POWER PLAY

Author: Deirdre Martin ISBN: 9780425224519 10/2008 CONTEMPORARY Publisher: BERKLEY

A leading soap opera actress, Monica Geary is good at faking it. But pretending to fall for NHL star and notorious playboy Eric Mitchell is going to be her hardest role ever. Yet she has no choice, for she desperately needs an edge in order to maintain her daytime diva status. Eric Mitchell is a man in demand. First he was traded to save the New York Blades, and now the publicity department has loaned him out to help boost Monica Geary's career. What no one knows is that one of People magazine's hottest bachelors is also a closet soap opera fan. He's had his eyes on Monica for years—and can't wait to get his arms around her...

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

Deirdre Martin writes another humorous tale including those lovable New York Blades with POWER PLAY.

Eric Mitchell is the twin brother of Jason (who readers met in Martin's previous novel, CHASING STANLEY) and has recently been traded to the New York Blades, though no one is very happy about it. But Eric is pretty sure of himself and his talents on the ice, so he's ready to go. Publicity has thrust him into the city's spotlight and Eric gets a guest spot on the popular daytime drama, The Wild and the Free. Even better, his scene is opposite the show's popular actress Monica Geary. His confidence leading him, Eric gets off to a bad start with Monica. But he gets another chance when the two are placed together to gain publicity.

Monica Geary has been acting on The Wild and the Free for ten years, but doesn't feel that her talents are being put to great use. Even though the soap allows her to do what she loves and has a very nice paycheck, she is often put down by others because she acts on a soap opera; even her longtime friend and acting mentor thinks her talent is wasted at the job she holds. But even as Monica worries about her art, the addition of a new, younger actress to the cast puts Monica in a panic. With the help of her publicist Theresa Dante (FAIR PLAY), Monica comes up with a plan to up her profile publicly by starting a "relationship" with star hockey player Eric. Yet as the two spend more and more time together, they find that maybe there are deeper feelings hiding underneath the act.

I thoroughly enjoyed POWER PLAY! I am a fan of Deirdre Martin and have read every novel in her Blades series. Though the story started off kind of slow, once it picked up it was non-stop laughs as Eric and Monica found themselves falling in love while dealing with their respective fandoms, backstabbers, superstitions, and more. I loved the inside look into the world of soaps, which I watched for years myself, and found the scenarios in the book to be very accurate and true to the world of daytime television. And as the Blades series has grown, I have found myself learning more and more about hockey and hoping to enjoy a game myself one day.

Both characters deal with some very serious issues throughout the novel that I felt Martin wrote superbly. Monica doesn't feel her talents are best used acting in daytime, but this stems mostly from her acting coach, Monty, who turns his nose up at her job. Throughout the story, Monica struggles with this issue, one minute adoring the fame and adoration she receives from her fans, while in the next thinking that she has sold out in a genre of acting that is not respected. By the end, Monica is able to resolve this issue once and for all, but I enjoyed being there for the journey to her finding out who she really is. Eric, too, struggles at being the new kid on the block, having been traded for a popular player. He wants to fit in with the Blades and be liked by them, but puts his foot in his mouth early on. His fake relationship with Monica seems to turn things around as all the Blades are fond of her and her show. But as their relationship starts to get more real, Eric deals with the claustrophobia of it all as he is not good at relationships. Watching him change from the man-about-town to a man desperately in love was so fun to read!

POWER PLAY was a great novel that didn't pull any punches! The story was fun to read and true to both characters. I enjoyed the backdrop of New York City as well as the Blades, one of my favorite fictional sports teams. Deirdre Martin has another hit on her hands and I can only hope that there are more Blades related stories in store for fans in the future!

Maame Kanbi