I’m halfway about the book. I like half of it and disliked the other half. I love love love audiobooks but I couldn’t get over the narrator for the characters. It just didn’t match with how the characters were described and felt a little silly to listen to.

DNF at 23%. I had a hard time getting into this one but I gave it a real chance, I swear! I wasn’t feeling anything for the characters and the narration wasn’t a favorite of mine. But then a brother was talking about his sister’s sex life? Then the man who came to rescue her from assault basically assaults her? No, I’m done. Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to review!

Play Dirty by Lora Leigh is a good fit for those seeking a passionate and protective romance featuring childhood friends reuniting under dangerous circumstances, with a strong emphasis on trust and possessiveness.

Thank you, Netgalley, the author, and MacMillan Audio for the gifted audiobook! ❤️ #gifted. My review is comprised of my honest thoughts.

Read this book if you like: Dual POV, friends to lovers, second chances, spicy 🔥

The spice is the good part, but even some of the scenes were odd. Some rubbed me the wrong way. Virginity stuff is always cringey to me. Yikes. The story is a bit scattered and hard to follow. The sci-fi was not needed. I needed more.

Although I cannot even begin to understand the AI story line of this book, I love the relationship between the male and female main characters. Poppy and Jack were destined to be soul mates, after their first meeting you could not help but to root for the happiest of endings for their relationship. I am so happy that the author allowed Poppy to trust in Jack even when it looked like he was going to have to make some tough decisions at the end of the story.

Thank you to NetGalley, and the author, for the opportunity to read and review this title!

Overall I think this book will potentially land well received in darker romance reader groups as the spice was well-written and included many on-page scenes. However, for me, I just wanted more explicit consent between the two main characters, especially given her background of being a SA survivor (rescued by her now love-interest). There was also next to no character interactions to allow for a connection/relationship to develop so the characters felt one dimensional to me and I had a hard time being invested in the spice.
Audiobook wise, I thought the narrator did a nice job. I did not have difficulty following the dual POVs and thought her Southern accents were realistic.

I appreciate the opportunity to try this one, but unfortunately it was not for me and I will not be featuring on my socials.

ARC reader for NetGalley

This one’s for the romance girlies who love a military bad boy with all the red flags and girl next door tropes.

I stepped out of my typical fantasy romance genre for this one and was pleasantly surprised. The narrator did a great job with the voice acting. The first half of the book built up the characters, their relationships and the secondary confidential mercenary military ops plot. The second half of the book is what surprised me as I did not predict that ending. It was like taking a Tom Clancy novel and adding spice, which ended very nice. It’s the first of the triton series so I’ll be looking out for the follow-ups. I would love to see all the guys from Jack Bridger’s team get their own spicy love story.

Spice level 🌶🌶🌶

Trigger Warnings
S.A.
Military violence
Death

*spoilers*

I would like to say that i am having a hard time reviewing this book as the person who was reading it, i just could not get over Jack's voice or any male voices. I know Jack is young but he sounded like a dirty 80 year old man. It just was not fun to listen to. It made the sex scenes really creepy to me.

I feel that there was a purpose to the beginning of the book, then in the middle it lost it and the end was inconclusive. Maybe this author is not my cup of tea.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC.

I'm not really a fan of this one. I felt like the themes were all over the place and it got really weird at the end. I think the narration also threw things off for me because the voices were all very similar. I think this one just wasn't for me. I usually love dark romances so this enticed me. I think it could've been executed differently.

I really enjoyed this book. It was almost 5 stars for me, but the ending left me a little confused and I felt the pacing was off some. Other than that, the story kept me wanting more! This is book one, so I will read the second when it comes out. Also, Brianna Bronte did a great job with the narration!! There should be a trigger warning as there is a scene at the beginning of the book where the FMC is captured and mentions sexual or attempted sexual assault. There is also mentions of murder and torture.


Tropes:
Friends-to-Lovers
Military/Seal
Second Chance Romance

This book was good, but I am no sure I liked how it was narrated. The story was really good and I loved the story that developed between them.

I loved this book! I loved the character development and the story. It kept me intrigued and I absolutely loved the military romance trope!! I listened to the arc of this thanks to NetGalley and the publisher!

✨🔮🌞🌕🍄🌕🌞🔮✨
ARC Audiobook Review

Play Dirty - Lora Leigh

4/5⭐️
4/5🌶️

✨✨✨✨✨✨
Poppy and Jack, I seriously loved listening to their story 🖤 The Narrators did an amazing job making this come to life in my head. I truly felt as if I was there with the characters. I loved the way Jack would speak with Poppy and just how protective he was. Sadly with his mission it was gonna hurt Poppy. Jack just couldn’t resist his Poppy.

📚📚📚
If you like to read:
~ Secrets
~ Artificial Intelligence
~ Morally Grey
~ Protective MMC
~ Mine
~ Ex-Navy Seal
… You should definitely check this out

📚📚📚

Thank you so much for sending me a copy for an honest review in my own words.

✨What is a morally grey character you love?

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This was not one of my favorites. I feel like it would have been better with more storyline and less sexual scenes. The story line was great. Jack was protective and mysterious. Poppy just wanted to be cared for and loved.

2.5 Stars
Lots of potential, but it didn't meet my expectations

I really enjoyed the beginning and ending of the story. However, I feel like the middle part could benefit from more diverse content to keep the reader engaged. I believe incorporating more action scenes, especially with the A.I, would make the story more thrilling. (Things got too repetitive in the middle.) Additionally, I think it would be better if the narrator didn't change her voice for the male MC, it sounded very unnatural. Overall, I see a lot of potential in the story, and with some minor improvements, it could be a truly immersive experience.

***Thank you to NetGalley, Lora Leigh, and Macmillan Audio for graciously sending me the audiobook to review. As always, all thoughts are my own.***

The story had a well-written spicy aspect that I enjoyed, and the narrator's performance was okay. However, I found the pet names cringey and the main male character's forcefulness off-putting. His morally grey nature made it difficult for me to connect with him, and I struggled to follow the plot at times. Additionally, the southern accent for the MMC was a bit challenging for me. Overall, while the story had its merits, it unfortunately wasn't to my liking due to these drawbacks.

First thought: An intriguing storyline. If you’re looking for an action packed, morally grey, dark romance this one’s for you.

Poppy saved Jack when he was 14years old. Then a few years later he rescued her when she was being attacked. He was always there for her, to protect her and keep her safe. Poppy knew she was in love with him that day and will always be. But Jack knew she was too innocent and couldn’t be his.

Now years later Jack many years serving in the Navy Seals he was just given a mission that would take him back home. Him and his team had to intercept a deal and recover a new form of Artificial Intelligence, that threatened the safety of all. His connection in town would be Poppy as she worked for the men secretly brokering the deal. He however couldn’t let her know his mission and to do that he had to play a part and in doing so would betray her.

But when Jack got to town he couldn’t resist Poppy, she was everything he craved and his need to have her and protect her would make this the hardest mission of his life.

This was the first book in a series so after reading the epilogue I can see a vision, but this one just needed a bit more for me and it missed the mark. I don’t do half stars but it was a 3.75⭐️

I personally didn’t like the voice variations of the narrator, the accents were really bad. If she didn’t do accents it would have been better. Recommend book over audiobook for this one!

Literally Themes you’ll find:

* Morally Grey
* Ex Navy Seal
* I’d Kill For You
* Secret Mission
* Artificial Intelligence
* Your Mine
* Dual POV
* Dark & Spicy 🌶️

Spicy! I love it! I liked the dynamics of the characters and how protective he was of her and just everything in between. I liked the narrators and their accents because it really added to the story.

"Play Dirty" by Lora Leigh, as an audiobook, delivers a steamy and seductive romance that will leave listeners breathless with its passionate encounters and irresistible chemistry between the characters.

Simple, fun, and full of great chemistry! This was my first Lora Leigh book and I was happy with the quick read. I liked that this book felt a bit more grounded than other romances I've read.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.