“From the great cover to the intriguing synopsis, Lisa Brown Roberts brings a whole new twist to your typical good girl vs player type-of-story.” -Jackie, Jackie’s Book World Trina Clemons needed the money. Why else would she – the most organized, prepared student in school – spend the summer as a nanny and partner with the biggest slacker ever? Now she’s ready to tackle nannyhood with her big … nannyhood with her big binder of research and schedules. Just don’t ask her about the secret job of “fixing” the bad habits of a certain high school player…
Slade Edmunds prefers easy hook-ups, and Trina is definitely not his type. She’s all structure and rules, while Slade wants to just have fun. Fortunately, Trina has no idea about the bet Slade made with his best friend that he can totally get her to unwind by the end of summer…
Then the weirdest thing happens. There’s chemistry. A lot of it.
But nothing gets between a boy and a girl like a big, fat secret…
Disclaimer: This Entangled Teen Crush book contains a straight/gay BFF bromance, an irresistibly kissable bad boy, a good girl who wants to be kissed, some epic babysitting fails, and the occasional f-bomb.
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This was my introduction to Lisa Brown Roberts’ books and I was hooked. Lisa is the funniest author I know. I’m personally not a huge fan of contemporary books, but I will set down anything else to read one of Lisa’s books—the world building is that good. If you’re ready for a story that will make you laugh the entire time, this is teh one for you.
4.5*
Although I am quite past the age demographic that I’m sure this book is intended for I have to say I really enjoyed it! It’s a very sweet, fun, highly entertaining read.
Trina and Slade are soon-to-be high school seniors who are spending their summer as nannies to 2 5 year olds. Unbeknownst to Slade, the mothers have conspired together to offer Slade this job, as his mother wants Trina to “mentor” him- she’s worried that he has no direction in life and no real sense of responsibility. Trina is an honor roll student, she’s organized, and completely responsible…the exact type of person Slade’s mom feels he needs as an example.
These 2 are the perfect foil for each other- Trina is by-the-book, scheduled, a rule follower; Slade is laid-back, takes things as they come, flies by the seat of his pants. They both have qualities and characteristics that the other could definitely benefit from. As the summer progresses we see this happening, especially as Slade is able to get Trina to loosen up a bit, and as he sees things in Trina that make him realize that maybe life as he’s been living it isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be.
This book is just plain cute, the story and the characters. I adored both Trina and Slade as individuals, as they worked as partners, as they fell for each other. I was right there with Trina, trying not to fall under Slade’s spell, but how could you not?!? A boy who loved chick flicks? Had long haired he tied back in a pony-tail? Muscled and tan?!? Resistance was futile!
”I was pretty sure this was what it felt like to swoon. I’d always thought it was some made-up word in old romance novels, but now I had proof it was real.”
And watching Slade fall for Trina? Ahhh, just priceless! The little fairy completely flipped his world around, making him feel things he had never felt before. ”God, I was toast. Burned beyond recognition.” I mean, how adorable was he???
The 2 kids are darling- Gilly is a little spit-fire and Max is a sweetie; the best friends are everything what you’d want and need in a bff.
It wouldn’t be a true-to-life book about teen-agers if there wasn’t a little angst and drama between the 2 protagonists, but I’m glad to see with this book it wasn’t a long drawn-out process. There was nothing over-the-top thankfully, no unnecessary added complications, just the issues you knew would cause trouble from the beginning- because secrets never stay hidden. Everything was handled in a very realistic way, Trina and Slade acted as you’d think teens would act- avoidance, denial, tears.
Playing the Player is definitely a book I’d recommend for teens, and even for those of us long past the teen years…it’s just that good! It brought to mind some of the best teen movies from the 80s, and what’s not to love about those!
I really like Lisa Brown Roberts. Her prose is fun, her dialogue witty and her characters memorable. This was a fun read.