me while reading this, especially when Brooks is salsa dancing in the shadows and gets caught! 

I am so glad to have the opportunity to read this and can't wait to read what's next for Laura!  Thank you for your words and stories! Well done!

I received an arc from Netgalley. This was a lovely romance story with lots of banter and witty back and forth. At times the two main characters are immature in their actions but they work through the issues.
Izzy and Brooks are two people trying to find their way. Izzy trying to find where she belongs in a career without the influence of her parents and Brooks is a strong trainer/owner of gym trying to get over a lost love.
Through lots of ups and downs these two find their way to each other. 4 stars

I loved this book, the character development was interesting and complex. The story was captivating too! It was well worth the read! It's addictive and not a book I'll forget in a hurry!

Brook has never got over losing his childhood sweetheart and the idyllic life he planned with their daughter. He was from the other side of the tracks, not good enough for her parents. The main focus in his life now are his 18 year old daughter and his gym where he is a successful trainer. The last thing he needs is another entitled spoilt brat coming into his gym and telling him he’s got it all wrong. Izzy has been trying to find her own way despite her mother’s disapproval of her choice to become a fitness guru, she’s in New York to try to promote her book and program. Her publicist realises that the sparks flying between Izzy and Brooks are just the publicity she needs so stokes the fire. I am enjoying Laura’s Brits in Manhattan series and look forward to the next one.

The 2nd book in the Brits in Manhattan series by Laura, I was really looking forward to reading this after book 1 Balancing the Scales, and it didn't disappoint, it was a great read!!

Brooks is a personal trainer and gym owner, believing everyone is different and tailor-making plans around his clients, giving him the reputation of THE place to go in NYC. But his motivation stems from problems in his past, getting his girlfriend pregnant at a very early age and not being good enough for her parents to be able to accept Brooks into their life. 18yrs later and he's still not over her, even though she has moved on and has a family of her own, he is bitter and resentful, only indulging in one night stands to ease the pressure.

Izzy is a trainer also, but has different beliefs to Brooks, Clean and Green is her moto, with fresh veg shakes and salsa dancing to keep fit. She's fast approaching 30, but still lives in a house with her sister, paid for by Mummy and Daddy. She has just launched a new book and is doing a 2 wk blog tour in NYC to promote this along with her dancing. Her publicist suggests using Brooks' gym to shoot a salsa video, and she literally turns up demanding to use a studio at his gym, but Brooks is having none of her attitude - let the games begin!!

There is real hate in their relationship to begin with - he won't bow down to her and give in to her every demand, which is probably what she's used to, and she definitely does not like being told no. Izzy is spoilt and pampered, but is trying her best to make it on her own, none of which is being helped by the brute of a man that is Brooks, who she is most definitely not attracted to, even though he is very hot, handsome and with lots of muscles!! She is fiery and sassy, which drives Brooks utterly mad, yet he ends up laughing at her antics, something he hasn't done in years. Watching her salsa dance in his studio has him thinking some very rude thoughts!!

A great read, with both main characters putting up one hell of a fight against each other before succumbing to their mutual attraction. There's a lot of push and pulling, sarcastic comments and banter flowing in the story. It takes a while for their walls to slowly come down and they start seeing each other for who they truly are. But all this happens within a really short time frame as Izzy is only there for 2 weeks, so they have a lot to get through and not much time to work with each other.

Funny, sexy, emotional - its definitely worth the read - highly recommended.

Wow! Ok, I pretty much read this book in one sitting. I couldn't put it down! I actually liked this book better than the first book in the trilogy. I completely fell in love with the characters in this book and I can't find a bad thing to say about Brooks or Izzy! This book has it all. Great characters, single dad, good humour and some steam as well. I truly loved the fact that Izzy was a fitness instructor, kind of like Zumba/Salsa and also the whole healthy eating theme was realistic and humorous as well. Brooks I hear you with eating meat and not rabbit food! I for one, will definetly be recommending this book to all my weightloss, zumba friends and gym buddies. This was a cracking read!