Serious Play
Bonnie Dee and Summer Devon
Contemporary Romance/Erotica
Published in 2012 (ARC review)
H/h - Luke Bailey/Mary Scott
Setting: Present time.
Read in May, 2012.
My rating: 
[spoiler alert]
Initially, I loved the idea of Serious Play because of the
hero, Luke. I don’t remember reading about an ex-con hero before, which Luke
was when the story begins. I’m a huge Bonnie Dee fan too and loved her heroes
always. This is also my first collaboration read by her and another author,
Summer Devon. Since I don’t read M/M, I didn’t read their earlier
collaborations. After finishing the book, I can only say that I’m disappointed.
The first half of the book was really good, but the second half wasn’t. The story
just lost me there.
Luke is just out of prison on parole and looking for a job
and a place stay. Since he was the model of a good prisoner, his parole officer
recommended him to one of her close friends who owns a bar and needs a helping
hand. Luke meets Mary in the office of her bar, ‘My Parents’ Basement’ for this
job. Mary doesn’t have a lot of stuff helping her out so hiring Luke would be
good, though she’s confused at the moment if she should let an ex-convict in.
But because of her friend, she decides to trust Luke (for now that is). They
have the spark flying around from the first meeting. Somehow Luke’s reserved
but very honest demeanor attracts Mary. It also helps that he’s handsome as
well. Luke thought Mary is one of the most beautiful women he has ever met and immediately
wants her and it’s not just the fact that he has been celibate for these 5
years of prison. But, their social difference would never let him have her.
Luke’s past isn’t very attractive. His parents broke up when he was young. He lived
with his mother and sometimes grandparents and with poverty more often than
not. And when there is poverty, the lure of easy money seems the only way. Luke
shook hands with some people who are into selling drugs and so on. He never did
drugs, at least not an addict. He also had a girlfriend back then, whose
brother was the gang leader. But it was a convenient store robbery with the
gang that did him in. Luke has been helpful always to the law and it paid back.
Now, even though Luke despairs of ever having a relationship with someone like
Mary, who definitely comes from money, he has no other option but to take this
job and do best out of it for a time. He needs the money and the place she’s
offering too.
Mary’s parents have always expected that she’d have some big
job or the other, pass with a big degree and so on. So when she dropped out of
collage and started this bar, they have been thoroughly disappointed and never
missed a chance to tell her that. So far, Mary has survived and her bar is fast
becoming a very popular haunt in the area. She needed the extra hands too since
the only people she got apart from her was the bartender, Manuel, who helped
her set up this bar and a good friend. Another young woman called Taylor worked
part-time with them. Even though Mary is attracted to Luke and confused about
trusting him (a handbook given by her parole officer friend which addressed the
issue of ‘how to handle an ex-convict’, suffice to say, which was full of
things to make one scared of ex-cons), she gives him the job the same day and
beside the bar to live. Mary lives upstairs. She also lets Luke use her shower
when he asks for it. No matter what, she just can’t keep Luke out of her mind
and him staying with her won’t help her at all because Mary also knows nothing
good would come of this attraction. At least, I thought she was smart enough to
handle this situation but she wasn’t, alas!
At first, I found Mary a nice and hard working woman, who
didn’t give into her family’s badgering and made her own life. I already liked
Luke and his quiet ways, was totally into the attraction they seem to share (and
the forbidden fantasy of employer and employee thing). They soon get into the
business of running the bar, teaching or showing Luke around. Manuel and Taylor
seem nice and helpful too. We get some ideas of the popularity of Mary’s bar. I
was kinda bored about the detailed narratives about bartending but since the
book is focused on one, it couldn’t be avoided of course.
The story was flowing well. Luke and Mary dance around their
attraction, tries to get into the easy camaraderie but it never really comes
out right. Because of their shared attraction, there’s always some awkward
moment or the other, especially when they’re alone at night, cleaning up the
bar all by themselves. I thought Luke was more into Mary than she was into him.
Luke needed someone to hold onto, a place to belong. He was like a floating
twig, out of prison and doesn’t fit into anywhere. Mary’s open and vivacious
personality totally knocked him out. I really adored Luke and by the time I
finished the book, I thought he definitely needed someone better. On the other
hand, Mary wanted to get laid, of course, but she wasn’t zoomed onto Luke
beyond the physical. I didn’t believe it till the end. On the edge or
frustration, both physical and emotional, Luke decides to sought out some woman
and get laid for the time being. One of the lawyers who frequents the bar and
totally digs him fits his bill, no strings attached sex. He almost got on with
it the hall behind the bar, until Mary happened upon them. Oddly enough, H’s OW
being my pet peeve, I should’ve been mad at Luke but I totally understood his
situation. I was kinda mad at Mary for taking umbrage on it because she was
already trying to convince herself thousand times a day that Luke isn’t the
type she should have any kind of intimacy with. So why be mad at him? Luke,
poor babe, gets upset since upsetting Mary was the last thing he wanted to do.
Then they decide to talk about the whole matter later and the next day, they
end up kissing.
Mary’s family gradually learns of Luke’s past. At first it
was her mother, who was constantly worried about her ‘lack of social life’ or boyfriends
and dates coming and going. Mary has had boyfriends in the past and sometimes occasional
dates but she’s not into one night stand kind situation. This is something I
also loved about Mary and was annoyed when her family badgered her about the
personal aspects of her life. She is a grown woman FGS; it was annoying, the length
they would go to stick their nose into her private matters. Anyway, soon
afterwards, Mary just decides there’s no point in dancing around and they give
into their mutual passion. Up to this part, I loved the book. Then when Mary’s
dad and the others learn about Luke (and guessed her involvement with him), I
was sure trouble was coming their way. Especially, Mary’s lawyer father wouldn’t
let her ‘ruin her life anymore than she had already done by being involved with
an ex-con’. When she goes to plan her sister’s baby shower with Luke (it was
good that she didn’t hide him like some guilty secret), her father totally goes
beyond the boundary. I understand a father’s concern but to Mary’s father, it
was no all concern but more about pride and the matter of their social
difference. Luke defends Mary and it was apparent how possessive he was about
her. But Mary wasn’t very happy about Luke’s show of possession. Even though
she didn’t want to hide Luke, she didn’t want to flaunt him exactly. I began to
feel a downer coming because I felt Mary wasn’t exactly proud of her involvement
with him.
From sometimes, Mary was sensing that there was a theft going
on in her bar. In the store room, the counts of various goods don’t match. At
first, she let it go since it seemed small and she thought it was her fault or
something. She was also totally absorbed with Luke and their ongoing sex life.
She loved doing it with him. To Luke, she was everything and you could see from
the way he would look at her, that he is already kind of worshiping the path she
walks. There was no denying that he was falling and falling hard this time. On
the other hand, Mary was still confused and I was totally getting annoyed by
her constant ‘to do or not to do’. No, sex is of course ok but serious
relationship… umm, let me think hard and good. Maybe I’m in love with him…
ummm, maybe not… ummm… let me think… umm, what did that book on ex-con said
about not letting them close to you… Let me look into that again!! Yes, trust
me, that was what was going on inside her brain 24/7 where Luke was concerned. Then,
one day, just before some important party, one of Mary’s expensive crates of
wine goes missing and wham! She becomes suspicious of Luke. O.M.G. She lost me
there, totally. I was just pissed, so pissed that at the first sign of trouble
she thinks it’s him?! Wasn’t she just thinking that she has fallen love with
him? It was so shockingly moronic, I felt kinda numb towards the book and
couldn’t revive myself afterwards. I just couldn’t!!!
Luke, the poor babe, he was just ok with her accusing
stares. To him, since he was out of prison, it was totally OK for her to
suspect him. Oh, C’mon babe! What about the fact that you were working so hard
for the past weeks to get her approval? To make her happy? Where is the trust
in here? Mary starts avoiding him and poor Luke, he’s upset about the whole
thing since its upsetting Mary. I understood how sympathetic he was towards her
and the fact that she has worked hard for this bar to make a mark. What did
Mary did? Nada! As he goes to his parole officer, a bit scared that Mary would
report him (my heart just went out to him, so many insecurities about this
relationship!), Luke finds out that a deal is waiting for him there. He made a
secondary plan to find work in some construction farm a while back. Someone got
an admission for him into this university where he can study and work on this
subject. Luke knew who it was immediately since it would take him far away from
Mary. He pays a visit to Mary’s dad but, upon this visit, he realizes it’s the
best option for him right now. He always knew his involvement with Mary won’t
bring anything positive. Maybe if he can earn a degree and can get a really
good job, maybe then he can come back. Luke is hopeful about his life’s
prospect and in despair about leaving Mary and losing her in the process, even
after her accusation of him stealing from her. WHY Luke, WHY???? I just wanted him to leave her and get on
with his own life!!
With being annoying, Mary proved to be a pushover as well
when Manuel tries to put nonsense about Luke inside her brain; all negative
things and succeeds too! I knew just then who the real rat bastard was behind
this whole mess but she believes in Manuel’s nonsense. Can you see me losing
interest? Actually, I lost it a while back… This was sorted out soon enough, so
I don’t know why this part was even there in the book. Afterwards there were
more misunderstandings about Luke’s moving out of the bar and breaking it off
with her. I saw Luke thinking about her always but Mary, well, she was always
so f*cking confused that my head hurt by the time this book finished!! She also
took insult about Luke not telling her that it was her father who arranged the
degree for him. WHY WOULD YOU TAKE UMBRAGE ABOUT IT B*TCH? You were the one who
pushed Luke away in the first place!!! I couldn’t believe that they actually
have anything real happening in the future. I couldn’t see the trust and
definitely Mary doing the same thing to Luke again… and again. I just rolled
eyes when they finally made up and spoke mush to each-other… that was just…
ugh!!
The book ended with the HFN vibe and not HEA. I don’t really
care for HFN, fool that I am I like my HEAs better. Overall, not good enough for me.
3.5 stars.
This ARC was provided to me by Carina Press via
netgalley which didn’t influence my review and rating in any way.
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