Author: Monica Murphy
Genre: Romance, New Adult
Published on: May 12, 2015 by Monica Murphy
When your boyfriend bets YOU in a poker game, you better know when to run…
Bad enough Jade Frost’s boyfriend drags her to a boring poker game. Even worse that he actually threw her into the betting pot during an intense round…and lost. Talk about the perfect excuse for Jade to make him her ex-boyfriend.
Now she supposedly belongs to the ultra rich, extremely gorgeous Shep Prescott. He could have anything he wants yet he seems to be in hot pursuit of her. No matter how rude, how snarky, how impossible she acts, it doesn’t stop him. More like her horrible behavior seems to make him want her more.
When she finds herself starting to fall for him, Jade’s confused. There’s more to Shep than the carefree rich charmer he portrays. No way could he want a serious relationship with her…or could he?
This is one of those books in which the premise drew my interest. It sounded like it would be an entertaining read. Fair Game has two protagonists, Jade Frost and Shepard “Shep” Prescott. The story is written in first-person POV, alternating between their perspectives. Jade and Shepard meet under unusual circumstances. Jade is with her boyfriend, Joel. He’s playing blackjack against Shepard at the latter’s clandestine gambling house. When it seems like Joel may have a winning hand, Shepard makes a bet. If Joel wins, he’ll get fifty thousand dollars. But if Shepard wins, he’ll get Jade.
That surprising bet made me intrigued to find out what happens after. Why would Shepard want a girl he doesn’t even know? He’s been watching Jade all night using a mirror meant to catch cheaters. Something about her intrigued Shepard. You can guess how the bet turns out: Shepard wins Jade. She’s irritated about it and storms off. Jade is fully aware of Shepard’s playboy reputation. He’s a one-and-done kind of guy. Not to mention Jade dislikes his pretentious-sounding trust-fund-baby name. I kind of agree with her. Names hardly get any more preppy than Shepard Prescott.
Shepard doesn’t give up on Jade easily. They both attend the same college, so crossing paths isn’t difficult. At first, Shepard only cares about Jade honoring the bet he made. He claims to have won her fair and square. Jade won’t have any of it, though Shepard still intrigues her. She’s attracted to him, which she’s not prepared to admit. Shepard gets through Jade’s defenses little by little. This surprises even him, as he’s never pursued a girl that way before.
Although Jade and Shepard’s romance has prominence, it doesn’t eclipse most of the supporting characters. Jade has a roommate and best friend, Kelli. She has a boyfriend, Dane. He happens to be best friends with Joel, Jade’s ex-boyfriend. Dane is barely more than a cardboard cutout, though. Kelli’s role, in contrast, is big enough for the reader to get a sense of what she’s about. As for Shepard, he has a best friend, Gabriel Walker, and a cousin, Tristan. They’re pretty much the same: love ‘em and leave ‘em kind of guys. Their main concern is to have fun, because after graduation they’ll have to be serious adults. Gabriel and Tristan also help Shepard run his gambling house.
Fair Game was a good, interesting romance novel. I think I liked it more the second time I read it. Jade Frost is a likable romantic interest. She’s a responsible student but not overly so. And though Jade keeps having mixed feelings about Shepard, it doesn’t mean she’s dumb or doesn’t care about her image. Jade also has…insecurity issues when it comes to romance. Shepard, bad boy though he may be, helps her be more confident in herself. Yes, this means the sexual content in Fair Game is more than moderate. The scenes are tasteful, though. This was good for me, otherwise it’d be much harder to admit I read this book. I don’t read overly raunchy stuff, and gladly, Fair Game is not it despite what the second-edition cover art may suggest*.
*UPDATE 2021: I'm really not happy the cover art was changed. The previous one was good enough! Now the updated cover is yet another shirtless dude. I do not read novels with such covers. Bummer that I like Fair Game a lot. It's one of my favorite romance novels. I'll get the paperback version while there are still copies; they still have the old cover art.
My rating: ★★★★ 1/2
4.5 stars - A fantastic page-turner!
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