I love a good meet cute and this one was a great start to the book! It gave me immediate insight on both of the characters. From the start, I really liked Farren and Sebastian. They both had a lot of qualities that I want for myself and really brought out the best in each other. They did have a bit of an instalove sort of connection so I really would have liked to see them have a slow connection and not so fast. They do slow things down as the book goes along, which I appreciated. I didn’t love the side characters and was actually annoyed by Corinne and her personality and actions. I don’t know if this was to make us understand Farren, but it honestly just distracted me from other main things in the book. I really loved Sebastian’s panic over how much he liked Farren, because it showed how into her he really was. It was super cute! There was some drag in the writing when there was just a lot of description and telling, but this didn’t throw me off too much. I did not like the third act breakup aspect of this book, as it didn't seem to translate well. The lack of communication between two characters who seemed to understand each other so much before felt off and immature for both of them. They felt close to each other but refused to talk about stuff that could’ve prevented their future conflict. It seemed to alter Sebastian's character, which was disappointing because he was great up until then. I wanted to see more growth and groveling but overall, I'm glad they ended up together. Also, this book is in third person, which is not usually my cup of tea, but it was good.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Country Press for an eARC of this book.

In her debut novel, Playing For Keeps, author Tristen Crone offers up a love story much like the the honey lemon twice-baked croissant at the heart of her characters meet-cute: fluffy and sweet, with a hint of zest and crunch to keep things interesting. Now that I’ve made myself hungry, let’s dive in.

The story follows Farren, a boardgame and tabletop game enthusiast and substitute teacher, and Sebastian, a man a little too married to his work. When the two get into it over the last of the aforementioned honey lemon twice-baked croissants, Farren proposes a deal: if Sebastian beats her at a board game, the croissant is his, if he loses, he has to come back to the café the next week for board game night with her friends.

After that the two fall into an easy friendship built on the back of mutual attraction, but what stops them from fully committing to giving this relationship a go is their respective personal baggage, giving us lots of that sweet, sweet angst. As well developed as that side of things is, I found myself wishing the book was just a touch longer, if that meant we could explore a bit more of their relationship as a pair, watching it grow and blossom. The story was there, it was clear what was going on, but I would have liked a little extra time just to linger in their world.

Really, the highlight of the novel is watching Farren and Sebastian work to overcome their individual damage, with the support of a caring - if occasionally misguided - partner. The two are stuck in that all-too-relatable late 20s/early 30s place of questioning why and how you ended up where you did, and considering how that makes you feel. It’s a scary enough place to be but luckily they aren’t there alone.

Playing For Keeps is out June 27, 2023. Special thank you to NetGalley and Lake Country Press for the advance copy for review purposes.

This book was generally just “fine”. I could see the book’s potential, but it lacked in development. Within the story, there were several mini conflicts, but their resolutions/conclusions were just kind of glossed over or not ever really reached. Both MCs felt alone in the world, abandoned by their parents, and just generally shit on by the world at large, which just resulted in a lot of “whoa is me” attitude from both MCs which just made the book sort of hard to read. I liked their little meet cute, but I struggled to believe that Sebastian and Farren had any chemistry, and it was just…hard to get through.

I was given an ARC by NetGalley and Xpresso Book Tours. All opinions are my own

I love a good coffee shop meet cute and this one was a great start to the book. It gave me immediate insight on both of the characters.

From the start, I really liked Farren and Sebastian. They both had a lot of qualities that I want for myself and really brought out the best in each other. They had an instant connection that had them dating super quick. I maybe would have liked to see more of them as friends before this. I think they both could’ve benefited from just having somebody be there for them without a relationship tied to it for a bit. I will say that their relationship having a sort of slow burn within it did help with this. I didn’t love the side characters and was actually annoyed by Corinne a lot. I don’t know if this was to make us understand Farren, but it honestly just distracted me from other main things in the book.

I think the story had a strong start. I especially loved Sebastian’s panic over how much he liked Farren. It was super cute. There was some drag in the writing when there was just a lot of description and telling, but this didn’t throw me off too much. What I wasn’t a big fan of was the third act drama. The lack of communication between two characters who seemed to understand each other so much before felt off and immature for both of them. They felt close to each other but refused to talk about stuff that could’ve prevented their future conflict. I don’t have an issue with third act problems, but this one just didn’t fit correctly for me and I didn’t like how it altered Sebastian’s character. I think there could’ve been a bit more groveling/rebuilding of their relationship BUT I did really enjoy their ending and the implication of their futures. I actually would have loved to see even more of them growing together and as individuals.

I usually don’t love third person in romances because it makes me miss the personal insight on characters. However, this third person didn’t really bother me at all and still gave me a lot of understanding of both of them. Overall, this was a nice debut. I look forward to more from this author!

MINI PLAYLIST 🥐♟️💛
this is me trying - Taylor Swift
Lovebug - Jonas Brothers
Begin Again (Taylor’s Version) - Taylor Swift

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! :)

What a cute and comfy read! This is a nice grumpyxsunshine and opposite attract romcom about Sebastian and Farren. I love how Farren is a plus side character where her only personality trait isn’t being plus size (or any conflict surrounding it). Sebastian is our standard grump who hasn’t know joy until he met our fmc.

The book fell flat during the third act conflict between our main characters. I struggled to feel the connection between Farren and Sebastian at times and it felt like they both needed separate therapy sessions before getting into a relationship. Side note- I did not like Corrine. She was a nasty friend to Farren, who redeemed herself a little in the end, but bothered me for the majority of the book.

Overall, I like Farren and Sebastian as a couple. The found family trope was nice to see since both had strain relationships with their blood family. I would read more work from this author!

I loved the premise of this one, and the cover is so cute! Unfortunately, however, I just couldn't get into the book. Pages and pages of exposition made it difficult to immerse myself in the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc!

So these two are sooo opposite of each other......or so they think. Hang on for a great ride with them. Scary to move forward but scary to stay the same. Worth the ending!

Omgoodness what a fun read this was! I love representation of all kinds in books, and this one did not disappoint. If you like board games, smoking hot love interests, strong/curvy FMC then this is one that you don’t want to miss out on ❤️

BIG GIRLS FOR THE WIN!! I ADORED Fallen and Sebastian. I saw so much of myself with Fallen and having a big girl be portrayed in such an amazing and inspiring way seriously hit home. I loved everything about this book and how much Sebastian had come to realize how much his fear and last trauma was holding him back from fully committing to Fallen.

I wanted to like this book. It has a cut concept revolving around board games and the plus-size representation is always a bonus. However, Farren and Sebastian are total duds of characters. Neither has particularly strong ambitions and both carry perceived trauma from childhood. Their “meet-cute” wasn’t at all cute and felt incredibly contrived. As the book progressed, their chemistry did not and the believability of the romance diminished. There were many arguments between various characters that had me cringing the entire time. The writing and plot points felt incredibly forced and this should’ve gone through several more rounds of edits to be more readable. There was a significant lack of flow and ease, which makes a story much more enjoyable to read. The third-act breakup just really made the book irredeemable. The conclusion convinced me both these characters would never have a successful career and they would break up in 2-3 months based on their miscommunication. Lastly, the spice was so forced and the very opposite of romantic to read. 1.5⭐️, 2🌶

In Tristen Crone's grumpy-sunshine novel, Playing For Keeps, the free-spirited FMC Farren meets the all work & no play MMC Sebastian... when he aggressively accuses her of stealing his fancy croissant. She gives him the option to win it, but only if he can beat her in a board game. Despite their rough beginning, they find out that they enjoy each other's company, and so the story begins.

I really liked the premise of Playing For Keeps. The board game aspect is what drew me in (and the cover is also really cute). I liked the story as a whole, but the writing fell a little flat for me. There was a lot of telling vs showing, not a lot of dialogue, and sometimes I felt like the story went off on a random, unnecessary tangent.

I liked that Farren is plus size and she is still happy and confident with her body.
Farren is also a relateable character. I can relate to her lack of "drive" for fear of failure.

Sebastian was kind of bland to me. There were too many work scenes, and not enough behind the scenes with his character.

The side characters were either unlikable or forgettable.

I really wish that I liked this book better. I think it has so much potential!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

First of all, I love books with fat MCs, especially when the plus-sized MC is also visible on the cover! I immediately smiled when Fannen complained in the first chapter about the waistband of her pants that cut into her stomach. I think everyone with a bit of fat, or more on their body, recognizes the feeling! I never wear leggings like Fannen does, but I love to wear my loose yoga pants at night. 
 
This romance has the grumpy-sunshine trope worked out in every detail, and I have to admit, even though I love this trope, I had to warm up to Sebastian. Boy, oh, boy, he’s one of the grumpiest of grumpiest MCs I’ve ever met. He hates his life in general, which is tangible throughout the story. Fannen, on the other hand, was such a lovely person!
 
What I didn’t like was the third-act-breakup. In general, I kind of hate the 70/80% mark in a story where the romantic relationship between the main characters flies off the rails because of a stupid incident while the couple always gets back together in the end, and I especially hated the conflict in this book.
 
Overall, Playing for Keeps is a nice story for those who love to read nerdy romances.

Ok this was a cute, quirky read! It follows Farren (love that name) as she navigates being an independent woman in DC. She doesn’t like to sit still and welcomes change. She’s also a plus size woman who has gotten a recent Hypothyroidism diagnosis (not a huge part of the plot but wanted to mention in case of triggers). Sebastian is an app developer/workaholic who has past trauma he’s trying to rectify, but maybe not in the healthiest way. Farren is a big board game player and her and Sebastian have a really cute meet-cute surrounding it.

I loved that this book was about board games! I love board games and you don’t really see that as a main plot point in romance books. I also related a lot to Farren and overall loved her character. Sebastian, on the other hand, I just did not like. I was hoping he would have a big redemption arc in the end and it just sort of fell flat to me. I think Farren is way too good for him. He had to have his hand held through every bit of conflict and I just think that feeds into our patriarchal society.

Overall, it was cute and had a lot of enjoyable moments. It’s very short and not very spicy. I wish it was a bit longer with more spice.

🔥/5
⭐️⭐️.75/5


*I received an Advanced Readers Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Playing for keeps was a cute, enjoyable read. The main characters are both quirky in their own ways. I always love a confident plus sized female character. I loved that they were opposites, but because of this, could help to build off each other. I don’t want to give any of the book away, I just didn’t enjoy their lack of conflict resolution skills. Due to their ages in the book, it was a little immature for me, personally. Overall I did enjoy this book! And I would recommend to others to read.

This book was everything I didn’t know I needed in a spicy romance! A plus sized leading lady who doesn’t hate herself or her body? One who has done the work to get there, but still has a slight niggling of the past struggle? Sign me up!! I could see myself both in the emotions and uncertainty of Farren as well as the structure and inability to find self agency in Sebastian. I was gutted with them and for them! I fell in love with them! An amazing read! Highly suggest to everyone who loves a grumpy/sunshine trope romance with a slow burn!

“A hermit crab hopping from shell to shell, keeping it warm for the permanent inhabitant, protecting herself in the process” (Page 7)
I have absolutely nothing but good things to say about this book. From the relatable plus size representation, the realistic portrayal of love and friendship, safe “spicy” time and the best meet cute; this book had me hooked from the beginning.
Farren is such a relatable character. She’s got chub and she knows it, but doesn’t let it run her life. She has dreams she’s too afraid to reach for. She finds ways to shield herself from hurt and failure. All of these things make her such a good character! And honestly she may be one of my favorite romance heroines to date.
The story was also realistic and modern in the best ways. I had moments where I hated some characters and loved them the next, and some moments where I realized that I did the same things as some of these characters. The pacing of the relationship was wonderful, not too fast but not too slow, and I believe their hesitation at certain aspects certainly made the tension all that much better.
Honestly I rate this book a 10/10! This book will certainly be on my regular romance book rotation!

Playing For Keeps is a rom-com that follows Farren, board game fanatic, and Sebastian, grumpy, depressed, software engineer, as they navigate dating while figuring out yourself in your late twenties.

I was originally very excited to read this book, but many things did not work for me. First, Farren and Sebastian meet at a café, when Farren orders the last croissant in the case and Sebastian accosts her about the croissant. It’s supposed to be a “meet-cute”, but in reality, is just a subtle way of showing how much Sebastian is going to suck as a romantic hero in the rest of the book. Sebastian, aka the “grump” in the supposed “grumpy-sunshine” trope, is a miserable person who hates his job and his life, has no friends, and barely connects with his family. The only reason Sebastian begins to talk to Farren is because she is the “sunshine” who looks at everyone with wide-eyed optimism and a penchant for not reading the room.

Sebastian and Farren have no discernable chemistry as romantic leads and quite honestly, I was not rooting for them throughout the entire story. Not to mention, the third-act breakup made Sebastian completely irredeemable when he tells Farren, “You didn’t ask for a gift, I got it anyway. I didn’t ask you to love me, and you did it anyway,” or, even worse, that she has no ambition or drive. Was Sebastian right about Farrren’s characterization? 100% yes. Farren has absolutely zero ambitions and her big reveal at the end of the story is that she wants to start a kid’s gaming café? Both characters are so unlikeable from the very beginning because they both are so insecure and miserable and BOTH need extreme therapy for their baggage with their families.

Playing For Keeps is board-erline (get it? Game pun?) unreadable. The writing is clunky and at times, superfluous for no reason. Is this a fault of the debut author, Tristen Crone? Or could her editor have done 10x better in vetting this manuscript and making it actually work? There is so much potential in the synopsis and none of it works throughout the story.

Spice level: 0.5/5
Rating: 1/5
Tropes: grumpy/sunshine

I loved this book! This genre of books is becoming one of my favorites. I loved having the POVs of both main characters so I could see how both were feeling/going through. I also enjoyed the board game aspect. After reading this book, I kept thinking about how we never know what someone is going through and how the words we say can hurt others.

Thank you NetGalley and Publishers for allowing me to read an advance copy of this book!

3.5🌟

Right off the bat I have to say how much I LOVED having a book where there is a plus size main character and they DON’T constantly bring up her weight or the fact that she’s bigger. I loved seeing a love story where that wasn’t the main focus. There are so many stories being created with plus size MC’s and the author spends the whole book being fatphobic making sure we remember how “big” she is. I’m so grateful for Tristen Crone for making it normal, because a description of the character shouldn’t be the focus of the story!! As a fellow plus size girlie this meant so much!!

I really enjoyed Sebastian and Farren’s dynamic and how easy it was for them to just grow comfortable with one another. I just don’t enjoy breakups or arguments where the main characters purposefully say hurtful things to one another and then they just apologize and all is well. As for Corinne….. I think she wasn’t a good friend and was honestly selfish and rude, yeah she had a few good moments towards the end… I’ll give her the benefit of doubt because *character growth* but yeah..

Overall I really enjoyed the plot and being able to see a little bit into Farren & Sebastian’s family dynamics. Also that little scene at the end had me MELTING, so really enjoyed that and can’t wait to read more from Tristen Crone!!

A huge thank you to NetGalley & Tristen Crone for providing me with an ARC in return for my honest review!!

Thank you to Tristen Crone, Lake Country Press & Review, and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read Playing for Keeps!

What a fun grumpy x sunshine moment! I fell in love from like page 3. Bubbly plus-size female lead, surly no-nonsense love interest, croissants and board games--what more could you want!

I think this book had a lot of things going for it. Namely that it felt very real. This book had two characters who had relatable problems and were still figuring things out in their own lives. I really liked that aspect of this story because it's rare to see that sort of representation so accurately portrayed. Also, I didn't feel like there was really a plot but that was a-okay for me. I had enough fun watching Farren and Sebastian fall for each other, I didn't need some elaborate plot points to keep the story moving. However, if you're someone who cares more about the plot than character development you might want to keep an eye on that.

One thing that didn't really work for me was the huge conflict point. It sort of represented the culmination of all the things I didn't like about Farren and Sebastian's relationship. It felt like too much and too severe for me to keep rooting for the couple in the same way that I did at the beginning. There were things said in this book (in the third act and earlier) that felt too ...mean? I guess mean would be the word. I guess to me they seemed like comments that I couldn't forgive as easily as some characters seemed to. Though, I will say that it sort of captured the elements of fear and imperfection that Crone was selling the whole time, so it wasn't completely out of nowhere.

Overall, I though this was a fun read that had me smiling at my kindle like a complete fool...and I loved it.