Sexy, funny and a good read with a strong female, which is wonderful to find in a book , enjoyed this book!

3.5 stars. I loved the concept of this book. A physical therapist and a professional athlete?! YES.

What I did not love was the love triangle. Ayanna has a classic fear of commitment and finds herself in the middle of Eoghan and Shane. Unless it's a why choose romance. You definitely know who the love interest is, but the tension of Shane also being involved just felt uncomfortable. I have a hard time getting into love triangles. I wondered if Shane was introduced because his story would come next, but that doesn't seem to be the case here as it was published as a standalone.

It was spicy and I did like the spice! There were a few words that made me cringe, but overall I thought it was steamy!

ARC provided by NetGalley. This book took some time to get in to but I loved the play on the Ireland/American/Islander vibes.

Is 2 + 1 = 3 ... A Romantic Quagmire?!

Two Irish Lads plus One American lass caught in the middle of a romantic quagmire.

Nope—this is NOT that type of Romance—just a girl who likes two boys, and two boys liking one girl—will it be a recipe for disaster or the beginning of the greatest Love Story ever told? Decisions. Decisions. Decisions. Whom will she choose? READ IT!

I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley and I'm voluntarily leaving a review.

i enjoyed this book, Open Play by JN Welsh, and put it in a column for SELF magazine in Feb of 2022. The topic was romance novels to read while waiting for Bridgerton.

Interesting story overall with a few great interaction and characters that make up for a good romance story overall.

Very grateful to the publisher for my review copy

This book was a good fast read! The story was fast paced and sweet. I don’t normally love the love triangle however it just worked for me this time . It was well written too! I rwally enjoyed it

Ayanna Crawford is a physical therapist who works too hard. She is headed to a conference, but makes a stop in Ireland beforehand for some R&R. After a long day of sightseeing, Ayanna hits it off with Eoghan O’Farrell. Then there’s Shane MacCallum, a soccer team liaison who Ayanna feels a strong urge to “liaise” with. But not only do the two men work for the same team—they’re best mates. When an injury forces the three lovebirds to work in close proximity, Ayanna finds herself in the clutch. With careers and hearts on the line, Ayanna must work through her fears and desires to make a choice—or find herself alone on the pitch.

This one lands squarely in the love triangle trope. I enjoyed following along with Ayanna to see which guy she would choose. but of course, that sorted itself right out. This was my first book by JN Welsh and it will not be my last. I can't wait to dive into another one soon!

Thanks to NetGalley and Montlake for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ayanna Crawford is an award winning physical therapist that goes on a solo adventure to Ireland. There she lets her hair down and meets Eoghan O’Farrell and Shane MacCallum who are both involved in the local football team. Ayanna gets to know the two and has her fun, then heads back to the US and her demanding job thinking she will never see them again. But when Eoghan gets injured Ayanna finds herself living with them both while he recovers. Overall I thought the concept of the book was great! I found that the story did drag in a few places. And there was a lot of miscommunication, so if that is not your favorite troupe, I would skip this book.

Open play by JN. Welsh.
Passion Players Book 1.
Ayanna Crawford isn’t afraid to get physical; in fact, it’s her job. A world-renowned physical therapist who works too hard, Ayanna embarks on a trip to Ireland before an upcoming conference. Finally, a chance to play as hard as she works…and maybe find an Irish boo to keep her company.
A good read. Likeable story and characters. 3*.

This book was a good fast read! The love story was sweet and sexy and the characters were very loveable. The love triangle was well written too! I thoroughly enjoyed it

This was the first book I read from this author but I will definitely read more of her. I found the story to be sweet, sexy, fun and enticing. I've been to Ireland with another planned trip in the next year or two and this story had me salivating to get back there (and not just for the lovely football players or gingers either). The locales were beautifully described and I've put a few more must sees on my list. While the focus of course was on Eoghan (and although I KNEW it was pronounced Owen I still mispronounced it in my head lol), Shane and Ayanna, the side characters also drew me in and I hope that one or two may have a side story later on. For me this was a 3.5 star read. I enjoyed the characters and rounded up to 4 because...Ireland.

Full review to come on Goodreads and Amazon. Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for a review copy.

I normally enjoy books like this, but I had such a h and time getting into this one! I don’t think third-person writing worked well for this one. So, I feel there was a letting of telling instead of showing and a bit of over-describing things. The love triangle just didn’t work for me, sadly.

I like the representation of the strong Black female lead that had an advanced degree and took no sh!t from anyone. When we finally (finally!) got yo the juicy bits, it was well done. It’s a very slow-burn romance!

Overall, it was a decent read but I don’t think the writing style is for me. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy!

3.5⭐

Open Play by JN Welsh is a pleasing tale. That took a while to really engage me. But does have a strong female lead as well as plenty of other likable ones, including the two that make up the love triangle Shane and Eoghan. Although if I'm honest that all fell a little flat for me. But there were a number of positives, especially the sexy Irish accents and the romance between Ayanna and Shane, although slow burn was sweet, and it really balanced well with the angst. Not to mention it was easy to read.

I was given a free copy of this from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. I wish so badly I could give this book a better review.
I seriously started out thoroughly enjoying this book so much.
BUT BUT BUT... Then came THE CLIMAX, and it was seriously painful to read. The author's words flowed to comfortably and freely until this. I was like who the heck wrote this portion of the book?? It was rough.
Let's review everything before this... I love how it flowed in a way that I could easily visualize and even hear the accents of our rugged Irishmen and caramel sweet heroine. Emotions running, every nerve turned on. It was going great. Plenty of drama and love/hate moments. Easy to read. Flowed well. Goo character development... THEN
Everything FINALLY comes to a head... the scene we were all building up to... the moment when Ayanna has the coming to Jesus and it is so full of awkward analogies and random synonyms and descriptions that left me like WTH? It felt like it was written by a completely different person. It made me want to completely skip the main event because it was super hard to read through.
Honestly, after that, it was hard for me to find the same momentum as before. I found my self disconnected send no longer invested. I skimmed quite a bit and rushed to the end.
There is so much potential though. If I could give one word of advice... You are good. Stick to what feels comfortable. Sometimes less is more and wording needs to be natural to you.

Thanks for NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. In the beginning, I loved the strong, self-determined physical therapist Ayanna and her confidence. The book also started the romance with a meet-cute and unknown identity and seemed like it was going to be a wonderful story. However as the story went on, I begin to not like character Ayanna was becoming. The ending could have been wrapped up earlier. Overall, it started out great and then faltered.

I liked the strong female main character instead of a more typical "damsel in distress" storyline. The main male characters where just "meh" for me but I enjoyed the story.

Thanks to Netgalley for the Advanced copy in return for an honest review.

I will be honest. I DNF'd this book. I tried, I really really did but it was just not working for me. I love Romance, the genre can produce some of the most funny, thought inspiring, human books. This book however, I feel tried to be that, tried way too hard, and just didn't quite hit the mark.

I enjoyed the fact that the main Female character, Ayanna, was a woman of colour, and very prominent in a traditionally male dominated field - Physical Therapy/ Sports Medicine. However, I think in the author's bid to make her 'Strong' and 'Powerful' it went a little too overboard. I dunno, something about the idea of the World's leading expert in certain sports injuries not knowing the rules of soccer/football is just meh.

The writing was also a bit of that kinda formulaic trying too hard to hit to right notes instead of having things progress naturally. It felt very Tell don't show me in a way. We get a clunky about of detail that to me seemed unnecessary. Describing her scrubs, or how she is eating etc just didn't add anything to me. Plus the dialogue felt stilted and unnatural as well.

Overall, plot wise, from the bit I read and the other reviews and descriptions, seemed interesting and right up my alley, however I think the execution was just done way too poorly for my tastes.

I love books that are set in another country where the main character goes to discover themselves, but to find love as well!

Love triangles are not my go-to when it comes to romance novels, to many people fighting for affection and such, but it was interesting to read about it in this book based on the different dynamics and relationships, as well as the jobs of each of the characters and how that influenced things as well!

Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for the earc in return for an honest review.