[ARC REVIEW] “Sneaking Around with the Player” (Holiday with the Players #2) By: Rebecca Jenshak

What is Sneaking Around with the Player by Rebecca Jenshak about?

It was supposed to be a quick conversation with a cute boy at the airport while I dodged my ex and his new girlfriend.
We weren’t supposed to trade numbers.
He wasn’t supposed to be a football player.
And I definitely wasn’t supposed to fall for him since he’s attending a college a thousand miles away.
I saw past his jersey. And he saw past my last name.
Now it’s semester break, and by some Christmas miracle, he’s going to be close. So close.
I want to meet him again, but there’s just one problem.
My older brother can’t, under any circumstances, find out I’m dating his rival.

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Review:

Like the previous holiday novella about Stella’s twin sister, Holly, it definitely had more a young adult feel to it, even though her and her sister are in their first year of college. (Fun fact: I have a twin sister, too!) I did start reading this book after reading a pretty heavy new adult college romance though, so that could have contributed to that feeling. Still, the sexual content definitely surpassed young adult, although those scenes didn’t take up a whole lot of the book. For some reason, I couldn’t get into this one as much until the second half; I think I just wasn’t connecting with Stella for some reason.

We got to see more of her older brother, Felix, which was fun — I’m so excited for his book! It won’t be out until late next year though, so I have a lot of waiting left to do. He just seems like such a sweet, nice, stand-up guy, and a really good big brother, so I’m looking forward to seeing how those qualities play out in a romantic relationship, too.

We briefly get to see Holly and Teddy as well, and it was cool to have the overlapping timelines between both novellas, especially how some of the same scenes are in both books but from different POVs. We also get to see Beau’s point-of-view quite often, so it was nice to have his perspective, too. Their relationship definitely felt a bit rushed in terms of “I love you” milestones, but since it’s a novella, that’s to be expected.

I love the brother’s rival trope so much, so if you’re looking for a quick holiday read with that trope, this is the book for you! If you’re looking for a full length novel, I can’t recommend “A Rivals Kiss” from the Fulton U Rivals series by Maya Hughes enough. For both that book and this novella, I recommend them for 18+ due to some of the sexual content, but as always, don’t let me tell you what to do! Overall, this is a quick, sweet read that’s great to get you in the holiday spirit — big thanks to Rebecca and her team for allowing me to review an early copy! The book is available now, along with a paperback version that has both novellas in it.

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