The Playboy

Hot Aussie Heroes Book 3

by Madeline Ash

Wanted: Sexy sun-kissed surfer for hot summer fling.

Innocent Alexia Burton needs to become sexually confident for an upcoming acting role, and that means taking a lover.

Someone she’s attracted to. Someone who’ll teach her what she needs to know, but not ask for more than she’s prepared to give. She needs to learn the intensity of true desire and then have him walk away.

Parker Hargreaves is determined to make amends for treating Alexia badly all those years ago. He’s changed and wants her to think better of him. If that means letting her sharpen her sexual moves on him, so be it. He’ll do it. His playboy reputation certainly won’t suffer.

He just doesn’t count on walking away being so hard.

I totally loved The Playboy.  It starts off with a heartbreaking teenage moment between Alexia and Parker.  Ash completely captures that feeling of being young (and stupid) and how devastating things can be.  Then we flash forward about a half dozen years and the two meet again.  Parker handles it like a champ and I totally fell in love with him right there in the middle of Chapter 1 🙂

Parker has done a lot of growing up since Alexia new him in school, but she’s not convinced right away.  Luckily he’s got the patience of a saint, and the understanding of what a jerk he was before, so he’s willing to prove himself.  Of course, he’s still a guy and makes a couple of missteps along the way, but you know that the two are working their way to a HEA.

I totally understand Alexia’s reservations – both with Parker and with her “assignment”.  She’s a serious girl and falling into bed with a stranger definitely isn’t in her comfort zone.  She’s also one who was once burned and twice shy so she’s not going to easily forgive and forget.  Her attraction to Parker might help with part of her problems but they definitely come with a whole basket of others. 

The way that Parker and Alexia work through their issues (and their attraction) is adorable and I found myself glued to the pages.  They have great banter and Parker is a very inventive man as he not only earns a second chance with Alexia but takes on the task of helping her gain confidence.  Ash manages to so completely convince readers of how perfect they are together that I took it personally when things went wrong … which just made it all the sweeter when I got to that last page.  You know that they are going to figure things out but that doesn’t make that speed bump at the end any easier to take 🙂