Story 3.5 of 5 stars
Heat 4 of 5 stars
Series – Hard Play
Hero – Raj Sen
Heroine – Nanya Sharma
Sharma is shy, insecure, Indian woman who allowed her parents to find her a husband in the marriage mart. Just when she’s decided to tell her parents she no longer wants to participate she meets Raj. Raj was abandoned young and even though his adoptive parents love him, he has his own insecurities. They first met at a party and things got hot between them very quickly until she blurts out she only wants him for his body, pouring cold water over both of them. They meet again when their parents try to match them for marriage, but at this point both of them are done with the marriage mart. Even though Raj was done with the marriage mart, once he realized it was Nayna he was all in. Raj has a lot of work to do to convince Nayna to give them a chance.
I’ve always enjoyed Nalini Singh’s stories but this one was a challenge for me. I didn’t really see how this story fit within a series called Hard Play either. While Raj seemed to recognize his insecurities were causing problems and addressed it, Nayna seems to wallow in all she was denied and her own feelings of inadequacy and desire for freedom. Over and over Nayna damages the relationship and yet Raj keeps coming back to win her over. This pattern started to get old halfway through the book, it got to the point where I didn’t even like Nayna. It was interesting seeing inside Indian traditional culture and family dynamic but I didn’t love this story, it was just an okay read for me.
Wyldheart Reads 