Title: Anatomy of a Player
Series: Taking Shots, #2
Author: Cindi Madsen
Release Date: January 25, 2016
This bad boy is about to get played…
After getting her heart broken by a player again, Whitney Porter is done with men. She’s focusing on her future career and her first assignment at the college newspaper: Posing as a sports writer for an exposé on the extra perks jocks receive. But Hudson Decker, the bad boy of the hockey team, is about to test her resolve. To keep herself from breaking her no-sex rule with the temptingly tattooed athlete, she decides to use him for a side project: Anatomy of a Player, to help Whitney—and women everywhere—spot a player, learn what makes him tick, and how to avoid falling for one.
With his life spiraling out of control, Hudson Decker’s looking for a distraction. When his teammates bet him that he can’t land the gorgeous but prickly new reporter, he accepts the challenge, boasting he’ll have her in bed by the end of the semester. But Whitney is so much more than Hudson expected, and soon enough, he’s in too deep. The last thing he needs is another complication, but staying away isn’t an option. One thing’s for certain: this girl totally throws him off his game.
Whitney Porter has been played one too many times. After her most recent heartbreak, she decides she’s done with men and sets her sights on her career as a journalist. When the only job she can get is as a sports writer, she decides to take the opportunity to launch her career and get a little revenge on all those players out there by taking down the hockey team. She doesn’t expect that the tattooed bad boy of the team is going to throw her off course. She definitely should not fall for the biggest player of them all…should she?
Hudson Decker’s life is a hot mess. Between struggling with his grades, keeping up with hockey, and managing his mom—who has a history of making poor decisions—the last thing Hudson needs is a relationship. A distraction? Sure. And that’s what he thinks he’s found in the uptight new sports reporter. Something draws Hudson to her— at first he’s just intent on peeling back her layers to find the sexy vixen hidden underneath, but before he knows it he’s in way over his head. His reputation and some boneheaded moves work against him. Getting the girl has never been the problem, but can he keep her?
I enjoyed this book, it was a light, quick read with plenty of adorable, swoony moments between Hudson and Whitney that set my heart flying. I found Whitney a little harder to love than Hudson—she’s inconsistent and I had a hard time connecting to her. While I got where she was coming from, I struggled with the fact that she wasn’t entirely honest with Hudson, even after Hudson showed his soft underbelly.
And…ugh, Hudson’s soft underbelly…
MAN ALIVE, I am a sucker for a good soft underbelly. I loved Hudson—all his little quirks and unexpected adorableness. He’s a bit of a bonehead sometimes, but he has a heart of gold and I was firmly Team Hudson this entire book. I do recognize that he wasn’t entirely honest either, but I felt like his was more because, after a while, he forgot that he was hiding something, whereas Whitney’s dishonesty was more calculated. I felt like Hudson deserved more and that, ultimately, Whitney kind of got let off the hook for a lot of stuff.
In the end, though, this book is adorable. SUPER cute, super sweet, super swoony with this heaping dash of sexy thrown in. Despite the trouble I had connecting to Whitney, there was no denying the chemistry she had with Hudson. And the ending left my heart all ooey gooey with feels in the happiest of ways.
~ Review by Shelly
Cindi Madsen is a USA Today Bestselling author of contemporary romance and young adult novels. She sits at her computer every chance she gets, plotting, revising, and falling in love with her characters. Sometimes it makes her a crazy person. Without it, she'd be even crazier. She has way too many shoes, but can always find a reason to buy a new pretty pair, especially if they're sparkly, colorful, or super tall. She loves music, dancing, and wishes summer lasted all year long. She lives in Colorado (where summer is most definitely NOT all year long) with her husband and three children.
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