Enter Jim and Roddy, two older boys from Scotland on a trek across the US. They happen to stop in Nora's town, and Jim and Nora hit it off right away. Sparks fly between the two and before she know's it Nora finds herself running away to Scotland to get married. Fast forward 3 years, Nora again finds herself dreaming of things she wants but blocked by lack of finances and a husband who wants to keep her all to himself. Once again ready to take charge of her life, Nora again finds her life rocked by an unexpected tragedy. In an attempt to rid herself of the guilt she feels for not loving Jim enough before his sudden death, Nora finds herself volunteering at a local hospital acting out children's books to the sick kids who are being treated there. Dressed as Peter Pan, she finds herself not only acting out her dreams but face to face with Aidan another dreamy Scot. Nora and Aidan have crossed paths before, but Nora was a married woman at the time, and Aidan was just a passing stranger. Aidan is the uncle to one of the kids in the reading group Nora meets with, and he is quickly as enamored with Nora as his niece is. Aidan and Nora have both had a tough go at life, and they find themselves quickly bonding over their painful pasts.
Things seem to be going well for the couple, when a tragic miscommunication occurs and they are broken apart when they need each other the most. Nora uses this heartbreaking moment in her life to finally go back to school and explore acting. She goes on a journey of self discovery and finds herself on her own, which is something she was never able to do as a teen or as a newlywed. Then the couple is reunited and all kinds of sparks fly.
I really loved this book. My heart ached for both characters and their back stories. I think Nora's story of self discovery is so easy to relate to. If you've lost a loved one, or taken care of a sick loved one, or even just had to put something you wanted to do on hold because of life getting in the way for some reason, you can relate to her story. I really love that she finally went back and sought out her dreams and she never gave up. I also really liked that I got a sense of closure from the characters. I wasn't left wondering "whatever happened with this plot line?" at the end of the book. The author did a great job shutting all of those outstanding story lines down and bringing a sense of peace to the characters, atleast for me.
Keep reading for an exerpt of PLAY ON.
Finding my Zen, however, was proving more difficult than I’d thought. I was a bundle of confused feelings. At war with myself.
So it wasn’t any wonder I reacted the exact opposite of how I’d hoped when Aidan finally confronted me in private.
Having to meet up with another student to work on an assignment we had for a tutorial, I hadn’t seen any point in heading home to Sighthill only to have to return to Tollcross for rehearsal. I’d grabbed a salad from a shop on Potterrow, and walked to the theater. I was ninety minutes early so no one was there. Thankfully, Quentin was usually at the theater during the day so the doors were open. When I got inside the auditorium, however, it was pitch black.
“Quentin?” I called out. “Are you here?”
My voice echoed.
Nothing.
“Anyone?”
But the silence told me I was alone. I wondered if Quentin had accidentally left the theater unlocked. I’d need to let him know.
Switching on the stage lights to make me not feel like I was about to become part of a horror movie, I found my way into an empty dressing room.
Eating my salad, I worked on a paper, waiting for the minutes to tick by.
A noise far off in the distance made me still like a rabbit caught in headlights. I cocked my head, listening, and sure enough, footsteps approached. Blood rushed in my ears as my pulse raced. I then cursed myself for being freaked out when it was obviously a cast member who was—I glanced at my watch—an hour early.
I waited, and the dressing room door I had left slightly ajar squeaked open.
My breath caught at the sight of Aidan filling the doorway.
He crossed his arms and his ankles and leaned against the jamb, staring at me dispassionately.
All I could do was stare back, my emotions whirling in a mess of feelings, like a tornado, with no thought to what it was sucking up into its wind funnel. “What are you doing here?” I finally said, my voice hoarse.
“I was sitting in the coffee shop across the way and I saw you come in.”
“You followed me?”
“I argued with myself about it for a while. But aye.”
Adrenaline coursed through me and made my hands shake. I curled them into fists and hoped I looked back at him with as much boredom as he was bestowing upon me. “Why?”
“Curiosity.” He shrugged.
“Curiosity?”
“Were you always such a heartless robot and I was just too fucking blind to see it?”
I flinched, knowing this was the moment I should tell him that Laine had lied to me. But I couldn’t get the words out. I wanted to and I didn’t want to.
So fear of him hating me and fear of him loving me left me in some kind of exasperated, frustrated no-man’s land. I shot to my feet. “If you came here to use me as your emotional punching bag, you can leave,” I hissed.
His eyes flashed and he pushed off the jamb, coming into the room. For the first time, I hated that I had to tip my head back to look up at him. “Not before I tell you what I really think of you, Nora, instead of hiding it behind the subterfuge of giving a fuck what happens with this play.”
“Aidan—”
“You are the biggest coward I’ve ever met in my life. You’re weak and emotionally defunct. What’s worse is how fucking manipulative you are—”
“Aidan—”
“I’ve never met anyone who had me so fucking fooled!” His chest heaved as his cool fled in the wake of his rage. “You lied and strung me along, fled when the going got tough, not once but goddamn twice, and I’m the idiot who let you do that to me.”
“Aidan—”
“But rest assured, Nora, you are the last woman who is ever going to make a fool out of me. I see you now. Who you really are. A fucked-up, selfish, self-involved, immature little—”
Whatever horrible thing he was going to call me next, I swallowed it in my kiss. Unable to bear his contempt any longer, but not knowing how to make it stop, I went with my gut.
And my gut told him to grab his T-shirt in my fists and use it to haul him down to my mouth.
What a mistake.
Because I remembered him now.
I remembered how beautiful he felt.
So when his hands gripped my forearms and tried to pry me off, I let him, only to slide my arms around his neck and cling on tighter, kissing him in desperation.
He grunted and grabbed my arms again and just as I feared he would shove me away, he broke. Aidan jerked me closer, his mouth opening under mine, his tongue searching for my tongue.
Quite abruptly, he was in charge.
Samantha Young is the New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of adult contemporary romances, including the On Dublin Street series and Hero, as well as the New Adult duology Into the Deep and Out of the Shallows. Every Little Thing, the second book in her new Hart’s Boardwalk series, will be published by Berkley in March 2017. Before turning to contemporary fiction, she wrote several young adult paranormal and fantasy series, including the amazon bestselling Tale of Lunarmorte trilogy. Samantha’s debut YA contemporary novel The Impossible Vastness of Us was published by Harlequin TEEN in ebook & hardback June 2017. Play On is an adult contemporary romance and the first in a brand new series set in Scotland.
Samantha has been nominated for the Goodreads Choice Award 2012 for Best Author and Best Romance for On Dublin Street, Best Romance 2014 for Before Jamaica Lane, and Best Romance 2015 for Hero. On Dublin Street, a #1 bestseller in Germany, was the Bronze Award Winner in the LeserPreis German Readers Choice Awards for Best Romance 2013, Before Jamaica Lane the Gold Medal Winner for the LeserPreis German Readers Choice Awards for Best Romance 2014 and Echoes of Scotland Street the Bronze Medal Winner for the LeserPreis German Readers Choice Awards for Best Romance 2015.
Samantha is currently published in 30 countries and is a #1 international bestselling author.
Charm (A Cinderella reverse fairytale) by J.A. Armitage
