✨ "If one more man tells me I need to smile, I'm going to deck him square in the jaw and not give a damn about the repercussions." ✨
SOME SPOILER-FREE THOUGHTS: If you haven't heard me saying this for months now, I have been WAITING for this book since I heard Liam call Piper "pipsqueak" in Face Off and it was EVERYTHING I needed and more. Once again, Chelsea Curto did not disappoint with her beautifully built characters, the depths of their world, and the ups and downs of their journeys. I loved the cameos we got from fan favs Emmy and Maverick as well as the hints of what's to come in the DC Stars universe. It was just perfect and I will be singing Power Play's praises from the rooftops for many moons to come!
Author: chelsea curto
Finished: october 27, 2024
Reading Method: e-book
Star Rating: 5/5 ⭐
Spice Rating: 3/5 🌶️
What To Expect:
✨ Grumpy / Sunshine
✨ "Teach Me"
✨ Hockey Romance
✨ Reporter x Goalie
✨ Fake Dating
✨ Accidental Marriage of Convenience
✨ Age Gap (she's 3 years older)
✨ He Falls First (and is OBSESSED!)
✨ Cat Daddy
✨ Found Family
✨ No Third Act Breakup
✨ Dual POV
✨ Book Two in Standalone Series
TW: Sexist comments (one regarding non-consensual acts) from a workplace superior
SPOILERS IN
3...
2...
1...
✨ "There's a magic in his gentle encouragement. Affirmations I've never heard before, and, for half a second in a world of pretend and make believe, in a reality where I'm lifted up instead of brought down, I know I can do it." ✨
Just as I felt after reading Face Off only a few months ago, I HAVE NO WORDS FOR THE LOVE I HAVE FOR THIS BOOK!
I could not have anticipated how much I'd relate to Piper on so many levels and how healing her journey was for me and I'm sure so many other readers.
One of the hardest things in life is watching all of your friends experience their happily ever afters after yours failed and it's made to feel like it's your fault. You love your friends and you are happy for them. You'd never wish them the same fate you were dealt, but that doesn't make it any less painful a reminder that you don't have what is making them so happy. That you didn't do enough to keep it. That you wasted all that time in a relationship with someone who only loved parts of you at parts of your life.
Even if that's not true, that's how it feels.
So seeing Piper at the beginning of the story opening up in an attempt to want more, try for something new, but it still wasn't going right for her was so heartbreaking for me. It just reinstated in her mind that she was the problem when she absolutely was not!
Liam coming in and giving her a little peek of his hand at that country bar was all she needed to get that sliver of confidence to push outside her comfort zone and ask him for help, as friends.
And of course, that one drop in the bucket started a tidal wave of experiences between the two of them that lead to a tsunami of emotions until they were fully submerged in each other, never wanting to resurface if it meant being apart. They were each others' destiny right from the start and they just needed all the stars to align to get them to that moment of realization, even if the paths to each other were painful, they were necessary.
Hearts in my eyes, dips in my stomach, ringing in my ears, I was all in!!
And every single time Liam worked with Piper to explore her sexuality, it was so beautiful (as well as steamy!) because it was clear how much he cared about her. She was always in control and it was always about her. His pleasure came from her excitement of exploration and discovery and the more she learned about herself, the more she was able to open up not just in the bedroom, but in life.
Then we get to Vegas and OH MY GOSH, I was not ready for a double wedding! So happy for Emmy and Maverick, but Liam and Piper waking up the next morning like that was just the icing on the cake. I wasn't thrilled with how Liam handled it, but finding out from Hudson that he was the one who initiated it, was a total "duh!" moment. He's been head over heels for her from the start. He saw a ring on her finger the first day he met and deep down, the day it was gone, he wanted to put one back on her himself. Even if he couldn't admit it until after he did it.
And then it always takes a wedding for two people to realize just how much they really want to be married, so the trip to Spain only solidified everything we as readers knew to be true.
Their entire relationship could really be summed up with two moments, in my eyes, though:
✨ The moment Liam did an interview for Piper
✨ The moment they won the cup and he ran over to her instead of celebrating with his team
Both times I literally screamed and threw my kindle across the room. I'm not even exaggerating. Those two moments are the definition of "if he wanted to he would" and "when you know, you know." They also were the moments that Liam officially ruined me for any possibility of ever finding happiness in a relationship ever because no non-fictional man could ever...
Honorable mention: when Liam recruits the entire team to scour the ice for his wedding ring and then doesn't tell Piper that's what they were doing.
This book, these characters, this universe, I love it! The end. Power Play by Chelsea Curto is that girl! Obsessed! That's the tweet.
All My Love,
Jane-Anne
Comments