Playing by Heart

By: JB Salsbury

Narrated by: Lee Samuels, Jennifer Mack

Length: 10 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's Summary

Jesse Lee is the worst! 

He’s a multi-millionaire, triple-platinum-selling, Grammy-Award-winning man-slut - a worldly, self-indulgent heathen. I wouldn’t sleep with him if he were our last chance to ensure survival of the human race. The only reason I put up with him is because he’s my boss’s brother. 

Whatsherface is one of those holier-than-thou types. 

She’s bossy, has a horrific singing voice, and she’s so ordinary, she practically blends in with the eggshell-colored walls - the complete opposite of anyone I’d bang. The only reason I put up with her is because my career is on the line. 

Playing by Heart is an enemies-to-lovers romance where opposites not only attract, they ignite.

©2018 JB Salsbury (P)2019 Audible, Inc.

A GOOD ENEMIES-LOVERS ROLLERCOASTER

I love this author and wish I could say that I absolutely loved this book every bit as much as her other books too.. but sadly, I can’t - and I put it down to the hero and heroine’s characters early on. We first meet arrogant obnoxious Rock God Jesse at his absolute lowest point.. brought there by too much booze, an endless supply of drugs, bad decisions and way too many nameless women. Jesse’s Manager has finally had enough and, with his career and contract in jeopardy, Jesse is sent to Smalltown Arizona to stay with Ben, his estranged Pastor brother, in a 90 day forced detox bargain. This is where he first meets and collides with Bethany - the only woman to turn him down.. but Bethany can easily turn the drool-worthy Rocker down because she’s still in love with her ex and she’s sure he’ll eventually give her another chance.. even though he’s just got engaged!!

Jesse really doesn’t care about anybody’s feelings.. and that includes his brother Ben (who is still grieving the loss of his wife who died giving birth four years previously).. and Elliot - Ben’s annoying little daughter.. and their plain as fk nanny too. The list also includes any crushed feelings Jesse’s missing drummer may have because he recently f’ked his all-too-willing fiancée. Bethany got dumped in a heartless and humiliating way and her ex soon had a stunning new girlfriend.. however Jesse doesn’t want to let go and stalks them daily. She also doesn’t swear and attends church every Sunday. So, there’s a self-centered cocky Rocker who has taken the ‘sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll’ lifestyle to a whole new level, and a good girl with inferiority issues who is irrationally still clinging on to hope.. and unfortunately for me, I didn’t initially love, or even like, either character very much.

Worth a credit? Thankfully though, JBS did manage to pull things back up to four stars in the end with antagonistic dialogue, opening old wounds, sparks, passion, tender sentiments and some good character development. These two enemies slowly learn how to trust, how to let their pasts go and how to really love each other in a lighthearted, fun, sweet and sexy dual POV ride. Great narration brought this slow-burn to life and yes, IMO, it’s another creditworthy listen from this talented author.

Playing by heart

Great storyline with lots of funny lines. Lee Samuels has the perfect voice for sexy storytelling. Love his narration!

Wow such a surprise!

Started out thinking ugh please not another stereotypical bad rocker boy/ dull Church girl over explicit sex, dark romance. I was pleasantly surprised. By half way through I was loving the story. The music references were fun. The main characters banter was funny and I loved the evolution of th he characters and the message in the story. The narrators were perfect. I"m listening to it again which is rare for me.

sweet story

I'll admit when I started this I wasnt sure how I'd be into it. manwhore rockstar on drugs and a church going good girl. But I am glad I did. Once I got into it, I was into it. and it really is a sweet story. also there are some funny parts that had me laughing out loud. This story had a lot of heart and if you enjoy a bit of a slow burn I'd check it out.

Narration was good too. Wasn't too familiar with either one and they both did an excellent job with this. This was a new to me author so will definitely check out her other stuff now. bye!

LOVE IT!!!

There are only a couple books out of about 100 that have brought tears to my eyes and literally made me full out laugh out loud and this is one of them!!

Ugh.

50/50. It's hard to get into this story. A alcoholic druggie mega rock star is sent to a small town to recover. He stays in his brothers house, who is a pastor, with his young niece. The 24 year old Christian nanny signs all sorts of non-disclosure forms not to reveal the identity of the star. However he attends AA meeting groups, and no one recognizes him or reveals his situation to the media. It's also kinda hard to believe the narrators match the characters, Rock star is pompous and Nanny is an airhead... OK, but definitely not Salsbury's best.

Rockstar romance

I really liked it, I got it through it all in less than a day, I wanted it to last longer. I truly enjoyed the story and the characters.

SURPRISINGLY GOOD!

I usually have low expectations when listening to a Rock Star Romance.

At the beginning of this story I couldn’t see myself liking the hero, however I was pleasantly surprised.

I went from seeing him as a disgusting walking STD, to seeing him as a very caring and loving human being.

I loved the heroine, although there were times I wanted to strangle her.

The supporting characters were varied and interesting as well. From a religious man, to a crazy roommate, to asshole EXes (in both sides), to cute kids, there was a bit of everything.

The narrators did a great job, so all in all this was a very enjoyable listen.

Great rockstar romance!!

This book had me captivated from the very beginning and didn’t let go. Combustible chemistry, witty banter, and passion. A well-written storyline that had all me feeling all the emotions. Great narration that brought this story to life!!

3 "Egotistical Hero" Stars

I’ve been a fan of J.B. Salsbury for years, but didn’t had the chance to read the Love, Hate, Rock-N-roll Series yet. I decided to give Playing By Heart a try, while I was looking for a new audiobook to listen to.

I’ll be totally honest here and say that this book was only okay for me. I just couldn’t connect with either of the main protagonists. I felt Bethany was boring and a little stupid to pin over her ex who was a real tool. Let’s not forget Jesse Lee who was a true a-hole. Seriously, he was such an egotistical jerk for most of the book that even when he tried to redeem himself, it wasn’t enough for me to forget all his bad attitude. The couple chemistry was good, but nothing special.

There were still enjoyable parts of this book like little Elliott who was adorable or Pastor Ben Langley that had me so intrigued. The narration of the audiobook was very good too. Obviously, this novel didn’t leave the best impression on me, but I’m still curious about the next novels in the series though, because the supporting cast is interesting enough.

Brilliant

I loved this book the characters and narration were Amazing would highly recommend you read this book the author is excellent

3.5 stars. Love the author, but not this story

This book was ok, but I spent a good part of the start of the book really severely disliking both the hero and the heroine. It was difficult to come back from that. The hero is just a major D, and the heroine is a pathetic doormat. I did warm to them by the end, and they developed as people, but it capped my rating of the book. It’s well written and I’ll definitely listen to more by this author (I already have everything they’ve released on Audible).