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Family Secrets #3
The Player
SUBECT: Matthew Tynan, White House adviser
FAMILY HISTORY: Old-money elite with powerful political connections
DEEPEST SECRET: Working to expose government cover-up
One of the most powerful men in Washington, D.C., dashing Matt Tynan had a direct line to the president and never lacked for beautiful escorts to diplomatic dinners and party fund-raisers. But his life took a perilous turn when his investigation into buried CIA Project Code Proteus turned up explosive information pointing to an inside cover-up. He'd already embroiled his secretary, Carey Benton, and it was up to him to keep her safe. But getting close to the Kansas-born beauty wreaked havoc on his tightly controlled emotions. Keeping cool had always been his game, but the rules had suddenly, dangerously changed for good....
Five extraordinary siblings,
One dangerous past.
Unlimited potential.
FAMILY HISTORY: Old-money elite with powerful political connections
DEEPEST SECRET: Working to expose government cover-up
One of the most powerful men in Washington, D.C., dashing Matt Tynan had a direct line to the president and never lacked for beautiful escorts to diplomatic dinners and party fund-raisers. But his life took a perilous turn when his investigation into buried CIA Project Code Proteus turned up explosive information pointing to an inside cover-up. He'd already embroiled his secretary, Carey Benton, and it was up to him to keep her safe. But getting close to the Kansas-born beauty wreaked havoc on his tightly controlled emotions. Keeping cool had always been his game, but the rules had suddenly, dangerously changed for good....
Five extraordinary siblings,
One dangerous past.
Unlimited potential.
245 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published August 1, 2003
52 people want to read
About the author
Evelyn Vaughn
36 books31 followersEvelyn Vaughn is one of the nom-de-plume used by southern author Yvonne Jocks. Yes, the pun of E. Vaughn being her first name, Yvonne, is deliberate!
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 7, 2018
Matthew Tynan is a man who gets around in Washington D.C...not only politically but sexually as well. He's known for his inability to commit, but also for his charm and good-natured personality. Carey Benton is his attractive, but very trusted personal assistant who has a major crush on him. On behalf of Jake Ingram, Matthew asks Carey to do some digging into public record about Code Proteus. Around this time, Matt starts struggling with his attraction to Carey and makes the irreversible mistake of kissing the woman. Of course, Matt immediately regrets it and things get very awkward at work forcing Carey to look for another job, but she keeps digging into Proteus. Matt realizes how much he misses Carey once she's gone and uses Proteus as a way to keep tabs on her. Of course, now that Carey no longer works for him, she's no longer off-limits. But Matt knows how he is with commitment and hesitates to start something that he won't be able to stick with, but he does it anyway. When information about Code Proteus is leaked to the press, Carey is the only reasonable suspect, but can Matt, the commitment-phobic, bring himself to put his faith in her?
Not bad. I don't love "Casanova" heroes, but Matt at least knows what he is and why he's like that and honestly tries not to hurt people. I even really appreciated that he had a moment where he realized the sheer volume of people he'd slept with and felt somewhat awkward about it. Matt was made an even better character by his admission that he wasn't a one-night kind of guy. He had girlfriends and arrangements that weren't exclusive and they usually lasted a few months. So he couldn't have been that much of a manwhore. I ended up liking him, despite his pretty much asshole behavior. Again, I didn't get the impression that he intended to be an asshole, but more like had had no idea how to do what he needed to do without being an asshole.
Poor Carey. Girl gets kissed by the man she's been crushing on and lusting after (despite knowing he's a bad bet), and all hell breaks loose in her life. Said man, her boss, gets awkward, so when she turns in her resignation, he forces her out faster so he can better resist her and then stalks her once she leaves. But then when he tries to get in touch with him, he's an ass to her. I'm pretty sure her experience was a model example of why office romance can backfire. I did like Carey, but found her a little too unwilling to hold on to her anger in the face of Matt's seduction (but she did redeeem herself on that score in the end). I didn't really care for the fact that Matt didn't give in to her until she showed up in a revealing dress, and then he's all - you are so getting laid tonight, I'm done resisting. I did like how quickly Matt fell in love with Carey, even though he kept trying to deny it to himself.
Not bad. I don't love "Casanova" heroes, but Matt at least knows what he is and why he's like that and honestly tries not to hurt people. I even really appreciated that he had a moment where he realized the sheer volume of people he'd slept with and felt somewhat awkward about it. Matt was made an even better character by his admission that he wasn't a one-night kind of guy. He had girlfriends and arrangements that weren't exclusive and they usually lasted a few months. So he couldn't have been that much of a manwhore. I ended up liking him, despite his pretty much asshole behavior. Again, I didn't get the impression that he intended to be an asshole, but more like had had no idea how to do what he needed to do without being an asshole.
Poor Carey. Girl gets kissed by the man she's been crushing on and lusting after (despite knowing he's a bad bet), and all hell breaks loose in her life. Said man, her boss, gets awkward, so when she turns in her resignation, he forces her out faster so he can better resist her and then stalks her once she leaves. But then when he tries to get in touch with him, he's an ass to her. I'm pretty sure her experience was a model example of why office romance can backfire. I did like Carey, but found her a little too unwilling to hold on to her anger in the face of Matt's seduction (but she did redeeem herself on that score in the end). I didn't really care for the fact that Matt didn't give in to her until she showed up in a revealing dress, and then he's all - you are so getting laid tonight, I'm done resisting. I did like how quickly Matt fell in love with Carey, even though he kept trying to deny it to himself.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 15, 2021
we have a "Grab bag" book club where we're reading a different genre every week, and this was my romance entry. it turned out to be barely concealed Josh/Donna West Wing fanfic (the guy's name rhymes with "Lyman!") so of course the CJ Cregg stand-in character was the best part. there's also a totally incomprehensible "genetically modified super soldiers" plot that seems to span a ... dozen different books? And -- because it's the early 2000s - the heroine is . Anyway, a lot going on but I appreciate any fanfic that makes it to the printed page.
May 20, 2012
The Player by Evelyn Vaughn
This was a good story.
The description of the book I am listing below is from the back jacket of the book. I'm adding it because I believe the one on the Goodreads page does not depict this story.
Subject: Matthew Tynan, White House adviser
Family History: Old-money elite with powerful political connections
Deepest Secret: Working to expose government cover-up
One of the most powerful men in Washington, D.C., dashing Matt Tynan had a direct line to the president and never lacked for beautiful escorts to diplomatic dinners and party fund-raisers. But his life took a perilous turn when his investigation into buried CIA Project Code Proteus turned up explosive information pointing to an inside cover-up. He'd already embroiled his secretary, Carey Benton, and it was up to him to keep her safe. But getting close to the Kansas-born beauty wreaked havoc on his tightly controlled emotions. Keeping cool had always been his game, but the rules had suddenly, dangerously changed for good....
This was a good story.
The description of the book I am listing below is from the back jacket of the book. I'm adding it because I believe the one on the Goodreads page does not depict this story.
Subject: Matthew Tynan, White House adviser
Family History: Old-money elite with powerful political connections
Deepest Secret: Working to expose government cover-up
One of the most powerful men in Washington, D.C., dashing Matt Tynan had a direct line to the president and never lacked for beautiful escorts to diplomatic dinners and party fund-raisers. But his life took a perilous turn when his investigation into buried CIA Project Code Proteus turned up explosive information pointing to an inside cover-up. He'd already embroiled his secretary, Carey Benton, and it was up to him to keep her safe. But getting close to the Kansas-born beauty wreaked havoc on his tightly controlled emotions. Keeping cool had always been his game, but the rules had suddenly, dangerously changed for good....
July 13, 2014
love me a strong woman. too bad the hero had to have a brain lapse (but that's all part of the trope-a-licious genre I love so much).
June 11, 2009
This book was excellent! Can't wait to read the next in this great series!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews