Book Review: Playing with Fire (A Portwood Brothers Series, Book 2) - Emily Robertson
Synopsis:
Jackson wants the one thing he can’t have, his brother’s girlfriend. He tried to forget her, but even spending nine months Afghanistan didn’t make him want her any less. Now he was heading home, a home he shares with his brother and the woman they both want. Emma believed that you should never follow your heart. She tried that once, and she ended up alone and broken. After she put the pieces back together, she decided she’d rather forget about love and just have fun. Who needed someone special anyway? Certainly not her. When both of them realize they are on they are on the same page, they embark in a hot, no-strings arrangement that satisfies their needs without getting their hearts involved. But when you play with fire, someone always gets burned.
My Rating: ★★★★★
My Thoughts:
This is another book by Emily Robertson that will pull at your heart. Although the characters are all likeable and relatable, you will not like Jackson at first. But keep reading and you will grow to like him. It takes one woman to give Jackson what he isn’t expecting to change his life. That woman, Emma, sometimes just needs to get some sense shaken into her. The premise was unique and had you wanting to see what would happen with the couple.
Of the three books in the series, this is the one I like the least. Just like the first book I didn’t like that the epilogue was really just an introduction into the next book; it should have been used for tying up the loose ends to this story. It felt that you would read several chapters on Emma and Jackson and then you would get thrown a chapter all about Payton and Josh; sometimes two chapters. Then you would get back to the meat of the story – Emma and Jackson. In my opinion as an avid reader, the book would have been better if it centered on Emma and Jackson (as this is their love story) and included some present day history of Payton and Josh (this keeps you connected and lets you know what is going on with a past couple) that adds to the storyline. Instead it came off as chapters being thrown in to tell you about the couple from the first book but it did not help along Emma and Jackson’s story. Typically writing improves as you move to the next books however this one seemed to take a step backwards. It was not what I was expecting at all. With some editing and tweaking, I feel with the good story plot that this book could get a much higher rating.
Overall this book was enjoyable and a good read. I really liked the story plot and would read the next book in the series to see how the other characters go through their journey.