A troubled Scottish rugby player who doesn't play by the rules. A vivacious man-eater who's given up on love. When it comes to Lachlan and Kayla, opposites don't just attract - they explode. Kayla Moore has always been comfortable with her feisty, maneating reputation. At least it was fine until she hit her thirties and saw her best friends Stephanie and Nicola settle down with Linden and Bram McGregor, leaving Kayla to be the odd one out. Tired of being the third wheel with nothing but one-night stands and dead-end dates in San Francisco, Kayla decides to take a vow of celibacy and put men on the backburner. That is until she lays her eyes on Linden and Bram’s cousin, hot Scot Lachlan McGregor. Lachlan is her sexual fantasy come to life – tall, tatted, and built like a Mack truck. With a steely gaze and successful rugby career back in Edinburgh, he’s the kind of man that makes her want to throw her vow right out the window. But Lachlan’s quiet and intense demeanor makes him a hard man to get to know, let alone get close to. It isn’t until the two of them are thrown together one long, unforgettable night that Kayla realizes there is so much more to this brooding macho man than what meets the eye. But even with sparks flying between the two, Lachlan can’t stay in America forever. Now, Kayla has to decide whether to uproot her whole life and chance it all on someone she barely knows or risk getting burned once again. Sometimes love is a game that just needs to be played. 4.5 Star Review by Ashley I'm going to get this out of the way, this is the first book I've read from Karina Halle (crazy I know but its the truth). While The Play can be read as a standalone, as I read it, I would highly recommend reading the earlier books in the series so that you have some background on the secondary characters that are present within. I was hooked from the very beginning. The prologue grabbed me by the heart. And the brilliant writing kept me enthralled. I liked Kayla from the start. She is bold, sassy and not afraid to speak her mind, even if it isn't what some would deem appropriate in certain situations. But underneath that tough outer shell is a heart, that while she thinks is black, is actually full of mush and love. This is evidenced most by the relationship she has with her mother. The moments between the two of them melted my heart and really endeared her to me. But when Kayla's friend asks her to do a favor she is forced to interact with the beast of a man, Lachlan. This guy! At first I was a bit skeptical but as Kayla worked her magic and got him to gradually open up, I really fell for the hulk of a man. Below the surface of tattoos and muscle is a beautifully flawed and broken man. A man who is stuck trying to overcome the horrors of a past that just won't let him go. Guilt. Remorse. Shame. Fear....they cling to him like the ink on his skin. But with Kayla he feels those chains start to slip. He opens up about his charity work and his past. My heart broke for the scared boy who endured all that he had. This, however, showed just how strong and how much of fighter Lachlan really is. The chemistry between these two is off the charts combustible. Together, they open up and embrace the draw they have to one another and they become so much more of who they really are. There is a lightness to them that their friends and family haven't seen before. But life and circumstance happen to everyone. While they think they've got it figured out for the most part, one night sends the happy they've constructed spiraling out of control. Things were said, feelings were hurt, dreams were shattered and lives were changed. And the hits didn't stop there. Oh no, with her heart already torn, Kayla gets "the call" that changes everything. There was just no right thing either could say or do. I felt the helplessness, the pain the paralyzing fear, the soul crushing guilt... From here on out it is angst overload. Cue the waterworks and bust out those tissues because you're going to need them. Both parties have lots of healing they need to do- both individually and as a, well whatever they are, And while time and distance were against them, they were never far from the others mind or heart. Lachlan's bit show of support had me smiling through my tears. Seriously, if I didn't already love him, this would've sealed the deal. Too bad for him it didn't work out the way he planned. UGH! I wanted to shake some sense into Kayla. But everyone deals with grief and pain in their own time and eventually she found a way to work through hers. And no proof was bigger than her gesture at the end. I have to say, as someone new to this author, Karina Halle has a way with words. You don't just read them, you feel them. I was there with Kayla and Lachlan, I went on this journey of lust and love and loss with them and I loved every gut wrenching moment of it. I felt every moment of it, from the flirtatious banter to the laughter to the anxiety to the tears. But most of all, I felt the overwhelming, all-consuming love. The Play is one that is not to be missed and I will now be going back and starting from the beginning of this series. About the Author With her USA Today Bestselling The Artists Trilogy published by Grand Central Publishing, numerous foreign publication deals, and self-publishing success with her Experiment in Terror series, Vancouver-born Karina Halle is a true example of the term "Hybrid Author." Though her books showcase her love of all things dark, sexy and edgy, she's a closet romantic at heart and strives to give her characters a HEA...whenever possible.
Karina holds a screenwriting degree from Vancouver Film School and a Bachelor of Journalism from TRU. Her travel writing, music reviews/interviews and photography have appeared in publications such as Consequence of Sound, Mxdwn and GoNomad Travel Guides. She currently lives on an island on the coast of British Columbia where she’s preparing for the zombie apocalypse with her fiancé and rescue pup. LINKS: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Karina-Halle/140649372629593 Twitter: https://twitter.com/MetalBlonde Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4785031.Karina_Halle?from_search=true AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE: http://www.amazon.com/Karina-Halle/e/B0050KE63C/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1407546895&sr=8-2-ent
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