Playing for Keeps by Nora Roberts(2013)

This is a reprint of two Silhouette books:

Opposites Attract (1984)
I forgot that Silhouette books are too simplistic for my taste. This one takes place on the tennis circuit, where two top players - Ty Starbuck and Asher Wolfe are in love, but some unexplained past issues stand in their way. I guess I did get a better sense of the intensity of the tennis world, and since I have a relative who makes his living training tennis players, it helps to understand the sport, the individuality of it, the need for intense focus. Not that other sports don't need focus, but there is something about having to read your opponent and having to react to what they give you in such an intense way that sounded fascinating. And as in any performance, a lot depends on where your head is at, what is going on in your life, and what you do with your emotions.  They did traipse around the world in this book, but I have liked the Roberts books that are immersed in a particular setting better.


Partners (1985)
At least this romance comes with a mystery, maybe not the greatest mystery, but it added some spice. The book was set in New Orleans, a city I love, but I did not get any flavor of the city, except for the heat, surrounding large estates and the swamp. The romance is between Laurel Armand, a reporter whose father owns the paper, and Matthew Bates, a reporter from New York who has been interested in her since her brother was his roommate in college. They both start investigating the death of a young woman, who might have been murdered. Then Laurel gets warnings to stay away, which of course only leads them to want to investigate even more, and Matt gets to comfort her, which finally brings them together. Fluff, but I kept reading. I have to find the more substantial Robert’s books, maybe stay away from those she wrote for Silhouette.