I'm so confuse right now. I don't know which one I love the most Branden or Aaron ?? :O

Wah, this book was as good, if not better than the first one.

In the slew of NA books available these days, Emma Hart stands out.

I adored Playing for Keeps, the second book in her NYTimes Bestselling series. It is fresh, funny, sexy, and deals with tragic situations in such a completely pure way that it doesn't feel maudlin or heavy-handed. Ms. Hart writes her characters and their dialogue with such authenticity, you'll find yourself yelling at the pages like you'd yell at your best friend. And the sexy times? They're hot and sweet, a perfect combination for the young lovers depicted.

Playing for Keeps is a perfect summer read. If you haven't yet, put it on your TBR list. You won't regret it.

ooh.....liked it better than mads n brays story....just shows u cant chose who u fall in love with

Sweeet cute story

I was lucky enough to win an e-ARC of this book in a giveaway, and I was finally able to dive in last night. Even though I finished The Love Game in one sitting, I had no idea that I'd finish Playing for Keeps the same way. I honestly expected to read some last night, and probably finish it today, but the book obviously had other plans for me. You know, like staying up until four in the morning, consumed by Aston and Megan's story; but hey, I'm not complaining.

I fell in love with Megan in The Love Game, considering she had a pretty decent role in the book. We didn't see a lot of Aston, but we saw enough to peak my interest. While my initial impression of him was that he was a total jerk, I knew there'd be an explanation for his crummy attitude, so I went into this totally open-minded and prepared to fall in love with him. I definitely wasn't expecting what I got, though.

In The Love Game, Maddie is the broken heroine, and Braden is the sheltered hero. In The Love Game, we get to see the opposite, where Megan is the sheltered heroine, and Aston is the broken hero. I LOVED this. I couldn't get enough of it. Don't get me wrong, I love a broken heroine, but broken heroes just tug at my heart-strings and consume me. There's nothing like a broken hero, and Aston surely doesn't disappoint. His past demons torture him, and we get to see that firsthand, through his explanations to Megan, his relationship with his Gramps, and a few flashbacks. I cried every time I read a flashback. Every. Single. Time. I cried at 28%! I mean, I did not expect that. I felt for Aston, and the little boy inside him. It was incredible, watching him work through his demons and become more secure. I felt for him every step of the way, and my heart constantly ached for him. He stole my heart right from the start.

"It's good to remember. You gotta remember where you've been to see how far you've come."

There's a lot of wisdom in this book. Seriously, I was highlighting left and right, wanting to remember all these incredible quotes and pieces of advice. Not to mention the moments of humor, where I was snickering and laughing out loud. I loved the witty banter between Aston and Megan, through everything. Oh, and Aston's Gramps was perfect. P e r f e c t. I couldn't get enough of him, seriously. I'm so pleased that he had such a lovely presence in this book, such a level of importance. It helped us understand Aston even more. Every character in this book was beautiful, and I love them so much, even the ones we only saw a few times, or briefly.

"Sometimes you need to get lost in the dark to truly appreciate the light."

I admit that the story started out a tiny bit slow for me, and I found myself wondering how they connected so quickly, but I soon found myself understanding and I was sucked in. Seriously, so many beautiful things about this book. Braden's presence was important to me, considering his relationship with Megan. I loved that he was still a pretty central character, always being discussed. I love their entire little group of friends. Aston, Megan, Maddie, Braden, Lila, Ryan, and even Kay. Kyle, too, even though he's not always present. I'd like to know his story, honestly. That'd be interesting. Anyway, their group makes my heart constrict. I love the closeness of them all, the playful banter, the shared experiences. This series is one of my favorites, as far as "companion" novels go. Seriously, I want more. I'm starved.

Overall, there are too many beautiful things about this book that I couldn't possibly list them all. Above all, this is a story of finding love and learning to trust someone with your heart and all your demons. I won't be forgetting Aston and Megan any time soon. I loved this even more than The Love Game, and I'll definitely be reading it again. Have your tissues ready, just in case, and prepare to fall in love with Aston for everything that he is, inside and out.

I feel like I would've liked this book if I've read it a long time ago.
But now.. I'm just not feeling it. Their characters, their romance, their struggles... I got nothing. Don't care either way.



I'm sure it's just me. Maybe I've read this type of book one time too many. Maybe I'm starting to get too old for this storyline. Who knows?

Anyhoo, I recently decided that life is too short to read something I don't enjoy just because I don't want to leave a book unfinished. So I'm DNF-ing this sucker.

4.5 stars!

Emma Hart really wrote her little heart out in this one. I loved The Love Game, but I FREAKING LOVED Playing for Keeps. You could just feel the growth in Emma's writing in this one. It hit all the points I love in a book... Love, angst, hotness, a bit of fun, and great characters.

I loved Megan in Playing for Keeps and was so excited to see her story. And Aston...dear lord, swoon! He was amazeballs. I mean, in PFK he was pretty much an ass and a playboy, bu I had hopes there was more to him. And let me tell you: There IS!! He is such a great guy. A broken, great guy. He has been using his playboy "screw 'em and lose "em" ways to cover up the hurt that lies underneath. You could just feel his little boy pain and it was so intense. He was so very damaged, poor thing. He deserved to be happy and Megan was his happy. He is also intense:

"Face it baby, you need me as much as I need you. Maybe I need you more. I haven't figured that out yet, but believe me, Megan Harper, if I have to walk out of this room without you promising me you're mine, I will come back and chase you down. I will chase you down and if I have to, I will pin you and your naked, trembling body to that dam bed until you say it"

Well, when you put it that way! Ummm...OK! I'm in. Yep...I am totally in.

Also, we have the friendship between Megan/Braden/Aston. Braden is so protective of Megan. He is the best friend every girl needs...even though he is a bit of a caveman. He is convinced that Aston is a pig (well, he earned that...he has been a pig) and the idea of Megan dating him would make Braden go insane. So, of course they hide it. Which is, as we all know, a really, really bad idea. Don't ever lie to your besties. It never turns out well!

Ok, so obviously I am all fangirl for this book. I loved it! I had a goofy grin on my face for such a long time after reading it. You should too! Go get it!

Tááádydááá! Měla jsem problém! Jeho název? Mega-nudná hodina fyziky Řešení? Pro mě to byla tato kniha. Jedinečná jistota, že se budu válet smíchy pod lavicí. A nejen já, ono je to vhodné i na třídní reading. Některé scény pobavily i onoho fyzikáře. Takovéhle knihy se prostě čtou nejlépe ve skupině 3-30 lidí. :D

Umírám doteď. A btw.. marně hledám smysl a děj. :D

3.5 stars

This book is better in many ways than the first. For one, there are less errors. It seems more planned and more mature. It also has less of the stuff that was somewhat unnecessarily present in the first one.

But, I enjoyed this one less. I loved the journey of 'The Love Game'. How they slowly progressed form the game. I also liked the characters more.

The characters in this book were good too but I just couldn't connect with them. I don't even understand why, what the problem was. I just know that I loved Brayden and Maddie a lot more than Aston and Megan.

Aston and Megan, for some reason, were distant. Not from each other, but from the reader. Maybe it was because of the writing or maybe they're just those kind of characers. Even though I was present the whole time (I was reading it), I still felt left out. Like they were too buzy in their own world and they weren't letting anyone in. Like they were keeping secrets. It's a starnge feeling and it sounds stupid but I have no other way to explain.

Also, the last few chapter was just stuff that should be in an epilogue or a bonus chapter. They weren't really all that important to the story...

Over all, it was a good read (no pun intended).

Oproti prvnímu dílu to byla slabota. Nejvíce se mi líbily chvíle, když byli Aston a Megan u starouše a poté, když jezdili na koních.