This is a beautiful meet-cute, a sunshine meets Grumpy. A timeless tale.
A story of self-doubt, about learning to except one’s self and let others in no matter how difficult it may seem.

Wonderfully written and super fun narrative with complex and likeable characters. You can’t help but become invested in there journey of ups and downs, twists and turns, of learning to trust and to love.

This was a fantastic story that had me unable to put it down. I loved the main characters in this story. The voluptuous, Farren, is a happy-go-lucky and well likeable, she certainly has her has full when she meets the grumpy, Sebastian. He has his own baggage to deal with, but together they discover a place in their hearts to love again.

A must for any romance lover.

I just reviewed Playing For Keeps by Tristen Crone. #PlayingForKeeps #NetGalley

Book Name: Playing For Keeps
Series: NA
Author: Tristen Crone
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Farren is hanging out with her friends for their weekly gathering to play board games at the local cafe. When she orders a pastry to eat she is accosted by a handsome man who had his heart set on eating that particular treat. She offers to play him for it, he wins and he gets the pastry, he loses and he has to come back and play again next week.

The things I enjoyed about this book was the whole geeky world of board games and the idea of hanging out with your mates to play on a Friday night. The games sounded fun and I liked the idea of Farren building/designing her own game. I also love a plus size FMC and she was a good one.

The chemistry between Farren and Sebastian was a bit lacking for me personally and maybe it was just both of their insecurities merging to make it seem like neither of them really cared all that much until the end. He was so work focused and stressed that it was kinda stressful to read and god his job sounds awful.

Thanks to #NetGallery and the publisher. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Genre: Romance
Format: Digital
POV: Dual
Spice: 🌶️ /5
Age suggestion: 18+

Farren is the world’s most relatable female main character. She is kind, loving, caring, and shows up for those she loves but she feels like a failure having been unable to commit to a career or a relationship.

She has aspirations but keeps them quiet because she doesn’t want to be known as a failure. At a game night with friends at a cafe she is left battling Sebastian over a croissant. Little did they know it was the start of an unexpected romance and that they’d help each other find happiness and reach their goals.

This book was soooooo good. I loved every second of it.

I was so intrigued and excited by the premise of this book - I'm a huge board game geek as well as a lover of grumpy/sunshine romances, and the plus sized rep was a fantastic draw too! While I did enjoy this book and found it a great quick, easy read (and had fun seeing how many board game references I recognised!), there were a couple of elements that didn't quite live up to my expectations. I didn't feel like the grump/sunshine element worked that well as Farren, to me, didn't really seem to fit the "sunshine" archetype (understandably, once you learn more of her backstory). This wasn't a huge deal as I still enjoyed the story, but maybe something to bear in mind if this is a trope you are particularly looking for. I also found the narrative leaned quite heavily on "telling" rather than showing at points. Having said that, I did love the plus size rep and thought it was extremely well done, Farren was so sexy and the descriptions of her from Sebastian's point of view were *chef's kiss*.

This book was adorable! I really enjoy Farren, she was honest and so relatable. I loved the gaming and plus size rep here. Plus you can never go wrong with the grumpy sunshine book trope in my eyes!

4/5 ⭐️

This is SO PRECIOUS! I loved this book from beginning to end. The romance is sweet, the fat representation is amazing, and the characters are well developed as is the plot. I will say that the meet cute was fun but could have used a bit more tension. The book was a cute read for those that love romance especially with plus size representation!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.
This was a cute, nerdy romcom about Farren and Sebastian; complete opposites that bring out the best in each other. Sebastian is a workaholic who is trying to hide from his past. Farren is easy-going but a bit listless. It all starts with a meet cute in a cafe with board games.

I love a plus sized MC and Farren’s attitude about it is so great. I loved that it’s mentioned at the start of the book but afterwards it’s rarely mentioned. Being fat isn’t a defining feature so I liked that the book didn’t harp on that.
I also appreciated the found family in this book. Both MCs have strained relationships with their families and instead of trying to force relationships that don’t benefit them, they found themselves a family that supports them and makes them happy. I think that’s so important. Blood doesn’t make the family, love does.

The chemistry between Sebastian and Farren was a little flat in my opinion. They were cute together but that tension and fire wasn’t there. I also found myself a bit bored when the book started going into Sebastian’s work life.

Overall I enjoyed the story and the characters. I’m giving it 3.5⭐️

I enjoyed this book so much! It was a cute and breezy read. Farren is adorable and I found her to be lovable and spunky. I'm such a fan of grumpy/sunshine, and I love the plus size rep! I loved all the little details in this story.

This was a super cute debut from Tristen Crone! An easy and sweet read, it was a great way to spend a weekend.

Sebastian and Farren have an adorable meet cute when they both order the last croissant at a coffee shop and she gets it. It kicks off a great evening of board games and conversation and forces Sebastian outside his workaholic bubble. The two could not be more different, but the chemistry between them continues to build.

I liked the sunshine/grump trope here and thought it worked well for these characters. They both had a lot of baggage to work through with family and exes and work, but they got there. I liked the grand gesture at the end particularly because I thought Sebastian’s actions during their conflict were particularly harsh and hurtful toward Farren so the grovel was real.

Content warnings: Sebastian is a total workaholic and has awful boundaries with work; Farren references her experience with hypothyroidism; Sebastian’s mother has a thyroid cancer scare

I voluntarily read an early copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

This book was so incredibly sweet. It had the best description of being a plus size woman! I love the cover and the start of the book with the love story between the two. I just found it a little hard to get through since most of it was written in a summary, we were told a lot about what happened but didn’t actually see what was happening by direct quotes. I loved the story but the writing style was frustrating for me since I wanted to see how the characters were feeling instead of being told. Still enjoyed the story but just wanted a little more!!

This was a refreshing romance with plus size representation! I really enjoyed it and I’m dying to play Pitch, Please! 😭 full review on Instagram, booknerdysam

This was a cute little book! I didn’t feel emotionally invested in the characters and there was a lot of miscommunication in my opinion, but it still wasn’t a terrible way to spend the day.
I’m not sure if I’d recommend this to anyone else unless they specifically liked these cute nerdy little rom coms.
I’d still give it 4 stars though because it definitely kept my attention.

** ARC kindly provided by NetGalley and Lake Country Press in exchange for an honest review **

She is a fill-in teacher with a passion for board games and he is a workaholic that avoids connecting with people. What happens when they face off for the Holy Grail of croissants?

The truth? I couldn't fully connect with the story and the characters.

On the one hand, I LOVE the cover. I like Farren, the plus size yet –mostly– confident heroine, and the board game theme is an enjoyable novelty.
Also, I highlighted quite a few grabbing quotes about self-esteem, work and dreams.

On the other hand, this felt like an unsuccessful slow burn, meaning it is slow but it doesn't burn. The story drags and there is no real increase in Farren and Ian's chemistry.
Nothing major happens during most of the novel and the actual plot developments seem to happen between the chapters. Unseen.

In my opinion, part of the slowness is due to the book being too descriptive. And the other part is because most of the book feel like "filler scenes" of a wider plot that is not written.

To wrap up, the idea behind the novel was great but it could have been implemented much better.

• Slow-burn
• Rom-com
• Opposites attract
• Grumpy/sunshine
• Plus size FMC
• Board games

This was so good! I loved Sebastian and Farren! Their love story was such a great read. This book is a keeper!
I just reviewed Playing For Keeps by Tristen Crone. #PlayingForKeeps #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

I just finished this super cute book, Playing For Keeps! Contemporary romance isn't my preferred sub-genre, but this one sparked my interest for two reasons.

1. A curvy leading lady
2. This lady happens to be a board gamer (which is a hobby of mine as well!)

Farren and Sebastian meet while vying for the same croissant... she invites him to play her for it, and so the love story and the board game fun begins!

Farren and Sebastian are opposites in many ways, but similar when it comes to childhood trauma. Getting to see them grow and learn how to get past that was quite lovely to read (though trust me when I say they had many growing pains along the way).

This book is told in alternating POVs, which really helped the reader get to know the leads and understand their motivations.

Special shout out to the author for including many game mentions along the way!

I voluntarily received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was a cute fast read. I really enjoyed it. Farren and Sebastian's backstories were my favorite part of the book because I was able to relate to how they felt and it was nice to see these types of heartache in the book.

Thanks, Netgalley and Lake Country Press & Review for this Arc

I really wanted to like this book, but I couldn't get into the story and ended up not enjoying it as much as I had hoped.
Beautiful cover!

I really wanted to like this book. The gaming concept was super cute, and I was interested in the characters initially. That said, I felt like the romance was really front-loaded, in the sense that there wasn’t a lot of build up, and then there was just a TON of waiting for something to actually happen. I didn’t feel drawn in to the plot, probably largely because this book was about 80% exposition, 20% dialogue.
Not a win for me, though I’m really grateful to NetGalley for the chance to check it out!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗲𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆:
- Grumpy x Sunshine
- Opposites Attract
- Plus Size FMC
- Meet Cutes Involving Croissants

Playing for Keeps is an incredible debut for Tristen Cone and spoke to my board game playing heart!

Farren and Sebastian make the perfect opposites attract couple that will have you swooning the entire book. Farren is such a sunshine with how loveable, board game loving, and sweet she is. Meanwhile Sebastian is a tall, awkward, uptight grump who has built up walls around him that quite literally only Farren can shatter.

Farren and Sebastian get together very early in the book so we get tons of content of their relationship development and just cute couple things 🥰. The attraction between the two was undeniable and had me swooning at them the entire book!

What I love about this story is that there is ton of communication between the couple and are clear with each other what they're looking for from the start. Yay for no miscommunication!

There is a third act break-up which I am usually not a fan of BUT! Sebastian's grand gesture had me smiling from ear to ear. It was such a book boyfriend move and I LOOOOVED it.

Thanks so much to Tristen Crone, Lake Country Press and NetGalley for the eARC, all opinions expressed are my own!

This is such a great read! The perfect balance of grumpy x sunshine characters. The story follows Farren (a substitute teacher stuck in a career she’s not committed but is passionate about) and Sebastian (a career focused individual working in a job he’s miserable in). When an awkward meet cute leads to an invite to Farren’s weekly game night, both strike up an unlikely friendship.

I love how the characters compliment each other, both pushing each other towards happiness. I love the references to board games throughout the book, a recurring motif that keeps the story grounded beyond the romance. I also love how confident Farren is, and seeing her passion for board games was so cool - I would have loved to have seen more insight into her own creation

The couple were an excellent duo and I loved the way Sebastian worked hard to make up for his shortcomings after the brief conflict.

I would definitely recommend, it was such a cute and sweet read!