PLAY FAIR is Book is Book 3 in L.P. Maxa's "Devil's Share" series. One by one the hard rocking guys of the band The Devil's Share have succumbed to love. While still retaining a little bit of rock star edge, PLAY FAIR opens with the band members and their girlfriends, and dog, forming the perfect picture of domesticity. Things are thrown into a bit of a whirlwind when Jackson "Jacks" Cole discovers he has a daughter. At first glance, a rock star might not seem like everybody's first candidate for a devoted family man, but this tight knit Devil's Share crew proves to be the family young Landry needs.

There are two major things going on in PLAY FAIR -- Jacks discovering, and then learning how to bond with, his little girl and Jacks' falling in love with his best friend Bryan. Both stories snag your interest and are entertaining. I love that Jacks and Bryan have a lot of similarities and were long distance text buddies before taking their relationship to the next level. Their interactions with each other seem so organic and fun. It's interesting that Bryan's sister seems to be more protective of Jacks than her sister. Usually it's a sibling warning a big bad rock star away from their sister rather than the reverse. I really like how PLAY FAIR is told from alternating perspectives -- even including the perspective of little Landry.

The tender moments with Jacks and Bryan acting as father and mother to Landry act as a nice counterpoint to the sexual tension between the two friends. PLAY FAIR is another book in a long line of my favorite stories in which the hero pursues the heroine. Bryan leaves Jacks a little befuddled at times, but it's fun watching them try to work things out together and support each other. The threat of Landry possibly being taken away by her absentee mom gives the story a kick in the middle of Jacks' and Bryan's love haze. Both Jacks and Bryan grow over the course of PLAY FAIR and I really like both characters.

PLAY FAIR is a story about realizing what's important in life and finding love with your best friend. L.P. Maxa does a great job of balancing humor, sexual sizzle, and the feeling of family. These characters feel like old friends that you get to re-connect with every time you pick up one of the books in this "Devil's Share" series. L.P. Maxa slowly develops these characters throughout the series and has them show their hidden depths. Reading about Jacks forge a new family will make you smile and swoon. I look forward to L.P. Maxa's next book.

Book Summary

Guitarist of the world-famous rock band The Devil’s Share, no one would expect Jackson Cole to have a best friend who’s a girl, but his relationship with Bryan Lawson is too special to endanger with sex…until a different girl—the waifish nine-year-old who claims he’s her father—makes Jacks realize all that truly matters.

WILD. RECKLESS. IRRESPONSIBLE. A FATHER?

Jackson Cole has been called many things: immature, irresponsible, sexy as hell. But one thing he’s never been called is “Dad”—until Child Services shows up on his doorstep with a waifish nine-year-old claiming he’s the father. What’s a rock star to do? Call your best friend, who just happens to be super hot, funny, and even more commitment-phobic than you, and beg her to help. Of course, now that his friend is living in the same house, Jacks is finding it harder and harder to keep his hands to himself.

Bryan Lawson never expected to become pals with a charming, hilarious, breathtakingly handsome rock star, but after they met backstage at one of Jacks’s concerts, she couldn’t stop texting him. He’s just the sort of person she could imagine being with forever, except that, try as she might, she’s never managed to stay interested in a relationship for more than three months. Now that Jacks is a dad, the stakes are much higher. A breakup wouldn’t just ruin their friendship, it would destroy a little girl who’s just learning to love. But maybe also the game has changed.

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