Review- Play With Me by Ananth

Summary-

Not very often is one confronted with ravishing beauty. Sid is a successful photographer who works in a boutique advertisement agency. He is single and pretty much has everything he had ever wanted – a rewarding job which happens to be his passion, great co-workers and a smooth sailing life. But the one thing missing, perhaps the most important, is love. And one day, a stunning, independent, free-spirited woman called Cara walks into his life. The two get involved in a thrilling affair, sexually obsessed, which drastically changes all of Sid’s ideas about love. The relationship completely alters the way he thinks about the natural, sensual pleasure. But again, everything changes because something strange happens in Sid’s life - he discovers himself falling intensely in love with another woman. Does that mean he has to walk out on Cara? How will he deal with his new love interest? Find out the answers and more in Play with Me - a story of those emotions that are universal, timeless, and which touch everyone’s life.

Review-

I knew what I was getting into when I decided to pick up Play With Me. It is supposed to be an erotica for everyone who loved Fifty Shades. While I haven't read Fifty Shades, I had more expectations out of Play With Me. What happened was that I was incredibly disappointed with Play With Me. 

Sid is our hero. He is a successful photographer who works in an advertisement agency. Then he meets Cara. She is a free spirited woman and thus begins their affair. I found Sid's character to be really flat. There was no real depth to him. I didn't get the reasons behind his actions except for the fact that he wanted to sleep with Cara because she was "beautiful".

I actually found Cara better than Sid which is saying something. Cara did not make excuses about her behavior. All she wanted from Sid was a physical relationship and that's what she got. In the midst of this is Nat. She is a married woman who Sid finds himself falling for while his affair with Cara is still going on. I actually thought Nat was sensible until she too falls in bed with Sid. I couldn't understand what power Sid had that made women magically fall in bed with him.

There are plenty of graphic scenes in the book because obviously it is erotica but I couldn't find any real intimacy in even a single one of them. There is no such thing as fidelity in the book. I could understand if it was only Sid but his friend Roy is sailing in the same boat cheating on his wife. I couldn't find any growth or development even by the end of the book.

I am glad that Play With Me was a short read. There wasn't anything in the book that I particularly liked. I couldn't relate to or sympathize with even a single character in the book and it all felt very boring to me. Sadly, Play With Me was a read that I did not enjoy.

*Note: A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. We thank them.