Game Play

By: Lynda Aicher

Narrated by: Cooper North

Length: 10 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

One night, one time, nothing more. That's all it was supposed to be. They'd agreed their first night together would be their only night together - and Minnesota Glaciers defenseman Dylan Rylie was fine with that. Giant hickeys and claw marks on his ass had never been his style, even if the very memory of Samantha Yates' merciless sexual energy gets him hard within seconds. He needs to focus on getting a better contract, not mind-blowing orgasms.

One night, one time, nothing more. Fresh off representing the US at the Games and with nowhere else to play, Samantha gave in to one night of frantic passion with the Glaciers' brawny hotshot. She couldn't get hurt - not if she controlled the outcome. And she planned to leave Minnesota soon, anyway. She didn't expect to be recruited to coach Dylan after they'd gotten down and dirty.

When brutal on-ice workouts lead to kinky locker room sessions and "one night" falls by the wayside, Samantha insists on keeping things casual despite Dylan's quiet hope for more. But when Dylan goes down - hard - and his career is in jeopardy, Samantha is the first one by his side. What will it take to keep her there after he's healed?

Book one of Power Play

©2015 Lynda Aicher (P)2015 Harlequin Enterprises, Limited.

Loved it

I loved this book...a great hockey read! Definitely on to book 2. Loved the voice of the narrator!

Excellent read

Ms. Aicher does it again! I love her Bonds of books and didn't know what to expect from this one. I was pleasantly surprised. The story is well developed and I fell in love with the characters. I especially love the feisty Samantha!

New Series From Lynda Aicher-I Was Excited 2 Start

Samantha has gone as far she can in her career as a female hockey player. Now what? She is still the hometown hero and living under her father's coaching shadow. She is completely lost and frustrated that there is no professional hockey for woman.

Dylan plays professional hockey for the Minnesota Glaciers. One day the two of them meet at a local rink. The rink is hosting 'open ice' time for kids. After some playful trash talk Samantha challenges Dylan. The bet is for a beer which turns into a 'one night' stand.

I'm not sure how, but Samantha becomes a personal trainer for Dylan. She is helping him in his hockey life. This is really unrealistic, in my opinion. However I went along with it for the sake of the story.

This was not a typical Lynda Aicher book that I am used to listening. I'm more familiar with her "Wicked Play" [aka "Bonds Of"] series which is extremely, extremely graphic with mature themes. This series is very tame compared to it. There's still enough spice to keep you from recommending it to your conservative friends, but not nearly as much as her other series.

Although I found this book a little bit on the boring side, I will probably continue the series. It is good, but did not knock my socks off as Aicher's other series.


Cooper North is a good narrator. He gives a solid performance. His performance of the female characters is impressive. It drives me crazy when a male author performs a female lead by simply speaking in a squeaky tone and adding a lisp. Cooper's performance contained none of that. He is authentic and believable in all of the characters.

Notes: Descriptions of sex & strong language


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Just okay

This story wasn't bad. I just wish the lead female wasn't portrayed as being stubborn and weak. She kept telling herself nothing could good could happen and fought most of the book. She was annoying at times.

Young Adult Romance with Violence

Game Play starts out with such promise, with an especially humorous scene in which the main characters Dylan (24) and Sam (23) meet "on the ice". Sadly, that scene was the best part of this book, which I didn't realize was mostly about young adults (under 25). While very well written, the characters lacked depth, maturity and life experience, all traits which make a novel riveting to me.

Strangely, about 7 hours into Game Play, Dylan slaps Sam while they are in bed. Up until that point, Dylan was portrayed as a good hearted Texas cowboy who had been raised by his aunt, who he adored and respected. This unprovoked violence seemed totally out of character for Dylan, especially hitting the woman with whom he was "supposed to be falling in love".

Stranger still, Sam hardly reacted at all, except to say "that hurt". Really? As a psychology major, Sam should have recognized the warning signs of an abusive relationship and run for her life. As a life-long athlete and an educated woman, Sam should have been horrified that a lover had hit her and gotten to a safe place. Instead she acted like physical violence was a natural part of any sexual relationship.

Since I don't enjoy books which glamorize and promote violence against women, I did not finish Game Play. No man who likes and respects women would ever deliberately hurt one.