'Playing for Fun' is a sweet, emotional, story about old friendships that grow into deeper emotions. Both protagonists have their issues to overcome in order for them to possibly come together and work as a couple. Sometimes the hardest thing to do, is take the chance on romance, especially at the risk of an already wonderful friendship with that person.
Tracey Alvarez did a great job capturing my attention and holding it throughout the entire book. Her ability to bring their small little town and the residents who live there to life is superb. The supporting cast of the book are all so lovable, from best friends, family members, meddling old women, even down to Diablo the cat, I found myself falling a little in love with their little town and it's inhabitants.
I felt invested in both main characters and found myself hoping or their happiness, even if it meant they had to be apart to find happiness, or even if it meant they would be finding happiness with people other than each other. Both characters are so well written, the author really took character development seriously with these characters, and stuck with each of their personalities throughout the book. So many times, authors will write a character who is, for instance, quiet, maybe introspective, unemotional etc., and later in the book, that same character will say or do something that is completely contrary to how that person was previously described. That is most definitely not the case with this book. Both characters stayed true to themselves from start to finish.
Being Polynesian myself (Hawaiian), I loved seeing the similarities between the maori and maoli (Hawaiian) cultures and languages. Not many people know that all Polynesians (Hawaiian, Samoan, Tahitian, Fijian, Tongan, Maori etc.) originally came from the same place, settling in different parts of the pacific. Distance, introductions to other ethnicities, and centuries apart caused our languages, cultures and customs to vary slightly, but there are still so many similarities, it's fun to see it. So thank you Tracey Alvarez for sharing that little glimpse into the maori culture.
One small thing I would suggest changing however, is the glossary of maori words. It's too hard for someone reading your book to go back and forth from reading then going to the glossary everytime a maori word was used. If I hadn't had a previous knowledge of the Hawaiian language and been able to figure out some of the words, it would have probably irritated me. I would suggest putting the english translation to maori words in parentheses after each maori word instead of having a glossary.
If anyone is on the fence about this book, I would suggest you jump right off that fence and grab you a copy of "Playing for Fun". It's a sweet, fun, read and you won't regret it.
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Rating (based on a 5 star rating system):
* * * *
The only reason I didn't rate it 5 stars, is because of the aforementioned glossary being inconvenient, and the fact that I felt the end was veeeeeery slightly rushed. I would have liked there to have been a little more than just having Harley talking to Ford and then *bam* he see's the light and knows what to do to fix things with he and Holly.
Would I suggest this book to others?:
Most definitely, yes.
Would I read others in the series?:
Yes. I love the characters I've met already, and would love to know more about them and hear their stories.
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**** NOTE: Although 'Playing for fun' is part of a series, it is a STANDALONE novel, has a HEA, and you will not be required to read or purchase other books in the series to get the full experience of the book, or understand what is happening. However, if you feel moved to purchase other books in the series, I'm sure the author would appreciate the support. ****
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