Tag: vi keeland
✍🏻 Professor Romance’s 5 ⭐️ Review: Vi Keeland’s The Game, a Playing for Keeps novel ✍🏻

Overall Grade: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Tropes: insta-attraction; boss/player; found family; wealthy hero; sports romance
I was reading another book, and I needed a break from it. It was moving too slowly, and I was curious about Vi Keeland’s The Game. What I found was a one-day read that was engrossing and entertaining. I love how Vi Keeland throws “curve balls” in her stories. You begin her romances, and the MMC and FMC find their harmony fairly easily. But looks are deceiving, and before you know it, life has handed them lemons. How they turn that into the best of lemonade is Keeland’s superpower.
What did I love about this story?
- I’m a fiend for MMCs who are tenacious in pursuing the reticent FMC. Christian Knox talks dirty and doesn’t hold back his interest in Bella Keating. It doesn’t matter that she’s his boss (although Keeland handles this plot detail easily). It doesn’t matter that she tells him “no” several times. He simply wants her, and he recognizes she’s exactly what he’s looking for in a relationship. He’s protective, flirty, and swoony.
- Bella Keating makes Christian work for her adoration. It doesn’t take much to be honest. He shows up for her over and over again. However, it’s her character development that draws you to her. She’s ambitious, intelligent (this is my favorite part of her character), and integrous. You cannot help but fall for her as Christian does. It’s natural for Christian and Bella to connect, as he is protective of her compassionate soul.
- The curveball of Keeland’s plot, I think, is foreshadowed, but still takes you by surprise. This is my favorite part of a Vi Keeland romance. She gifts you a story that you don’t expect. And this one is good. In fact, it was the story development that left me engrossed in The Game.
- The ancillary characters of this romance simply add a bit more dimension to the story. From Miller to Talia to Jake, Christian’s twin, Christian and Bella are surrounded by interesting characters who help guide their journey. Even her evil half-sisters add some necessary tension to the story arc.
I simply loved Vi Keeland’s The Game. From the moment I jumped into Chapter 1, I hated to step away from the story, even to go back to the one I was reading as I started Keeland’s. In fact, I finished this one before returning to the former. The Game is a top January read for me.
In love and romance,
Professor A