Customer Reviews

Played

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

 

 

Christina Alberti finds her world turned upside down after a legendary diamond comes into the auction house at which she works. Two thieves, one of them her own father, want the gem that comes complete with a curse and a tie to her own history that will take her across the world to solve the mystery. It will also bring her into the sights of F.B.I. agent J.T. McIntyre, a man whose life was destroyed by the other thief and who knows all too well how dangerous that man is. He is not sure if Christina is a pawn, an accomplice, or a potential victim, but he's going to stick close to her. Before long, there is no other place he wants to be.

**** Suspense and passion come together in this multi-layered story that keeps you riveted from the moment you begin the book. The twists and turns don't let up for one second. You won't be sorry if you read this one. ****

If you haven't read Taken, I highly recommend reading it before reading Played. You will miss quite a bit if you skip it. :)

Christina Alberti has worked for years to build her repulation back up in the art industry. Because of her infamous father, Marcus Alberti, Christina is unable to work at any museum. Finding a job at Barclay's Auction House is Christina's salvation and she's determined not to ruin it. When a collection of diamonds is sent to Barclay's to be auctioned off, Christina knows the auction must go off without a hitch or her reputation in the industry will be forever ruined. When an arrogant FBI Agent tells her that someone will steal one of the diamonds, a ninety seven carat yellow diamond, Christina is incredulous. Then she gets worried because she knows that if anything goes missing, all eyes will turn toward her.

Special Agent J.T. McIntyre is one step behind Evan Chadwick. Determined to finally bring down the man that destroyed his father, J.T. will do anything to get him. That includes using Christina however he needs to. He's certain she's hiding something, though he's not quite sure what. He questions whether she is working with her father or even Evan to get the diamond. All J.T. knows is that he's going to stick to Christina like glue. When the diamond goes missing, J.T. is more determined than ever to bring Evan down.

From the streets of San Francisco to the hills of Florence, Italy, Barbara Freethy takes the reader on a journey of romance and mystery. She takes us into the mind of a con-man turned killer. Add in some family secrets and you have Played.

There were only a few things that I didn't like or thought were unnecessary. The murder of one of the characters was pointless, in my opinion. I also think that the book ended too abruptly. At times the romance between Christina and J.T. seemed forced. In regard to Evan, it seems as if the author couldn't decide if he was evil or mentally ill. On one hand Evan was doing everything for Jenny, on the other hand he conned people before he even met her. It was confusing.

These are just a few things that I noticed while reading the book. I still think it's worth a shot, because it could just be me. :)

I haven't had a book that was 'un-put-downable' in such a long time. I spent 3 or 4 chapters saying "after this chaper I'm gonna stop". I gave up and finished the book in one afternoon! Great read, looking forward to more from her!

Albeit the reading material is quite good the book's end is almost nonsense. I think both ends written in this book could be better. Nonetheless you'll get hooked with the characters performance and that's good while you read a story. Someone wrote that to read this book you have to read first its prequel but I don't think so.

I think the first book I ever read by Barbara Freethy was Summer Secrets. After that, she became a must-buy author for me. I do have a couple of her backlist in my TBR pile, but haven't bought them all yet.

Played is about a jewel theft. The Benedetti diamonds, including a legendary 97-carat yellow diamond, are set to be auctioned by Barclay's auction house in San Francisco, and the night before the auction, they're displayed at a party--worn by art historian Christina Alberti.

Christina is uneasy--she's responsible for the diamond, but hasn't had a chance to examine it personally, and if anything goes wrong, she'll lose the last of her professional reputation--most of it already lost because of her father, notorious thief Marcus Alberti. And that's before FBI agent J. T. McIntyre warns her that the man he's tracking, Evan Chadwick (who first showed up in Taken), is a master of disguise and intends to steal the diamond.

Unfortunately, Christina can't be sure her father won't also be tempted. She wants to trust him, but can't. And J. T.'s suggestion that Marcus might be working with Evan doesn't help.

Of course, the diamond does go missing, impossibly, and J. T. and Christina end up working together, though at somewhat cross purposes, to find it. They fall in love, complicated by suspicion and Christina's need to clear her father's name. And then things turn deadly.

There are wonderful twists and turns in this story, including sleight-of-hand, myriad culprits and motives, family secrets and curses, and both J. T. and Christina have hard choices to make: J. T. between love and revenge, and Christina between her father and J. T. Whodunit isn't all that easy, either, and Freethy's talent for complex storylines really shows here.

PLAYED is a terrific read, a real page turner. I couldn't put it down once I started reading. There were lots of twists and turns and surprises that I didn't see coming. The romance with Christina and J.T. was well done and it was nice Christina had secrets of her own which made the story even better. It was nice to read a story that had both a strong romance and an intriguing mystery. a great sequel to TAKEN.

FBI agent JT McIntyre is after Evan Chadwick who's after a priceless diamond. Christina Alberti, who works at the auction house, gets caught up in a mystery that hits surprisingly close to home, and she discovers that J.T. is not the only one with secrets. I loved this sequel to TAKEN. Evan was as diabolical as ever and J.T. and Christina were a sexy, fun couple and the mystery kept me guessing until the end.

I'm sorry, I can't agree with the reviewers that said this was a real page turner. It was a page turner only in the sense that I was reduced to skimming through the last fifty pages so I could be done with this boredom. This is my first Freethy novel and while I'll give her another chance, I wasn't terribly impressed with this one. It started out okay. Sounded like it might be a pretty good read from the synopsis on the back cover. There's Christina, the artsy expert and then there's J.T., the FBI agent. And then there's a missing diamond. But the excitement ended there. J.T. was a bumbling fool who couldn't seem to do anything right. Christina grated on my nerves with all her whining. The dialogue between the two seemed to repeat itself over and over and the plot seemed just a little too shallow. The whole book, really, was just a dud of a read. A little too cheesy for what the back cover promised.

Sociopath-chameleon Evan Chadwick is back taunting JT McIntyre in this sequel to Barbara Freethy's "Taken." This time out he's in San Francisco in search of a mysterious yet valuable yellow diamond necklace, which some believe is cursed. Gemologist Christina Alberti can no longer work in a museum thanks to her father's Robin Hood tendencies which resulted in her getting blackballed; the only place willing to give her a chance is auction house Barclay's, where the necklace will be sold to the highest bidder. Christina's world is turned on its axis when the necklace disappears and all suspicions turn to her. JT is convinced that Evan is behind the theft (as well as the frame up). Upon further investigation, she learns that the priceless necklace once belonged to Catherine de Medici. With JT at her side, the two go on an odyssey that will take them to Catherine's birthplace in order to learn the secrets of the curse, and a history she's not sure she is ready for.

Freethy has penned a breathtaking and action-packed story that will have readers enthralled from the opening pages to the conclusion - I thought it was better than the first. Just when you think you know what'll happen next, Freethy ratchets up the suspense to keep readers guessing. In order to truly appreciate the story, readers should read "Taken" first, as it provides a lot of background on the relationship between JT and Evan, as well as their respective motivations.

Christina Alberti, antique jewelry expert working in an auction house, is plagued by association to her criminal father, a jewel thief. If anything goes wrong with the upcoming auction of a large diamond owned by a famous Italian family, she'll be blamed. She ignores the warning given by FBI agent J.T. McIntyre, who believes the diamond is the target of his nemesis, Evan Chadwick. The diamond is stolen and the search ends in Florence, Italy, where more is discovered about the diamond than Christina could ever guess.

There's plenty of plot to the story and action, but there were also spans of downtime as the romance developed. Though a little bit disjointed in feel and repetitious to a fault, I still enjoyed the book.