Madison Stevens has had a shitty life, her mother died at the age four and her father has always blamed her for it. She went through the foster system and is now attending college. Her boyfriend Chris is not willing to share Madison with anyone, not even her friends. Her first day at college she meets Carter James, who makes her want everything she never thought she could have. She knows that she should ignore her feelings for Carter, but it's not as easy as it sounds.
As Carter and Madison begin to fall in love, they face many obstacles. Their biggest one is Chris who is not going to let her go easily.
Playing with Fire will be the first book in a three book series. It is about the obstacles that stand in your way on the path to love. It tests the characters strength and commitment to each other on every level from old boyfriend/girlfriends, to insecurities, and throws a little violence and scheming into the mix.
"Chris was like fire. It was pretty to look at but if you got too close you got burnt, and if it wasn’t controlled it would destroy everything in its path. Doing what I was about to do with Carter was dangerous, but what can I say I never had parents to warn me not to play with fire."
4 Star Review by Lisa Kane
Madison has lived most of her life in the foster care system. On her 4th birthday her mother ran out to pick up her birthday cake and was killed by a drunk driver. Her father blamed her for the accident and became an alcoholic. She was removed for her home and moved from foster home to foster home. Often abused she developed a severe case of low self- esteem. While in high school she met Chris and has remained his girlfriend ever since.
She won a scholarship to Duke (and accepted because that is where Chris goes to school). Over the years, she has conditioned herself into believing that Chris may abuse her but no one else would put up with the excessive baggage she carries. So if he hits her or browbeats her, he is better than having no one in her life.
She meets Carter her first day of classes and instantly feels something for him. The two have a few classes together and spend a little time with each other. Chris comes across the two and quickly lets it be known that Madison is his and Carter needs to butt out. Carter has seen Chris around at parties and knows he treated girls in a bad way. He suspects he may be doing the same with Madison.
Chris beat Madison in retaliation for her being with Carter and Madison avoids Carter after that. Carter can’t get her off his mind, and tries to get her to spend some time with him. They end up on a project together and Madison sneaks around, hoping Chris won’t find out. She is developing feelings for him but is trying to fight them. Carter is already head over heels for her so it’s too late for him to hit the brakes. At Thanksgiving, Chris goes home without Madison (he tells her it is for family only and she isn’t family-I found that strange as they have been dating for a number of years-wouldn’t his family expect to see her?). Carter finds out she is going to be alone and invites her to his family’s for the long weekend.
This time together cements their relationship and Madison is determined to break things off with Chris when she goes back to school. But Chris has other ideas….
I enjoyed this book, I found myself so frustrated with Madison, with Carter’s support I was hoping that she would find the strength to get out of that relationship. How I hated that slime ball Chris!
I did think that Madison’s harsh past was a little exaggerated; she had never eaten at a restaurant (other than a Chilli’s one time)or had never celebrated her birthday since her mother died. She didn’t work even a part time job or ever showed any attempt at independence. The plot towards the end takes a lot of paths and then…I had no idea this had such a wide open gapped cliffhanger. If you can get over that and be patient, then you should be fine reading this one.
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Thanks for sharing your review and the giveaway. Sounds great!
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