It’s said you never forget your first.She was my childhood best friend. We were inseparable. We kept each other’s secrets and grew up knowing we would always be there for one another.In the most devastating moment of our lives, we shared our grief–and found comfort in each other’s arms. Somehow, the worst day became the best night. And then she left. I’ve never forgotten her. I’ve tried but … left.
I’ve never forgotten her. I’ve tried but couldn’t. My only consolation is the memory of one perfect night.
Now, ten years later she walks back into my life, a grown, gorgeous woman and I’m ready for a second chance.
The look in her eyes says I’m still what she wants, now I have to convince her to trust me with her heart. I’ll never allow anyone to toy with her again.
I know she still loves me, because true love never dies.
*Can be read as a standalone
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Great read
I loved Toying with Her, a second-chance, friends to lovers romance peppered with humor and emotion that shows us more than one side of life in a small town.
“But I want to know what it’s like to be with someone who loves you as much as you love them. I’ve only felt it one time—that night with Rorke. And God help me, I want to feel that again. And for more than one night. And that scares the piss out of me.”
Sterling has become successful as the developer of the most popular bedroom toy (vibrator). She decides to take the summer to refresh and spend time back in her hometown with her parents.
And Sterling’s parents are the most amazing characters in this book! I want to visit and have sweet tea with them! Her daddy just has to say “Sugar” and all is right with the world, and her momma (like all the women in her family) is “cray-cray” but in the best possible way!!
“I can’t get him to listen to reason.”
“Can’t never could,” she says.
“I love you, Momma, but what does that even mean?”
“It means you have to keep trying.” She pats my thigh.
“That’s what marriage is. It’s ninety-nine percent trying.”
“What’s the other one percent?”
“Sex,” she laughs.
“That’s your big advice?”
“That’s the best advice you’ll ever get,” she says.”
High School teacher, Rorke has always loved Sterling, but she insists on keeping him in the friend-zone. She is a strong independent woman and just doesn’t trust that any man, even Rorke, will be able to put aside their ego long enough to remain in a relationship with her.
“I know what’s coming. It’s happened before. A man needs and wants to be the man in a relationship. If I make more money, have people to protect me, then what’s left for him to do? Sex? Well, I took care of that, too. They don’t know what to do with themselves outside of those traditional stereotypes.”
I loved this story. It surprised me at every turn. Prescott Lane has become an automatic one-click author for me.
5 Stars!!
Not only was it a great read, it had some very important life lessons thrown into the mix…..
“The best way to inspire a man is with leather or lace,” she says. “Whenever I have bad news to give your daddy, I wear a sexy little number. Makes it go down easier.”
You can’t be that piece of advice- wish I would’ve learned that one sooner! 🙂
Definitely an original easy-to-read romance with wonderful characters.
I had high hopes for Toying with Her. I liked that our main characters grew up together and how Rorke held this lifelong torch for Sterling. It a cute story and I’m always a fan of returning to your small town home and falling in love. Sterling was so guarded due to her profession and was running away from the love Rorke so clearly had for her. I was a fan of this man because the first chance he got to be around Sterling he wasn’t letting her walk out of his life again and knew she was end game for him and did everything in how power to keep her, love her, and let her know he was never walking away from her no matter how hard she pushed.
I will that after a while I lost all interest in Rorke and Sterling’s love story. I don’t know if it just dragged on or Sterling never got over the insecurity of her business selling sex toys and kept running away from the relationship with Rorke at any sign of hardship. I also thought that they rushed the relationship. I get that Rorke knew he wanted to spend his life with Sterling, but things moved pretty fast with obstacles always getting in the way and moments they had together weren’t quite fleshed out fully to make me believe and invest in the love.
It was an enjoyable read and helped get me out of my reading funk that I’ve been going through for two months. The authors writing always seems to grab me and her stories tend to spark my interests.
* A review copy was provided by the author *
One thing you can always count on with a book from Prescott Lane is that happy feeling you get at the end.
Toying With Her was a sweet and sexy second chance romance. This story proves that love can stand the test of time. I absolutely LOVED how stable she made this couple.
Rorke, I have to say is probably my favorite Hero of Prescotts. He was simply amazing!!! He never faltered and wasn’t willing to give up for anything. Now I won’t say they didn’t have their doubts and questions and concerns, but they handled things like adults. We didn’t see a lot of that angst and immaturity we see in some books when it comes to couples. Yes, maybe they walk away at times but they always came back to work things out!!! I LOVED that.
Now with saying that, I also did miss some of the drama and emotion we normally see in Ms. Lane’s books. This love story was almost a little to easy breezy for me. That is probably the only thing I found wrong with this book.
As I said before Toying With Her is a standalone novel told in Dual POV. It is a second chance love story between to people who have known each other for many years. They were brought together for one magical night brought on by tragedy, but then Sterling left to chase her dreams and 10 years have passed by. This is a complete story with NO cliffhanger.
Have you ever wondered what your life would be like if you were the inventor of a sex toy?? I thought this book gave us an excellent look into how small minded some people can truly be. My heart broke for Sterling in the beginning of the book for how lonely she was, because no one supported her occupation. Let me tell you, I would love to be friends with Sterling. I found her to be genuine, sweet, a little sassy, but just overall warm hearted. All she wanted was to be loved for who she is. Isn’t that what everyone wants in the end. This is why I loved Rorke so much…..he was so excepting and loved Sterling no matter what.
We really don’t meet too many secondary characters in this story, but there was one that stood out for me and that is Pierce (Rorke’s Friend) I am excited to see he will be getting his own book. I look forward to his journey.
I would recommend this book to everyone who gets swept up into a second chance romance. This book will pull at your heartstrings, but just know in the end you will be left with a big smile on your face.
Before reading this book, I didn’t know what to expect, since this was my first read by this author. After reading this book, I immediately downloaded everything Ms. Lane has written and plan on a binge read! If you have not read anything by this author yet, I strongly advise you to do so.
Finding love and keeping friends is hard to do when your business is considered scandalous by trade and people are always buzzing about it (<--- Ha! See what I did there). Sterling Jamison has all but given up on finding love and not for lack of trying. That is until she comes back to her hometown for the summer and runs into her delicious best friend. Rorke Weston has loved Sterling since they were little. But he always settled for the best friend roll since he could never quite find the right time to tell her. Then on the most tragic day of his life, their relationship is forever changed. "That's the thing about women. When they push you away, it means you need to love them harder" This book was a sweet and funny second chance love story with some hot AF sexy times. Their chemistry could ignite a room it was so hot. "I know you’re used to being in control of your pleasure. But that ends right now. When you need an orgasm, I’ll provide it. When you want a kiss, I’m your man. You may be the woman on top, but I’m the man holding you up there.” The memories they shared of growing up were funny and sweet and at times, made my cry. I loved the part Levi played in their rekindled relationship. And I especially loved her quirky notes she was always leaving around. “I’ve been in love with you for most of my life. I was made to love you.” Add this to your TBR or 1-click it as soon as you can. Toying with Her is definitely a must read!
I love second chance romance, even though Sterling and Rorke were only together for one night you would never think they were ever apart. They seem to fit so perfectly together.
I hated that she was judged so harshly for inventing a sex toy I myself thought it was a good profession. I hated the small minded town people who thought Sterling had no morals and compared her to a whore I found those moments very hard to read because I didn’t think she deserved that kind of treatment at all luckily Rorke was there for her.
Great read and a great couple.
This second chance, friends to lovers story was absolutely unputdownable! The characters Sterling and Rorke were so well developed, so likable, I wanted to meet them.
Their chemistry was off the charts sexy, charming, and romantic. Their banter was fresh, smart and funny.
What made this story truly stand on its own is the poignant story of acceptance. Can’t say more without giving up spoilers and this is one of those reads that’s better enjoyed going in blindly!
Favorite Quotes:
Nestled along the shores of Mobile Bay, the pace here tends to be a little slower, the tea a little sweeter, and the sun a little hotter.
So no friends, no boyfriend, and no dates in almost three years, because men were either turned off by my profession or turned on for all the wrong reasons. I was feeling pretty desperate. And mansperate, too.
“Let’s make some babies.” Good God, he’s out of control. We went from one baby— singular— to babies— plural— in a nanosecond. “How about we just practice?”
My Review:
Despite the book cover and the title, Toying With Her was not erotica, although several breath-stealing steamy scenes occurred as part of a long brewing and blossoming romance. I was engaged by Ms. Lane’s smartly written tale from beginning to end and adored her alluring characters, entertaining storyline, and especially the clever use of humor sprinkled throughout and tucked into amusing descriptions and colorful observations. The premise was relevant and her storyline and writing style was interesting and appealing. Written in my favorite dual POV, I enjoyed this couple and their second chance at romance and had a proud fist pump-moment for Sterling’s resourceful and clever use of strategy.
Rorke had been in love with Sterling since they were small children growing up in a small rural community in Alabama, although he had been too reserved and timid to ever express his deep feelings for her. They had been friends who had finally shared one special night before returning to their separate college plans and regretfully, never crossing paths other again over the following ten years.
I adored Rorke; he was insightful, patient, sexy, and sweet, although he also came with a side-orders of proud and stubborn. I cherished Sterling as a smart and successful businesswoman with sass and savvy. However, her well-deserved wealth and marked success caused unexpected difficulties for her private life, as well as complications for her parents who were still living in their narrowed-minded small-town community in Alabama. A much-needed summer vacation spent with her loving parents had been her plan. Although the little Southern homespun community was not exactly the same as she remembered.