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The Players #3
The Gamble
Billionaire bachelor Drew Morgan has effectively managed to avoid responsibility his entire life, right up to the last ninety days which were spent in rehab, playing the game until he could be released. Afraid of dying sad and alone, he'd fought to stay numb and free of emotions, until he met Talia Bartek who made him want to embrace his feelings... and her.
As a sometimes blackjack dealer, Talia knew a little something about playing with the hand you're dealt in life. This DREAMer was brought to America as a child, but without the help of a lawyer, she could be sent back to Poland by the government.
For Talia, being Drew's sobriety coach could change her finances. For Drew, staying sober could change his life. Together they could have everything they've always wanted, but for one problem.
When you're down on your luck, love may be the biggest gamble of all.
As a sometimes blackjack dealer, Talia knew a little something about playing with the hand you're dealt in life. This DREAMer was brought to America as a child, but without the help of a lawyer, she could be sent back to Poland by the government.
For Talia, being Drew's sobriety coach could change her finances. For Drew, staying sober could change his life. Together they could have everything they've always wanted, but for one problem.
When you're down on your luck, love may be the biggest gamble of all.
112 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 28, 2017
About the author
Emma Nichols
85 books822 followersWhat made her decide to be an erotica author?
Simple.
How else was she going to parlay her two favorite past times into a career?
Emma is single and loving it. Like her first character, Alysin, Sin for short, she doesn't believe in settling or in settling down. She loves to indulge in her passions whenever the mood strikes and enjoys keeping all of life's cliche moments spicy.
Known for her sense of humor, Emma surrounds herself with friends whose antics often become the source of book fodder. Her ideal situation would be to explore the Caribbean while writing. She pursues that dream daily.
Simple.
How else was she going to parlay her two favorite past times into a career?
Emma is single and loving it. Like her first character, Alysin, Sin for short, she doesn't believe in settling or in settling down. She loves to indulge in her passions whenever the mood strikes and enjoys keeping all of life's cliche moments spicy.
Known for her sense of humor, Emma surrounds herself with friends whose antics often become the source of book fodder. Her ideal situation would be to explore the Caribbean while writing. She pursues that dream daily.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
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September 7, 2017Amazon Freebie today! 9.7.17
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December 11, 2017
Read this as part of an on-going project to help a friend develop a booklist for her group, Adult Children fo Parents with PTSD. In these three books, though, it is the men who are the victims of benign neglect.
Three obscenely wealthy men have been best friends since the cradle. The title of the series is "The Players" but none of them seem to be playboys. Two of them are quite hard workers, actually and the hero of The Bet, Ty, has been in a monogamous relationship for four years until he finds his live-in girlfriend getting it on with the pool boy. Yes, a cliche.
Ty's dad decides he wants to add a Las Vegas boutique hotel to his company's holdings. Ty works for his father, negotiating all the tricky buyouts. This is apparently quite kucrativeThe other two men decide to accompany Ty to Vegas for reasons I didn't quite understand. They make some sort of bet over a fancy car and who gets married. Ty meets Kate, the hotel owner's daughter and marries her before the weekend is over, despite the heart attack her dad just had.
Harry, hero of the Mark, is an independent filmmaker. I don't quite understand how he became filthy rich making indies, but he did. Harry's main occupation seems to be taking care of their other friend, Drew, who has a drinking problem. Harry meets Laney, the accountant reviewing the hotel's books and before the weekend is over they are living together in a house Harry bought so that together they could keep Drew sober. Harry is quite the enabler which Laney recognizes because her mom had a drinking problem and watched all of her mother's husbands enable her. So Laney knows all about enabling and she won't put up with it. Which begs the question why move in with Harry when she already knew he enabled Drew?
Drew is the hero of The Gamble and he has been in and out o rehab and also does drugs. Talia is a Dreamer, brought to the USA as a child from Poland, getting a Master's in Counseling but works two jobs as a cocktail waitress and a blackjack dealer, Since that is not the name of an actual degree in that field, I think Nichols needs to do some research. Her sister died in tragic circumstances causeing a terrible fatal car accident while driving under the infuence. Her parents enabled the sister so Talia knows all about it. Laney decides that before she will have Drew at her wedding to Harry, Ty needs to hire a sobriety coach. They decide $300,000.00 is fair pay and Takia, working the bar where they have this discussion volunteers because she is qualified. Not.
This author apparently knows nothing at all about alcoholism, drug addiction, sobriety coaches, Dreamers beyond what she might have gleaned from a cursory reading of the news or watching bad movies. It's a pity she didn't spend some time watching Elementary in its early years because she would have learned exactly what a sobriety coach might be like.
I also don't understand why these are three separate books when they should have just been one. The love stores are unconvincing. A waste of time.
Three obscenely wealthy men have been best friends since the cradle. The title of the series is "The Players" but none of them seem to be playboys. Two of them are quite hard workers, actually and the hero of The Bet, Ty, has been in a monogamous relationship for four years until he finds his live-in girlfriend getting it on with the pool boy. Yes, a cliche.
Ty's dad decides he wants to add a Las Vegas boutique hotel to his company's holdings. Ty works for his father, negotiating all the tricky buyouts. This is apparently quite kucrativeThe other two men decide to accompany Ty to Vegas for reasons I didn't quite understand. They make some sort of bet over a fancy car and who gets married. Ty meets Kate, the hotel owner's daughter and marries her before the weekend is over, despite the heart attack her dad just had.
Harry, hero of the Mark, is an independent filmmaker. I don't quite understand how he became filthy rich making indies, but he did. Harry's main occupation seems to be taking care of their other friend, Drew, who has a drinking problem. Harry meets Laney, the accountant reviewing the hotel's books and before the weekend is over they are living together in a house Harry bought so that together they could keep Drew sober. Harry is quite the enabler which Laney recognizes because her mom had a drinking problem and watched all of her mother's husbands enable her. So Laney knows all about enabling and she won't put up with it. Which begs the question why move in with Harry when she already knew he enabled Drew?
Drew is the hero of The Gamble and he has been in and out o rehab and also does drugs. Talia is a Dreamer, brought to the USA as a child from Poland, getting a Master's in Counseling but works two jobs as a cocktail waitress and a blackjack dealer, Since that is not the name of an actual degree in that field, I think Nichols needs to do some research. Her sister died in tragic circumstances causeing a terrible fatal car accident while driving under the infuence. Her parents enabled the sister so Talia knows all about it. Laney decides that before she will have Drew at her wedding to Harry, Ty needs to hire a sobriety coach. They decide $300,000.00 is fair pay and Takia, working the bar where they have this discussion volunteers because she is qualified. Not.
This author apparently knows nothing at all about alcoholism, drug addiction, sobriety coaches, Dreamers beyond what she might have gleaned from a cursory reading of the news or watching bad movies. It's a pity she didn't spend some time watching Elementary in its early years because she would have learned exactly what a sobriety coach might be like.
I also don't understand why these are three separate books when they should have just been one. The love stores are unconvincing. A waste of time.
September 10, 2017
It's the first time is so long that Drew is sober and clean. It's time to go back to life without the dependency of drugs and alcohol. Talia is his sobriety coach. She has demons of her own. She feels she couldn't save her sister maybe she can save Drew. It's not going to be easy but Drew has Talia right by his side the whole way. He will be tempted and he will be tested but with Talia by his side he feels her strength and support and maybe just maybe he can do this. His friends never gave up hope. They are there for him the whole way. They realized they couldn't give him the help he needed but that didn't mean that they would abandon him. You can understand why he was so dependent on the drugs and alcohol but Talia made him see that he didn't need them. As long as she was with him he could make it. A true survivor has to want to get better and want to do it for themselves. But a support system is so important. It makes you feel you are not alone. That is what Drew has with Talia, Ty and Harry. They will always be there for him.
September 13, 2017
In the very first book, Drew was one of my favorite characters. Book two made me doubt that he could be redeemed. And now I don't know which of the three 'players' is my favorite anymore. I knew it would take something of a miracle after Drew's behavior in the previous book and this seems to given me my miracle. There's no better recipient for the benefits of that divine intervention than Talia. With her great big heart and giving personality she deserves to have someone looking out for her best interests too. I'd like to see more of the two of them together to know for certain just how good Drew is going to be for her, but already she's doing amazing things with him. I adore how vulnerable and open Drew is becoming. All the ways he want to care for Talia and look out for her are completely swoon-worthy. I enjoyed this series so much, I'm not ready to say "good-bye" to it yet.
August 15, 2018
A delightful quick read - I'd bet on Talia and Drew
Having not read the previous stories in the series, this book stood well on its own. It tempted me to read the previous stories, without ever making me feel like I was missing out on something.
Talia is in a bind, she needs money for a lawyer, and has a college degree she isn't using. When she stumbles in to the chance to use her degree, earn money, and help someone who clearly needs it, she can't resist.
Drew treats life like a game... but Talia may be woman enough to get him to act like a grown up.
There's a lot in here about addiction and alcoholism, all worked smoothly in to the story, but for those looking for pure fun escapism reading, this one has some easy to relate to / understand real life overtones.
Having not read the previous stories in the series, this book stood well on its own. It tempted me to read the previous stories, without ever making me feel like I was missing out on something.
Talia is in a bind, she needs money for a lawyer, and has a college degree she isn't using. When she stumbles in to the chance to use her degree, earn money, and help someone who clearly needs it, she can't resist.
Drew treats life like a game... but Talia may be woman enough to get him to act like a grown up.
There's a lot in here about addiction and alcoholism, all worked smoothly in to the story, but for those looking for pure fun escapism reading, this one has some easy to relate to / understand real life overtones.
December 27, 2017
The third book in this series is the most heartfelt of the three. The story of Drew the billionaire drunk and Talia one of the Dreamers who's parents had entered America illegally. Talia is hired by Drew's friends to be a sobriety coach for a weekend for Drew. As soon as they meet the sparks fly with the attraction between them and the fact that Talia challenges Drew's actions and behaviours. This is another five star must read. Love this authors books.
November 6, 2017
I found this book unable to put down. It was a great story about the struggles of alcoholism and drugs. It showed both people who were affected both friends and family. It is great how a support system can both help or hinder a person with their demons. I look forward to reading more from Emma Nichols.
January 7, 2018
Good and quick
This book was a quick read. It started out kind of slow for me but quickly became a book that I simply could not put down!
This book was a quick read. It started out kind of slow for me but quickly became a book that I simply could not put down!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews