The Player and the Pixie

Penny Reid, LH Cosway — 2016

USA TODAY BESTSELLER How can someone so smokin’ hot be so bad in bed? I mean, Sean Cassidy is absolute rubbish. RUBBISH. He is the epitome of walking, talking false advertising and I want a refund! Plus he’s an arsehole. So… what is wrong with me that I can’t stop thinking about him? THE PIXIE Lucy Fitzpatrick doesn’t like rugby. As the little sister of Ireland’s most infamous rugby player, Lucy can’t seem to escape the championship-sized shadow cast by her big brother, or her mother’s frequent attempts to micromanage her future. Her rainbow hair is as free-spirited as her quest for inner peace, yet overbearing expectations keep bringing her down. And when she’s down, her compulsive little problem lands her in seriously big trouble. THE PLAYER Sean Cassidy is a cold-hearted brute… or so he’s been told. Frequently. By everyone. His blonde locks, baby blues, and rock hard bod make ladies all over the world over drool with desire. As the rugby world’s second most infamous player, he should be basking in his success. But Sean has never been content settling for second place, and his frequent confrontations with Lucy’s big brother leave him cold. And when he’s cold, hiscompulsive little problem lands him in the lap of Lucy Fitzpatrick. THE PLAN Sean has a problem only Lucy can solve. Lucy has a problem only Sean can fix. The solution seems obvious: you scratch my back, and I’ll bail you out of jail. But when their business arrangement unexpectedly leaves Sean scorching hot and Lucy on the precipice of inner peace, can they convince the world—and Lucy’s big brother in particular—that this is the real deal? Either way, both the Player and the Pixie are about to teach each other some pretty monumental lessons about family, life, but most importantly, love. The Pixie and the Player is a full-length, romantic comedy novel, can be read as a standalone, and is the second book in the Rugby Series.

Reviews

Sarah Kessler@pdxskigirl

Oct 5, 2022

4.5 stars of secret relationship-character growth-dorky flirty conversation fun. Somewhat different tone than the previous book, but by the end nearly as satisfying.

Lacey@laceybooklovers

Aug 26, 2021

Originally posted at Booklovers For Life I love L.H. Cosway and Penny Reid as individual writers, but I’d never had the pleasure of reading a collaboration of theirs until now. The Player and the Pixie is the second book in the Rugby series but can be read entirely as a standalone, which is what I did. I’m already looking forward to reading the first book, that’s how much I enjoyed this one. Sean and Lucy were an absolute delight to read – they were sweet, utterly endearing, and overall just so much fun to read about. If you love sports romances with realistic characters and a unique spin to them, I highly recommend The Player and the Pixie! Sigh. Why were the beautiful ones always such pricks, huh? Sean Cassidy is the black sheep of his rugby team – everyone thinks he’s an unfeeling jerk, and he’s not about to prove them otherwise. Lucy is the younger brother of Ireland’s most infamous rugby player, who is also Sean’s captain. She’s sweet and everything good… except for her compulsive problem/habit/coping mechanism of stealing small things from stores. These two couldn’t be more different, but I loved how contrasting they are. When they meet, they’re so wonderfully antagonistic – Sean hates Lucy because of her brother and Lucy hates Sean because of what he did to her brother. Still, they can’t help but be intrigued by each other, and after a failed blackmailed dinner date, Sean can’t help but want to get under Lucy’s skin as much as she’s under his. Lucy Fitzpatrick was my drug of choice, and has quickly become a necessity. I had no desire to contemplate rehab. Lucy and Sean are such well-developed characters. There’s so much more to them than meets the eye. I have to admit, I totally believed Sean to be the shallow, spoiled man everyone thought he was at first, but the authors did a wonderful job of opening him up in my eyes and making me see the hidden depth to him. Lucy herself is a unique character – I’m not sure I’ve ever read about a character who has the compulsive problem she does. The authors portrayed her hidden shame in an honest way that really made me feel for her. Both of these characters deal with a lot of insecurity and problems with self-acceptance, and I absolutely loved the growth of their characters and the way they become so much confident in themselves thanks to each other. “The moment you walk into a room you brighten it, Lucy Fitzpatrick, and I for one feel like the luckiest bastard in the world for having known you.” The Player and the Pixie is so, so sweet. I fell for Lucy and Sean and their slowly blooming romance. There were so many unexpected things I loved about the book – my favorite was how Sean had pretty much no skills in bed. Only L.H. Cosway and Penny Reid would make an incompetent hero funny and endearing – but don’t worry, Sean has an excellent teacher in Lucy and he more than makes up for his deficiencies soon enough. ;) Overall, I highly enjoyed reading this book. It’s entertaining as hell and the characters are written spectacularly. It’s not your typical sports romance, and I loved that. I can’t wait to read the rest of the series! Thanks to the authors for generously providing me an ARC to review. Quotes are taken from the ARC and are subject to change in the final version. Amazon Ebook: http://amzn.to/23UAegE Amazon Paperback: http://amzn.to/1U3G5xp Liked this review? Subscribe to Booklovers For Life for more!