Two strangers wake up in the same bed after partying in Las Vegas to discover they are married.Connor Ellison, one of Atlanta Edge’s best wingers and biggest prankster, is given an ultimatum by the coaches and the PR department. He must stay married until the end of the run for the Cup or be available for trade.Lily Jones wants nothing to do with the insane demand. But he convinces her the best … demand. But he convinces her the best decision is to play along. If they remain married and pretend to be in love, he offers to save her family’s ice rink from bankruptcy. Anyway, it’s only until the end of the hockey season. Then they can go their separate ways.
Easy-peasy. No way will they go to the finals. No way will they truly fall in love.
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Fake Play had me hooked right from the beginning. I feel like I read so many books with the fake relationship/marriage plot but this one was different and kept me guessing right up to the end!
This story immediately starts with them waking up in bed together and realizing that they got wasted and ended up getting married. I really enjoyed the characters in this story and the fact that it had more depth to it considering what was going on with Lily’s mother.
Lily was a great character that could hold her own and loved hockey just as much as the next guy. She had a lot going on and definitely had to deal with some tough times. Thankfully she had Connor to lean on for some of the harder moments. Connor was a hockey player with the Atlanta Edge and a pretty cool guy.
I was kinda surprised at how his parents treated him and acted towards him though. It was also interesting to see how Lily got along with her father and brother. It seemed like communication was not a big thing in Lily’s family considering what she found out about her brother when he finally came back to visit.
I really liked the chemistry between Lily and Connor from the beginning. This story was steamy and a bit more graphic in the bedroom than I was expecting IMO. I loved how Connor was in this story though and how quickly he fell in love with Lily and everything about her. Most of the guys from her past were ‘disgusted’ by the fact that she played hockey and were good at it. Connor loved that about her. I thought the ending was cute with the zamboni but I wish the epilogue had a bit more in it; or was a bit farther out to see how life was going. Honestly the ending made me gasp even though the author did hint at it a few times; I still wasn’t expecting it!
After a hockey game in Las Vegas on New Year’s Eve, and a wild party after the game, Lily wakes up hungover. Except she’s not in her own room with her friends, She’s with Connor, Atlanta bad boy hockey player. And apparently, they’re married. They both want an annulment, but he’s been a bit of a PR problem for the team, and he’s told to suck it up and stay married until the end of the season. He’s willing to do it for the sake of his career. Now he has to convince Lily. Easier said than done, and it’s gonna cost him, more than just money. The book is an easy read, very well-written. Lily and Connor have more in common than they think, and as they learn about each other, real feelings begin to develop. I enjoy when the bad boy in him pushes her buttons, but she pushes back sometimes. The more I read about her father, the less I liked him. Yes, he lost his wife just like Lily and her brother lost their mother. But her father forced her to make all the sacrifices in her life, and then kept secrets about their business. And Connor’s parents, his father in particular, had very unreal expectations, and some not so nice things to say about him. This is a standalone book, but I want to read more in the series.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
4.5 Stars!
I really enjoyed Fake Play by new to me author Carla Swafford. This is a hot sports romance, with a subplot that includes of a marriage of convenience. Two of my favorite tropes rolled into one book.
Lily Jones grew up with a dad that basically ignored her, in order to ensure that her brother excelled in hockey. Lily’s dad used to be a professional hockey player and wanted the same for his talented son. Thanks to Lily’s mom dedication, Lily excelled in hockey as well, and she almost became a member of the Olympic hockey team. Lily and her dad became a bit closer when Lily’s mom fell into a coma about five years ago. Now Lily and her dad own the local hockey rink, and Lily works very hard to pay down their ever increasing debt. Lily finds herself married to a professional hockey player, Conner Ellison, after she lets herself lose after a long awaited weekend to Las Vegas.
Conner Ellison hails from money and hockey greatness. His dad is an NHL legend and he never lets him forget it. His mom is a bit of a doormat, yet quite sweet at times. Conner’s reputation isn’t the most pristine, so when he gets married to Lily by mistake, his coaches tell him to stay married in order to help him clean up his image. Lily agrees to stay married, in exchange for Conner helping her financially. They share an attraction that evolves into much more.
I liked this emotional and steamy story. It is a quick read, with lots of excitement. Getting to know both Lily and Connor was both fun and heartbreaking. Overall, a solid romance that kept me engaged from start to finish.
Complimentary copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley.
What happens in Las Vegas, doesn’t always stay in Las Vegas. Lily can’t believe her good luck when she visits Las Vegas with friends and meets handsome hockey player, Connor. However, when she wakes up the next morning, she is surprised to learn they are married.
At first, Lily is not impressed with Connor. He may be good looking, but he is also a self centered jerk and she doesn’t want anything to do with him. As they are forced to spend more time together, pretending to love each other and make their fake marriage feel real, Lily sees a softer, nicer side to Connor and she can’t resist the strong sensual pull toward him.
As Connor gets to know Lily, he realizes she is the perfect woman; she loves hockey as much as he does, is athletic, is hot in bed and understands him. They have both been disappointed by their parents and their dads played professional hockey. Lily is also a great hockey player herself and was a goalie in college.
Karla Swafford writes a smoothly written story and although the story of a couple meeting in Vegas, drinking too much and getting married has been done before, this story felt fresh. There are a lot of sparks flowing between Lily and Connor as they slowly get to know each other. They help each other become more confident and to grow into better people. I liked these two together. They are good for each other and have a smoking hot attraction. As they spend time together, they realize they have more in common than they first thought. You don’t want to miss this engaging and sexy hockey story.
A really good book. Connor and Lily wake on New Year’s Day in Vegas married, and don’t remember anything about it. Conner is a known as a prankster on his hockey team and the owners aren’t happy with him, so he offers to save Lily’s parent’s ice rink if she stays married to him until the end of the season. I liked Connor and Lily, they were likable and relatable characters. I loved how their relationship developed throughout the story, it’s romantic and they have great connection and chemistry. Overall, an enjoyable story and one I recommend.
This is a fast fun read that will have you engaged through out
Connor Ellison is a winger for the edge a NHL team and his coach and owners aren’t happy with him he has been told to clean up his act or he will be traded Lily Jones is deeply attracted to Connor but she knows he is trouble and wants nothing to do with him. So how did they wake up in Las Vegas married to one another and can he convince her to remain married to him. Connor offers to save her parents ice rink if she will just stay married to him until the end of the season Should she contemplate it or should she walk away and what about this attraction that is growing between them Are they in fact the perfect match and could they get a HEA you will have to read to see
I absolutely love hockey romances. It is one of the few things that can get me interested in a book without reading the synopsis. It’s even better if once I start reading the book, the author uses actually hockey terms, and goes into great hockey details about the game. This book does exactly that. There was legitimate hockey play (with correct verbiage) and an actual plot with steamy scenes. However, I was hoping for more steamy scenes than there actually was. But for it just being a romance and not anything more, it was a pretty good amount.
For the main male character, we meet Conner. He is the stereotypical team prankster and overall partier. His team, and the entire coaching staff are tired of his games and shenanigans. One more mess-up and Conner is practically off the team.
Lily, the female lead, is one of the two variants we normally see in a hockey romance novel. They are normally, the female who knows nothing about hockey and is just in love, or the female who plays hockey but is never considered an equal to her male counterpart. Lily falls under the latter, however, this isn’t know to Conner at the beginning of their “relationship”. She is a fantastic hockey player that even had the chance to go and play for the Olympics but the males in her life didn’t support her dream and due to some spoiler circumstances, she can’t continue playing.
This book is a classic case of going to Las Vegas, getting drunk and waking up married to someone you didn’t arrive with. This unforeseen situation is very confusing for Lily as she doesn’t drink much but somehow get’s “plastered” and wakes up in Conner’s bed. For Conner, the known partier, this is a normal day in his life. He is used to waking up next to girls he picked up the night before. The only thing that makes this time different is the marriage license. The plan was for them to get a quiet annulment but the team manager and PR rep won’t let Conner off the hook that easily. Now, Conner must convince Lily to stay married to him until the end of the season, in order for him to stay on the team.
What happens when a night neither one can remember, turns out to be the start to an undeniable attraction? If you like sports romances, especially hockey ones, and don’t want a ton of sex scenes, this is the book for you.
I gave this book 4 stars, because while the plot and sex scenes were good, it was very predictable and very stereotypical of sports romances.
I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.
I don’t usually enjoy sports romance stories but this one blew me out of the water. What happens in Vegas is supposed to stay in Vegas except for Connor Ellison who’s team, the Atlanta Edge informs him that his drunken Vegas wedding is the last straw and he must stay married. Lily Jones is not a drunken, dance on the table type of girl but apparently that is exactly what happened on a girl’s trip to Las Vegas. Oh, and she apparently got married to the Atlanta Edge bad boy and has been informed that the marriage will continue. What? Lily learns that her family business, the local skating rink is having financial issues which Connor quickly promises to fix if she will stay married to him for six months. No problem except that she begins to have feelings for him and he finds out that he likes being married. Great writing and a truly wonderful love story. Will definitely buy ore books from this author.
I was given an ARC in exchange for an honest and totally voluntary review.
I always seem to love hockey romances and Fake Play did not disappoint! After a drunken Las Vegas wedding to a complete stranger, charming and sexy hockey player Connor needs to stay married in order to keep his spot on the team secure. His playboy and prankster ways seem to only get him into trouble and surrounded by people who don’t truly know him or have his best interests at heart. Lily is trying to keep her family afloat with her family’s skating rink in financial trouble. But it looks like drunkenly marrying Connor in Las Vegas could be the answer to her problems. While they both may have entered into the marriage under the influence, they may be just what the other person needs. Connor and Lily have great chemistry and they are ridiculously hot together. Fake Play is a fun, sexy hockey romance. Definitely recommend!! (Fingers crossed for a romance with Elise and Ryan too!!)
I was provided with a free copy of this book. This is my honest review.
Is there hope for Connor and Lily’s marriage?
Lily Jones wants a fun trip to Las Vegas with her friends for a weekend when she woke up married to hockey player Connor Ellison. Their first thought was to arrange an annulment until his team found out and told him that he needed to stay married until the end of the season otherwise he would be traded. Lily wanted to get the divorce until Connor said he would help financially the skating rink that she owned with her dad.
Could Connor stop pulling jokes on his teammates or would the ultimatum make him realize that there was more in life that being the center of the crowd and Lily was happy just being together at home so maybe there might be hope for the marriage.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
This is a new author for me, do I have to read another of her books? Honestly I don’t think I will or honestly I won’t go out of my way to read her when there are other authors that I can’t get enough of. OK let clarify, did I hate it? No, but did I love it? Yeah no. There was a lot of issues packed in this book and I wished we got more answers than what we were left with, and normally if I liked a book I wouldn’t care if I knew the second books was coming to finish getting our answers but not so much with this.
rcvd an ARC at no cost to author..(netgalley) voluntarily reviewed with my own thoughts and opinions.