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Play With Me
(Grover Beach Team #1)
by
This is a short, sweet novella.
Ryan Hunter's parties are legend. And tonight she's going to be there.
Liza Matthews anticipates the return of her best friend and only love since kindergarten from soccer camp. But when Tony finally shows up, his mind is more focused on another girl. And worse, she's a soccer player. Fighting for the attention Liza craves, she's just a hairbr ...more
Ryan Hunter's parties are legend. And tonight she's going to be there.
Liza Matthews anticipates the return of her best friend and only love since kindergarten from soccer camp. But when Tony finally shows up, his mind is more focused on another girl. And worse, she's a soccer player. Fighting for the attention Liza craves, she's just a hairbr ...more
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Paperback, 190 pages
Published
December 9th 2012
(first published December 8th 2012)
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Amaya
The second book is the same story with the same characters told from the perspective of Ryan Hunter
Community Reviews
Showing 1-30

Start your review of Play With Me (Grover Beach Team, #1)

“For the time being,”He emphasized each word. “I’ll be the only one climbing through your window.”
Genre: YA/ Contemporary romance
Play With Me was such an amazing and cute book! Just...

Let's be honest here, i did not have high expectations for this book. I thought it'll be a 3-4 star read.

It was so freaking hilarious! I haven't laughed this much in what seems like a very long time.
Meet the main characters!

Liza Matthews has had a crush on her best friend Tony since kindergarten. ...more

4.5 Sexy Soccer Player Stars! Someone find me a time machine so I can climb in, go back to high school, and find me a Ryan Hunter!
Young love, it can be so cruel, but it can also be so good and incredibly sweet! This was excellent! The cover and the price were what caught my eye, then I read the sample, I immediately one-clicked, because I was hooked! This is an adorable, swoon-worthy story with some really great characters. It's amusing, fun and it doesn't wallow in angst, which made it that muc ...more

⋰⋱⋰⋱⋰⋱*Surprised It's Not That Bad*⋰⋱⋰⋱⋰⋱
Re-read:
I don't know why I'm trying at another re-read of a YA book. I mean, YA and I do not get along anymore, and haven't for quite some time. But I wanted to test myself at least one more time. I mean, I might luck out. The book centers around Liza ‘Liz’ Isadora Matthews (16), a girl who has loved her best friend for ages. Unfortunately, he only has eyes for another girl, and then there's the boy with the tiger eyes that seems to catch her attenti ...more

Morning came... and I still love this novella. I think this is the first book after months that really made me giddy because of the sweetness? Ah! I don't know what to phrase it in English but we do have this word in Tagalog called 'kilig'.
kilig (KEE-lig) – To shiver. When used in topics of love and romance, it means to shiver with delight when something romantic or cute...
That's what I freakin' felt while reading this novella. I'm g ...more

Actual Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5
My GR challenge was in desperate need of help, soooo I used this quick read.🙈

Liza Matthews has always been in love with her best friend, Tony, but he's never really noticed or if he has, he's not doing anything about it. She finally decides that maybe joining the soccer team (which he's on) will get Tony's attention. Everything changes though after a party at Ryan Hunter's...........😱

I knew going into this that it'd be really short, but I was still surprised—especiall ...more
My GR challenge was in desperate need of help, soooo I used this quick read.🙈

Liza Matthews has always been in love with her best friend, Tony, but he's never really noticed or if he has, he's not doing anything about it. She finally decides that maybe joining the soccer team (which he's on) will get Tony's attention. Everything changes though after a party at Ryan Hunter's...........😱

I knew going into this that it'd be really short, but I was still surprised—especiall ...more

If it was Piper Shelly's intent to showcase the shallow nature of teenagers, she's succeeded spectacularly with this book and its sequel. I can't quite figure out how to describe Shelly's writing. I think she has potential. She knows how to pace, at least, and her plots could make for some compelling reads, but her characters and the attention she pays to detail are abysmal. The reader isn't led into the story and shown around so much as thrust into the middle of an OC-style melodrama. And don't
...more

Very cute and sweet! Really liked it :)
Epilogue for Play With Me is up here :)
http://pipershelly.com/epilogue-for-p... ...more
Epilogue for Play With Me is up here :)
http://pipershelly.com/epilogue-for-p... ...more

“For the time being—”He emphasized each word. “I’ll be the only one climbing through your window.”
I don't know why I did it... The cover announces a cheesy romance, the summary too, I'm officially 19 years old and therefore, way too old for those romances with a lot of drama, which include girls who think their lives gravitate around boys and that if a guy will stop being a part of their life, everything will be ruined + girl hate + another girl "stealing" their crush away and all those high s ...more
I don't know why I did it... The cover announces a cheesy romance, the summary too, I'm officially 19 years old and therefore, way too old for those romances with a lot of drama, which include girls who think their lives gravitate around boys and that if a guy will stop being a part of their life, everything will be ruined + girl hate + another girl "stealing" their crush away and all those high s ...more

Scarily enough, I LOVED this story..... 0_o Lke I REALLY LOVED IT!!! Coming from ME, that says a lot, considering this is YA!!!

4.5 Very cute, *sigh*, young love stars!!
It's been quite a long time since I've read a true-blue YA book like this one. I say, true-blue because this book and others like it (see Julie Prestsater's So I'm a Double Threat as an example) has a more, shall I say, realistic portrayal of high school love and the drama that goes along with it. And personally, I find these books endearing and it takes me back to, well, my own high school days. :)
Play With Me tells the story of Liza Matthews, a semi-awk ...more
It's been quite a long time since I've read a true-blue YA book like this one. I say, true-blue because this book and others like it (see Julie Prestsater's So I'm a Double Threat as an example) has a more, shall I say, realistic portrayal of high school love and the drama that goes along with it. And personally, I find these books endearing and it takes me back to, well, my own high school days. :)
Play With Me tells the story of Liza Matthews, a semi-awk ...more

4.5 stars
Liza has been best friends with Tony since kindergarden. She's also in love with him (or so she thinks). So when Tony comes back from soccer camp obviously infatuated with a girl that plays in the team, she decides the only way to win him back is to enter the team herself. But once there, she captures the attention of the team's captain, Ryan Hunter, who's a known playboy. And the fun begins:)
A book that forces me to put two very nice books I was already reading on hold, leaves me with ...more
Liza has been best friends with Tony since kindergarden. She's also in love with him (or so she thinks). So when Tony comes back from soccer camp obviously infatuated with a girl that plays in the team, she decides the only way to win him back is to enter the team herself. But once there, she captures the attention of the team's captain, Ryan Hunter, who's a known playboy. And the fun begins:)
A book that forces me to put two very nice books I was already reading on hold, leaves me with ...more

3.5 Young Love Stars

That was pretty short!
But other than that, it was a fun fluffy read.
It was kind of generic and stereotypical but I still liked it.
The characters (and by charterers I mean Ryan and Lisa) are pretty awesome!
Ryan is so mature for an 18-year-old boy and not the typical player!
And he was perfect for Lisa! I loved that he respected and treated her like a queen.
Tony was pretty cool too!
I loved how Ryan already liked Lisa before he met her. What I mean is that it wasn't like the whole, meets-dork-falls- ...more
But other than that, it was a fun fluffy read.
It was kind of generic and stereotypical but I still liked it.
The characters (and by charterers I mean Ryan and Lisa) are pretty awesome!
Ryan is so mature for an 18-year-old boy and not the typical player!
And he was perfect for Lisa! I loved that he respected and treated her like a queen.
Tony was pretty cool too!
I loved how Ryan already liked Lisa before he met her. What I mean is that it wasn't like the whole, meets-dork-falls- ...more

This is more like three and a half stars.
I feel like this should have been book two in this series and book two should have been book one.
I'm really glad I accidentally read book two first. I really enjoyed this story from Ryan's pov and the longer story. This is an enjoyable ya romance though and I will continue this series.
Lisa is in love with her childhood friend Tony. They do everything together but she's almost seventeen and they have never even kissed. She's surprised when he comes back f ...more
I feel like this should have been book two in this series and book two should have been book one.
I'm really glad I accidentally read book two first. I really enjoyed this story from Ryan's pov and the longer story. This is an enjoyable ya romance though and I will continue this series.
Lisa is in love with her childhood friend Tony. They do everything together but she's almost seventeen and they have never even kissed. She's surprised when he comes back f ...more

Oct 01, 2015
Naomi
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
on-kindle,
own-a-copy
Original Review @ Naomi’s Reading Palace
4.5 Stars
I love a good sports romance, and when I saw this on a friend’s blog (Marilyn’s Mystery Blog) I had to check it out for myself. It was free, so I snapped it up and decided to read it immediately because I was looking for something light and fun. It turned out to be exactly what I needed and I really enjoyed reading it!
Lisa has spent the summer waiting for Tony to come back and when he does he seems to brush her off a little, wanting to go to the l ...more
4.5 Stars
I love a good sports romance, and when I saw this on a friend’s blog (Marilyn’s Mystery Blog) I had to check it out for myself. It was free, so I snapped it up and decided to read it immediately because I was looking for something light and fun. It turned out to be exactly what I needed and I really enjoyed reading it!
Lisa has spent the summer waiting for Tony to come back and when he does he seems to brush her off a little, wanting to go to the l ...more

This book was like a chocolate snack between two main meals-short,fast and yummy!
Liz is about to be 17 and she has never kissed a boy because she is in love with her best friend Tony who has a passion for soccer and is suddenly interested in another soccer girl! Liz is determined that Tony and her are meant to be together and in order to win him over she signs in the tryouts for the soccer team. Team captain Ryan Hunter takes it on him to teach Liz soccer and everything else if she only takes he ...more
Liz is about to be 17 and she has never kissed a boy because she is in love with her best friend Tony who has a passion for soccer and is suddenly interested in another soccer girl! Liz is determined that Tony and her are meant to be together and in order to win him over she signs in the tryouts for the soccer team. Team captain Ryan Hunter takes it on him to teach Liz soccer and everything else if she only takes he ...more

I loved this! YA can be hit or miss, this was definitely a winner. The synopsis won me over instantly. I loved seeing love blossom from an unexpected place. Ryan Hunter was hot, captain of the guys soccer team and has his eyes set on Lisa. Too bad she's in love with her best friend, Tony.
This was clean, plenty of sexual innuendos, though. I adored Ryan. I loved Lisa. Tony was ok. This type of story is among my favorites in YA: sports romance with an unexpected love interest, an underdog. I loved ...more
This was clean, plenty of sexual innuendos, though. I adored Ryan. I loved Lisa. Tony was ok. This type of story is among my favorites in YA: sports romance with an unexpected love interest, an underdog. I loved ...more

Play With Me was such a great story about first loves and first kisses and true love and friendship. This story was a quick read and I wanted more but when I found out there is going to be a book from Hunter's POV I just about had a heart attack and when you read this book you see why. There was so much going on in my head when I read this book because the story flowed so smooth that at times I had to say WTF when one of the characters acted up.
So the low down is this Liza Matthews has loved her ...more
So the low down is this Liza Matthews has loved her ...more

May 21, 2019
Shabana Mukhtar
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
english,
quick-reads,
2019-reads,
set-abroad,
romance,
books-in-series,
young-adult,
chicklit,
funny
Let mine be the 1000th review of the book.
The story is cute and quite similar to some other YA books I've read but this one was funny and not yucky.
I would say 3.5 stars, but on the good side. ...more
The story is cute and quite similar to some other YA books I've read but this one was funny and not yucky.
I would say 3.5 stars, but on the good side. ...more

Jan 14, 2013
Anesha †Curious & Obsessive Bookworm†
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition

EDITED NOW THAT I'VE READ THE EPILOGUE...
Who rocks...?
.....Piper Shelly!!!!
BOOK-GASM ALERT
OMG OMG OOOOOOOOH MMMMMMMMYYYYYY GOOOOOOOOSH!!!!
WHY is this over?!
This book is soooo good! I wish it wasn't a novella and that I hadn't finish in one freakin' sitting <_<
Liza is in love with her best friend from since kindergarten. They've done it all, slept in each other's bed, spend the night over, him sneaking in her bedroom window. The only thing is - they've never kissed. He's simply her best friend. ...more

UPDATED
This review is also posted HERE.
Damn it, I can't stop smiling. It's been four days since I finished reading this story and I still can't stop smiling! I know that Play with Me is rather short, but wow, it sure did hit the mark with only 30,000 words. I finished this novella in one sitting (I did have to pause sometimes to shut my eyes and squeal silently - don't judge!) and I had this huge cheshire cat grin on my face almost all throughout! This book is such an amazing fun read. Read it a ...more
This review is also posted HERE.
Damn it, I can't stop smiling. It's been four days since I finished reading this story and I still can't stop smiling! I know that Play with Me is rather short, but wow, it sure did hit the mark with only 30,000 words. I finished this novella in one sitting (I did have to pause sometimes to shut my eyes and squeal silently - don't judge!) and I had this huge cheshire cat grin on my face almost all throughout! This book is such an amazing fun read. Read it a ...more

Dec 23, 2012
Karla Mae (Reads and Thoughts)
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2012-reads
I honestly have this secret and weird obsession with short stories/novellas. There's just this sense of easiness with reading them and the story just easily sucked me up into their world. It jumps right into the story and we easily get to know the characters and their backgrounds in not so many words and the story just seems to zoom right in front of your eyes. A good example of this is Play With Me. Sigh. This is one of those times that I want to lengthen the story. It contains everything a sto
...more

And that's how you make my heart flutter! Thank you very much! ^_^

Just AMAZING!
MORE! MORE! MORE PLEASE!
I enjoyed this a lot. Liza and Tony have been friends for like, forever, and Liza had it in her head that they were bound to be together forever. She was always doing things for him and him alone. She totally believed that eventually, Tony will look her way. Personally, I didn't like Tony's character from the start because hellooo? How could he be so dense? It's either he's ignoring Liza's ...more

Just AMAZING!
MORE! MORE! MORE PLEASE!
I enjoyed this a lot. Liza and Tony have been friends for like, forever, and Liza had it in her head that they were bound to be together forever. She was always doing things for him and him alone. She totally believed that eventually, Tony will look her way. Personally, I didn't like Tony's character from the start because hellooo? How could he be so dense? It's either he's ignoring Liza's ...more

WHY DID THIS HAVE TO BE A SHORT STORY/NOVELLA!!!!
Oh, Hunter. I love love love Ryan Hunter! ♥_____♥ Piper Shelly sure knows how to make her readers giddy! I couldn't stop smiliiiing and it's been a long time since that happened. This may be short but I had more butterflies reading this novella than the long ones out there.
I'm going to read Piper Shelly's "Her Game, His Rule" next! Novella no more!! Yay!
BTW, thanks to Lexie for the copy!! ^^ ...more
Oh, Hunter. I love love love Ryan Hunter! ♥_____♥ Piper Shelly sure knows how to make her readers giddy! I couldn't stop smiliiiing and it's been a long time since that happened. This may be short but I had more butterflies reading this novella than the long ones out there.
I'm going to read Piper Shelly's "Her Game, His Rule" next! Novella no more!! Yay!
BTW, thanks to Lexie for the copy!! ^^ ...more

3.75 stars
That was a short and sweet read. I'm holding of a star because we didn't get much. I would have preferred to read some more about what happens next or the history of Hunter. But I have the next book and I'm hoping we'll find out some more in it. So, I'll have to revisit after finishing the book and maybe up a star. ...more
That was a short and sweet read. I'm holding of a star because we didn't get much. I would have preferred to read some more about what happens next or the history of Hunter. But I have the next book and I'm hoping we'll find out some more in it. So, I'll have to revisit after finishing the book and maybe up a star. ...more

I read this because of Lexie's and Jill's reviews. Hihi :D
Read it in one sitting. Short and sweet. :) ...more
Read it in one sitting. Short and sweet. :) ...more

2.5 Stars. This has been on my TBR a long time. It was a pretty classic YA Contemporary for the time period it was published in. I didn't love the characters, but I didn't hate them. I would've given this 3 stars, except I found the love interest kind of skeevy in the epilogue. I won't be reading any other books in this series.
...more

I think we all learned one of life's most powerful lessons in Pretty in Pink. It's that the best friend never gets the girl. Ever. Yeah, thank you so much John Hughes! *crawls into a rabbit hole* *sobs hysterically*

Trust me Duckie, I know.
WHY DIDN'T SHE CHOOSE DUCKIE? WHY OH WHY? BE STILL, MY BROKEN HEART!
Anyway...
THE BLURB
Liza Matthews has been planning her wedding to best friend Tony Mitchell since forever. And after being apart for 5 whole weeks because he was at soccer camp, Liza can't wait ...more

Trust me Duckie, I know.
Anyway...
THE BLURB
Liza Matthews has been planning her wedding to best friend Tony Mitchell since forever. And after being apart for 5 whole weeks because he was at soccer camp, Liza can't wait ...more
topics | posts | views | last activity | |
---|---|---|---|---|
What's the Name o...: SOLVED. YA/football/romance: girl joins a mixed football team to impress her best friend (who she's in love with), finds out he has a girlfriend. [s] | 4 | 35 | May 16, 2018 04:06PM | |
YA Buddy Readers'...: Play With Me (Grover Beach Team #1) by Piper Shelly and Anna Katmore - Restarting November 9th 2017 | 35 | 106 | Nov 09, 2017 01:44AM | |
More of RYAN HUNTER? | 35 | 174 | Feb 06, 2014 02:59AM | |
Crazy for Young A...: Play with Me by Piper Shelly → Start: February 24, 2013 | 23 | 25 | Feb 24, 2013 07:17AM |
The quick-and-dirty:
I’m a cool girl with a passion for writing.
The genres you’ll find me hanging out at are contemporary and paranormal YA, but I’m also snooping into some adult paranormal right now. All of them romances…of course.
The nitty-gritty:
I’m an Austrian lass—totally uncomplicated and up to anything fun.
I grew up in Vienna, not by free will but because my parents decided to move there w ...more
I’m a cool girl with a passion for writing.
The genres you’ll find me hanging out at are contemporary and paranormal YA, but I’m also snooping into some adult paranormal right now. All of them romances…of course.
The nitty-gritty:
I’m an Austrian lass—totally uncomplicated and up to anything fun.
I grew up in Vienna, not by free will but because my parents decided to move there w ...more
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Grover Beach Team
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“I can feel you
staring at me,” he said in the softest wake-up voice I’d ever heard. “I only
hope you’re a girl and not one of the drunken guys.”
—
62 likes
staring at me,” he said in the softest wake-up voice I’d ever heard. “I only
hope you’re a girl and not one of the drunken guys.”
“For the time being—”He emphasized each word. “I’ll be the only one climbing through your window.”
—
57 likes
More quotes…