Drummer Bishop Riley suffers from anxiety when in large crowds; not a good predicament for one of the stars from the world hottest rock band. To ease his tension, Bishop began popping pills to take the edge off. After overdosing on drugs, he is given an ultimatum by his mom and manager. Go to Seldon, Alaska and clean up or he out of the band.

Penny Jones is the only female playing on her high school hockey team. She has received abundant women’s hockey scholarship offers. Everyone is pressuring her to leave Alaska to attend one of the numerous schools in the country. No one seems to understand that she loves Alaska and playing for the men's team.

I LOVE this book! Okay, first off, I admit I am a bit biased because my son plays drums and plays hockey so both subject matters are very near and dear in my heart. That being said, Jolene Perry and Nyrae Dawn did an excellent job describing how those two activities make the characters feel.

Perry and Dawn did such an incredible job describing what Bishop and Penny were going through in their heads. The reader really feels what the characters are experiencing: their pitfalls and growths. Out of Play is very well-written and believable.

I think part of the appeal of the story is that it is written in a two-person point of view so the reader has a lot of insight into Bishop and Penny, feeling their emotions. I highly recommend Out of Play. It is a truly wonderful book.

ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. ( )

I love girl who have snarky attitude and smart words. I adore girls who re-define who they are. This story is exquisite.

Plot: You have this girl, Penny who plays a tough game both on and off the field of ice hockey. She doesn’t let anyone be soft on her. Then Riley comes along. A smart kid who has geared off the path into hard times. Putting this two together is a smart choice for an excellent read. I can’t begin to tell you how much I enjoyed reading it. The plot flowed well with significant amount of memories that lay down the foundation for love and friendship. It’s easy to get lots in the book and find yourself among a couple who learns to fight for each other and love they never have before.

Love: Putting these two together has got to be the funniest thing ever. You can’t even imagine how much I snorted, sighed and of course laughed my butt off. Every line of sarcasm that Penny delivers to Riley just amped up the romantic tension between the two. And when they slowly let down their walls down and became friends ….Now that is beautiful.

Past: If you don’t deal with your broken past it will come back to bite you. In this case, both Penny and Riley deal with past hurt. Both past is what I expected it to be, its how they dealt with it that really ticked me off. I’m glad that even with the past coming back to them, its good to see them work through it together…..eventually.

Verdict? AWESOME! AMAZING! SUBLIME!

It’s takes a path created by two authors, to readers who yearn for a romantic yet fulfilling love. Accomplishing drama with cheeky sarcasm enough to make you snort, Out Of Play connects with readers with sentimentality and friendship. A collaborative duo, clever in capturing a great story, Out Of Play is full of WIN! ( )

Riley Bishop is the hot young drum player in the famous band Burn. After too much pills and booze land him in the hospital, his mom and manger decide intervention is necessary and Bishop winds up finding himself in the middle of nowhere "Seldon Alaska," being babysat by his manger's brother Gary. Eighteen-year-old Penny Jones is a senior in high school and the only girl on an all-male hockey team. Penny is also one of the best players on the team and can go head-to-head with any guy out there. In fact, she has offers from many, many colleges trying to enlist her to play on their women's hockey teams. Penny and her mom also own the campground that Bishop is renting. Bishop is hot, very hot, has the whole rock star vibe thing going on, though he is trying to disguise it so no one will recognize him. He's cocky and a little grumpy, with tattoos and a lip ring. You'd think he was confident and arrogant, but inside, he is really unsure of himself and suffers from anxiety, and Penny, well he thinks she is way out of his element. Penny is tall, blonde, really pretty, really tough, strong, and confident...at least with pretty much everything except guys. It's in that area, she feels very unsure of herself.

When Bishop and Penny meet, they butt heads pretty much, but the spark and chemistry between them is something they can't deny. I enjoyed watching the romance develop between them. Bishop begins to learn a lot about himself, his denial, and as his desire to finally do better, but after Penny reveals some things about her past to Bishop, will it be too little to late. Just when it seems like things are coming together, tragedy strikes and changes everything. As time passes and they recover, they both have to make choices regarding their futures, deciding what is best for each of them, what it is going to take to get there, what they are willing to give, what they are willing to give up, how much they can forgive, and mostly, if love is enough to bring them together again.

I totally loved Out of Play. It is told from from both Penny and Bishop's alternating POV's.. I just totally fell in love with Bishop. He was funny, he could be a jerk, but I loved getting inside his head and getting to know him, and I just wanted to help him get better. Penny is great to. She has a temper and she has issues, but she is really a great girl. The secondary characters were all fun to get to know to. My favorite was Penny's grandfather, who they affectionately refer to as Gramps. He was a hoot. The story kept my interest from beginning to end, and though there were some really serious, sad, and painful things dealt with, they were perfectly balanced with humor, romance, and fun things. I loved the Alaskan setting also. Overall, Out of Play is a great story that I thoroughly enjoyed and most definitely would recommend. ( )