Changing the Game

This book sat on my TBR stack for quite a while. I wasn't sure I wanted to read it because the heroine of this book was the villain of the first book of the series -- The Perfect Play. It is a tribute to the power of Ms. Burton's writing that I really, really disliked Elizabeth Darnell. But enough time has passed and I came to this romance with on open mind. I found that I really did like Liz with her hidden vulnerabilities and her tough exterior. And Gavin is a hero to die for - handsome, buff, professional baseball player, devoted son and good friend. Did I mention hot?

Liz has been avoiding Gavin since his older brother Mick fired her as his agent. She is afraid that Gavin will fire her too which would really hurt her agency. She is show more also afraid that Gavin will realize that she has loved him for years. Naturally, Gavin is clueless! He is however interested enough to take her home with him to talk and doesn't mind at all that the talking leads to sex.

There are tons of rather graphic love scenes that don't go over the line for me because they are clearly love scenes and not just sex scenes. Sex is the one area where they don't have disagreements or any confusion. But outside of bed (or wherever else they decide to make love) there is less compatibility. Liz has to balance her role as her agent with her role as her lover. And Gavin is getting constant pressure from his brother to drop Liz.

This was a great romance featuring people I came to like very much. I recommend it and encourage readers to look for the first book in this series - The Perfect Play - to find out why Mick dislikes her so much. I am also eager to read Taking a Shot to see Mick and Gavin's sister Jenna find a romance of her own. show less

La literatura erótica no tendría que ser solamente la "revolcada" (por decirlo vulgarmente) . Como la relación sexual en si , tiene que tener un "precalentamiento" (je) , una seducción previa al menos . También es muy importante alguna conexión fuerte entre los pares ,( por lo menos en mi opinión ). Creo que si no tiene alguna de esas tres cosas es vacío , carente de pasión y de romance . Este libro me dio esa sensación : algo barato , escrito a las apuradas , sin nada trascendente en toda la historia , aburrido y previsible . Por favor , hasta he leido historias eróticas escritas por hombres que tienen más carga emocional (y eso que la mayoría de las veces odio como escriben romances los hombres!).
No me gustó . Lo show more terminé , si , pero de persistente que soy , que no me gusta dejar nada a la mitad . No lo recomiendo a nadie . Es màs,Si quieren leer buenas novelas eròticas contemporàneas ,busquen algo de Eden Bradley , Megan Hart o incluso denle una oportunidad a Fifty Shades)

Porque mi relaciòn con estos libros es mas o menos como bien dice Al en Tarde de Perros :



Es decir , esta bien el eroticismo pero tambièn vale un poco de ternura. show less

I'm all over the place with my feelings about this book. (well from 2.5 to 3.5)

It was my second Jaci Burton, and I enjoyed the first. I do feel like these have a better level of maturity than most sports romances, and I've grown to enjoy the family dynamic quite a bit.

Also, the sex in this book was very very delicious. I added one star because of that.

That Gavin saw through Elizabeth's tough exterior I loved. He was clearly interested in her, his straight dirty talk was yummy, but what I didn't quite buy was his reluctance to admit he was in love. Or even in like. He seemed to clearly understand that he had deep affection from the get go.

While his issues were different from Mick's, they aren't as compelling (in ways), and I cannot say show more that I can distinguish the heroes in the two books. Her heroines are unique, however. In the same turn, Tara's and Elizabeth's reluctance are very similar and manifests for two different reasons in the same way.

I'll continue to read this series. I mean I really enjoyed the hot scenes enough to see if the characters start to seem more developed and unique in the future books. If it continues to feel like setting and sports get swapped out along with hero/heroines names, I'll begin passing on Jaci Burton books.

And that star I added for great sexy times...I take away for goatees. You've been warned, authors. show less

Jaci Burton hit this one out of the park!!! GOOOOOD GAWD Gavin is one of the sexiest men I have read about. He goes up there with Cord McKay from Lorelei James' Rough Rider series, and from me that is saying alot.Because of her actions in The Perfect Play, I didn't think I could like Liz, but JB pulled it off and made me understand her actions and totally like Liz.The smexing was uber hot and some of the best I've read =)Changing The Game is up there with Chasin' Eight as one of my favorite reads of the summer.

Okay - so I am a victim of a hot cover and the need for an audiobook to listen to during a 12-hour (one-way) trip. Those two things kept me from my routine of checking reviews on Amazon before committing to a book. Had I checked, I probably would have thought twice about listening to this title.
So it was a bit of a shock that by page 16 the first of 38 uses of the word "p_ssy" occurred. Not to be outdone was the word "cl_t", used 31 times.
I'm not a prude but reading those words versus listening to someone else saying the words, is somewhat different. I wanted (and did) laugh aloud during several of these 'conversations.' If one ignored all the unnecessary use of blatant sex words, the book would be considerably shorter, not as funny, show more and still an interesting story of two people unused to caring about anyone they date for longer than a minute. show less

And she has done it again. Jaci Burton, I mean. Don't ask me how but at the end of the first book Elizabeth Darnell was top of my list "Despicable and horrible people" and believe me, she had earned that place. How was Jaci Burton going to transform her into the heroine of her second book?!?!?! I couldn't believe she was going to be able to... But she did it, oh boy she did it.

The last thing we knew about Elizabeth Darnell was that she was fired by Mick Riley (main character of the first book) after she used her girlfriend's son, Nathan, to promote him in a really cruel way. So yes, I was happy when he fired her.
But she didn't lose a client, she lost one of her best friends and his family that had been like a family for her during show more years... especially Gavin, Mick's little brother and her secret crush for at least 4 years.
And what did she do when Mick fired her? The only thing her mind could think of: give Gavin a kiss before he fired her following his brother's steps. And this is were everything begins because after that kiss Gavin's POV about Liz changed completely. During years she was nothing but his manager, tossing beautiful women to his arms and promoting him like no one else could but after she kissed him he saw her as a woman for the first time.

Even Gavin had to admit, despite the fact that Liz was bossy, stubborn, impertinent and... well, herself, she was also a gorgeous and sexy woman. And that woman was hiding from him afraid of losing another client. What could he do is she was avoiding him at all cost and not returning his calls?!

Obviously he had to catch her with her guard down and seduce her until she would scream for him to take her.

But it wasn't going to be that easy since what began like a "not strings attached" thing developed into something they didn't understand: a relationship. And with a family tragedy coming their way they had to take the decision really soon...

In a personal note: if you are looking for a sexy, funny, amazing and HOT read this is your book. Well, the first book in the series is amazing too so, why don't you buy both of them? Seriously guys, you are going to love them. The covers are to die for, the characters are well developed and you will want to read the third book (coming out next year). Why? Because is about Jenna, Mick and Gavin's little sister, and Tyler Anderson, one heck of a sexy and hot hockey player... *already daydreaming about him*

Don't forget to prepare the fan, ladies, because just like the first one this book is going to make you sweat, trust me ;) show less

I went into this book with some trepidation. Although I didn't hate Liz as much as many other people in the last book, I wasn't sure I was going to love her either.

I really thought it would be Liz I'd be angry at in this book. So I was surprised when it was Gavin who turned out to need a swift kick in the ass. He made silly, dumbass man mistakes from day one. Liz wasn't perfect, and it did take some time for me to let go of my anger at her from her actions in the previous book, but it was obvious she felt true remorse for what she'd done and she learned from her mistakes. Plus, she paid a high price in the end.

I liked that the focus was on the couple, without a lot of external conflict. Although Gavin and Liz were both flawed show more characters, they shared amazing chemistry and an obvious emotional connection.

If you're looking for an emotional, sweet contemporary romance this is for you. show less