Playing for Keeps
Hot Jocks • Book 1
by Kendall Ryan
Narrated by Jason Clarke, Virginia Rose
Why You'll Love This
Two narrators, one unspoken secret, and six hours that'll make you root for the guy who absolutely should know better.
- Great if you want: sports romance with forbidden-ish tension and dual POV
- Listening experience: light, breezy, and quick — a satisfying one-sitting listen
- Narration: Clarke and Rose trade off naturally, keeping the tension alive
- Skip if: low Goodreads scores bother you — fans and skeptics split sharply here
About This Book
A professional hockey player and his teammate's younger sister share one unforgettable night after a championship win, then spend months pretending it never happened. Kendall Ryan's *Playing for Keeps* opens the Hot Jocks series with a classic forbidden-attraction setup: two people orbiting each other in close quarters, weighed down by loyalty, regret, and feelings neither can quite suppress. The tension is less about whether they'll end up together and more about whether either of them is brave enough to stop running from something real.
Jason Clarke and Virginia Rose handle the dual-POV narration with easy chemistry, trading chapters in a way that keeps the push-pull dynamic alive throughout the six-and-a-half-hour runtime. Clarke brings a confident but self-aware quality to the hero that keeps him likable rather than arrogant, while Rose grounds the female lead with warmth and a dry wit that lands well in audio. The pacing suits the format: Ryan writes in short, punchy scenes that translate naturally to listening, making this an ideal pick for commutes or a single-session listen.
