Review – Hearts at Play by Melissa Foster

Posted February 5, 2022 by Carole in Reviews / 5 Comments

I received this book for free from the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Review – Hearts at Play by Melissa FosterHearts at Play by Melissa Foster
Series: Love in Bloom #9
Published by Melissa Foster on May 5, 2015
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Contemporary
Length: 9 hours 53 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Author
Goodreads
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four-stars

Brianna Heart has a six-year-old daughter and a twelve-year plan to keep her life as simple as possible until Layla turns eighteen. That means swearing off relationships and the drama that goes along with them, working two jobs, and being the best damn mother she can be.

The last thing Capital Series Grand Prix racer Hugh Braden wants after dating media-hungry leggy models and money-hungry fan girls is a blind date. But how could he turn down a favor to one of his best friends? Hugh expected the date to go poorly, but he didn't expect to be intensely attracted to the beautiful brown-eyed bartender who completely blows him off--and steals his every thought thereafter.

When Brianna's perfectly orchestrated life turns upside down, Hugh is there to help, softening the turmoil, and maybe even rescuing her heart from the lonely place where it has been hiding. Can a man who doesn't believe in fate and a woman who doesn't believe in true love find happiness in each other's arms forever?

I liked this one quite a bit. I have slowly been working my way through Melissa Foster’s backlist and have recently been enjoying getting to know each of the Braden siblings. This time around we get Hugh Braden’s story. Each of these books work well on their own but fans of the series will enjoy seeing favorite characters make an appearance.

Brianna is a single mother with a 6-year-old daughter. She’s too busy trying to be the best mom she can while trying to make ends meet to even think about dating. Plus she has a plan to wait another 12 years for her daughter to turn 18 before looking for a relationship. Hugh doesn’t expect to be taken with the waitress working at the bar he visits but he is. He is a racecar driver and most of the women he dates seem to be more interested in his fame and status. Brianna doesn’t even know who he is so it is a different experience and one they both want to explore. I liked Brianna and Hugh and thought that they worked well together. I thought that they had a lot of chemistry with each other. I also really liked how they were both very focused on making sure that Brianna’s daughter would not be hurt by their relationship.

B.J. Harrison did a great job with the narration once again. I listened to this audiobook at 1.4X speed which worked really well for me. I thought that he did a great job with both the male and female voices and was able to bring a lot of emotion into the story. I believe that his narration added to my overall enjoyment of this story.

I would recommend this book to others. I thought that this was a well-done contemporary romance filled with great characters and a lot of emotion. I look forward to reading more of Melissa Foster’s work soon.

I received a copy of this audiobook from the author/publicist.

5 responses to “Review – Hearts at Play by Melissa Foster

  1. Great review you have here. I have really enjoyed the books that I have read from this author so far. I am looking forward to exploring her backlist htough.

    Happy reading!

  2. You remind me that I wanted to start Melissa Foster’s books this year. They sound like a good pair for each other and funny how love had other plans for her. 🙂

  3. Oh love this kind of romance – a famous person with a person who is seriously underwhelmed by their fame. I’m not sure if I’ve read anything by this author (I keep thinking I have but that’s Lori Foster) but I’ve been wanting to for quite some time.