Jess's Reviews > Playmaker

Playmaker is book 3 in L.P. Dover's Breakaway Series and can be read as a stand alone, which I did.
Lacey and Maddox met in Vegas 2 years ago over spring break where they did a lot of drinking and , on a whim, got married one night.
While Lacey knew exactly who Maddox was, a cocky hockey player who women flocked to, he had no idea she was the sister of a teammate who didn't like him too well. He didn't even know her real name.
The morning after they were married, Maddox woke and found his room completely empty. No ring, no wedding certificate, no wife. Lacey ran because she didn't think she could trust Maddox because of who he was. She thought instead of waiting to get hurt she should bail to avoid the inevitable.
Flash forward to them both being in her brothers wedding and walking down the isle together. Again.
Maddox disappeared after a loss during the finals and, of course, after 2 years, Lacey was the only one who could get through to him. She sought him out, convinced him to not give up hockey and had unprotected sex with him. More than once.
I struggled with this one, especially Lacey. She was infuriating. She was constantly on and on about not trusting Maddox. But ALL the sex you have with him is unprotected? If I didn't trust a man, 1. I wouldn't be having sex with him. Period. 2. It would definitely be protected if I were idiot enough to get involved with him.
Yes, Maddox made some immature decisions to try to garner her attention prior to their reconnect. He was intentionally photographed with different women regularly in an attempt to make her jealous and come back to confront him.
She has NO valid argument to blame his 'untrustworthiness' on this. Lacey LEFT him. Without a trace and without even giving him her true identity.
In my opinion, if ANYONE is untrustworthy it's Lacey.
She ran, avoided all communication and shut Maddox out at any hit of confrontation.
She was the queen of hypocrisy. She wouldn't let Maddox have any opportunity to explain when witnessed in the company of another female but fought to keep her relationship with a man, who wanted to be more than friends and disliked Maddox, because this other man was her 'best friend'.
I truly felt sorry for Maddox, and he's the ONLY reason I finished this book.
He's got a terrible father who tries to live vicariously through him, ragging over every perceived mistake or shortcoming. A crazy wife with immature commitment issues who he has to walk eggshells to appease. And some pretty crappy friends who intentionally place him in compromising positions and LEAVE him there when they know he's committed to someone else.
He deserved so much better than the cards he was dealt. He truly had psychological trauma to not see his worth, and to think himself unworthy of Lacey.

I was provided a copy of this ARC by Loveswept and Netgalley for an honest review.