'The Quiet Game' is an utterly entertaining, very funny book with an interesting message, especially in todays' very loud, very cluttered world. It is a story with a slight mystery, and I found myself pulled into it right alongside Rhys, the main character who tells the story. The fact that one of the main characters, and Rhys's romantic interest, at that, doesn’t even speak as they get acquainted required some very clever writing to make it work, and I think Willa Okati succeeded very well.

Rhys is a waiter and bartender at a well-known restaurant, an incurable flirt, and likes manipulating people into giving him what he wants. He looks at his two friends who run the restaurant, and sort of wants what they have, but cannot imagine being happy with the same man year after year. Commitment-phobic to the extreme, he skips through life with a smile on his face and never really goes deeper than necessary.

Jareth is a man of no words at all, but he manages to attract Rhys's attention. His behavior Is extremely intriguing, after all, who goes through life without speaking? Not because he can’t – but because he chooses not to? I followed the unfolding mystery with rapt attention, laughed out loud several times, and hoped, just like Rhys, that Jareth would finally, finally open his mouth and speak.

If you like unusual and very creative stories that turn the "traditional" beginning of a romance almost on its head, if you enjoy reading about two men who enact a beautiful dance of seduction before a very passionate consummation, and if you're looking for a read that will keep you entertained, the you will probably like this short novella.


NOTE: This book was provided by Pride Publishing for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews. ( )