This was definitely one hot read! Yvonne has agreed to help out her best friend Robbie who is an up and coming star for the Rome soccer team by pretending to be his fiancé, as Robbie is gay and does not want to come out before he signs his major contract with the team and the fake engagement is to help squash the rumors swirling about him. However it is major lust at first sight for Yvonne and Paolo, the team’s top star and someone who has it in for Robbie, and the story spins off from there. And let me tell you, the chemistry between Paolo and Yvonne was simply electric. Yvonne struggles with having an affair when she knows it can expose things for Robbie, but just can’t help herself with Paolo, and I also enjoyed how crazy jealous Paolo is of her relationship with Robbie because he was obsessed with Yvonne and wanted her for himself. I do think some communication could have cleared up some of the confusion at the end, but overall this was a fun, sexy read and I’ll be looking for more books by this author.

I generally enjoyed this story. I thought it was sort of a twist on a familiar theme -- someone needs someone else to pretend to be engaged so they don't have to do this or that. In this case, it was gay Robbie who needed his best friend Yvonne to pretend to be his fiancee so he would be more likely to get his soccer contract at the end of the season. Yvonne figured it couldn't hurt -- Robbie was offering some pretty hefty financial incentives, and she did love him as a friend. Nobody counted on Paolo, though. Paolo who always gets what he wants and almost immediately homes in on Yvonne. And unfortunately, Paolo has it in for Robbie. In fact, it was Paolo's digging into Robbie's private life that made Robbie approach Yvonne. And Paolo is the consummate ladies man. He rarely dates the same woman twice, but there's something about Yvonne...

I liked that Paolo and Yvonne were so drawn to each other. I thought Yvonne was a little bit sloppy though at the masquerade ball when

Spoiler

she went off with a man she didn't know, who turned out to be Paolo

. Masks or not, it's a little sloppy, considering she's supposed to be Robbie's fiancee, to do that with ANYONE.

I liked that while Paolo was blackmailing Yvonne, they really got to know each other outside of the sex. Which was kinda hot. And I loved that she sort of made him lose control, and he doubted himself, which he never did before her.

I do have to question Yvonne not knowing Paolo's age. They sat and talked for hours about everything and age NEVER came up? Not likely.

And while I really enjoyed the overall story, this book could really have benefited from an editor. My inner red pencil was going a little crazy. It wasn't horrible, but I found myself pulled out of the story several times.

ETA: The more I think about how this book stacks up to others I've rated 4, I decided to lower the rating. It was enjoyable, but not one I love.

DNF... These characters are ridiculous

I liked it but some parts were glossed over when they deserved a much longer and in depth description. This made said certain sections rather mechanical and rushed when it had the potential to really move hearts (in both good and bad ways). Overall enjoyed the plot, though the characters did not have much to them, making me feel neutral towards both h & h. There was not much of a show of why Paolo fell for Yvonne (and vice versa)- the sex was explosive, but love goes beyond lust and by the end every time Paolo confessed/stated his love, I was left asking 'but why?'. What do you adore/admire/find heartwarming about Yvonne and her personality?

This seems like a rather negative comment, but honestly it was a fun, light read and I would still recommend.

Really hated this book! I found it totally unbelievable and unrealistic. The attraction between Yvonne and Paolo was steamy, yes, but fueled by deception and vengeance. I didn't buy how they suddenly loved each other after all of that deception, and I couldn't believe that they would be so irresponsible as to have unprotected sex several times! I would have thought that Yvonne would have known better, being older and all! Deleting from my Kindle and avoiding the author in the future.

3.5 stars

Weak backstory and some things that weren't well explained, but I liked it overall.

Yes there were errors ... blah, blah, blah. However it did not take away from the story that Ms. Brown wove. I liked it. If readers can rave over 50 Shades then I can like "Player's Ultimatum" ... I'm just saying. :)

this book was just bad...

pacing was off. dialogue was robotic. relationships were unbelievable. storyline was nonsensical.