Blog Tour + Excerpt + Review: "Getting Played" by Emma Chase

I am very excited to be participating in the blog tour celebrating the e-book release of Emma Chase's "Getting Played," book #2 in the Getting Some series.  I've been a fan of Emma Chase's writing for a while now, and in that time she has created several of my all-time favorite contemporary heroes. (Drew Evans of "Tangled" fame, I'm especially looking at you!)  I'm pleased to add Dean Walker of "Getting Played" to that list.  Dean was a wonderful secondary character in the first book of the series, "Getting Schooled," and I loved him even more as the main character of this novel.  He found his perfect match in Lainey, and watching their story unfold was delightful.

My full review of "Getting Played" is included later in this post, but in short, I loved this book and highly recommend it even for readers who haven't already read the first book in the series.  It is a complete stand-alone, though the main characters from book #1 do make guest appearances, and their story is also well worth reading.

About "Getting Played"

Dean Walker is all about keeping life simple. He’s effortlessly talented and intelligent—spending his summers playing drums in the local band and the rest of the year teaching high school in the same Jersey town where he grew up. He likes his love-life simple too, enjoying the commitment-free hook-ups his good looks and sexy charm have always made oh-so easy.

Then he meets Lainey Burrows. And his simple, easy life gets turned upside down.

***

One wild one-night stand was all it was ever supposed to be, so Lainey is shocked when she discovers that her sizzling summer fling is also her son’s new math teacher. But that’s nothing compared to the most unexpected twist of all—their hot hook-up left Lainey knocked-up, and now they’re about to become parents. Together.

What ensues is an addictive, insatiable, sweet and tender romance that won’t be simple, but it will be more than worth the fight.

A stand-alone, contemporary romance.

Read an Excerpt from "Getting Played"

Dean

I find Lainey in the living room—standing on a ladder, with those long, toned legs peeking out from itty bitty cotton black shorts and a power drill in her hand, while Bruce Springsteen sings “I’m Goin’ Down” from a speaker in the corner.

And, dear God—the things I could do to her on that ladder.

Wonderful, filthy things that instantly make my heart pound and my cock throb. She’s the perfect height for me to just walk over there and put my mouth between her legs. I picture it, see it in my mind—the way she’d grip my hair and pant my name, arch her back and writhe against my face . . .

But then I catch sight of the small bump of her stomach, and reality smacks me in the head. I think about the baby—and how making Lainey lose her mind three feet off the ground wouldn’t be the safest option. My protective instinct overrides the desire to get freaky on the ladder.

“Hey, Dean.” She sets the drill on the ledge and picks up a beeping light green rectangle, running it along the wall.

“What are you doing up there?” I ask.

I don’t have a decorative bone in my body, but the room looks good—with light gray walls and navy corduroy covered couches, reclaimed wood tables and a dozen different-sized candles filling the white-washed brick fireplace. It’s clean and simple but warm, the kind of place you’d look forward to coming back to every day.

“I’m going to hang up those boards.” Lainey gestures to three square planks, with ornamental arrows burned black into the wood. “I just want to make sure this stud-finder works.”

“If you’re looking for a stud,” I wink, “I’m standing right in front of you.”

“Ha-ha. I’ll keep that in mind.”

She turns back to the wall, reaching up over her head and stretching onto her tippy toes on the narrow step. I move under the ladder to catch her if she goes ass over end, and a stab of terror slices through me at the thought that Lainey would still be doing this if I wasn’t here. Alone. Without Jason even in the room in case something went terribly wrong.

What the hell is up with that?

“I read that you’re not supposed to reach above your head when you’re pregnant.”

“That’s just an old wives’ tale.”

I wrap my hands around her hips, holding her steady.

“Maybe the old wives knew what they were talking about. Come on, come down.”

Slowly, Lainey lowers her arms and turns in my hands. I lift her off the ladder by her hips, tilting my head back and holding her above me for a moment, before sliding her slowly down. And the feel of her softness rubbing against me, the friction—it’s fantastic.

When her feet are on the ground, I dip my head and our faces are just millimeters apart. Close enough to count the sprinkle of cute, light freckles that dust the bridge of her nose.

“That’s better,” I say softly, taking the stud-finder out of her hands. “I’ll do it.”

“Okay.” Lainey’s tongue peeks out, wetting her bottom lip. “Thanks.”

Like I said . . . fucking killing me.

***

My Review

I loved "Getting Played" because it was sweet, sexy, and laugh-out-loud funny.  I found Dean's feud with Lucy ("Lucifer") the cat and the antics of little Will (Garrett and Callie's toddler son) to be particularly comical.  As Dean learned, you really shouldn't swear in front of little kids if you don't want them to repeat those words!

This story also featured wonderful main characters in Dean and Lainey.  Despite his reputation as a shallow player who was afraid to commit, Dean turned out to be an incredibly loving, caring man who looked out for Lainey and her son Jason as well as his grandmother and his students.  The way he treated his students was wonderful, and I especially liked how he made them take time to be kids at the end of each class.  Even if it was only five minutes a day, I can see how that downtime could make a world of difference in their often hectic lives.  The students themselves were very endearing, and Dean's interactions with them showed that he would be an excellent stepfather to Jason and father to his own child.

As for Lainey, she was a great mom and I loved that she was so passionate about her career.  I was also very excited by the fact that her sister Erin was Drew Evans's assistant from the "Tangled" series.  It felt a bit like an Easter egg included in the story for longtime Emma Chase fans. It was great to catch up with Erin and her boyfriend through their interactions with Lainey, as well as with Garrett and Callie from the first book of this series.

Overall, "Getting Played" is another winner from Emma Chase and I can't wait to see what she writes next. (Might I suggest a story for Garrett's brother, Connor?)

*ARC provided by the author via Social Butterfly PR.  All opinions expressed are my own.