Naima Simone

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 am here for Ronin. But by the end, Kim had won my heart, and readers know why with that Rom-Com ending...so good it made me breathlessly weep.

Images of Jason Mamoa floating in my head? Check.
Ronin wears NERD-gear, a man-bun/beard combo, has gorgeous tats and thighs "the size of tree trunks[guh]!"? CheckCheckCheckandmoreChecks!
His favorite movie is "Love Actually"? Check. AndKillMeNowPlz.

I think I could go on and on as Naima Simone has structured Ronin so specifically, it's the tiny show more details of him, in physical, emotional and soulful/spiritual forms that he powerhouses straight to my heart. He's MY kinda Alpha male and I don't mind this twisty-turny blend of sweet sentimentality [Ronin breaks my soul with his past and his current issues with family], quiet introspection and then [literal] balls-to-the-wall steamy sex. Hells yeah!

This could've been your typical cookie-cutter ONS/oh-noes baby!, but...wow, did Ronin stun me silent - and I knew he was a good egg - when the first thing out of his mouth after 2months had passed, wasn't "Is it mine?". He eloquently sussed it out in HIS sharp mind/brain, that Kim wasn't immediately a slut. He understood who she was a person and knew for a fact she wasn't THAT type of girl looking to hoodwink a Pro Athlete into some type of money scheme. And, since each had been hurt or scorned by prior relationships...a marriage of convenience never became THE ANSWER. Thank God.

Basically, Ronin and Kim treated this trope LIKE GROWN FOLKS! Bless them, because they do eventually fall in love. It's odd how it's a steamy-sexxy times but still a slow-burn to falling in love which is very tough to do. When done well, like this, it shines. I found myself, at times, slipping in-and-out of Kim's similar reactions to Ronin. With most authors when they have the female lead "react" to the male lead, it can sometimes feel less authentic, especially when dealing with humor. But man-oh-man Ronin just got funnier and wittier as the story progressed and Kim's emotions toward him feel so god-damn genuine that I was doing them right along with her. Their banter was top notch!

Book #1 and Book#2 have been great, but not as spectacularly memorable as this one. I read #1 quite a while ago and had forgotten a majority of the book's premise, though once you get into #2-3, it's easy to slip back in since everyone hangs out as a "family". I like that we got a wonderful ending for the couple from #1 and that it almost looks like we've been subtly shown some possible "future" books in this series.

Well, there are 11 spots on a football team and we were quietly hinted at the possible trade of a *new* running back who sounds A LOT like O'Dell Beckham...hehe...we can only dream, right? 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

This book is an amazing read! First of all, it has a plot with engaging and well developed characters. They were fully realized with all the lovable quirks, heart breaking flaws, and beautiful souls that should make any reader fall in love with not only them, but the beautiful mind that gave them life. I was stunned by my emotional investment in these characters, and this story. I was teary-eyed and choked up more than once, and cheering for the ending.

The story is well planned, and very show more well written. The give and take dialogue was spot-on, and at no point did it require a suspension of common sense or make the characters act or speak in a way that would be unbelievable. For me, everything flowed at a perfectly believable pace, and the timing was very natural. The only part I could see anyone criticizing might be the time line of the final act, or as it's called in literature the conflict resolution, but I think it was nearly perfect.

My only complaint is that I would have liked to see the former employer and supervisor get their just desserts, but as in life you can't have everything.

I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone, and I would also say to keep up the excellent work to the author and support team. show less