The Right Player

4.5 stars

This was my first Kandi Steiner book but it won't be my last. I loved Kandi's writing style and how she blended everything together.
I thoroughly enjoyed this story. It follows Makoa, a Polynesian football player, who is looking for love, and Belle, an interior designer, who has sworn off love and only wants to have fun. Together they are chef's kiss...if only he wasn't keeping a secret. I wanted to bash his head so many times, but he was such a good guy and it wasn't coming from a horrible place that I couldn't be mad at him. I spend so much time reading about the ‘bad guy' heroes that I forgot how freaking wonderful a good guy hero can be. But I've been reminded and it was brilliant. Belle, oh Belle, she was such a strong character, and I loved the way she owned her sexuality. We see male characters like it all the time so it was such a great change of pace to have a female character be the way shying away from relationships and enjoying having fun. She comes with some vulnerability, and I think that worked really well and made her so likeable. Another thing I loved about this book was the diversity, the way little things would happen or be included or said to include the Polynesian. Especially when it came to arranging his apartment—I was ready to move in! It's a true sports romance in that the sport plays a part, it's not just a passing thing that is mentioned.

I made the mistake of starting with book two. Although it is a standalone. I'm looking forward to going back and reading The Wrong Game and enjoying Gemma and Zach's story.