This bad boy is about to get played… herself from breaking her no-sex rule with the temptingly tattooed athlete, she decides to use him for a side project: Anatomy of a Player, to help Whitney—and women everywhere—spot a player, learn what makes him tick, and how to avoid falling for one.
With his life spiraling out of control, Hudson Decker’s looking for a distraction. When his teammates bet him that he can’t land the gorgeous but prickly new reporter, he accepts the challenge, boasting he’ll have her in bed by the end of the semester. But Whitney is so much more than Hudson expected, and soon enough, he’s in too deep. The last thing he needs is another complication, but staying away isn’t an option. One thing’s for certain: this girl totally throws him off his game.
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Anatomy of a Player is a fun cute read in the Taking Shots series. Hudson is a hot hockey player who has many different sides to him that you are going to love. Whitney is a tad bit jaded when it comes to falling for athletes and is looking for a good story. Little lies, bets and drive make this such a fun read. I love the changes in Hudson as he grows closer to Whitney. You get why Whitney hides a few things from Hudson. They have amazing chemistry as the walls fall down. I really enjoyed this one and cannot wait for more hockey romance in the Taking Shots series.
This new adult romance might be the second in the series, but I didn’t read book one and had no trouble following. Our heroine, Whitney, is done getting played by players, primarily athletes (I did have a gripe about her being a cliche “easy” blonde but she’s a fun character who knows who she is, and that’s a girl that gives in easily when faced with temptation until her vow not to and we know that’s going to fail at some point when faced with our sexy hero). To get a coveted position at the school paper she fakes knowledge of hockey to be the sports reporter who’s really under cover to find out about athletes getting preferential treatment. Kind of obvious her total lack of knowledge about hockey will blow up in her face and her under cover operation will be a problem for her relationship later. And it’s obvious she’s going to fall for another player.
Enter our player, Hudson, and oh man is he a one-night guru with a reputation for no relationships. Our main characters become friends with their underlying secrets a bomb in the background that as expected explodes later but proves not to be enough to keep them apart.
Fun story. Delightfully written. The main characters were fully developed and beautiful but there wasn’t a lot done with the side characters, like Dane the bestie which would be a great set up for the next story.
Great weekend read. Fast, cute, fun.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.
An adorably sweet, slow burn. Whitney and Hudson were not perfect, but they were imperfectly perfect for one another. I was re-reading this book and realized I never wrote a review. I enjoyed this story
Whitney Porter is turning over a new leaf, one that does not involve men, she is recuperating from a broken heart and has had it with players. She figures the best way to protect her heart is to take a long break from dating and focus on her career and college courses. She has longed to be a successful journalist and so when the opportunity to write a sports expose presents itself, she is all to eager to sign up for the job, even if it means surrounding herself the very players she has sworn off. She knows that it is going to be challenging to work alongside all these gorgeous and tempting men, but knowing that they are all just like the last man that left her with a broken heart makes them pretty easy to resist. That is until she meets a certain handsome tattooed hockey player that likes to test her patience and her resolve…
Hudson Decker is a smooth talking, handsome hockey player that has never had a problem lining up the ladies, to share his bed for the night. But news from home currently has him distracted and in a rut, so his roommate Dane devises the perfect plan to get him out of his bad mood and back to his carefree and wild ways. Dane knows that Hudson isn’t one to back down from a challenge, so he bets Hudson that he can’t find a way lure the new feisty sports reporter into his bed. Hudson figures a little smooth talking is all he needs to do and he’ll have her weak in the knees and ready to jump in his bed, only she surprises him by turning him down flat. Now Hudson must find a way to win her over or his prize possession jersey will be hanging on his roommates wall…and he’ll be left fending off jokes from his teammates.
This was my first experience with Ms. Madsen’s work and I have to say that her writing totally won me over, I absolutely loved every minute I spend reading Hudson and Whitney’s story. It grabbed my attention from the very beginning and held on tight until the last page was turned. I love a good enemies to lovers story and this one is definitely one of the best I have read in quite a while, Ms. Madsen definitely knows her hockey players and how to give readers one very satisfying literary escape!! Highly recommend you meet Hudson, he is sure win your heart and have you looking at hockey players in a whole new light!!
3.5 “The amount of alcohol it’d take me to sleep with you would actually kill me.” stars. This was a fun read, although it did drag a few times. Whitney was a little too whiny and indecisive for me. But, overall, it was good.
Whitney has always fallen for players and she’s over it! No more. Nope. Never again. And then along comes Hudson….
Whitney has just landed a position with BC newspaper and she’s been assigned a front page story. She’s going undercover to expose the special treatment that athletes get there as well as other colleges. Where to start? The hockey team, of course. After all, they’re on the top of their game after having won the Frozen Four last season. Her roomie, Lyla, is dating one of their star players so she knows she can get a crash course on hockey. This should be easy, right?
Hudson has had a crappy life and hockey is his only chance to leave it behind. He’s determined to prove everyone that’s ever told him he’ll amount to nothing is wrong. He’s also determined to help other kids that have grown up in similar situations as he has. Only now he’s failing his stats class, something he can’t afford to do. He’ll lose his scholarship and his major. He’ll lose his dream. Desperate times call for desperate measures. He needs a distraction. Enter Whitney, Reporter Girl.
This is a fun, pure brain candy read. I’ll be honest, I liked Beck and Lyla’s story a little better, but this one was intriguing. My only complaint is that it seemed to drag in a few spots.