Blog Tour Review and Giveaway: Played by Liz Fichera

Welcome to the Played blog tour! I hope you all have been enjoying the posts so far! Check out the rest of the blog tour by clicking on the banner above. Below is my review of this novel, and the giveaway!

Read my review of Hooked by Liz Fichera!

Played by Liz Fichera

Book Two of the Hooked series

Publisher: Harlequin TEEN

Publication Date: May 27, 2014

Rating: 3.5 stars

Source: eARC from NetGalley

Official Summary:

This Game Is Getting All Too Real

He said: I like to keep under the radar and mostly hang out with my friends from the rez. But when I saved Riley Berenger from falling off a mountain, that rich suburban princess decided to try to save me. 

She said: If I can help Sam Tracy win the heart of the girl he can't get over, I'll pay him back for helping me. I promised him I would, no matter what it takes.

What I Liked:

I had a feeling that I would enjoy this book more than I enjoyed Hooked, book one - and I was right! Hooked got three stars from me, so it's not THAT big of a difference, but overall, I definitely liked this book more. For one, I liked the male protagonist, Sam, a lot, and at times, Riley (the female protagonist). 

This book picks up where the first book ended - but these books can be read as companion novels. Fred and Ryan are together, and Sam Tracy couldn't be more heartbroken. When he and Riley Berenger (Ryan's younger sister) are stuck together in a leadership conference, things are about to change. The two of them get stranded in the wilderness, and after Sam saves Riley, she is determined to return the favor - in which Riley takes it upon herself to get Fred and Sam together, even though Fred is dating Riley's brother.

For most of this book, up until the part where Sam makes some seriously stupid decisions involving Jay Hawkins, I really enjoyed this book! It's different from its predecessor. Riley is meddling in everyone's lives, trying to create problems in Ryan and Fred's relationship, trying to give Sam a makeover, trying to get Sam on the prom court, trying to get Jay Hawkins' attention, trying to get any attention at all, trying to be the not-perfect daughter. At first, I understood Riley, and how she was feeling. It's hard when everyone EXPECTS you to be perfect and never mess up, but siblings or best friends don't have that high standard, and can get away or not get in serious trouble for doing bad things.

So, at times, I "got" Riley. I understood her. I could see why she wanted to help Sam. I could understand why she wanted to get the attention of one of the coolest and hottest boys in school. I know the pressure, the feeling of not wanting to be so perfect all the time, of not wanting to have those high standards all the time. I think I liked Riley up until she started acting stupid and brainless. She's a very smart girl. But then she let her emotions get the better of her AND THEN SOME, and it got messy. I didn't like how she reacted to things, in the last fourth of the book. 

The same goes with Sam - I really liked Sam! He is quiet yet confident, brooding yet sensitive. There are so many good qualities that he has, and selflessness is one of them, which I really liked. I can and can't believe he'd fall for someone like Riley - but then, opposites DO attract. The two of them are weird together. Bad things seem to happen around them. Or maybe just Riley.

While book one went in circles, this book definitely did NOT. I was happy to see some serious plot twists and surprises in this book, especially coming down to the end. The author hit many different issues in this book, and seemed to focus less on the Native American culture, which benefited her and the story, more than anything else. 

Overall, I think I liked this one more, though I hate to be playing the comparison game. I'm glad for the change of characters, the change of pace, the change of focus. Definitely a job better done, Fichera! I mean that nicely. 

What I Did Not Like:

I already mentioned this, but gradually, I started liking Riley less and less. At first, I was like, I can relate to this girl! Then she just went psycho. She got black-out drunk at a party and let Jay Hawkins do nasty things with tequila and take pictures of her while she was so heavily inebriated?! Stupid. Stupid stupid stupid. Guys, I'm a college student, and I will tell you over and over, LEAVE THE ALCOHOL ALONE. Don't get black-out drunk. Don't get drunk at all. It messes you up, short-term and long-term. 

Well, it worked against Riley big time. Those pictures were posted on Facebook, and everyone saw them. In this book, the pictures were taken down eventually. In the real world? Things never completely disappear. Things don't really get taken down from Facebook, either.

So yeah, I slowly lost respect for Riley. Towards the end of the book, she got stupider and stupider. Things like prom court and breaking up her brother and his girlfriend and running away seemed really, really important. Riley is so immature, and it shows, in the last fourth of the book. For an intelligent girl, she is really dense and lacks common sense. Beginning to the end of the story. 

Sam. Oh Sam. Why did you have to be one of those boys that has a spotless record and no fighting incidents, right until you meet this one girl? This one girl, that you aren't even dating? Wow. Just... wow. Great decision making there. You had to be THAT GUY that goes apes*** crazy once he's met this girl. Okie dokie, then.

So I had issues with the characters. I liked them, but there were issues, and they were a clear impediment on my reading. I feel like the character development in this series is kind of poor. Just saying.

Would I Recommend It:

If you read the first book, then definitely read this book, because it's worth the read. If you haven't read either book, then you could pass on the series. I knew that I would like this book better, because I really liked Sam in the first book, so I wanted to see how things would work out for him. Read it if you were in the same boat as me, it's worth it!

Rating:

3.5 stars -> rounded down to 3 stars. I definitely liked this book more than I liked the first book, but I still had issues with this book. I guess they're different issues though, which is good in a way. This isn't one of my favorite contemporary series, but I'm glad I gave this book (and Hooked) a chance!

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About the Author:

I'm an American author living in the American Southwest by way of Chicago.  

Born and raised in Park Ridge, Illinois, I moved to Phoenix, Arizona, after college, never expecting to live more than one year among cactus and people who’d never seen snow. I was wrong. It certainly didn't hurt that I met my future husband in Phoenix too. 

Most of my stories are set in the American Southwest because I think the desert is a cool place. Living in Phoenix, I'm surrounded by Native American culture and influences, not to mention intriguing Hohokam petroglyphs and centuries-old canals. There are over 20 tribes in Arizona and I'm lucky to be neighbors to the Gila River and the Salt River Indian Communities. 

When I'm not busy writing my next novel, I like to travel, visit museums, support local theater productions, hike, and pretend that I'm training for a triathlon. I post a lot of photos from my desert and mountain hikes on my Facebook and Twitter pages. In no particular order, I've been chased by javalinas, rattlesnakes, coyotes, and even one curious black bear.

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The Giveaway:

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Review: Hooked by Liz Fichera

Hooked by Liz Fichera

Book One of the Hooked series

Publisher: Harlequin TEEN

Publication Date: January 29, 2013

Rating: 3 stars

Source: Copy sent by the author, from a giveaway

Summary (from Goodreads):

When Native American Fredricka ‘Fred’ Oday is invited to become the only girl on the school’s golf team, she can’t say no. This is an opportunity to shine, win a scholarship and go to university, something no one in her family has done. 

But Fred’s presence on the team isn't exactly welcome — especially not to rich golden boy Ryan Berenger, whose best friend was kicked off the team to make a spot for Fred.

But there’s no denying that things are happening between the girl with the killer swing and the boy with the killer smile...

What I Liked:

I have some seriously mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, I think I liked several core parts of this book in general. On the other hand, several core parts of the book pissed me off. So, I'm pleasantly split, hence the three stars.

Fred is about to join the men's varsity golf team at her high school. There is no women's team, so she'll be taking someone's spot on the men's team (a fact that she did not know before joining). All of the boys on the team basically hate her for it, because she got their friend Seth booted, and she didn't have to try out. But Fred is AMAZING at golf. Her dad is the groundskeeper at the country club, so Fred practices there all the time, sans lessons, partners, proper clubs, tees, or shoes. But nothing seems to go her way once she joins the team. Seth is out for vengeance, and Ryan Berenger isn't going to stand in his best friend's way.

Something I really liked about this book was the treatment of the sport. Golf is obviously something very precious and important to Fred. She takes it as her escape, her motivation to go to college (something the Native Americans on this reservation don't seem to be in the habit of doing), her passion. She is better than any of the boys on the team, but she doesn't act entitled or look for special treatment. I'm not a fan of Fred, but I like her attitude towards golf. Honestly, I don't like golf, but I like sports in general, and I like how important the author makes it in this story.

Another huge part of this book is the fact that Fred is a Native American, and she lives on a reservation. At times, it definitely seems like Fred is embarrassed by this. She is embarrassed by her trailer home, her mother, her old van. She doesn't have a cell phone, she is very cut off from modern technology and civilization and culture. The Native American culture wasn't heavy in this book, but the fact that Fred is a girl, and a Native American girl, is important.

I honestly didn't like the story of this book. It sucks to say, but it didn't interest me. I didn't like the romance, either, though I guess I was happy to see the resolution between Ryan and Fred. The ending of this book was pretty good. Played is next! I think I'll like Riley more. She seems sweet. Genuine.

What I Did Not Like:

Right from the start, there were several things about this book that pissed me off. Literally from the first few pages. Take a look at my "About Me" page on my blog, you'll understand. Fred is NATIVE AMERICAN. Not INDIAN. How many times do I go through this in my life?! Seriously?! In a published, edited book, too? It's one thing for the ignoramuses in this book to call Fred and the other Native Americans "Indians" or Pocahontas" or whatever. But Fred calls herself an Indian. She refers to herself and the rest of the tribe as Indians. Ugh ugh ugh. This bothers me so much. I AM INDIAN. As in INDIA. That does NOT make me Native American. The two labels are NOT interchangeable, on one side or the other. 

Anyway. The beginning was super slow. I was thirty pages in and dying. When were things going to pick up? Were they ever going to pick up? I understand all about setting the scene, but it was really dragging out the scene, not setting it. I almost stopped reading, THAT QUICKLY INTO THE BOOK, but then I was like noooo, I don't "DNF" books, and also, I want to read this book before I read the sequel, Played. They're companion novels, but you know me and my OCD. So I kept reading.

But the beginning is very slow. There were times in the middle of the book that seemed to go in circles, honestly. Fred and Ryan, constantly stepping around each other, sending mixed messages, getting caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, etc. It seriously bothered me that Ryan never cleanly did ANYTHING. It also seriously bothered me how willing Fred was to lie about anything and everything, to one-up Ryan. Like, how petty. How childish. Play nicely, children. 

I didn't like the story, or the romance. Honestly, I didn't really care about Fred's journey as a girl on a men's varsity golf team, or her struggle to contain her feelings towards Ryan, or her struggle to not be a complete b****. Oh but she really is one though. She kept leaping to conclusions and blaming Ryan. Not that Ryan shouldn't be blamed for some things. He should have put his foot down a lot of times. But he didn't. So they're both stupid. I dislike the two of them. That's kind of bad, when the book is split between their first-person perspectives. Yup, another series that alternates between the girl and the guy, and involves companion novels, instead of sequels.

Would I Recommend It:

Honestly, not entirely. It's not one of those magical contemporary romance novels that will sweep you off your feet. I didn't really like the story overall, and I didn't really like the romance, either, so there was enough to bring my rating down. I would say that you're safe skipping this one - you're not really missing out.

Rating:

3 stars. I think I liked this one overall, but eh, it wasn't amazing or anything special. I am very happy to see that Fichera included a heavy amount of diversity in this book/series! But I wasn't a fan of the story in general. Look out for my review of Played, book two, next week!

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