I've read, but it was enjoyable in that it captured my interest quite easily and kept it throughout. That said, there seemed to be a little something that was missing. I kept feeling like there should have been a bit more to the story, as if that missing "something" would have made it more solid and even more likable in my opinion. I can't quite put a finger on what it was, but let's get to the book as it was written...
Midnight Play is the second book in the The Blue Dynasty series. The series is about an affluent African-American family that owns the football team the Las Vegas Slayers. Danica, the heroine of Midnight Play is the middle daughter and the Slayers' general manager. She is the perfect and favorite child who is smart, business savvy, proper, and plays by the rules. She's recently divorced from her high school sweetheart and is now devoted to being the best at what she does and being the type of daughter that her parents can be proud of. Recently, Danica fired quarterback Dex Harper from the team. Dex has a bad reputation and is surrounded by scandal that involves the team. This scandal, he claims, was a setup and he wants back on the team. When Danica offers to help improve his reputation, each learns that there is more to the other than they realized. Suddenly Danica's life as the perfect daughter and GM just might not be enough.
The character of Danica was interesting to me and I felt she had a lot of depth. Some people need their parents approval, even as adults. This can be because of deep admiration or fear of being a disappointment. Some may not like this aspect of Danica's character because they may not understand how an adult woman could crave approval from her parents so badly. To me it made her character more real and her perfect less perfect (if that makes sense). The fact is, for all of their wealth this family is dysfunctional. I don't need characters to be perfect in the books that I read. No one in life is. I just need to see them grow and this story allows the reader to see Danica's growth. Her character worked for me. Dex had less of an impact, but he was likable and served his purpose in the story. We really don't get to see his infamous bad boy ways and I would have liked to have seen a bit of the behavior that earned him the bad reputation. The story about his sister could have been stronger and was one of the weaker aspects of the book in my opinion.
The romance in the book was a good one. It wasn't an angsty drawn out romance. I liked that they didn't deny the attraction between them. I was afraid that Danica would do just that, but she owned her attraction from the first yet wasn't planning to act on it (and that decision had nothing to do with race!). There wasn't any confusion about how or why these two got together since they saw in each other what others couldn't see. There was also a lot about family and relationships, particularly Danica's. Her sisters were wonderful and I'm looking forward to reading their stories, even though this works as a stand-alone.
As I said, this was overall a very enjoyable book for me, and a great way to spend a relaxing evening. To give this book 3 stars would be a severe injustice in my opinion, but it didn't quite hit the four star mark for me either. I'm giving Midnight Play a 3.5 out of 5. It is definitely a book that I'd recommend to a friend and I have a genuine interest in reading the others in the Blue Dynasty series.
*I was given a copy of Midnight Play by author in exchange for an honest review*
Rating 3.5 out of 5
Publisher: Harlequin Kimani
Published: July 1, 2014
Pages: 224
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