4.5 “príncipe” “Player” “Just jump” “Heartbreaker” Kisses
GAHHHHHHHH!!!! I need to join the Red Lipstick Coalition like yesterday!!! I totally loved Piece of Work and I’m so glad that Staci is giving all of these amazing girls their own stories. The friendship between Rin, Val, Amelia and Katherine is very magnetic and unique and I find I love their friendship almost as much as I love the romantic relationship…and that’s saying a lot since I’ve been completely obsessed with Sam & Val and Court & Rin (from Piece of Work). So…million dollar question – do you have to read Piece of Work in order to read Player? Absolutely not…it’s a tiny bit helpful because you do know the characters a little bit better, but it’s definitely not a deal breaker and Player can be read as a complete standalone.
Valentine Bolivar…my curvaceous, sassy, Spanish wonder – how do I love thee? I would bet almost anything that’s impossible not to love Val…she is one of the most loveable characters I’ve ever read – she made me happy just about every time I was in her POV. Her personality is the best…she’s so funny – like I wish there were a stronger word for funny because I loved how much she made me giggle. She’s very down to earth and genuine. I loved that she was a bigger girl – I related to a lot of her insecurities and the way she saw herself. It wasn’t that her weight was a big hang up for her, she was just very realistic in some of her fears, especially regarding Sam and I appreciated the way that Staci wrote those aspects. I loved her passion for music…I loved her style…I loved her relationship with her family…we already know I loved her friends – Val is just one of those characters I wish was real so that I could hang out with her because I’m pretty sure we’d have a blast together. It’s so obvious to see why she was able to tame the Player…
‘That was when it hit me. My smile was broad and proud. “Valentina Bolivar, are you flirting with me?”
Her cheeks flushed with her little smile, lips together. “Maybe a little.”
“Practice makes perfect,” I said. “Just like dancing. You just keep getting better and better at both.”
She swatted at my arm. “Samhir Haddad, are you flirting with me?”
I laughed and pulled her close. “Maybe a little.”’
Samhir Haddad…oh my sweet stars, I adored this man. I mean, I had a pretty good feeling that I was going to because I have a huge weakness for manwhores…but he’s not your typical player. He’s like…a manwhore with a heart of gold. Yeah…I know that sounds weird, but trust me on this. He’s really and truly not a bad guy…he doesn’t lead girls on, he’s honest to a fault and he’s 100% genuine – he doesn’t say things he doesn’t mean and it’s incredibly easy to take him at face value once you learn that. He’s so sweet and kind – I was worried in the beginning, when the plot was starting to come together, that I was maybe going to have issues with him but they quickly melted away. Once you get to know Sam it’s basically impossible not to fall head over heels in love with him.
‘Sam, I’d discovered, was a doorway to a world I’d only dreamed of. A world of kisses and touches and music. A world of dancing and flipping and laughter. A world where I was onstage in front of hundreds of people, doing the thing I loved most.
It was every version of me that I’d wished existed come to life.’
Ohhhhh my goodness, these two were effortlessly amazing…incredibly addictive from the very beginning and I couldn’t stop myself falling in love with every nuance of their relationship. Without really knowing Sam and Val, you wouldn’t even think they would work so well together – he’s the sexy player who never does repeats and she’s the awkward, funny girl who has never been in love…but their personalities just clicked. It started with their friendship…seeing them get to really know each other, watching Val get over her awkwardness around Sam, seeing Sam let loose with Val. I loved how much they made each other laugh – especially when Val made Sam laugh, I was insanely obsessed with it. They were truly at ease with one another – it was so natural…and it was almost instantaneous. I think the music definitely helped…having that common thread and passion. Then him teaching her to dance added the tactile aspect – which was so amazing…Sam couldn’t keep his hands off of Val and I loved that they were always touching in some way, even before things got romantic. I loved that he was obsessed her hair…I loved that he saw her for who she truly was and genuinely cared for her…I loved that she changed how he thought about relationships and opened his eyes to a whole new world.
“Do you want to know the first thing that I look for in a girl?”
“What?”
“Her smile.”
I leaned back to look at him but said nothing.
His eyes roamed my face, as if he’d find an explanation written somewhere there. “You can tell almost everything from a smile. How easily it finds its way to her face. How sincere it is or isn’t. How it changes her eyes. How it makes me feel. Everything else is secondary to that smile.” He brushed the line of my jaw with the backs of his fingers. “You, Valentina, have one of the most brilliant smiles I’ve ever seen. It finds your lips almost as if that were their natural state. Even when you frown, the corners turn up like they can’t help but be happy. And when you smile, your eyes shine. Your face shines with it. And that hits me in all the right places.”
Staci Hart slaaaaaaaays me every time! Every single time I think I can’t fall in love with her writing more…and every time she proves me wrong – it’s the best thing ever. I love her way with words…I love how she describes things, the way she is able to inflict emotion into just about everything, the humor that she brings out – heck, she even cracked me up with Val’s cheesy pickup lines! The flow is seamless…the dialogue is fantastic…it’s flawless and I never ever want her books to end. They completely transport me and it’s one of the most addictive experiences. That’s why she is one of my favorite authors, I crave the experience that she gives to me. It’s angsty, funny, sexy and the intense emotional rollercoaster that I crave. My only slight complaint was the overuse of “towed/towing”. It’s not like it’s used every other chapter or anything but if it was enough times to catch my attention, which is never a good thing. And the only reason I mention it is because repetitiveness is one of my extreme pet peeves, so that's another reason why it caught my attention. In relation to everything else that I loved about Player, that issue is totally and completely minor - in all honesty, I was completely swept away by Sam and Val. They took all of my expectations and blew them out of the water.
‘She cupped my jaw and smiled, lips together. “What is it, Sam?”
“It’s you, everything about you. I want…I want so much. I want to earn your smiles, your laughter. Your heart. Your pleasure is my pleasure. I didn’t know that your happiness would be my own, too. There’s so much I didn’t know.”
Softly, she laughed. “And here I thought you were supposed to be teaching me.”
I climbed one step, bringing me level with her lips. “Oh, no. It was you who were teaching me all along.”’
The ending was…blissful. Smooth…heavenly…everything I could have ever wanted. Not one ounce of it felt rushed, Sam said everything I needed him to and Val’s reactions were all that I wanted. Plus, one thing I hate is when the resolution finally comes then it’s like wham-bam-thank you ma’am, here’s an epilogue and we’re done and that was not the case here at all. I felt like I truly got to squeeze all the joy I wanted out of Sam and Val…and let’s be real, I love squeezing the joy out of them – they’re just too amazing for words. Also…I’m just putting this out in the universe – I would absolutely LOVE if Staci did a spin off series with Val’s brothers – Dante, Rancisco, Maximum and Alejandro. Those Bolivar Boys are some kind of amazing…I’m basically already in love with Dante! I loved seeing the entire Bolivar family…but I think seeing Val’s brothers get their own HEA would be pretty spectacular. I’m so freakin’ in love with this series already and we’re only half way through – plus! The teasers that were in the epilogue plus the sneak peak of Work in Progress, Amelia’s story, that was in the back of Player…good gravy lawd almighty, January 24th cannot get here fast enough!!! I’m so excited to see what Staci does with my favorite little book worm and her man. #RedLipstickCoalitionFan
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Popular Highlights in this book
“Love is music. It’s learning when to be loud and when to be soft. It’s riding the scales up and down. Learning the curves and strings to play the song of your heart. You have to know when to lead and when to follow. When you’re wrong and when you’re right. Love is music, hijo mío. It is the greatest music there is.”Highlighted by 170 Kindle readers- He picked me up like I was nothing, but he held me like I was everything.Highlighted by 140 Kindle readers
About the author
The Red Lipstick Coalition strikes again!!
Once more, Staci Hart has penned a novel that has captivated my heart completely! Unique in her own right, Staci's writing is flawless as she creates an undeniable connection between tbe reader and characters. Seriously, you won't be able to stop yourself from falling in love with these ingenious characters!! Val! Valentina. She quickly became a favorite heroine to me. Here's why... She's a voluptuous goddess with Hispanic roots. Flawed and insecure, yet at the same time she's fierce and bold. Val is someone I, or any woman could relate to! Plus, she crushed on the hottest guy 😉 Now, Sam! I'm shook again because Staci gives us not one, but two multicultural characters who both happen to be main characters! #dead It's such a beautiful thing to see two different characters from two different cultures come together. Sam is Samhir Haddad and he's Lebanese. Different from any other hero I've read, he stuck with me throughout the entire story. Gorgeous, talented, imperfect, and yes a #player. Val never imagined her crush would give her the time of day and soon a friendship unfolds and things become more... But Sam holds a secret close to his heart that could ultimately hurt Val. Is Sam really just a player, or is there more to him? Read and find out! 😝 Hands down, I loved this book! It had everything! Things I didn't even know I wanted in a book! Dance, tons of culture, and so much music all I could think about at times was wanting to learn to swing dance, too! It even had the fake-dating trope that's hard to resist!!! Thank you so much Staci! I cannot wait for the next books of the Red Lipstick 💄Coalition squad!!
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