Risky Play

Red Card, Book 1

By: Rachel Van Dyken

Narrated by: CJ Bloom, Eric London

Length: 7 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

Even one-night stands deserve a second chance in New York Times bestselling author Rachel Van Dyken’s novel of sporting desire.

What else can a virgin do when she’s ditched at the altar? Seattle heiress Mackenzie Dupont is treating herself to a single-girl honeymoon in Mexico and a desire to relinquish her innocence to a gorgeous one-night stand. Fake names. True pleasure. But when she wakes up alone, Mackenzie realizes just how much anger is left in her broken heart.

Suffering a tragic personal loss, pro soccer player Slade Rodriguez has his reasons for vanishing without a goodbye. Right or wrong, he’s blaming the beautiful and infuriating stranger he never wants to see again. They’re both in for a shock when Mackenzie shows up as his new personal assistant. And they both have a lot to learn about each other. Because they share more than they could possibly know, including a common enemy who’s playing his own games. And he’s not afraid to get dirty.

Now there’s only one way Mackenzie and Slade can win: to trust in each other and to stop hiding from the lies they’ve told, the secrets they’ve kept, the mistakes they’ve made, and the attraction that still burns between them.

©2019 Rachel Van Dyken (P)2019 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“[S]eductive yet sweet...Van Dyken (the Liars, Inc. series) mixes comic relief with personal growth, making this catchy romance irresistible.” (Publishers Weekly)

ljstalker

loved it great story loved it for the soccer players and his friends, can't wait to hear/read the next one !

I LOVED this Book!

Soo I eye read this book already but I had pre-ordered the audio long before I was lucky enough to get the book early. So I kept it because hello CJ Bloom is a favorite of mine. But also I enjoyed this book so much, I wanted to see if I liked it as much in audio. And you know what I DID!
Erin London does a great job with Slade's voice is how I thought of it in my head.

I think it might be my favorite RVD book yet. It was sweet and romantic, but it was more the characters are amazing. Mackenzie is this strong woman who might be broken a little from her past but she pushes through. She knows her self-worth and isn’t afraid to say so. She gets knocked down and gets right back up. I love this about her. She never loses her sense of humor or her sense of self.

Slade is a heartbreaker in more than one way he really put my heart through the wringer! You could feel his pain it was bleeding through the pages. Even when I wanted to shake him I still had empathy for him.

Matt hahaha Oh Matt is a character for sure haha he and Jagger I swear I want them both to get books because they really gave this story that little extra to make you feel the friendship even if it was more enemies ;).

Mack and Slade have this back and forth that I love in my romance, he pushes she pushes back and when she pulls away he follows it is really interesting to read and root for them. I am in awe of this book and I just want more.

Highly Recommend this book.

very good

Loved it !! this story. the narrator is so fantastic it's like your really there!! After listening to this story,. I totally enjoyed reading this book. It’s well written and the characters were uniquely fantastic. I would suggest this book to my friends that like this sort of genera. this was a good book. The narrator was great.

This book has it all!

I am actually surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. Once I found out this book had the audio included on Kindle Unlimited, I quickly grabbed it… the fact that it was about a soccer player was just icing on the cake! Mackenzie and Slade meet when they both take a trip to Mexico as a little escape from their lives. In typical romance fashion, they hit it off and spend an amazing day together until real life butts in and tragedy strikes. After they return to their lives in Seattle, they get thrown together again and they try to fight the attraction. Mack tries to hang out with an old friend, Slade gets jealous, her ex causes problems, punches are thrown. Really, this book has drama, comedy, romance and the cutest bulldog with a gas problem!

The narration was great for these characters. I’ve listened to CJ Bloom before and I always enjoy her bringing the characters to life. Eric London was a new narrator for me but I really enjoyed him. His voice for Matt was a little annoying, but since Matt always seemed to be fed up I could completely see him sounding like that!

Enjoyable RVD Sports RomCom

Audio. Full disclosure: I love 99% of what RVD writes. CJ Bloom & Eric London are definitely in my list of favorite narrators. So, it was going to be difficult for this book to disappoint. Even though I could read/listen via KU ~ I bought it.

Yes, the jilted-bride-goes-on-honeymoon-anyway-and-meets-her-forever-man has been done numerous times before, but RVD pulls it off well by adding a few unique twists and turns. Places where I thought I knew where she was going, she made a different decision with great results.

I loved Mac. She was adorable (I’m sure CJ Bloom’s voice helped here), yet strong and determined despite all the crap coming her way.

Speaking of crap, Slade’s attitude toward her when they meet up again is what brought this down for me. He was particularly vicious and it went along a little too long for my taste.

It’s still a book I see myself listening to again and worth buying. They get their HEA. We also get to know Matt & Jagger well enough that I can’t wait for their stories.

Enjoyable

I thoroughly enjoy Rachel Van Dyken's books, this one was good but I had a problem with Slates accent. I wasn't sure it was supposed to be Hispanic or English, I kept catching notes of both and in some cases the accent came on stronger than in others, it just wasn't consistent to me. Other than that I liked the story and even had some laugh out loud moments.

OMG!!

OMG!! This book had me hooked from beginning to end and I can't wait to start the next book in this series. Loved Slade and Mack's journey and can't wait to see what's in store for the rest of the group. Rachel Van Dyken did an amazing job

Take the Risk ❤️⚽️🍷💙

I like Rachel’s books because her characters are always so likable. Mack and Slade both have their moments of selfishness or frustration, but both are bred from grief, so it’s understandable.

A hot soccer player and a jilted bride make for a good story. I enjoyed their banter and her strength of character, especially when he is less than gracious to her.

As always, a HEA with a sweet ending. Take the plunge.

The narrators both do a good job with the characters. Overall, a pretty good listen.

Oh, man, Rachel Van Dyken does it again!!!

Mack & Slade were beautifully done in this sweet story. Rachel Van Dyken does have a way of balance things out about life and discovering who you can be. I truly thing their banter were quite perfect and the mix with Matt & Jagger truly had a way to make it humorous!!!!! Overall, it’s a book you just want to read/listen over and over!

Partners Jump Together

There may have been a few moments when dialogue or action felt contrived or formulaic, but overall, I loved this book!

There were many laugh-out-loud moments, some amazing quotables, and overall a lot of feel-good in this story. Quite well done!