Word Play Release Day! ~ Crystal's Many Reviewers

Smut sells.

Michael Rourke learned this the hard way.

Struggling to make ends meet as a mystery writer, he sold his soul - and his pride - as he pedaled sex and lust writing under the pen name Christoph Strong.

No one knew he was the one behind the steamy stories on the bestsellers lists. And he planned to keep it that way.

Until he met her.

Monica Singer, an infamous blogger, is keen to discover the truth of his secret identity.

During a chance meeting at a book convention, Michael and Monica form an instant connection. And soon, an industry rivalry becomes something else entirely.

But as Michael starts to let his guard down, he doesn’t realize that the person he's learning to trust may be hiding secrets of her own.

Secrets that could ultimately destroy everything.

When I cracked open this book, I was automatically intrigued. Told through the male POV, which is always interesting, at first it seemed funny and irreverent. However, I have to admit that while the plot was promising, I struggled a bit to finish this one.

Michael Rourke is a reputable author. He writes REAL stories. The problem is, his alter ego and pen name Christoph Strong has had a lot more success writing his version of steamy romance novels. A LOT of success. But no one but Michael’s inner circle knows that he is really Christoph Strong, and when a picture of Michael is leaked on Twitter, he decides to take the bull by the horns and become Christoph…if only for one weekend at a book convention. While at the convention he meets infamous blogger Monica Singer. They get under each other’s skin and soon form an attachment of sorts. But, Monica is hiding secrets of her own, secrets that can destroy any potential between them. What will happen when all the secrets come out.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I liked this book. Michael’s voice as Christoph was HILARIOUS at points. I mean, very entertaining. And the chapters that are Monica’s interviews with other bloggers was funny to me as a blogger. It was good stuff. The plot was also intriguing and original. I did, however, find it was predictable in parts. Like Monica’s secret...I guessed way early what it was and was correct. I also found that the narrative got bogged down a bit in the details. I found myself losing interest in the story about one third of the way through. That’s why I said I struggled to finish. It just didn’t hit the mark for me in smooth and flowing narrative that kept me invested in the book.

I think, overall, that with some tweaking this could be a really great book. It’s funny and original, and Michael is hilarious and endearing as a character. But, it was a slight miss for me. 3 stars.

I just finished Word Play and I really liked it. It was special to me because I am a blogger and this is what this story was about. Michael has been having a hard time with his mystery writing. It is not doing very good so to make ends meet, he writes an erotic novel under a pen name of Christoph Strong. It just sky rockets but he wants to remain anonymous. He doesn't want anyone to know that it is him because this is not his passion but what is he supposed to do, he has to pay bills? He has a conference that he has to go to but the cat has been let out of the bag, everyone knows this he is Christoph but his real name is still hidden so that is good for him. Here comes Monica. Monica is not who she appears to be. Her name is really Lauren. She is one of the world most famous blogger and she is at the convention too. When they meet the sparks fly. They both have their secrets for a reason. What will happen when they find out about these secrets? You will have to read and see.

I really enjoyed this story. I thought that it flowed really well and was a good twist on the whole author line. I loved the whole blogger aspect. I haven't read that before and thought that the author did an amazing job with the details and keeping it real. If you are a blogger then you know how things are crazy yet being book lovers we are so on it when it comes to passing the word around about authors. It is such a joy with great perks and it just made it more real to me to read it in anothers perspective. I liked how the story was in both point of views, you got a really good idea of what was going on. The only complaint that I had was that it was predictable. I wanted a little more umph to it. More mystery.

I liked the characters and thought that the author did a good job at characterizing them. Original and likeable. Michael and Lauren were very cute together and their banter was hot. My favorite part is them sharing the room at the hotel. It was very hot and sexy. Bath Tub and bubbles!

Seriously, this was a quick yet sexy read. I enjoyed it and I think you will too.

Amalie lives in the Midwest with her husband and two children. When she's not writing, she enjoys crosswords, Scrabble, and playing games with her kids.