Review / Release Blitz: Play Smart (Work For It #5) by Aly Stiles

𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐛𝐲 𝐀𝐥𝐲 𝐒𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐋𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐄 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐥𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐞 𝐔𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝!

#1Cʟɪᴄᴋ: https://smartypantsromance.com/books/play-smart/

Nash Ellis knows music. Producing, performing, writing—if it involves the creative process he’s there for it. He knows nothing about copy machines. Or financial reports. Or anything related to the stuck-up business world his best friends have been chasing since they were kids. But Nash also needs money, so when his roommate gets him a paid internship at Reedweather Media, he reluctantly agrees. At least his know-it-all intern competitor is kind of cute in a nerdy-librarian sort of way—especially when she’s being tormented by an angsty rocker she can’t stand.

The only thing Paige Andrews hates more than failure? Nash Ellis. She has little patience for incompetence and zero tolerance for indifference. He clearly doesn’t belong in their corporate world, so why does he insist on ruining her dream job? And the worst part—he’s not what he seems. In fact, it’s all the things he’s hiding behind those electric blue eyes that make him straight-up captivating in an ironic-slacker sort of way.

But their smoldering friction bursts into open flames when the feuding interns are forced into a high-stakes mission that requires intimate knowledge of the music industry. Yep, what could go wrong when the least-qualified candidate to ever walk the halls of a major corporation becomes their only hope of success?

'Play Smart' is a full-length contemporary romance and can be read as a standalone. Book #5 in the Work For It series, Educated Romance World, Penny Reid Book Universe.

MY REVIEW

Nash needs money for equipment so his roommie has set him up with this internship. Unfortunately, he's not really sure he's gonna cut it in this boring corporate world. To top it off, he's having to compete for the job with a woman who's his complete opposite. She's gorgeous, feisty, and smart, though, and working with her may end up being more fun than he had anticipated.

Paige desperately wants this job. So why does she have to compete, and work with, her new nemesis, a guy who seems so far from fit for the corporate world, that she cannot imagine why he's even here. He's clueless, he doesn't pay attention, and he doesn't seem like he wants to be here anymore than she wants him here. But when working together brings out a side of him she hadn't known existed, their attraction begs to be consummated.

Paige and Nash are so snarky and antagonistic and not doing a great job of masking their chemistry. I love the way they riffed off each other, but were definitely into each other. There's an element of emotional heaviness to their story, though, so it's not all fun and snark. Nash in particular, has a heavy backstory, and it really grounded the story, making it more well rounded than the average rivals/enemies to lovers. I haven't read the other stories in this series, but after having fallen in love with Nash and Paige, I am about to download all of them, and any that come after this one.