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A review by lenoreo
The Player and the Pixie by Penny Reid, L.H. Cosway
4.0
https://celebrityreaders.com/2022/01/09/the-player-and-the-pixie-by-l-h-cosway-penny-reid/
4.5 stars — Well, to say this book surprised me would be an understatement.
I did *NOT* like Sean for the first little bit of the book. I mean, I wasn’t supposed to, but I know some readers enjoy jerks more than others…I tend to have little patience for them. And Sean was a D I C K. He was insensitive, out of touch, jealous, petty…like, I could go on. He even had little minor quirks that are on my list of “meh” (like being materialistic and snobby). AND YET. I came to love him. I don’t even know what to do with myself, I’m so confused. Because he didn’t magically transform into another person and this was all a misunderstanding or something. Nope, he was still a lot of those things. But a) we learned about his past and how he grew up, and how that influenced his behavior; and b) he, albeit reluctantly in most cases, grew throughout the book. He finally found someone who took the time to see past the surface stuff of him, and demand better from him. And so, for once in his life, he tried. And it wasn’t without pitfalls, but it was so fucking endearing I can’t even. Like, I’m beside myself. But there it is. I’m a fan.
Lucy, on the other hand, I adored practically from the first page (possibly the first page, I can’t remember). She was quirky…but like, quirky like I’m quirky — where you still feel all the judgements and the pressures about who you should be, but you can’t stop being your weird self, and deep down you love your weird self. And thus, I loved Lucy. (*snort*, that was an accident, I didn’t mean to do that, but I’m keeping it. ANYWAYS.) Her heart was so big. I loved the way she took time with the people she met to not just jump to conclusions. She wasn’t a doormat about it, but she didn’t allow her preconceived notions to prevent her from changing her opinion.
I felt for what she struggled with with her family. Her Mam was…*sigh* Not great. And having her anxiety manifest in a shoplifting compulsion was really interesting. And then there was the dilemma with her brother. I wanted her to say “fuck him!”, but I totally got why it was more complicated than that. Sometimes she drove me insane with her back and forth with Sean, and her reticence, but I still *got it*. I just didn’t want to get it.
They were so strange and adorable with one another. I loved the way they connected, and how they couldn’t resist the pull. I loved their chemistry, and the ups and downs of their sexual relationship. I could read a whole book length epilogue of them, because I loved seeing them happy together.
And now that I finished this series in the most unconventional order (1, 4, 3, 2), I kind of want to reread 3 and 4 now. 1 was definitely my least favourite, but I’m kind of intrigued by Eilish and Bryan again, now that I’ve seen them from a different direction.
Also, Broderick was da bomb, and now I want his book…especially after the Songbird novella.
So yeah. Gotta love when a book turns you on your head and sets you back down and you have to digest.
4.5 stars — Well, to say this book surprised me would be an understatement.
I did *NOT* like Sean for the first little bit of the book. I mean, I wasn’t supposed to, but I know some readers enjoy jerks more than others…I tend to have little patience for them. And Sean was a D I C K. He was insensitive, out of touch, jealous, petty…like, I could go on. He even had little minor quirks that are on my list of “meh” (like being materialistic and snobby). AND YET. I came to love him. I don’t even know what to do with myself, I’m so confused. Because he didn’t magically transform into another person and this was all a misunderstanding or something. Nope, he was still a lot of those things. But a) we learned about his past and how he grew up, and how that influenced his behavior; and b) he, albeit reluctantly in most cases, grew throughout the book. He finally found someone who took the time to see past the surface stuff of him, and demand better from him. And so, for once in his life, he tried. And it wasn’t without pitfalls, but it was so fucking endearing I can’t even. Like, I’m beside myself. But there it is. I’m a fan.
Lucy, on the other hand, I adored practically from the first page (possibly the first page, I can’t remember). She was quirky…but like, quirky like I’m quirky — where you still feel all the judgements and the pressures about who you should be, but you can’t stop being your weird self, and deep down you love your weird self. And thus, I loved Lucy. (*snort*, that was an accident, I didn’t mean to do that, but I’m keeping it. ANYWAYS.) Her heart was so big. I loved the way she took time with the people she met to not just jump to conclusions. She wasn’t a doormat about it, but she didn’t allow her preconceived notions to prevent her from changing her opinion.
I felt for what she struggled with with her family. Her Mam was…*sigh* Not great. And having her anxiety manifest in a shoplifting compulsion was really interesting. And then there was the dilemma with her brother. I wanted her to say “fuck him!”, but I totally got why it was more complicated than that. Sometimes she drove me insane with her back and forth with Sean, and her reticence, but I still *got it*. I just didn’t want to get it.
They were so strange and adorable with one another. I loved the way they connected, and how they couldn’t resist the pull. I loved their chemistry, and the ups and downs of their sexual relationship. I could read a whole book length epilogue of them, because I loved seeing them happy together.
And now that I finished this series in the most unconventional order (1, 4, 3, 2), I kind of want to reread 3 and 4 now. 1 was definitely my least favourite, but I’m kind of intrigued by Eilish and Bryan again, now that I’ve seen them from a different direction.
Also, Broderick was da bomb, and now I want his book…especially after the Songbird novella.
So yeah. Gotta love when a book turns you on your head and sets you back down and you have to digest.