Gauging the Player

The Playmakers Series, Book 3

By: G.K. Brady

Narrated by: Ryan Lee Dunlap, Aubrey Vincent

Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

He broke his own rules for one night of passion. Now he wants more, but her heart belongs to a rival he can’t beat.

Gage Nelson doesn’t do one-night stands. In fact, he doesn’t date. He’s too focused on leading his team to the playoffs. Besides, he doesn’t need more women complicating his life—he’s got enough of that already.

But when a blue-eyed beauty bowls him over, he breaks his own rules and lets himself go with the flow for a night. A night he intends to be the first of many. But when he wakes up, his dream girl’s gone, and he has no idea how to find her. He’s haunted by the woman he can’t get out of his mind.

Lily Everett is caught in a past she can’t let go. One night of steamy sex with a hot hockey hunk helps her forget—until she wakes up and guilt grabs her by the throat. She runs and doesn’t look back. And that’s okay, because hockey players are, well, players, right? Guys like him aren’t looking for long-term—and neither is she.

When a chance meeting brings them back together, Lily realizes she’s not only misjudged Gage Nelson, but she’s misjudged her own heart’s yearnings. What began as a one-night stand threatens to undo her carefully laced-up world.

Gage, a.k.a. Mr. Perfect, is trying to live up to the expectations of his family and team. A lot is riding on his big shoulders, but as long as he goes in the direction his moral compass points, he can’t go wrong. Right?

As for Lily, he wants her. Period. He sets out to win her the same way he wins at hockey: with patience and persistence. But he finds himself facing off against a rival he can’t beat.

Can Gage convince Lily to give up the ghosts of her past and make room for him in her heart, or will she freeze him out forever?

©2020 G.K. Brady (P)2023 G.K. Brady

Wonderful listen with great narration

This is my first book by G.K. Brady and I really like her writing style, characters and storyline. She brings wonderful emotion, passion and love to this story. Gage and Lily have a chance meeting and have an instant attraction to one another. Lily has some emotional baggage she’s trying to work through which prevents her from fully commuting to Gage. She also had her daughter to worry about so she doesn’t want to get too attached. Gage is patient and loving with Lily - giving her space and time to work through her emotions. G.K. writes the story so beautifully - your emotions will be put to the test. Ryan Lee Dunlap and Aubrey Vincent deliver a fantastic performance. Their voices were perfect for the characters and gave them great emotion and personalities. Audiobooks being a whole different dynamic to the authors words. Fantastic listen!
2 days ago

A Heartwarming Story

A story about overcoming grief to find love and a HEA. Lily and Gage meet at his teammate's wedding. They decide to help each other escape pushy guests and end up spending a magically night together but the next morning, Lily sneaks out the next morning. Gage is disappointed he didn't get a chance to learn more about Lily. Several months later, they run into each other again and Gage is not letting her get away this time and slowly helps her heal.

Great narration.

Love After Loss - Slow Build with an emotional end

3rd in series but stands alone. There are character overlaps and if you’re aware of the previous stories, it will make you smile to see them now.

The story of Gage and Lily is one of love after loss. This is a big big theme in the book. How do you deal with grief, how do you heal from the loss of the love of your life… it’s quite deep and makes you think.

Gage is drawn to Lily from the first moment and once he finds her again after their single night together, he will do anything to keep her close. Lily lost her husband 4 years ago and is a single mom still haunted by the love she lost too soon. She feels guilt for her night with Gage and the more she spends time with him, the more it looks like she’s healing, but that can make her guilt even stronger…

The biggest obstacle between these two (and adorable Daisy) becoming a family, is the ghost of Jack. It broke my heart how easily Gage adapted his life to make room for Lily and Daisy, how much he wanted more with them (not just her, them!) and yet he still lived in the shadow of Jack through Lily’s grief. It’s mentioned multiple times that grieving isn’t a one size fits all process… but sometimes you need a wakeup call from outside your grief to help you move forward rather than staying stuck in the past.

The audiobook was performed by Ryan Lee Dunlap and Aubrey Vincent. Both are new to me narrators and I feel like they performed the 3rd person perspective well. The emotions built over the course of the book and though the pacing was slow in the beginning, I’m glad I stuck with it. Once the pace picked up, I really became invested, and it was just an emotional ride to the finish line. I was almost crying at one point thanks to Ryan’s narration of an interaction between Gage and Daisy…

I requested and was provided with an advance copy of the audiobook. These are my honest opinions.

Great Listen!

This is the third book in the series but can be read as a standalone. This is the first book I have read from this series and author. The narrators do a good job telling the story in an entertaining way. I will be going back to read the other two stories in the series and look forward to more to come.

Sweet Cravings

God, I loved Gage and Lily's love story. I loved how Gage was such a sweet, caring, and loyal guy to not only Lily but his friends and family. I laughed through this book while at times my heart hurt for the things Lily struggled with. I couldn't imagine going in her shoes. But I'm so glad she was able to let go of her past and move on with the right man. Gage was such a great guy for Lily and her little girl Daisy. The two narrators were a first for me, and I truly enjoyed them reading the story. I'll be checking out more from them as well. Loved all 3 books, but Book 3 so far is my favorite.

Great Read

Gauging the Player (The Playmakers #3) was a great read by G.K. Brady. Gage Nelson not only doesn’t do one night stands, but he doesn’t date. He is just focused on leading his team to the playoffs. That is until Lily Everett bowls him over with her blue eyed beauty. He ends up breaking his own rules for one night of passion. Unfortunately he wakes up and she’s gone. He has no idea how to find her and can’t get her out of his mind. She can’t seem to let go of her past and runs from the guilt of what she did with the hockey player who must be a player. A chance meeting brings them back together and she realizes that she misjudged Gage. I enjoyed reading this book and can’t wait to read more by the author.

Contemporary

A picky NHL player who doesn't like one night stands is entranced by the singer at his friend's wedding. The one night stand singer is a widow with a small child. Gage Nelson wants a relationship with Lily Everett, but she is not sure about falling in love. Ryan Lee Dunlap, and Aubrey Vincent narrate this book well.

Good Romance

This book is so good. Gage is a misunderstood pro hockey player and Lily is the grieving widow. I like how Lily and Gage had history. I also like that Lily wasn't some twig and she had a daughter. I liked the first meeting between Gage and Daisy. The build up to the being in love part was very sweet. I like this book, it took my mind off of everything for a few hours. The narrators draw you in and hold onto your attention. They did such a wonderful job bringing the characters to life. I think that G.K. Brady's books are definitely worth checking out.

Compelling & Heartfelt! Amazing Story & Listen🎧

G.K. Brady continues to wow me with another winning novel set in her “Playmakers” series, a novel that grabbed my attention right from the start and captivated it the entire book. She outdid herself with all the emotions and you could feel how much heart she put into this book as those emotions pour off the pages and into your own heart. The characters in this book, and series, are realistic, easy to relate to and connect with, they are easy to care about too. Gage Nelson is an all around nice guy, and doesn’t get into the women, puck bunnies, who follow the players and throw themselves at them just for who they are and what they do, he wants something more meaningful. Listening to Lilly Everett sing made him feel things, and then he got to meet her after the show and he knew he wanted to spend more time with her. He made an exception because she was not your usual puck bunny, and he spent the night with her and was hoping for more, but she disappeared before he woke up. He did not forget about her and when he sees her again he questions why she left. Lily did not share much about herself that night and she still hesitated to, not because her life is a secret, it is more that she is living in her own bubble and does not know how to get out, though she does not realize it. I loved the layers of the story, the complexity of the characters and getting to know them. My heart went out to Lily, who was struggling to move past her loss and the life that she built. Gage was solid, always trying to do the right thing for his family, who did not deserve it, except for his grandmother, who had cognitive issues, which were heartbreaking, too. There was also some drama going on with one of Gage’s teammates, which put him in a tough spot. This beautifully written and plotted sports romance has plenty of drama, heartfelt emotions, a touch of angst, some heartwarming moments and a cute little Daisy who is not only a scene stealer but a stealer of hearts, too. G.K. Brady, thank you for another fabulous story and emotional rollercoaster ride.

🎧📚🎧 And for the wonderful narration, Ryan Lee Dunlap and Aubrey Vincent did an amazing job bringing these characters to life and did so with a complete understanding of who they were portraying and were believable in every role they played. Ryan Lee Dunlap played Gage’s role with perfection and Aubrey Vincent did the same for Lilly, both grasping all sides of their personality, and all of their emotions and have you feeling every single one. Both were fantastic performing the roles of the secondary characters too. These two versatile voice artists are entertaining storytellers and a pleasure to listen to. Thank you for the fantastic listen. 

Enjoyable Storyline with Heartfelt Characters!

This is an good story. Enjoyable storyline with heartfelt characters. This is the third book in the series and I am enjoying getting to know this team and all the girls. Each of the characters has nice individual growth that blends in well together. My only issue is I don’t understand why she calls him professor? I might have missed it but to me it was kind of weird. I am not sure whose story is next but I look forward to more from this team of players.

I listened to this on audio. Ryan Lee Dunlap and Aubrey Vincent are the narrators. Both are new to me and I felt they did a good job portraying their respective characters.