The Player- Rhonda Nelson

The Player is the second of Rhonda Nelson's books that I've had the pleasure of reading. Like Picture Me Sexy, a book I tore through only last week, The Player kept me up, demanding I finish reading it before I collapsed into bed for the night. The Player is a Blaze contemporary erotic romance, released in June 2006 and numbered 255 in the Blaze line. It's also one of the Men out of Uniform mini series within the line.

Former Ranger Jamie Flanagan is a man on a mission. He might have left the Rangers, along with two of his buddies, but he still carries that time within him. Their last assignment went horribly wrong and Jamie hasn't forgotten the man they lost on that mission. After that the three men needed to get out of the military and the only way they could do that was by making a promise to their commanding officer. One to do him a favor, any favor, later down the line.

Now it's Jamie's turn to fulfill the promise.

When his former commander demands that he protects the colonel's granddaughter Jamie has a sinking feeling. It goes from bad to worse when the deal turns out to be not just protect Audrey, but seduce her away from the man who wants to marry her. A man that the colonel views as an enemy. One brief meeting with the would be husband is enough to set my teeth on edge. He's not an alpha, but tries to act as though he is and he's the type of character I could see quickly crossing the line into abuse if he managed to persuade Audrey to marry him.

But there's a catch in this plan to protect Audrey, at least for Jamie. He's not allowed to go to third base, actually he's not even supposed to hit first base in his seduction of the intelligent, witty and beautiful woman.

Just what the hell does the colonel think he is made of?

Audrey is gorgeous. She's the type of woman any man in their right mind would kill to be with. And when his heart reacts to Audrey nothing, not even the threat of castration by the colonel is enough to keep the lovers apart.

Sharp humor and intense passion are interwoven through this dynamic and fast paced read. Ms Nelson shows a skill that is rare within authors, the ability to balance the humor, passion, storyline and characters into an addictive blend. I'm a breath away from putting Ms. Nelson on my must read list and that is a place very few authors ever share. One more book like this and she'll join the ranks of Angela Knight, J.R. Ward and Christine Feehan for my must buys.

ISBN0-373-79259-X