Playing with Sunlight

by Marishka Grayson

A single-minded quest for love, or merely heated obsession? A chance meeting with a handsome stranger plunges recent graduate Ava Polovec into the world of the ultra-rich. A place where life is a game and rules seem superfluous.

Her studies can wait. Her real life is on hold. Because she needs to follow her heart and the man she craves.

Ava’s erotic awakening takes her on a journey of sensual exploration she never imagined existed, but as she becomes entangled in this sumptuous sphere filled with frenzied desire and continuous gratification, she realizes there is a price to be paid. Still young and feeling vulnerable, is she forced to remain a pawn or can she become a player?

243 pages, Paperback

Published January 11, 2017

About the author

I write books that I've always wanted to read. They're complex, filled with symbolism and bizarre characters, but in the end, they're entertaining, and very brazenly so...

My stories are dark, steamy fantasy infused with elements of fairy tales, historical fiction, science fiction and classical gothic literature. It’s unusual, but I think once you get a taste for it, you’ll enjoy the wildness of exploring something different with me.

Reviews

[Marishka Grayson]

My first foray into writing. I just re-read it and liked some things and not others. In this story, there are hints of a darker past between the two men and an unresolved, perhaps erotic conflict, but I don't flesh them out until book 2. In retrospect, re-reading this one, I certainly prefer more action and a little more purpose to my writing than in this early piece. I wrote it as a billionaire romance, but I don't think that's my genre.

I obviously enjoy writing about nature since I spend a whole chapter about a trip into the Steppes which...well, that could have been shortened! The sexy parts are fun, but all in all I would say this book was a modest attempt. But even here, I can see certain themes emerging that I pursue in my later books—dominance and manipulation, iterations of lust, glamor and wealth often masking a deeper, darker existence. I write about that love that's more complex than it probably should be, fueled by obsession. Not satisfied with the mundane, I delve into superhuman and later supernatural beings in subsequent books, whose exploits are even more extreme than Gavril or Simon's.

[Theresa Wade · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book I have read by the author Marishka Grayson. I had some mix feelings on the rating. I would give this 3.7/4.0.

The writing was pretty smooth and kept my focus. The story is fairly developed but I felt there were a few holes or unresolved sub plots. I felt Ava's character was complex. She seem to be an independent woman but she gave in because she was vulnerable and insecure. I am assuming this was the intention of the author for this story. I am not a fan of erotic romance stories. This did have the right amount of sexual encounters with an actual storyline. It is worth reading.