Customer Reviews

It's How You Play the Game

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Warning: This review might contain what some people consider SPOILERS.

Rating: 5/10

PROS:
- Continued snatches of Clay and Seth's story, which was told in The Name of the Game. There are some unexpected developments in their relationship, given where their story left off, but I still find the characters cute.
- Some of the sex scenes in this book are torturously slow and as a result, very hot. (Some are a little too exhibitionist for me, but hey, different strokes...)

CONS:
- The characters are realistic in that they're complex, but neither one is terribly likeable...not all the time, anyway. Roan is pushy and inconsiderate and seems to thrive on others' discomfort much of the time, and Anthony is so emotionally closed off (a quality that's never fully explained, by the way) that I admit to having skimmed a few of the scenes in which he ponders the harmfulness of long-term relationships.
- Roan falls for Anthony very quickly. Like, they meet and rub off together a couple of times, and Roan's already talking about the possibility of a commitment ceremony.
- The book toys with the idea of being borderline light BDSM ("The harder stuff is fun..."; "...padded handcuffs, silk blindfolds, and drippy candles would feel right at home"; "I know how much you want someone to take control..."; etc.), but in the end nothing ever comes of those hints/discussions. I'm not particularly into BDSM; I just felt that I was being set up for something that never happened.
- The writing is more jumpy in this than in The Name of the Game or Café Noctem, the only other stories I've read by Okati. There are comments throughout this book that seem to come from absolute left field.
- No condoms. And no "are you clean?" conversation either. I know books aren't reality, but the characters' decision to have unprotected sex without so much as a thought toward safety dropped my level of respect for them several notches.

Overall comments: I didn't hate this, but I didn't particularly like it either. I had to force my way through to the end and found myself wishing I could set it aside and start on another book, but I'm the sort of person who always wants to finish a book I start. There's a lot more sex in this volume than in the first one, so if you're looking for well-written erotica, you might like this.

Clay and Seth are about to celebrate their civil partnership, and to help out Anthony has offered to cater the party. Unfortunately, he doesn't know how to cook! In order to fix that little problem, he signs up for a class called Coastal Cuisine. Once there, he meets sexy, outspoken Roan. Roan clearly wants Anthony, and he's all for it at first. Then Roan begins to want more. Can Anthony get past his issues, or will he lose Roan for good?

It's How You Play the Game follows The Name of the Game, and although it would stand alone quite well, I enjoyed finding out what happened with Seth and Clay after the first book ended. When I finished the first book, I was hoping Anthony would get a book. Anthony is quite a character, with his flighty, flirty nature, interesting fashion sense, and fear of commitment. I wasn't sure if I liked Roan at first. His force of nature personality and quick certainty of what he wanted bugged me at first. As the book progressed, though, he began to seem like just what Anthony needed. It's How You Play the Game is a very different book from The Name of the Game, but I still enjoyed it. The love scenes are incredibly hot, and there's a lot of emotion here. The only thing that disappointed me was the lack of Roan's point of view. Understanding where Roan was coming from would have deepened the story for me. That said, this was a well-written book with emotion, hot sex, and plenty of crazy Anthony-ness that made me smile.

Cassie
reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

It's How You Play The Game is the follow up to Willa Okati's, The Name of the Game. In this standalone sequel Anthony, Clay's and Seth's best friend and confidante, has decided to cater their wedding. However, he can't cook worth a darn so he signs up for Coastal Cuisine for the Beginner and, in doing so, changes his life when he meets Roan at cooking school.

Roan is a lot of man in a compact package. He is brash, confident, charming, sex on a stick, the essence of cool, knows who he wants and that is Anthony, in a forever kind of way. But Anthony, afraid of commitment, is running scared.

The class turns out to be Erotic Cooking 101. Roan can't wait to start his campaign and seduces Anthony during the habanera pepper demonstration. The air between them is hotter than the peppers and you can almost see the sweat dripping and running down their bodies. This is quickly followed by another escapade in the back alley outside the building where Roan ravages Anthony because he is too impatient to wait until they get home.

This couple is funny, bawdy, rip roaring sexy as all get out, and hot enough to fry your hard drive or your brains. Roan in seduction mode is driven, hard to resist, and to Anthony he's like an adrenaline rush. Watching Anthony with all his eccentricities and flamboyance melt and fall in love with Roan is comical and Roan plays him like a fiddle. Roan is focused, with one goal in mind - having a permanent relationship with Anthony. But he has his work cut out for him. You really feel for him in his hot, single-minded pursuit and love for Anthony who you want to knock some sense into so that he would stop running and not lose the best man he will ever have. The story is so hilarious that I was laughing uncontrollably with tears running down my face.

It's How You Play The Game is even better than its predecessor which was a fabulous read. Willa Okati has outdone herself with Anthony and Roan. In addition to being funny and clever with dialogue that is airy and breezy, the book is also heartwarming and tender at times and is one of Willa's best. This one will grace any bookshelf with pride.

Good romance, two lovable characters, especially Anthony, who is not only hot and sexy but also cocky, confident, pushy, sure of himself, and terrified of commitment or any long-term romance. His lover, Roan, is also cocky, pushy, confident, sure of himself, and sure he wants a life commitment from Anthony almost from the time they meet. I enjoyed the characters and the development of the romance, as well as the hot sex between the two guys. I was not persuaded by how quickly and easily Roan decided he wanted Anthony, not just for sex or a one night stand, but for a committed relationship. We don't know why he felt that way, only that he did and that he wouldn't take "no" for an answer (bordered on stalking). Still, the two guys were really fun, their sex hot, their romance and passion, and the steps by which Anthony opened up his heart were fun to read. I was too harsh in my initial review of the first book ("Name of the Game"), which deserved four stars. This one is rated at four stars, but I'd gladly admit that it's more like four and a half. If you liked the first book, you'll like this one even better. Good romance and quite decent erotica.

Second after The Name of the Game, it is the story of Anthony, Clay's friend. Anthony is the gayest man ever. He is all you can think would be a gay man, fashion man, light heart and good friend. So good that, when Clay and Seth decide to make a public commitment, Anthony offers to think to the cathering. But Anthony is not capable neither to heat up water for pasta, so it's better if he takes some cooking lessons. And to the night course he attends he meets Roan.

Roan is a tornado. Short but strong, full of live and very overwhelming. Anthony would be not contrary to the idea of some hot sex between cooking lessons, but Roan is till the beginning very clear: he wants all and forever. Forever is something that Anthony has always avoid, but Roan is like a magnete, impossible to resist.

The book is a blurr like Roan himself. You would be run over by the words like Anthony is run over by Roan: impossible to resist but also impossible to stop. Both Roan and the book!

The story is all about Anthony, you will read his side of the story and so you will be overwhelmed by Roan like Anthony; cause Roan act and don't talk. And you don't know why he is so, you only know that he makes Anthony feel good and so he can't be a bad guy (or maybe he is "bad" enough!). I like Roan, but seeing him with Anthony's eyes, how I can't like him? He is not only the better sex of Anthony's life, he is also maybe the first person who wants to see past the happy-to-go image of Anthony and gets to know the "real" man and not the gay guy image he projects.