So, I finished this book and got on GR all ready to gush about how much I loved it.... Then I saw all of these low scoring and dnf reviews. And I was confused. Surely we didn't all read the same book, I thought. So I decided to give it a few days to simmer, thinking I would come back when I had let my thoughts settle a bit.

And I still love this book.

Ok, I'll admit that as soon as I realized that the majority of it was going to be set in Alabama, I was pretty happy. I love anything set in my home state, even though I generally end up disappointed by authors who, in reality, have probably never been here and are writing based on stereotypes. The further I read, the stronger my suspicion that Ms Echols had grown up here (apparently correct based on her bio). The details and obvious fondness for the area came through in her writing. I really appreciated that.

But aside from that, I really liked these characters! Quentin is a total goof ball, and Sarah is trying so hard to be something that just does not come naturally to her. They relationship and interactions were adorable. I also loved the side characters, like Sarahs mother and the band members. Yeah, they didn't have as much page-time, but I thought their personalities came through anyway.

Now I will give those detractors their due, cause when you're right, you're right. The plot and lying and secrets got a bit convoluted and confusing. It seemed to me that from pretty early on Quentin had basically told Sarah most of the truth of how the band was lying to the world, but then he doesn't reveal one particular lie (for no apparent reason) which just ends up making things more complicated than they needed to be. I'm referring to him telling her how the band sets up the fights and the lies about gun shots and cocaine, but not the lie about Quentin's relationship with Erin It was weird. There was also a weird moment near the end where I felt Sarah did a total about-face from how her character was written which felt very off. When she is in the car with Rio and decides to just die instead of getting Quentin involved. What the hell? She was a friggin tomboy before Rio, so I know she had more guts than that.

Overall though, I came away from this book making Happy-Book-Sound, and honestly, there is just nothing better than that. I would say that if you are on the fence about this one, give it a shot. You might be surprised.

Copy courtesy of Gallery, Threshold, Pocket Books, via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. ( )

Jennifer Echols writes about interesting characters. They are always three-dimensional and quirky. Her plots are different as well--there is never anything "typical" even if the genre might suggest it should be. That's why I find her books so appealing

Sarah and Quentin of Playing Dirty are two extremely likeable characters. They are very human with obvious foibles and vulnerabilities. Quentin is probably the best "hero" I have read about in many books. He is vulnerable and strong and addictive, as was the novel. This was truly a book I never wanted to end. ( )

Jennifer Echols is always a go-to author whenever I want a romance filled read. Playing Dirty is no different. We meet Sarah, a publicity agent who desperately needs to nail her next assignment if she wants to keep her job. Sarah's new task is to keep Quentin's band together, at least until they finish their new album. What Sarah doesn't expect, is that the band is keeping secrets from her, and she can't help but notice how attractive Quentin is. Falling for Quentin isn't part of the job, but if that's the only way to keep the band together, who is she to say no? Who said playing dirty wasn't complicated?

Despite my 3-star rating, I did genuinely enjoy this book. I was glued to the pages and couldn't put it down until I finished. My problems with this book was that I thought there were too many subplots. I found it difficult to concentrate on one problem, when there were so many going around. Maybe if the book only concentrated on one issue, or fleshed out all the other issues, then it would have been less confusing. There was also this problem where everyone was keeping secrets. I was infuriated with all of them because they couldn't just say what they were thinking and done.

Nevertheless, if you ignored these two issues, the book was actually very good. I had no idea this book wasn't YA, yet that didn't stop me from enjoying it.

Quentin and Sarah are both narrators in this book, and I think their voices were portrayed very well. Quentin genuinely sounded like a guy, which sometimes is difficult to achieve with these kinds of books.

Their romance didn't scream insta-love, it maybe whispered at insta-attraction. Attraction is common, so one really couldn't argue that the romance was bad. I liked their romance. I loved seeing them fall for each other slowly; they were mischievous and playful around each other, which was really cute to see.

I really liked seeing the stories of some of the secondary characters, and can't help but to hope the next book in this series is centered around one of them.

Overall, a great guilty pleasure read that will satisfy those searching for a cute romance. ( )

I think my main issue with the story was it was just to dang long. Not that I have issues with long books, but it felt like we were just rehashing the same plot points over and over and over and over again. I was fairly amused throughout but I don't know that this is one I'd go back and re-read.

Thanks to Edelweiss and Simon & Schuster for the free copy for review. ( )

NOTE: I received this book via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. Thanks!

I've read two books by this author. The one I loved (The Ex Games) and the other came out below average (Love Story). So I thought I'd give her a chance to win my better opinion.

I was surprised.

First, because I was clearly not expecting a HOT New Adult title. And second, because I ended up loving it! I loved the drama, the characters, the complications. It was so well put together, that I couldn't help it - I just had to go on and on until the end.

Sarah works for Stargazer - a company that helps keep music artists/bands on track with their contracts when major drama seems to overwhelm them. One such band is The Cheatin' Hearts. They're a country band that gained huge popularity and became one of the nation's favorites. There's just one problem - they seem to be falling apart. So, Sarah is sent over to make them record an album in time for their Fourth of July concert.

She did not expect to find what she did though. I was impressed by her observant skills, though she got some things completely wrong. But Sarah had a quick wit, a good head on her shoulders and a heart open for real love. She was daring, though she only believed she acted it out. She was pretty, and she had the means to make any man fall head over heels for her. It just had to be the right man.

The band was a curious thing in and of itself. All four members of it, were medically educated. There was a nurse, a doctor and I'm sorry I couldn't remember Erin and Owen's professional credentials. They were an odd bunch with (mostly) no secrets among them. And they had three very important rules set up:
1. No one sleeps with Erin
2. No drugs
3. No sleeping with representatives of the record company

Tough ones, seeing that none of them were being kept. And oh, the rules were being broken secretly.

The Cheatin' Hearts lead singer, Quentin, is rumored to be a drug addict. The truth was completely different, but no one believed him, so he'd decided to go with the flow. Besides his rumored addiction had gotten the band a contract. From then on, Quentin had turned into a band script writer - i.e. he determined what their publicity should entail. Most of the drama that happened around them was just a set up, a plot to make the news, to gain fans, to be popular. I ended up loving his brains :)

Martin was the drummer and the drug addict (on heroin), who was entirely too obvious about his addiction. But what amazed me was that he had his wits about most of the time. Is that possible? I'm not really informed. I liked him though, how cool he was in dangerous situations. How fast to act appropriately when everyone else was dumbstruck. I hope he gets clean in the next book or something.

Owen and Erin had a secret of their own. It was obvious to me and to Sarah. Even before anyone else got the chance to figure out what was going on, she had it resolved.

I guess that's about it. It was a quick, enjoyable read with several hot scenes that had my cheeks flaming. Gah! Too much said. ( )