BWW Reviews: PLAYING THE PART Steamy Reading for a Hot Summer Night

In my inaugural column for BroadwayWorld, I told you about a relative newcomer to the romance scene, Robin Covington. Her first two books for Entangled's Indulgence line, A Night of Southern Comfort and His Southern Temptation, are fast-paced, fun frolics centered on a group of childhood friends who return to their small hometown of Elliott, Virginia, where they find passion, danger and, of course, love.

Now Covington's branched out with Playing the Part, an entry in Entangled's more racy Brazen line. Honestly, I didn't think you could get much steamier than her Boys are Back in Town books. I mean, I'm still having heart palpitations from that scene with Lucky and Taylor on the stairs in His Southern Temptation. But man, was I wrong.

From their first meeting, the sexual sparks fly between Hollywood heartthrob Mick Blackwell and romance novelist Piper James. Piper's fresh off a humiliation of the worst sort - she had an all-too pubic meltdown when she caught her actor fiancée in bed with one of her close friends just days before their wedding. In order to resuscitate her career, she's got to play nice with her publisher, and that means flying to the set of the film adaptation of one of her novels to school its star - action hero Mick - on how to convincingly play a romantic leading man.

Mick's everything Piper doesn't want but can't resist - a hotter-than-hot Hollywood bad boy of the highest order. So she proposes a deal: they can have a secret, short-term, no-strings-attached affair. Of course that doesn't last for long, and both Piper and Mick throw their good (or bad, depending on how you look at it) intentions out the window and find not just their bodies but their hearts engaged. But their fledgling relationship is threatened when Piper's worst fear comes true and their romance is discovered, putting her love life back under public scrutiny.

Covington's writing is tight, her characters funny and sympathetic and her sex scenes scorching. I especially identified with Piper, who's had her share of ups and downs, personally and professionally, and is struggling to get her feet back under her. I also liked that with her voluptuous figure, dark-rimmed glasses and particular sense of style she wasn't your typical long, leggy and lean romance heroine.

In Mick, Covington has created a hero worthy of the funky, feisty Piper. At first blush he might seem to be nothing more than a stereotypical, shallow movie star. Sure, he's an expert at getting women in bed - and out of it - as soon as possible. No romance. No relationships. But Mick's also had his own share of troubles as the son of Hollywood royalty trying to escape his father's shadow, and the fact that he wants to sink his teeth into more dramatic roles shows that there's a hidden depth to him. Plus, once he falls for Piper he falls hard, and there's nothing more attractive than bad boy brought down by Cupid's arrow.

Next up for Covington is the third installment in her Boys are Back in Town series, Southern Heat, as well as a follow-up to Playing the Part titled Playing with Fire, which focuses on Mick's friend, rock star Lincoln St. John. She's also got a paranormal romance, Sex and the Single Vamp, in the works. All I can say is I'm sure all three will wind up on my Nook as soon as they're released, even though I'm not normally one for paranormals. And if they're anything like Playing the Part or Covington's earlier books, I'll be rereading them - and fanning myself - again and again.

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