Name: aleksandra's review of Beautiful Player by Christina Lauren
Item: Beautiful Player
Rating: 3
Author: aleksandra

Christina Lauren

In the third book in the Beautiful Bastard series, an agreement between a venture capitalist and a bookish woman quickly becomes a very NSFW version of My Fair Lady. A bombshell bookworm. A chronic Casanova. And a lesson in chemistry too scandalous for school. When Hanna Bergstrom receives a lecture from her overprotective brother about neglecting her social life and burying herself in grad school, she’s determined to tackle his implied assignment: get out, make friends, start dating. And who better to turn her into the sultry siren every man wants than her brother’s gorgeous best friend, Will Sumner, venture capitalist and unapologetic playboy? Will takes risks for a living, but he’s skeptical about this challenge of Hanna’s…until the wild night his innocently seductive pupil tempts him into bed- and teaches him a thing or two about being with a woman he can’t forget. Now that Hanna’s discovered the power of her own sex appeal, it’s up to Will to prove he’s the only man she’ll ever need.

Beautiful Player

Alma 

“I thought I could do this but I can’t. This weekend just solidified that for me. I’m sorry.”

He took a step back and glanced around like he’d just woken up and realized where he was. 

The thought of having to give her up made me nauseous.

He sounds like the kind of men I would bring home💞💞💞💞

He looked unbelievable in his favorite jeans, a worn-to-perfection Star Wars T-shirt, and green sneakers. 

NO. A DOCTOR WHO SHIRTTTT😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

Hanna stretched, her arms shaking slightly over her head as she hummed in pleasure. Naturally I took the opportunity to check out her chest. She also happened to be wearing a totally badass Doctor Who shirt, I hadn’t even noticed earlier.

But as I was quickly learning, I’d do anything for her. If she wanted to keep things casual, then that’s what we’d do.  I could pretend. I could be patient, I could give her time. I only wanted to be with her. And as pathetic as it sounded, I’d take what I could get.

Respectfully, stfu. Who even are you to say that.

It’s actually pisses me offffff cuz like wtfff why would he, out of everyone, lie about this. Like it doesn’t even make sense that she would doubt him saying that. WHY WOULD HE SAY THAT IF HE DIDNT MEAN IT,WHEN HE KNOWS PRETTY DAMN WELL HOW TO HANDLE THESE SITUATIONS WHERE HE DOESNT FEEL THIS WAY.

And I thought my fav woman from this series would actually be her. 

hearing him say that he wanted more when there was no way he could actually mean it . . . complicated things.

Will Sumner didn’t know the meaning of more.

I wanted to punch myself. I was pussing out. Everything I’d said was true, but it was a flimsy half-truth. It wasn’t only just about knowing her for so many years. It was wanting to know her, like this, for so many more.

“Well,” he said, sliding his gaze to me with a teasing little smile. “Just so you’re clear on the meaning of the word ‘dating’, maybe you should go out with someone else. Just to see how it all works. What about another one of the guys at the party? Aaron? Or Hau?”

He nodded encouragingly. “He seemed pretty fit.”

“He’s fit,” I agreed, hedging. “But, he’s sort of . . . SN2?”

Will’s brows pulled together in confusion. “?‘SN2’?”

“You know,” I said, waving my hands awkwardly. “Like when the C-X bond is broken, and the nucleophile attacks the carbon at one hundred-eighty degrees to the leaving group?” The words came out in a breathless rush.

“Oh, my God. Did you just use an O-chem reference to tell me Aaron looks better from the back than the front?”

I groaned and looked away. “I think I just broke some sort of nerd record.”

“No, that was amazing,” he said, sounding genuinely awed. “I wish I thought of that about ten years ago.” His mouth turned down at the corners when he considered this. “But honestly, it’s awesome when you say it. If I said it, I would just sound like a giant dick.”

Something about her made me feel hungry, like I wanted to be as honest and calm about everything in my life as she was. I wanted to know Hanna, to hear her thoughts on everything.

She liked the thing about me that every other woman wanted to tame.

Do you ever feel like the people who mean the most aren’t the people you see the most? Lately I just feel like I’m not putting my heart where it matters.

-—TRUE LOVE AND LONG LASTING RELATIONSHIP?

Also, are they trying to make me hate him? Cuz why add the: “She was pretty but definitely not the prettiest girl I’d ever seen” 😭😭

I’d always been open about my appreciation for women, but I wasn’t attracted to every woman I saw. So what was it about this one? She was pretty but definitely not the prettiest girl I’d ever seen. She was seven years younger than I was, green as an apple, and barely came up from her work to breathe. What could she possibly offer me that I couldn’t find somewhere else?

First, it’s only a week after the Beautiful bombshell??? Ahahuauuau

Second, I REMEMBER THIS SCENE!! where max looked over from the board table to see will over at the bar messing with his phone, its all connected 💞💞😭😭

I continued, “It’s a very high-profile operation over at the med school. Anyway, last weekend in Vegas when you were off chasing your pu**y to the blackjack tables, Jensen texted to let me know he was coming to visit her. I guess he gave her a Come-to-Jesus about not living among the test tubes and beakers for the rest of her life.”

He straightened, messing up his hair before tucking it beneath his beanie again. “God. You’re a ballbuster. Do you know Chloe and Sara?”

I shook my head. “Are those some girls you’re . . . not dating?”

“Oh, hell no,” he said with a laugh. “They’re the women who have my best friends by the balls. I think they’d be good for you to meet. Swear to God you’ll all probably be best friends at the end of the night.”

Will Sumner was Jensen’s college best friend, Dad’s former intern, and the object of every one of my teenage fantasies. Whereas I had always been the friendly, nerdy kid sister, Will was the bad-boy genius with the crooked smile, pierced ears, and blue eyes that seemed to hypnotize every girl he met.

Shittt it’s not the guy it’s the girl😭😭

You’re not just smart,” Jensen was telling me. “You’re fun. You’re social. You’re a pretty girl.”

Yes, here.” His green eyes narrowed. “It’s the first time I’ve seen you out of the lab in the past two days when you weren’t sleeping or scarfing down a meal.

Ophélie 

aleksandra

3/5

Brother best friend always serves. 


  
    "I want to be with you so much it’s making it hard to breathe.”

"I’ll be yours every second if that’s what you want. You just have to tell me, Plum.”

garnet

Okay, I don’t really know how to sum this book up.

Throughout the first half of the book I thought it was going to be a 5 star read , because I liked how different it was from the rest of the series, it was slow paced and the characters were interesting, and I don’t know what happened in the rest of the book that bothered me, but I feel like I (in the tiniest bit) lost some of my interest and passion towards this book , and also in the end Hanna really pissed me off,buttt it really was a funny and cute read💞

Also love the friendship between all the characters in the seriessssss

Okay, I don’t really know how to sum this book up.

Throughout the first half of the book I thought it was going to be a 5 star read , because I liked how different it was from the rest of the series, it was slow paced and the characters were interesting, and I don’t know what happened in the rest of the book that bothered me, but I feel like I (in the tiniest bit) lost some of my interest and passion towards this book , and also in the end Hanna really pissed me off,buttt it really was a funny and cute read💞

Also love the friendship between all the characters in the seriessssss

They did it again!! I am dragging out this series so long because I never want it to end!! 

Brittany Peterson

dija

Sometimes, i really don't know why i do this to myself.

Kathleen Tom

I was putting this on hold for awhile but now I’m done with this!! 

Yayyyy. So much honesty between Hanna & Will. 

It was amazing. The Friendship. The Flirtship. The Sex. And, of course The Relationship.

Christina Lauren's books never fail to make me smile and giggle!! omg Hanna and Will are soo cute!!

Karma is real and Hanna is Will's karma for all his fboi past MUHAHA LOVE TO SEE IT

I just loved the dual POVS especially reading Will's perspective. Reading when Will's starts falling in love with Hanna and then once he realizes he's totally in love with her OMG SWOON his love for Hanna is soo beautiful. He respects, adores, cherishes, and just thinks the world of her! He literally became a player -> a major simp for Hanna. EVERYTIME HE CALLS HER PLUM!!! MY HEART

The miscommunication towards the end which delayed their inevitable relationship HURT ME 

MISSED OPPORTUNITY for not having like a part where Hanna's brother find out about them like wheres the dramaaaaa

did i tear up in the epilogue... maybe... yes yes i did

Jennifer Eggleston 

4.5 stars 

"He wasn't beautiful in the same way Bennett was, and he wasn't tender like Max. He was visceral and imperfect, dark and knowing. 


Rowwwwwwrrrrr! 



  



Oh em gee ... I lurve Will! I think this is my most fave story yet of the series. Will and Hanna are utterly irresistible. Hanna is Will's kryptonite and it was awesome. Their chemistry just leaps off the page. It was amazeballs! 

How to describe Will? 

"First question: is his cock as epic as I've heard? And the fingers ... are they truly quote-unquote magical?" He (George) leaned closer, whispering, "And rumor has it the man could win a watermelon-eating contest, if you know what I'm saying." ... This really doesn't describe him. I just loved this quote from the book. 

Will is smart, sexy, tatted, and likes the ladies but on his schedule. Hanna aka Ziggy is a wicked smart dynamo who has no filter. She says what she means and watch out for what she says. 

I would love a novella featuring Will and Hanna but it's not needed unlike Bennett and Chloe. When Bennett and Chloe's story ended it felt incomplete. Will and Hanna have a beginning, middle, and end. They felt complete. 

Read it and hopefully you will love it, too!

Megan Lowe

I initially DNFed this book after 58 pages but decided to push on.
I’m not sure if that was a good decision or not.
Will was a great character. I liked his group of friends and I liked seeing his feelings progress.
But I did
Not like Hanna. She was really unlikable to me and the reason I DNFed in the first place. For someone who is really intelligent, she is really quite dumb and I couldn’t handle it.

macy

Jordan /

Loved them but will never not hate the miscommunication trope.

Ley Stanton

Ask and you shall receive. Finally got Wills story and it was more than I could ever expected.

Paula Narvaez

THIS BOOK WAS EXHAUSTING AND SO EXASPERATING TO READ, I am used to the usual amount of misunderstandings and lack of communication, but this book was just ridiculous. I enjoyed the funny scenes and dialogues, and Will's POV was sometimes very sweet... and those are the only two things that kept me from dnf-ing this book.

b.andherbooks

Reading these is like eating a ginormous bowl of macaroni and cheese. Sinful, a bit ridiculous, and absolutely delicious.

I particularly enjoyed Hanna and Will's interplay. Christina Lauren does an excellent job of making female characters who are fun, smart, and self-assured, despite the "chick-lit erotica romance" genre. And oh boy the sexy stuff. Ka-pow.

Perfect for your end of year reading pleasure when your poor lil' brain can't take no more.

Find this book and more at 
  kimberlyfaye reads
.

Just this past week one of my friends told me the Beautiful Bastard series books are "her crack." I couldn't agree more. I find myself hopelessly addicted to each new pairing and their story. This series just keeps getting better and better. 

What I loved most about Beautiful Player was the pairing of Hanna and Will. I liked that they had a history of friendship and that it slowly built into something more as he tried to pull her out of her shell. Their banter was amazing and I found myself chuckling with nearly every interaction... at least in the early stages. I loved how Hanna was so forth-coming and open about sex (and everything else) and how shocking Will found that. This might have been an unlikely pairing in the beginning, but it totally worked for me. They had great chemistry that eventually grew into steamy sexy times.

The only downside to this book was the lack of communication and thus the misunderstandings between these two. It was really frustrating at times, but not enough to change my feelings about the book. It just made me want to handcuff the two of them together and make them talk until they worked things out. I liked them so much together that it kinda sucked when they weren't. 

One thing I love about series like this one is that with each new book, not only do we meet a new couple to cheer for, but we get to catch up with the couples from earlier in the series. I freaking love the bromance between the men in this series. It, much like the books themselves, gets better with each new installment. I love how these guys give each other a hard time, but always with their best interests at heart. There's something so real about the friendships in this book. I swear, I read them nearly as much for the friendships as I do the couplings. 

Now that I'm caught up on all the full-length novels, it's time to conquer the novellas. :)

Marlee

WILL AND HANNAH YES PLEASE. I loved this childhood friends to lovers story. This book definitely was not as spicy as the first two full books but it was more lighthearted and fun. I loved seeing how Hannah fits in with Chloe and Sara. Hannah made me laugh with her little quirks all through the book.

Alyssa Jacunski

Continuing on my reread of the series (although, not sure if I ever finished the series the first time through...). This one is easily my favorite so far. I find Will and Hannah's relationship fun. While Max is fun and I enjoy him as a character, I love Will even more. Watching Will and Hannah moving from rekindling friendship to beyond that was sweet and fun.

Is this predictable? Yes, absolutely. All of the series follows the same formula: two humans meet, get it on, problems happen, problems resolved. The how of all of these things is what makes each book different in it's own right. 

My favorite part is that these are all companion novels and that we focus on different characters, but the others don't disappear and play a role in the story. Overall, big fan and this one is easily my favorite so far!

Lacey

Also posted at Booklovers For Life

AH!! Do you know how much I love this book? Yeah, well, I love it A LOT. BUNCHES. I literally can’t describe how much I loved reading Beautiful Player. And Will. Ohmygoodness, sah-woon! I fell so freaking hard for Will in Beautiful Player. I mean, I was totally in love with Will already after reading Beautiful Stranger (MAX!! He’s still my favorite, although Will is a close second) and I just knew I wouldn’t be disappointed. I was finally going to be able to read Will’s book, and oh lord, I absolutely, whole-heartedly LOVED it! I loved Hanna and Will and their story.

The Christina Lauren duo are goddesses at writing in dual POV. I honestly loved reading from both Will and Hanna’s POVs. Usually I enjoy reading one person’s POV more over the other, but in this case, both POVs are flawless. And another thing I loved about Beautiful Player (out of the hundreds of other things I also loved)? This is the best older brother’s best friend/best friend’s younger sister book I’ve ever read. I always love reading books with that trope, because of how the characters usually have history between them, and there’s a little forbidden-ness in that kind of relationship. And Hanna and Will totally worked it. The sexual tension between them is amped up off the charts, but the best thing about them is that they never lose their strong sense of friendship and camaraderie. They can have fun and enjoy each other’s company doing anything or nothing at all.

Beautiful Player is easily the funniest of the main three novels. I don’t know how many times I laughed and giggled and grinned, but it was a lot. Will and Hanna are PERFECTION. Not only do they have incredible chemistry together, they are so damn hilarious together. They have the best conversations together, and they’re just so witty and funny!

“See, the problem with boobs is if you have big ones, you can never look thin. You get these burns on your shoulders from bra straps, and your back hurts. And unless you’re using them for their intended purpose, they’re always in the way.”
“In the way of what? My hands? My face? Don’t you blaspheme in here.” He looked up to the sky. “She didn’t mean it, Lord. Promise.”
Ignoring him, I said, “That’s why I had a reduction when I was twenty-one,” which is when his expression morphed into one of horror.

I was laughing my ass off throughout the entire book. Gah, it was just too good!

Will is a player. Maybe not as much as he was in his younger years, but even now at 31, he doesn’t do relationships. He has a set schedule of when to hook up with women, but everything changes once Hanna comes back into his life. Hanna makes him reevaluate his life, and who and what he wants in his life.

“Hanna. I don’t know if I’ve ever wanted something more than I want you. I really don’t think I have,” I said. “I think about just kissing you, for fucking hours. Do you know that kind of kissing? Where it’s enough for so long you don’t even think of doing anything else?”

Hanna’s always had a crush on Will (who wouldn’t?), and her brother makes her call Will up to broaden her nonexistent social life. It’s been a while since Hanna has seen Will, but once she does again, all her old feelings for him rush back in. But she knows who Will is, what kind of man he is, and she won’t allow herself to fall in love with a player because she knows if she does, he’ll break her heart.

One of the best parts of Beautiful Player is how Will recognizes he’s falling in love. It’s rare when I read a book and the guy will openly and freely admit to himself that he’s in love. And oh god, this just made me fall for Will all over again. He’s sweet, sexy, charming, funny, and just plain amazing. There’s nothing I don’t love about Will. N o t h i n g.

“She ran her hands up my chest and cupped my neck, whispering, “Hey.”
That look, that tenderness in her eyes, made me realize for the first time what was happening to me: I was falling in love.
“Hey,” I rasped, bending to kiss her.

When Hanna finally asks Will to teach her the ways of sex, everything becomes complicated. Hanna keeps thinking Will won’t change his player ways, so she acts all nonchalant about their sexual relationship. And Will is so in love with Hanna that he’ll take whatever he can get from her. The angst! Loved it. Their story hooked me in and I just couldn’t put the book down for a second. I was desperate for Hanna and Will to get their HEA, and Christina Lauren does such an incredible job of bringing their story to life.

It wasn’t only just about knowing her for so many years. It was wanting to know her, like this, for so many more.

You absolutely must read this book. You’ll fall in love with Will, you’ll laugh so hard your sides hurt, and your heart will hurt so much for Hanna and Will. The journey towards their HEA isn’t easy, but I had the best time reading it.

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Ophélie &
Beautiful Player by Christina Lauren

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Beautiful Player by Christina Lauren