Naima Simone

There’s nothing better than an edgy revenge story that includes a fake marriage and a bit of an enemies to lovers trope – and let’s not forget the blackmail! - to hook you in and keep you turning the pages! This book by Naima Simone was a great read that had me rooting for all the characters to find their way to a happily ever after!

When Lucas Oliver sets his revenge plan in motion he expects nothing more than to hurt the man he blames for his father’s death. What he doesn’t plan show more on is the undeniable chemistry he gets when he meets Syndey Blake, the daughter of his enemy, and that keeping his head and his heart on the same page would not be as easy as he planned. Sure, Lucas is successful, sexy, and one of the most eligible bachelors in town, but he also carries around those scars – both physical and emotional – from his past, which give him a vulnerability that makes it hard not to fall for him. He’s been on a single track of revenge for his whole life that he doesn’t know how to let that go…or if he can find redemption for himself if he does.

When Sydney Blake once again puts her own wants and needs aside to enter into her blackmail induced fake marriage, little did she expect it would be the catalyst to her finding herself and reconciling her past. Sydney also carries some pretty deep emotional scars from her past, and these scars have shaped the person she has become. Her guilt has caused her to put her own wants and needs aside and has her trying to be the person her parents want her to be but can never quite live up to. Watching her parents constantly belittle Sydney and make her feel like not quite enough was heart-wrenching, and I have to say that seeing her grow into a self-confident woman who refuses to take that kind of emotional abuse had me all sorts of happy!

Lucas and Sydney couldn’t have been more perfect for each other, and once they shared their secrets and saw they had much in common, it became even more clear. From Lucas standing up for Sydney and getting her to see she was perfect the way she was, to Sydney standing up to Lucas and not letting him walk all over her, these two matched up so well.

And of course the sparks between these two jumped right off the page. The build-up between them and the ultimate explosion when they came together were H-O-T!

I also loved Lucas’s best friend Aiden – although he knew that Lucas may not have been headed down the right road with his plans for revenge, he never once stopped supporting him or trying to get him to see that his actions might not be for the best. He is so deserving of his own HEA and I can’t wait to see what Naima will cook up for him!

The other characters in the book were well developed in their need for redemption. Sydney’s parents had me cringing with their behaviors and words, and I loved seeing Sydney finally stand up to them. Her godfather, who was more like a father to her, helped define who Sydney was which added additional depth to the story.

This is another well written story from Naima Simone with great dialogue and characters that make you feel right along with them. A definite must read for any lover of romance!

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review. show less

Author Naima Simone has done it yet again, written a book that is everything you could ask for: fascinating characters, a little conflict, lots of sass, family that treats you good and family that doesn’t, sweet romance, scorching-hot sexiness, love, shattered dreams, hope, trust and betrayal. Really, it’s got everything and you will become fully immersed in this story and enjoy every minute.

Aaliyah Montgomery is a good woman, talented, creative, caring, thoughtful, smart, who is treated show more like a girl. Treated badly. Told what to do as if she’s a child; shamed, disciplined, taken advantage of, expected to live to standards set by others, expected to accept having her future laid out without her wishes and desires in mind. And betrayed. Let down when she was most in need, ordered to keep quiet and move on, by the very people who should love and care for her unconditionally: her parents, a well-known, popular pastor and his wife. Aaliyah has tried to mold herself into the woman she’s “supposed” to be, for the good of her parents, for the good of the congregation, supposedly for her own good, but on the day she is to marry a man selected by her father, a man just like her father, she can’t do it. This marriage will be the final lockout of her dreams, her aspirations, her goals. So Aaliyah becomes a runaway bride and goes to Chicago to stay with a cousin, to start school, to get a job, to finally be allowed to grow up.

Von Howard is a good man, a big, strong, intimidating successful tattoo artist with a heart of gold. His divorce was beyond contentious but because they have a young daughter he must be in almost constant contact with his ex-wife Sheree. Sheree knows how to push his buttons and she does it as often as possible; she’s outrageous, volatile, demanding and manipulative. And if that’s not bad enough, they share a secret neither of them wants revealed.

Aaliyah and Von seem to be polar opposites, nothing in common, can’t even imagine a reason why they would be together for anything – except Von is in desperate need of a nanny for his daughter Gia and Aaliyah is in desperate need of a job. He initially rudely dismisses her during the interview – mostly because he feels an instant attraction towards her – but like I said, desperate, so she’s hired. Several things happen to make you start to think maybe this strange pairing isn’t quite so strange after all. Turns out that even though Aaliyah is the preacher’s daughter she’s not meek, can hold her own, and is a very sensual adult woman, who just so happens to also be attracted to Von. Von has that heart of gold and the more time he spends with Aaliyah the more the wants to protect her, comfort her, be there for her and the more it appears she might feel the same. The fact that Gia and Aaliyah instantly bond doesn’t hurt either.

Author Simone tells a captivating story of the relationship growing between Aaliyah and Von, the unbridled passion and sparks, and the feeling of a family that could possibly be for the three of them. Simone throws in confrontation with Aaliyah’s family, troublemaking by Sheree, confusion and misunderstanding, and Aaliyah’s blossoming at school and the start of a career, with local family, with new friends, and with Von and Gia. Church Girl is funny, heartwarming, aggravating, and amazing. Lots of those steamy scenes Simone is famous for and lots of the tender love she also excels at. You’ll be drawn in at the start and won’t stop turning pages until the very satisfying ending. I recommend Church Girl without hesitation. I received an advance copy and voluntarily leave this review; all opinions are my own. show less

I kind of forget just how amazing an author Naima Simone is (sorry for taking you for granted). Stories flowing, people so authentic and relatable, sweet scenes really sweet, funny scenes laugh out loud, and sexy scenes (stops to catch breath) are really (really, really) sexy. Always absolutely fantastic, satisfying reads.

It must have been longer than I realized since I read a Naima Simone book (or a new one at least, lots of re-reads here) because I immediately fell into an all-embracing show more comfort zone of good words, good people, good feels and remembered how nice that was. PLAYED has all of that - and more. I cried, sobbed really, through Chapter 1. And by the end of Chapter 1, I was totally immersed in these characters and this story.

Actually, there was a lot of crying going on the first half dozen chapters; laughter to tears and back again. That journal . . . . Both Adina and Solomon’s inability to move beyond the past and start living again. Such good people, with good support systems and a lot to give, but just stuck, stuck, stuck. A wife lost, a fiancé lost, a child to raise.

Adina is a firefighter in Providence, Rhode Island. Solomon is a player on the Providence Pirates professional hockey team. Adina’s family is a football family and couldn’t care less about hockey. But there’s been a fire in the team’s facility and in the aftermath of that fire Adina finds a journal. A very personal, private, heart-wrenching journal (hence the non-stop tears in Chapter 1). She doesn’t want to pry, but opening it is the only way to find out who it belongs to; surely they wouldn’t want their journal just left in the after-fire mess for anyone to pick up. Once she starts reading, though, she can’t stop. Because this is the first time since her fiancé Keshaun’s death that she feels a link to a person who understands how it is now, who gets her, who sees her.

The right thing to do is return the journal, so she goes to the team and asks for Solomon. But he doesn’t see it as a good deed. His first glimpse of her caused a rush of heat he hasn’t felt in a long time, and it fueled his rude, dismissive, suspicious behavior. He lets his anger out and accuses her of wanting to blackmail him. Taken aback, she tells him again what her motives were, lets him know what an ill-mannered idiot he is – and gives him a website address. Which turns out to be to her own private online journal.

Don’t let this intense beginning fool you into thinking this is a depressing doom and gloom tale. It’s Naima Simone, remember? This girl can write. Yes, these are two sad, broken people but they can be fiery and get themselves into some pretty funny situations. And the attraction between them is quick and strong and doesn’t look like it will end soon. You can just picture Solomon dragging his feet, refusing to give in to that overwhelming lust he feels. That would be the ultimate disloyalty to his wife Kendra, wouldn’t it? So I guess that means he intends to be a monk for the rest of his life, or at least until his son Khalil is grown. Adina misses Keshaun so much but has little niggling doubts if their relationship was as perfect and wonderful as she wants to remember it. That’s pretty disloyal, too, and brings on a big heap of guilt.

PLAYED is funny, moving, sweet, steamy and often very silly, alongside a lot of tough situations and emotions to deal with. And a lot of tough decisions to make. You know they aren’t going to be able to stay away from each other, especially when Khalil immediately falls in love with Adina, and watching the push-pull and hilarious attempts to control their emotions makes for such a satisfying story. The plot is smooth and just rolls along, the references to books, television, music, current events, and famous people are fun, and the dialogue . . . Simone writes it so realistically I thought I was eavesdropping, not reading.

Thanks to the author for making me a part of her ARC team and providing an advance copy of PLAYED. It was amazing and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I’m sure it will be another favorite on my re-read list, and now I’m off to catch up on whatever else I’ve missed. I voluntarily leave this review; all opinions are my own. show less

Scoring the Player's Baby was a fun read. Unplanned pregnancy isn't my favorite troupe--especially when one of the characters has had a lot of partners, birth control had better be a priority--but it worked well here. With all of their hang-ups and past relationship issues, I'm not sure if anything else would have gotten these two together. And there is no question that Kim and Ronin need to be together :)

I especially appreciated that Ronin, though he wasn't technically a widower, had had a show more positive past relationship that ended in death and he was able to move on to another positive one without vilifying or reducing the importance of the first. His guilt over moving on felt spot on, even as his worry about Grace's family being upset felt a teensy bit over the top (especially since given her situation she and her entire family had to know that the long term dream of marriage and a family were truly a long shot. Of course Ronin deserves a chance to move on and be happy, and they'll agree with that. Grace would have agreed with that.)

I haven't read a lot of books from Ms. Simone, but she's quickly moving toward my list of must-read authors :)

And OMG, that grand gesture...loved!!! Abso-freaking-lutely perfect :)

The third book in the WAGs series, Scoring the Player's Baby works fine as a standalone. The other couples from the series make an appearance (and a future couple--Renee and Jason, yes? ;)) but you don't have to have read their books to enjoy this one. (But if you have read the others, that epilogue... :D)

Rating: 4 stars / B+

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book. show less