Rating: 4 stars
Buy Link:
Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK
Length: Novel


Foster Morgan is working at a local bar after splitting from his ex-girlfriend on fairly bad terms—she wanted him to fight for her after telling him of an affair she is engaged in and he had little desire to do so. In fact, if Foster is honest with himself, he hasn’t felt much of anything for her for quite some time. So now he’s starting over, learning bartending and trying to save his pennies to move into a better apartment than the lousy one he is currently in. The bar often has live jazz music  and it’s on one such night that Foster hears an incredible sax solo being performed by the sexiest man he has ever laid eyes on. Admitting he is drawn to the guy is nothing new; he has admired handsome guys before, but the tingly feeling he gets deep inside and the jump in his libido while watching him is something entirely different. How can Foster be attracted to a guy when he is straight?

Stellan Abernathy loves two things: playing his sax and working on cars. Being a mechanic by day and part of a jazz ensemble several night a week leaves him happy and satisfied. Then he sees the hot bartender at the new club he is playing and is drawn like a magnet to the guy. But bells start to go off when Foster admits he has never been with a man. Stellan has been burned before—badly—and taking a chance on another bi-curious straight guy should have him running for the hills. But there’s something about Foster that captivates him and keeps him anchored in place.

Brittany Cournoyer’s latest release, Play With Me, is a steamy bisexual awakening romance that is low in angst and rich in emotional healing. Both Foster and Stellan have pasts that have left them scarred and hurting, but when they come together, all they can seem to think of is one another and how much they don’t want this thing between them to end. But both men secretly are certain it will—and both are determined to put on the brakes and try to keep from getting too emotionally tangled up in the other. Needless to say, that really doesn’t work for either of them.

This is both a coming out and a coming aware moment for Foster. It is a pivotal change in his life, one that isn’t exactly scary, but still pretty earthshaking to say the least. Stellan could not be more aware of the need to take things slow and make sure that the time he spends with Foster is focused on his pleasure and not Stellan’s. While these two do indeed keep things on the slower side, the emotions ramp up pretty quickly. I wouldn’t exactly say this is an insta-love story, but it comes close. It also dangles on the precipice of being an out for you trope, but just manages to come off more as a realization of bisexuality that always lurked in Foster’s mind, but was never acted upon before now. Either way one sees, it the chemistry between the two is undeniable and the healing they offer to each other is really quite lovely.

I think my only problem with this story is the way in which the author chose to introduce conflict between the two men; it is an identical problem for both and felt a bit contrived. I can’t say anymore or I will spoil the ending, but I do wish that either they had different conflicts to deal with or just one of them was hit by the emotional whammy near the end of the novel. Still, it did add a bit of drama to an otherwise angst-free relationship.

Play With Me is a beautiful love story and one I would recommend to anyone seeking a comforting, but sexy romance.