I have not read the first book to this sequel, because it just didn't Interest me. I found Played first and was captivated by the "loving someone when you don't even realize it" idea and then I found out it was a sequel, so I read the summary of Hooked and it just didn't click. I love how each character had a very distinct personality, and even though some hve gone out of their shell a bit, there is still that same person underneath. The emotional suspense was amazing. I was so impatient with this book. I was just waiting for Riley and Sam to end up together. You could feel their secret yearning for each vibrating off of them. Sam kept denying his feelings and Riley was just too scared to say the out loud. Both of them were holding back. I love Riley's clam and caring, yet daredevil personality. She tries to lash out and be out of her element but it just isn't her. It's kind of amusing to watch her transition, good girl to bad girl. But it's all a façade. And the only person who seems to know it is Sam. He's the Only person who sees her true colors. Sam's admiration for Riley was written on his sleeve, too bad he always rolled it up. Sam spent so long denying his feelings for Riley, an maybe he wasn't lying when he denied them. Maybe he just didn't know, and he was confused at the way she made him feel. It was amazing to see them around each other. I felt lighter even by reading this. The only things I'd comment about this book is that I found it was very sudden and brief. Something's that happened I felt like it was too soon. The build up wasn't enough to full fulfill the whole event. This book is truly terrible. The plot is ridiculous- the book kicks off with the two teenage leads forced to spend the night stark naked, huddled together in a bed of pine cones to fight off hypothermia. The writing is trite and simplistic, and the characters are either leaden or irredeemably annoying. I picked Played up because in School Library Journal the reviewer favorably compared it to Eleanor and Park. WTF SLJ reviewer! Eleanor and Park is epically romantic while this was was utter romance novel crap. Serves me right. I should have put it down when I flipped it over and saw it was published by Harlequin Teen. I love books about romance, but can't abide romance novels.
What do You think about Played (2014)?
What a great book. I enjoyed reading it. Wanted to find out more.
—mjimenaflores
Review to come (I accidentally erased my first one!).
—nicole
