Review: Mal now owns a piece of my heart
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 25, 2014
Play is one of those books that I have been waiting on for quite a while and one of my concerns as I picked it up to read for the first time was that it wouldn't live up to the expectations I had built up in my mind for it. I am happy to say I had no need for concern at all- Kylie Scott knocked it out of the park in my opinion, and I absolutely love Mal and Anne!When we were first introduced to Mal in Lick, he was already well on his way to stealing my heart with his goofy antics and unconditional friendship with Ev just based on the fact that she made his best friend happy. I completely fell for him in Play- yes he had his idiot guy moments and at times acted like an overgrown toddler on a massive sugar rush, but mostly he made me laugh, swoon, fan myself, laugh some more, want to knock him upside the head a few times, then swoon some more.Anne is a great heroine who is able to hold her own with him no matter what his mood, and both her inner and spoken thoughts had me screaming with laughter consistently throughout the story. In the very first chapter, Mal accuses her of being a doormat, but she proves him to be very wrong.Like any great love story, these two bring out the best in each other. Mal's personality helps Anne find her fun loving, less reserved side that she lost years ago when life kept knocking her down. And in return, Anne becomes the rock that Mal never thought he wanted or needed to help him weather the storm that is his life right now.I have so many quotes and passages highlighted in my copy that I am surprised my Kindle doesn't glow in the dark but I absolutely adore their banter and humor! The whole Stage Dive family is interwoven through the story so we get more David and Ev as well as a better look at Jimmy and Ben. While you don't need to read Lick first, I would suggest it because it is a great story and Mal makes his first appearance there.I definitely recommend dropping everything to read this book! It left me with a serious hangover and inability to move on to another book. Kylie, job well done and I can't wait for Lead now! Can I have Mal all for my own, pretty please?