The final book in the Westfall U series, “Not a Player,” is here!
What is Not a Player by R.C. Stephens about?
Liliana
Hooking up with an annoyingly handsome stranger on vacation isn’t the best idea, but I could use a little bit of careless fun before my fresh start.
We said no last names, no strings. With law school on the line, it’s all I can offer. I just don’t expect everything to feel so easy— or so right. Too bad I’ll never see him again.
Little did I know that hockey star Logan Russo is also attending Westfall U. Now I can’t escape him… or his sexy silver eyes.
He may not be a player… but he’s still off-limits.
Logan
My entire life has been focused on my hockey career. All work— no play. Zero distractions, with no exceptions. Until I sit next to Liliana on a flight to paradise.
Her walls are up, and I can respect that, relate even. But I’ll tear them down, one by one, if that’s what it takes for her to let me in.
Our tropical fling only left me wanting more. I can’t stop myself from fantasizing about the guarded beauty falling apart in my arms. Now I’m breaking the rules to play by hers.
Because Liliana Ramirez isn’t just my team’s PR person, she’s my coach’s daughter.
Authors Note: A heartfelt college sports romance with an HEA. No Cliffhanger.
For mature readers.
Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
Review:
Even though I missed the last few books in the series, it was nice to be back with all of the familiar characters from Westfall! It’s definitely on my TBR list to go back and catch up on those that I missed. As the final book in the series of interconnected standalones, I’d be lying if I didn’t say I’m a little bit sad about that! (Note: There may be some slight spoilers for the previous books in the series in this review, so if you’re going to read the other books and haven’t yet, keep reading at your own risk!)
We first met Logan during his brother Declan’s book, so seeing him all grown up and as the main character was a little weird (in a good way!) but also cool! Not to mention, I’m a huge fan of the tropes in this book — coach’s daughter is one of my favorites. (If you want to read another book with coach’s daughter/hockey, I can’t recommend “Wildcat” by Rebecca Jenshak enough!) Seeing all of the characters from the previous books was so fun. I absolutely adore when we get to see a glimpse into the lives of characters after their individual books are over, so seeing this whole friend group together was a blast. I especially loved getting to see how close Logan and Declan are (as well as Logan’s relationship with Poppy, Declan’s fiance/wife), and I thought their heart-to-heart before Declan’s wedding.
The biggest “issues” for lack of a better term with this book was the flow of some of the sentences. Sometimes contractions weren’t used, and it tripped up my flow of reading and could make the dialogue come across as not how people actually talk (obviously totally my opinion though). The prologue is also super long for a prologue, and chapter 1 takes place right after the prologue, so I think the prologue could’ve just been called chapter 1 instead. It’s definitely a change of pace compared to most books where the guy is a virgin instead of the girl, but with that being said, it kind of seemed like Logan just wanted to have sex to get it over with and to say that he finally did. Not that I don’t think he was attracted to Lili or anything, it just sort of seemed like his decision making on it happened really fast. But that could also just be me being implicitly judgey about it so take it with a grain of salt. It seemed like most of him was intrigued with her because she didn’t fawn over him like the girls back at his school, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but other than her being hot and having a bad attitude he didn’t know anything about her to actually like her (by her design, wanting to avoid personal details, which allows for the later reveal). A very small detail but the little part with the strawberries was supposed to be hot but just kind of came off a little cringe.
Logan was a really sweet guy and love interest, and I did find Lili to be…let’s say a total jerk to him when they first met for no reason. She had her issues with her ex but Logan was always perfectly nice to her and she was petty towards him for no fault of his own. That didn’t last super long, but long enough for me to not really be rooting for her in the beginning.
Please note that this book is recommended for 18+ due to some of the sexual content!
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Reviews of Books by R.C. Stephens:
“Heartless Player” (Westfall U #1) by: R.C. Stephens – ARC
“Ruthless Player” (Westfall U #2) by: R.C. Stephens – ARC
buried in a bookshelf 