really liked it

Playing for Keeps by Tristen Crone

This review may contain spoilers. Read at your own risk!

How do you get a hard-working man to loosen up and play? By enticing him with games, of course.

Playing for Keeps, Tristen Crone’s debut is a playful and feel-good romcom with a fresh take on the grumpy / sunshine pairing. Farren is our sassy and chipper heroine whose sweet demeanor hides her insecurities meets Sebastian, a forced workaholic who buried himself in his career so much that he has forgotten what it's like to have a good time.

PFK turns romcom just a little sideways, not revolutionizing the genre (there’s no need. Please give me all the romantic conflict and fix it at the end for my straight-shot of serotonin) but adding little surprising tweaks (like Crone’s smart while fluffy writing style) to keep it fresh and new. Additionally, we get a very (IMO) accurate POV of a female board-gamer. And this is what makes it very special to me. Farrow is feminine and adorable. She’s also a bit of a mess and flawed. And her escape is her games. But not only that, it’s also where she pours her heart into.

And then there’s Sebastian. Who has that special grumpy-work-hard quality that I love in my male LI but he’s not brooding or stand-offish, another fresh twist Crone added. He’s charming and caring right away. It seems like something hard to pull off, to write a LI who is “Daddy” and “Baby” at the same time, but Crone crafted Sebastian so well that I was thirsting for him right away.

Crone’s voice reminds me of shows like Ted Lasso and Schitt’s Creek. Every character is endearing, you’re rooting for everyone to be happy, and every single scene is a little whimsical and funny. And at the end of it all, you leave with a little hitch in your step. Like you want to pass the delight on or something.

I took a few days after finishing the book before I wrote this review and I keep thinking about Farren and her game idea and how she had to find her bravery to make it a reality. Like, don’t we all have something we dream big about? I know I do and her story is giving me that little push.

Thank you Lake Country Press, NetGalley and Tristen Crone for the Advanced Reader Copy. All thoughts and opinions above are my own.

I was really excited to receive an early copy of Playing For Keeps.
I will start out by saying that I adored Farren. As a big girl myself, from a largish family where I was in the middle and just learned to go with the flow around my more demanding siblings, she helped me feel seen as a sibling AND a big girl. There isn't a lot that I can say negative about her to be honest, she is a 5/5 for me.
Oh, Sebastian... there were so many positives about him and how he treated and what he did for Farren. However, I struggled with his internal battle and his feelings about Farren and the direction of their relationship. The biggest part that ruined him for me (without spoiling) was at the "angsty" part. What he said and how he handled it in the aftermath of the party left me cold. Couldn't get past it if I'm honest and I really wish I could have. But even his grand gesture upset me.
I also have to add that Corinne felt more frenemy than best friend. I didn't feel that she was looking out for Farren in a best friend way. I am a mother and I am married while most of my friends are childless and single, and I have never once thought my stuff was more important or said such crappy things about my best friend and who they are at their core so negatively. Just yikes.
I still finished the book and I really enjoyed the writing style of the author. I have a feeling there will be a lot of people that will not agree with me, but the H in this one was a big no. Farren, however, was definitely a favorite h of mine from recent memory.
Stars:
Overall 3.5/5
Spice 3.75/5

I LOVED this!! Farren was only of those main characters that i instantly connected with. I felt so seen in her character and loved getting to read her story. Also her meet cute with Sebastian was amazing. This was my first read by this author and I would love to read any other title by them!

Playing For Keeps is a wonderfully smart and swoony romance. I quite literally had to force myself to put it down once I got started, and read late into the night.
The characters (Farren and Sebastian) are both grounded in both the real world and their own lives. Their background stories make them each the perfect challenge for the other, and they work together as much as they work on themselves to overcome the flaws keeping them apart. He's a grumpy workaholic, she's a sunshine-y gamer with big dreams, and together they work splendidly. I loved the way she was almost immediately supportive of him, and how he challenged her to look past the things that had always held her back.
I loved how this story was paced and felt like the dreaded third act break was both believable and well executed. The gaming aspect was so fun. I would categorize this as more of a slowburn; when they did finally come together it was rewarding. I had all the fun, giddy feelings a good romance brings and was smiling like a fool at my kindle at one a.m..
Fans of Olivia Dade will love this book, and I can't wait to see more from this author!!

I knew I had to read this book when I saw there was a plus size FMC. I absolutely loved this book. I most definitely will be getting a physical copy upon its release!!

This was such a cozy romance. The characters were written with realistic traits. Which I loved.

Sebastian and Farren had a meet cute over a pastry and it took off from there. Despite both of there childhood and present day battles, they trudge through them. Finding them selves falling in love quickly. Neither one of them had intentions for a relationship. But found that it’s what they both needed.
Bubbly and confident meets a stressed workaholic.

Good points
- good personal growth with both characters.
-plus size representation was A++
-tiny bit childhood trauma confrontation
-cozy feel good. No heavy drama.
-tiny bit of spice

Tropes to mention
-Grumpy/sunshine
-slow burn
-opposites attract
-HEA

Thank you netgally and lake county press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was overall just so cute. I liked that Farren was the bold, confident one and badically got the ball rolling for them to start seeing each other. I laughed at the fact that everything between them started over a croissant and a challenge in a board game. Also, I need Tristen to create Farren's board game idea and sell it because I would 100% play it! The slowburn was done right, and the tension between Farren and Sebastian leading up to the moment they act on it was really good too.

📚 Slowburn Romance
📚 Opposites Attract
📚 Grumpy/Sunshine
📚 Plus Size FMC

As a plus size woman myself. This book is refreshing and well written. Some books with plus size characters make them being miserable about their size. Tristen didn’t do this at all.
The book made my cry 2 times. My personally trauma bubbling to the surface, but I think it’s good and Farren thought me to own it.

I highly recommend this book. I have posted it on tiktok already and it’s doing wel :)

Being the Reylo that I am I could not wait to get my hands on Tristen Crone’s Playing for Keeps! This is a grumpy meets sunshine with a gaming twist that was so much fun to read!

This book revolves around Farren and Sebastian. Farren is a fun-loving girl with no direction in life but who is passionate about board games. Sebastian is a grumpy workaholic who is incredibly lonely due to his unreasonable workload which he often willingly takes on.

This book explores the opposites attract and grumpy meets sunshine trope. These characters converge when Sebastian had a craving for a decadent croissant at a coffee shop which tends to host board gaming on Fridays. Farren, who frequented this coffee shop, happened to order the last pastry Sebastian was craving. This made Sebastian lose his cool especially after a stressful day of work and confronted Farren. Farren being the empathetic person she is, gave him a chance to win the pastry from her by playing a new game with her. If Sebastian won, he would get the pastry, if Farren won he would have to return the following week for game night. This leads to some fun banter and the incremental blossoming of their relationship despite their differences.

In this book, we do see some angst due to both characters having to push through their own emotional issues and environmental challenges which makes this book so satisfying because we do get our happy ending.

I really enjoyed the gaming element in the background of our characters which helps them meet and connect even more. This was written in alternating points of view between our main characters. Farren’s character was lively and relatable, especially to those that are still looking for direction in their lives. Sebastian’s character although grumpy initially, we start seeing his lightness as his character evolves; we start seeing a more at ease confident man, who is an absolute hunk of a man.

Overall, this was absolute treat of a read and I highly recommend this book. I really couldn’t put it down once I picked it up!

Thank you to Netgalley and Lake Country Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this book. I loved Farren she was a real character. I liked how she was a hypothyroid girl with confidence. I too am a hypothyroid girl, and I understood all she felt. It's hard to have body confidence. Sebastian had good character growth. I think it's great they didn't just fall into bed and insta-love. I am not usually a lover of slow burns, but this book was different. I really think it was the writing that kept me into the story.

Thank you to Netgalley and Lake Country Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. I'm so so thankful.

3,5 ⭐️

𝙶𝚛𝚞𝚖𝚙𝚢 𝚟𝚜. 𝚂𝚞𝚗𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚎, 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚊 𝚖𝚎𝚎𝚝-𝚌𝚞𝚝𝚎 + 𝚙𝚕𝚞𝚜 𝚜𝚒𝚣𝚎 𝚏𝚖𝚌? 𝚈𝚎𝚜 𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎, 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚍𝚘 𝙸 𝚜𝚒𝚐𝚗?

This was a very cute read! Being a curvier girl myself, I could definitely connect with Farren through all of her ups and downs (especially insecurity-wise). Also really enjoyed her slow-burn romance with Sebastian and how both their relationship and personal life blossomed.

Here are a couple of points I could gather from the notes I took:
- It's not written with a first-person pov, which to me personally was a little difficult to get used to, but it's really a matter of personal preference.
- The spicy scene was a bit too much since it was so out of character, definitely threw me off a little.
- I would have liked to read a bit more about Farren and Sebastian personally a little more. For instance, there are a lot of aspects mentioned throughout the book which we're not given that much information about: Farren's board game - a huge part of the plot which we don't learn that much about, Sebastian's past relationship, are just some examples that come to mind.
- From when they reconcile until the end of the book, the plot seems a bit rushed.

Although I do think the third part of the book still has some teaks, I would definitely recommend this book! Definitely a great summer read option!

2.5/5 Playing for Keeps is about Farren and Sebastian. They have a "meet cute" at a coffee shop, where she buys the last of a special croissant he wanted. Sebastian has had a bad week (or year) at work and all he wanted was this special treat. He accuses her of stealing his croissant (knowing full well he is wrong). Instead of shrinking away, Farren challenges him to play him for it in a board game battle. If he wins, he gets the croissant, if she wins he comes to game night the next week. Sparks fly, love happens and both need to trust themselves and others to get what they want.

On paper, this was the perfect book for me. It has board gaming, nerdiness, a plus sized, sassy character, but something just didn't work for me. I just didn't feel the spark between Farren and Sebastian and I didn't feel all the emotion of the characters. I felt that the characters needed more depth for me to care about them. Both Sebastian and Farren carry a lot of family history and trauma with them, and I felt that it was talked about a lot, but you never felt their pain. I also felt that the conflicts that happened between the characters and their families were just there and didn't add to the story in any way.

I did like some things in the story though. I liked how there is a plus sized character where the "drama" doesn't focus on weight in some way. I liked Farren's confidence and that neither character was perfect, carrying their own burdens. I also liked the writing of the relationship and how we go from their first meeting, the sweet dating and then the struggles many relationships have.

This is a debut novel and I think it was a good start, and Tristen Crone has a lot of potential to write a story I will love. Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Country Press and Review for a copy of this book. All opinions are 100% mine.

Playing For Keeps ✨✨✨

Sebastian is a focused, level-headed, seriously introverted man who meets the bubbly, care-free, and insecure woman (Farren) of his dreams. However, this all happens right in the middle of a possible promotion, one he’s been working on obtaining for quite some time. His demanding job doesn’t make it easy for him to have time for a budding relationship, and as things get serious, Sebastian needs to make a decision on what he can and can’t handle when it comes to work and love.

Farren is equally apprehensive about starting a new romance. But the bubbly, happy go lucky, and slightly flighty girl just might give this man a chance, regardless of what she might be feeling inside. She’s always thrown herself into relationships, hoping they would work out. But when things get too serious, she tends to cop out and leave; never feeling good enough due to her own insecurities. She’s known for protecting her heart, but Sebastian still finds a way to slither in, stealing the love she’s been looking to give someone her whole life.

This was a quick, easy, light-hearted read, about a man and a woman who weren’t looking for love but somehow found it amongst board games, lemon croissants, and friends. It was slow-burn at its finest, and I enjoyed every single minute of it.

Thanks for the ARC @lakecountrypress

Grab your copy June 27, 2023 🤓

I read Playing for Keeps by @tristencrone over the weekend and it was such a joy! I knew from the start I wasn’t going to be able to put it down. And it did not disappoint!

This romcom has
♟️a plus sized, confident protagonist
♟️board games!!
♟️overcoming your past
♟️a lil bit of spice 🌶️

It’s also a really quick read, which I enjoyed too!

I have one minor critique: While the book was incredible, I do wish there were more scenes developing the relationship and showing the conflict with Sebastian's ex, who caused him a lot of trauma. I feel like a lot of that was told to the audience rather than shown. Additionally, once Farren and Sebastian actually got together, it seemed like the audience just got a lot of summaries of what they were doing together. There were only a few scenes that showed the depth of their relationship.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book and thought it was a great read!

A sweet and funny story . Farren is a mart and funny curvy young woman who loves board games . Sebastian is working more hours than he should . they both are at the same cafe and try to buy the same pastry . when the last one gets to be bought by Farren he looses it and he accuse her for stealing his pastry . She then challenge him to play with her a game and if he wins he gets the pastry or if she win he has to come next Friday to their game night . They become friends and a couple . They are totally different but they match .
I received this book from net galley and the publisher as an ARC. Thank you! All thoughts and opinions are my own .

I received this as an ARC. But ya'll I really, really wanted to read it. I had heard about it on Twitter and when it showed up on NetGalley I was desperate to get my hands on it.

Anyways to the book. Farren (cute as heck name) is a substitute teacher who LOVES games. While at a coffee shop for game night she she gets herself a croissant. But someone else wants that croissant. Sebastian.

So what's a girl to do but challenge him to a game for it?

I loved the theme of games throughout. It plays a big part of Farren's life and I thought it was really neat as I'd never read a book about someone who loves to play so much. Video games? Sure. But none with tabletop games.

Both Farren and Sebastian are sweethearts. I enjoyed both characters. Farren and Sebastian are different. Sebastian has made work a big part of his life and Farren is more of a free spirit in that regard.

And I enjoyed that the book wasn't 100% about their romance. Both have issues in their professional lives that I feel like will be something a lot of people can relate to. And in their personal lives. There's some complicated family issues too. How do family dynamics make us who we are?

I can't wait to read more! And also isn't the cover GORGEOUS?

Playing for Keeps is the perfect romcom for getting out of a book slump. It’s cute, relatively short and bursting with interesting characters!

Farren and Sebastian have a sort of meet cute when they argue over a honey lemon croissant. Sebastian, known as Ian to everyone else, was having a craptactic day after a craptastic week at his craptastic job and all he wanted in life was to have a fancy pansty croissant that he saw advertised online. However, the cute woman in front of him in line bought it first! Farren, unwilling to give up what is (rightfully) hers offers him a deal: play a board game with her. The winner gets the croissant. After spending the evening both winning and losing, Sebastian leaves with the croissant - and Farren’s phone number! This starts a relationship that will bring introspection, growth and maybe love to both of them!

Farren and Sebastian are polar opposites which makes the book so much fun to read. Farren is a sunshine supply teacher who has some lingering childhood issues. Her very large family often pushed her aside in favour of her younger sister. This hurt travelled with her as she flitted from disaster relationship to disaster relationship. She wants to feel needed and valued, but will pull out before things get too deep. Getting too deep means heavy feelings and that means potential disappointment and more heartbreak. Instead, she finds fulfillment in her supply teaching job and in board games. She is perky and cheerful and I want to be her best friend.

Sebastian also has some childhood hang ups that seem to inform his adulthood reactions. His parents were free spirits who were very hands off. He felt unloved and found fulfillment in working hard and receiving accolades for his work. He left home after his ex, Ashley, stole his idea during a joint project at a former employers. He works as a government contractor for a company who just keeps piling on the work. Sebastian would work himself into an early grave if it meant getting ahead. And yet he finds no joy in it. Sebastian only begins to live a little when Farren waltzes into his life. She is the whimsy he needs.

The dynamics between the two were well defined and well written. Sebastian unwinds in a believable way around Farren and she shows passion for her own project when he’s near. They bring out the best in each other. The romance is a very slow burn, which they acknowledge. Neither are ready or willing to fall to heavily into something quickly and I appreciate that they took their time to feel each other out. The third act argument, while seeming a bit sudden, does actually make a lot of sense. Both feel an overwhelming amount of insecurity in themselves and the lashing out from both makes sense. (Although it was Sebastian’s fault the fight happened and I hold to that.)

The pacing of this novel is excellent and the plot flows nicely. The time of year is perfectly defined and made me hope the fall would get here soon! There are a few tiny Star Wars references for the nerds like me and I loved finding them!

This book is excellent for anyone who wants a shorter romcom to read with board games, only one croissant and cute banter! I highly recommend it!

Thanks very much to Lake Country Press, Tristen Crone and Netgalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Grumpy vs Sunshine - sign me up!
This book was dishing out all the warm and fuzzies. The characters were full of depth with all of their real life baggage. I found both Sebastien and Farren so relatable on so many levels - anxious curvy girl here!

A definite slow burn and light in the steam but I still loved this cute and fun romance!

Thank you @netgalley and @tristencrone for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book was a sweet romance debut featuring the opposites attract and grumpy x sunshine tropes. This book fell a little flat, and I struggled to root for the leads as a couple, especially after their third-act argument.

This book has:
•Grumpy x sunshine: Sebastian is our grumpy workaholic hero, and Farren is the sunshine heroine who is struggling to figure out what she wants from life
•Opposites attract: The leads couldn’t be more different, but they both challenged one another to get out of their comfort zones which I was here for 😌
•A third-act breakup: The argument that led to the breakup made me stop rooting for the leads as a couple. Even with the grand gesture at the end, I felt like Farren should’ve made him grovel WAY more

Thank you to Netgalley and Lake Country Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3 stars

Thank you Netgalley and Lake Country Press for this early read!

Farren is a single, curvy, board game loving, substitute teacher living in DC. Sebastian is a goal driven, workaholic who left his hometown to live in DC and “follow is his dream”. At board game night, Farren has with her friends at the local cafe shop, she orders the last New dessert they offered. Sebastian tried to order the same thing. After finding out that they sold the last one, Sebastian told Farren (strangers, mind you) that that croissant was his. Farren, being Farren, challenged him to a game off. The rest is history!

We get to watch as grumpy mcgrumperson falls for this fun loving beautiful ray of sunshine. I love how this book shows that toxic work environment shouldn’t be put up with—you are worth more! I love that Sebastian gasses up Farren with her dream too! Overall this is such a cutesy fun read. It did get a little boring between 50-75%, for my liking anyways. But other than that it was pretty good!

Read this if you love the grumpy/sunshine trope, you love board games, and need a cozy fun read(:

I was looking forward to this one, but it was not as good as it could have been. Both characters alternated between likable and not, and there is sort of a “switch flip” moment for each of them that seems incredibly unrealistic. There were definitely some fun moments, but overall I had hoped for more.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-arc.