The Player

By: Claire Contreras

Narrated by: Zachary Webber, Megan Tusing

Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's Summary

I'm naturally gifted on the field and between the sheets. With flashy cars and enough media attention to put the royal family to shame, I'm the definition of most eligible bachelor.

Every man wants to be me, and every woman wants to tame me. Until Camila.

The moment I lay eyes on her, I know I have to have her.

She wants to keep me at arm's length.

I want her naked in my bed.

She thinks our worlds are too different.

All I want her to think about is screaming my name.

She says I'm bad news.

I have three weeks to prove her wrong.

©2016 Claire Contreras (P)2016 Claire Contreras

Freaking perfection. Zachary Webber is the hottest soccer player ever!

Yes! Yesssss! This book was damn near perfection. Such a gorgeous sports romance/ friends-to-lovers novel. Claire Contreras gives us angst and conflict, but without all those pesky whiny inner monologues. Warren is amazing! He's sexy, charismatic, possessive and determined. Still, he's got a soft side too and that had me swooning as much as when he was turning up the alpha vibes. Camila is a fantastic female lead. She's strong, driven, and vibrant. She's not easily charmed by Warren and stands her ground, but isn't a complete shrew to accomplish this. Their chemistry and attraction sizzles and and damn near sets fire the pages when Camila finally gives into Warren. Both grow, together and part, throughout their journey in the story and when they finally come together they're even better for it.

I don't know who cast the narration for this audiobook, but they deserve a prize! Why? Two words: that accent! *fans self* Zachary Webber absolutely blew me away. He doesn't sunspot narrate the story, he breathes it into life. From Warren's softer side to his naughty bedside manner he embodies the character flawlessly. Megan Tusing is equally terrific in her narration. From seamlessly switching accents to her male voice, she's utter perfection. This audiobook is not to be missed! All the stars.

I REALLY ENJOYED THIS ONE

Any additional comments?

Really good story. Though I would have liked hotter Nukie scenes I think this one is a keeper. I could listen to this one a few times a year. The narration is also is very very good. I want more books read by Zachary and Megan. You will Enjoy it.

Good story, Cover model is HOT! but I hate....

Good story, Cover model is SMOKING HOT! Books should really give the cover models credit on the jackets because it's their images that get readers to even look at the book before they find out about the writer or story. It's only fair IMHO. But what I hate is whining. Megan Tusing narrating is ok but the constant whining voice is irritating. Zachary was great even as Camilla. Megan does not pull off a tough New Yorker even a little. A New York woman who blushes when gorgeous men at a bar hit on her. When does that ever happen? Maybe for someone who is new to the city but a seasoned New Yorker that Camilla is supposed to be wouldn't have batted an eye and would've had a witty retort faster then an eye-roll so that was totally unbelievable for me.

Camilla was written with the reactions of a teenager. I just didn't buy her a true female lead character. The idea of the story I liked but does the guy always have to be rich? I mean that is becoming so tiresome. I liked the book but it could've been better. Strong female characters are not a turn-off I wish there were more than just in J.D. Robb's In Death series.

Eye Candy on the Cover

I enjoyed this book if for nothing else that gorgeous body on the cover. So with that being said, my mind was very open to the words that lie within. I really liked Camila and Warren's story. Hot famous soccer player chasing the poor do-gooder pretty girl only to find out that their pasts are connected and not in a good way. These two have to find their way to loving each other despite the sins of the fathers. I really like that the reason of life and one's personal happiness wee emotions explored in this romance. Something we can all think about.

Zachary and Megan were amazing capturing the emotions of Camila and Warren but Megan's Warren sounds just a little to feminine. Overall this was an enjoyable listen.

Wow freaking Zachary Webber🥰😍🥰😍🥰

Warren is dreamy mcdreamy. Incredibly hot, charming, and sweet. Camilla is a tough New Yorker and I love her. Not too much angst, just a typical love story with the guy hoping to get the girl the old fashioned way. Megan Tusing narration was perfect, she was able to switch from male to female perfectly. Now Zachary Webber with a British accent 🔥😍🥰. He brought the hot football player to life. He portrayed Warren seamlessly, then next he not only switched to a female voice, he also changed accents. Perfection, I'm in love. Get this audiobook it's so worth a credit.

I'll take a famous soccer player with a side of sizzle

Pheeeeeeeew if only stories like this happened in real life :) Warren is everything you want in a man; hot, rich, sweet, and incredibly charming! Camila is your typical strong determined heroine who tries to resist the temptation that is Warren. I really enjoyed this listen. The narrators were PERFECT and there wasn't too much angst. Lots of anticipation, and hoping that he'll get the girl, but not angsty to the point of wanting to slap the heroine like some books! It's the perfect combination of drama, comedy, and romance!!! I definitely recommend

Good book with some harmful stereotypes

Obviously I love Futbol romances! I love that this heroine was Dominican(I'm sure the author is Dominican, too) and how Warren was English with Spanish roots. You hardly ever see any romances between European Spanish speakers and Latin American ones so I liked that they both spoke Spanish, even if it wasn't on page.

I loved the tension between the hero and heroine and the drama regarding both their parents was definitely the twist I needed to make their break up feel real but there was some insensitive social stuff that could have literally been left out of the book.

The heroine mentored inner-city kids and took the most interest in a kid named Trayvon, who, surprise-surprise, got shot! Like really? That was just racially insensitive and tone-deaf AF! Not to mention the kid was Haitian American and I don't know any Haitian parents that would name their child Trayvon. That is more of an American name and fro the author to be Dominican where Haiti and the Dominican Republic share an island, you would think she would have known something that culturally specific. I hate when author write these troubled kids to help humanize the heroine. It was just super tone-deaf with this social climate we're in now.

Overall I did like the book, I wish there would have been more emphasis on the game of soccer though!

Somewhere between "not for me" and "meh".

I really thought I would like this! Zachary Webber, sports background, billionaire.. what could go wrong?

The some of the wrongs:
-The female narrator doesn't work well for this book. There was something about her tone that made her feel like my listen speed was on 1.2 or higher. As others said, she is also not good at accents. Not to say I won't try her again, this may have been a one-time thing, but when she is reading 75% of the book- it gets old quick.
-Along the same lines: Bad female casting. I am not saying you needed to cast a latina for this role but her voice was not at all believable for the character she was portraying.
-This book could have done with some editing. One example: the female character explained the font on a note and mentioned she knew the font type (Times New Roman) because she used it in college! This just seemed so unnecessary for me. Anyone with a computer knows Time New Roman, it's the default on most PC/Macs; why explain the font and how she knows it?
-It took me half of the book to get into it/ pick up/until I stopped falling asleep on it. I honestly only stayed because I felt like I was in the wrong. The reviews were so high. To be honest, the whole book never fully grabbed me but it did get better.
-The female lead: used to be rich but no longer is. Yet she has a problem with the male lead being rich from birth and being a pro athlete. Should he apologize for being born into a good family and working hard in his chosen field? She never seemed to have a problem with her rich brother-in-law whose family she seems to work for... seems inconsistent.
-There was a character named Trayvon who had an injury slightly similar to a familiar case in Florida, USA; which happened before this book was published. Seemed a little tone deaf.
-[Slight spoiler}: At one point the male begs her to come to the UK and then somehow forgets about her on her second night there. How is that even possible? Who forgets about a house guest- especially since he seemed so crazy about her! What was the point of this?

I'll stop ranting. This is just to say there are a lot of problems with the book. I am in the minority but I feel like this book is way overhyped. I will end on a good note.

The good and the reason the ratings above aren't one star:
-Zachary Webber.

Just plain boring...

Minority, here...

Great narrators, they got the one star.

Other than that, flat story, flat characters, flat scenes, everything flat. It was hard to finish it, it was so boring. I kept peeking at my other books longingly, but my OCD, as always, got the best of me.

Thank God this audiobook was for free, but what about my wasted time??? 😕

Enter at your own risk.

My first and I loved it!

Love is a very multilayered thing and The Player explores all aspects of the emotion. From family love, to forgiveness, to falling head over heels in love with someone, and what you are willing to give up for that someone. I loved all the little moments in this story that kept me company through some mind-numbing repetitive work. Narrated by Zachary Webber and Megan Tusing, it was just what I needed to stay working and get it done.

Our two characters are from opposite worlds. Warren is a professional football (aka soccer) player from a wealthy family and Camila is a girl from Washington Heights in NYC, struggling to make ends meet with a bold family and a community behind her. They meet as Camila is being evicted from her apartment for rebuilding and she boldly calls out the developers catching War's eye. He is smitten at first sight, but Camila wants nothing to do with it. From here, we have a fun tale of 2 people falling in love. And not the pretty flowery kind of love, but love born from persistence, patience, and that little spark.

The story is engaging, with low angst and a good balance between events, character inner dialogue, a few steamy scenes and strife between the characters. It was well paced and kept me listening all day long. This was my first Claire Contreras and it did not disappoint.

I so wanted to love this book

Ouch! This hurts. I was so looking forward to this book, the hype, the cover, the synopsis and the 5⭐️reviews, all had me literally on the edge of my seat with anticipation. All for nothing. I mean nothing. I mean absolutely nothing. I felt no chemistry between the main characters ( and believe me I wanted to), I felt no compassion towards them, not even a hint of it. The story had so much potential, I loved the whole synopsis (bad boy soccer player meets innocent do gooder, a few hiccups and then all is right with the world). Sports romance is one of my favourite genres and save for the last few chapters that had a little more passion and fire, it would have been a star less.

loved it

Enjoyed the book and story line. I like simple listening to help me sleep and Zachary voice is simply perfect.

Sensational...exquisite narr ation

Loved the story line...i enjoyed d world class narration.Def. a bestseller.lookin forward to oda claire novels...