The Player by Kresley Cole 

Narrated by Kimberly Alexis

Fans of romances featuring grifters or con artists will love both the intensity and detailed background of living the life as a con artist detailed in The Player. I really am not sure where Ms. Cole did the research for all of the various con jobs she describes, but I found this aspect of the story to be fresh, entertaining, and eerily informative. Moreover, Ms. Cole manages to throw in one zinger of a twist towards the end of this story that instantly increased my rating. I must admit that up to this point, I couldn’t help but feel that the story was just too predictable and unbelievable, but the ending somehow tied it all together for me and, while still somewhat incredible in its grandiose nature, put my doubts to rest (this is romantic fiction, after all, which frequently features larger than life plots). Further complementing this story is Kimberley Alexis’ talented narration, making this a natural selection to enjoy in audio format.

One note of caution for listeners who prefer the passion in their romances on the tame side. The Player is an erotic romance with a high level of steam. Additionally, the story does feature some light BDSM elements, so if this is not your cup of tea, then it’s probably best to skip this story. If your concern is that you haven’t listened to the prior books in the Game Maker series, no worries on that front as the romance and underlying suspense arc is fully contained within this book.

Dmitri Sevastyan, a tech billionaire, is a man who has experienced betrayal and heartache since childhood. While wildly successful in business, his personal life, despite having reconciled with his two brothers in the last few years (the heroes of the first two books in the series), leaves a lot to be desired. Having lost nearly all his will to live, his spirit is enlivened the minute he sees Victoria Valentine.

Victoria is about as different from Dmitri as oil is from water. Born to a grifter family, Victoria learned card games and other ways to con people at the same time that she learned her ABCs. Still, she has been experiencing a drought in successful cons of late and her family, after having crossed the mafia, is desperate to swindle their way out of the mafia’s grasp by conning someone else to pay them off. When Victoria spots Dmitri Sevastyan, a known tech billionaire, and when she appears to catch his eye, she instantly starts dreaming up ways of conning him out of the millions that she needs to save her family.

The only problem with Victoria’s plan is that the closer that she gets to Dmitri, the more genuinely interested he seems in her and the more feelings she begins to feel for him. But she can’t let her family down when their lives are on the line. Moreover, Dmitri will undoubtedly run the minute he figures out who she truly is. Could a tech billionaire ever be truly happy with a grifter?

I really enjoyed Kimberly Alexis’ narration. Perhaps what I loved the most was her ability to seamlessly switch between Victoria’s perfect American speech to Sevastyan’s heavily accented Russian one, giving The Player a true sense of authenticity. Moreover, Ms. Alexis was able to convey the forlorn feeling that Sevastyan frequently experiences and Victoria’s quandary between pursuing her heart and saving her family. Though Ms. Alexis is a new to me narrator, after this experience, I will definitely be looking for more of her works in the future.

All in all, lovers of steamy romances and an interest in learning about alternative lifestyles (in this case, both the grifter and light non-vanilla bedroom scenes) will enjoy The Player the most. And for those of you who enjoyed the heat level and action of the prior Game Maker books, although The Player has a slightly different spin, the heat and action levels of this third book are sure to please fans of this series.

BJ

Narration: A-

Book Content: B+

Steam Factor: For your burning ears only

Violence Rating: Fighting

Genre: Contemporary/Erotic Romance

Publisher: Valkyrie Press

The Player was provided to AudioGals for a review.