Anatomy of a Player

Taking Shots, Book 2

By: Cindi Madsen

Narrated by: Joe Arden, Kristin Watson Heintz

Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

This bad boy is about to get played....

After getting her heart broken by a player again, Whitney Porter is done with men. She's focusing on her future career and her first assignment at the college newspaper: Posing as a sports writer for an exposé on the extra perks jocks receive. But Hudson Decker, the bad boy of the hockey team, is about to test her resolve. To keep 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.

©2016 Cindi Madsen (P)2017 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved. This edition is made possible under a license arrangement with Entangled Publishing, Inc.

great storyline

narrators made it easy to follow the story. great writing was made even greater with such wonderful narrators

Female Narrator Was Terrible Book Was Good

I found the story to be great. I actually really loved the story. Hudson is by far my most favorite male lead in this series so far. He was just so sweet to Whitney. Yeah he made a bet and he should have told her about it. But he really was there for her. And was will to stand by her no matter what. I liked Whitney. She was smart and fun. I loved how she wanted for people to see her as more than just a pretty face and want them to see her brains as well. It was kind of neat how in the first book Lila wanted to change to be sexier and in this one Whitney wanted to look less sexy so people would think she took her job seriously.
As far as narrators, Kristin Watson Heintz was just terrible. I had to speed it to 1:35 x speed just to be able to stand to listen to her. I love Joe Arden and really wish they would have paired him with someone better.

Enjoyed

So, nice to listen to a well-written college book. Wonderful narrarators, kept my interest, just the right amount of love scenes. Hot, but not cringing. This is my second book by the author, and it was great to have the first book's couple play a part in Whitney and Hudson's story. Well done.
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Fun Series

I was happy to find this series in a audiobook, I have previously read the books and I wanted to know if my imagined interpretation was the same. It was very close to all the voices! It's a sweet series nothing over the top with this 2nd book.

Terrible female narrator

Terrible female narrator! Would've given half a star if I could have. Male narrator was fine but female ruined it - too bad.

Masks

Beautiful Whitney wants to be taken seriously as an investigative reporter, but a male journalism professor tells her she should go for an anchor position, because of her looks. To prove him wrong and set herself apart at the school newspaper (on the front page no less!) she agrees to write an article exposing if athletes get preferred treatment. Now, she just has to learn about Hockey to cover it while she gathers her research.
Hudson has a crappy past. He is determined to not let it dictate his future though. Even if it means struggling through his classes. His one release (other than girls): Hockey. And hey, he tells the girls up front that hes not the dating type. Then in walks this woman who looks like she belongs more in an office or library than a locker room. He decides the challenge of making a girl like her loosen up is just what he needs.

Though there are hints of how bad his childhood was, it doesnt really come out until he opens up to Whitney. They both have had to overcome their demons to get where they are, but is whats growing between them enough to keep them together?

Narrators can ruin the entire book.

The female narrator made it so hard for me to listen to the entire book. I found myself not paying attention because I was annoyed with her voice.

Sweet

An adorably sweet story. I read this book a LONG time ago, but listened to it on audible which reminded me of how much I adored this story.
Joe. Arden and Kristen Watson Heintz were fantastic narrators. I enjoyed this story.

Disapointing

What would have made Anatomy of a Player better?

This was a hot mess from the start. The overall story is like any typical one where a bad boy sports player tris to win over the cynical want to be reporter. She's got issues from being played by several guys who were athletes and he as issues of his own. The writing is so bad and the narration not much better that I made it to chapter 6 before I tapped out on this one. The female character will literally make you want to slap her silly. I can't tell if it's the written verbiage or if it's the narrator to be honest.

What do you think your next listen will be?

I am a hockey fan, so I love those. I'm going to try Second Shot by CM Seabrook but this will be my first listen with narrator Evelyn Marcail. We'll see how it goes.

How could the performance have been better?

Again, I'm not 100% sure if the narrators are totally at fault here. I think the writing itself is what makes this one so rough to listen to. The female voice though is irritating, but again,it might be the actual character. I would try listening to these narrators again with a different book to see how that works out.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

To be honest, it didn't. I have only come come across a few books where I quit mid listen. When you can't make it past chapter 6, you're in trouble either way.

Any additional comments?

This is an author whose works I will stay away fro in future. Her development of both the story and characters leaves little to be desired.