Review: Dirty Games by Michelle Valentine

Rating: 2.5/5
Series: Florida Devils Book 1
Tropes: football, roommates, close proximity, Floof in charge, Forbidden,

This was my first time reading a book by the author. I came across their tiktoks and thought I would give it a try.

The book itself was ok. it was well edited and the writing was ok. My struggle comes in with the story development. It had a few pacing issues. The story felt flat and lacked creativity.

I really wanted to see more of the hero Zayn fighting his attraction to the heroine. I love the idea of this story the idea that Zayn is forbidden from dating by his team due to some past issues. Vivi being the Ex-girlfriend of his nephew adds another layer but at the end of the day it wasn’t enough to carry the story. Both had some baggage in their past that also led to the possibility of some great character arcs but it was mentioned in passing and we really never got the deep knowledge of their internal struggle. I really just wanted more from the characters. I love a character driven story and there were so many almost in this book but a the end it just doesn’t meet the mark.

My other gripe is that nowhere, I mean Nowhere in the description does this book warn it ends on a cliffhanger. That the story is a duet or trilogy story. As I neared the end of the story and realized things where not coming together and it just abruptly ends. In all honestly I would not have picked up the story until it was complete. When I pick up a book thinking it is going to be a full Book and it ends on a cliffhanger that does not make me want to read the next book. Instead for this read it is annoying. It explains why I had such issues with the lack of character development. The story was only half there.

Because of the pacing issue and the story not really having the footing I felt it needed to draw me in to book two. I went looking to see this was the authors first book, it was not. She does have backlist. I might have felt differently had the book been complete or titled so that I knew it was a multi-book story.

Overall I am not sure I will be back to read the next part. I am not sure I recommend this title.