I was so happy I learned that I was a part of the Played blog tour, and I was so excited when I received my copy from Netgalley! I wanted to read it immediately, but figured it'd be best if I waited until my tour stop date got closer before reading it.
Before I read Played, I was in a slight reading slump. I read, but a book couldn't hold my attention for more than 15 minutes, thus me reading four books all at once. I knew I had to finish Played soon, so that's what I concentrated on mostly. At first I was bored, but when I got to the middle, I got more intrigued and the story held more of my attention.
Riley and Sam both went to the Leadership Conference and got teamed up in the scavenger hunt to find some leaves and stuff through the forest. Sam and Riley took a path different from all the scavenger hunters, but because of Riley's stubbornness, she falls off the Mogollon Rim. Then it starts to rain, forcing Riley and Sam to spend the night in the forest, fighting for survival.
When Riley and Sam gets rescued, Riley is beyond thankful that Sam helped her stay alive. As a means of repaying Sam for this act, Riley promises Sam that she would help him win the love of his life. And so begins their adventure.
When I started reading Played, I didn't like it that much. I felt pretty bored while reading the first half of the book, but it just got better and better at the second part. During the first half, I was really annoyed by the main character's naive crush on Jay, and also, she's trying to break up her brother and his girlfriend!! She lied and became this crazy girl, and I was annoyed. I read on though, and at the second half, I became happy with the book.
Things started to get more exciting as Riley and Sam spent more and more time with each other. Slowly, their feelings for each other developed, and there certainly were a lot of amazing feels! It started to hold my attention, and I wasn't able to put it down anymore!
I loved, loved, loved the last twenty or so percent of the book! It was heart-clenching and gripping, and everything was coming together amazingly! Apologies were made, and the characters made amends. It was amazing how everything wrapped up, and I felt glad to have read this book.
Overall, I rate this book 3.5 stars. Yes, I am all praise on the second half of the book, especially the last twenty percent, but I cannot forget how annoyed I was at the first half! I recommend people to try this one, but I think it depends on personal taste whether you like it or not. But I can promise you that the last half is just absolutely amazing!
