
There are three things I know about New York so far: everybody is late for something, nobody has a freakinā clue what sweet tea is, and King Kong himself is still alive and well and has taken the form of a growly blacksmith named Mac.
This is no shifter story and Iām not his prey, although I wouldnāt say no if he asked for a little taste. Iāve been saddled with interviewing the beast to secure my new dream job in publishing, but his intense stares and monosyllabic responses are making my job impossible. I just need to get this over with and move on to navigating my new life and career. Iāve got this, right?
But my professional and personal challenges are proving bigger than I realized, and Mac might be the only one who truly understands this game. Heāll be my biggest ally if I let himāand the way he keeps saying my name makes me really want to let him. The thing is, this city is known for breaking hearts, and it doesnāt care if youāre the new girl in town or the beast who calls it home.

Title: | Game Changer |
Author: | Sylvie Stewart |
Narrator(s): | Meg Price |
Series: | – |
Pages / Length: | 412 / 10 hrs 50 mins |
Category / Genre(s): | Contemporary Romantic Comedy Audiobook |
Trope(s): | Enemies to Lovers Fish out of Water |
Point of View: | First Person, Past Tense, Single Viewpoint (h) |
Narration Type: | Single Voice |
Location: | New York & Georgia, USA |
HEA: | ā |
Release Date: | 15th November, 2019 |


Fun, love and emotion

Iām having the best time reading (listening) my way through Sylvie Stewartās back catalogue. Game Changer is a standalone novel and not connected to any other of Ms Stewartās books – although I wouldnāt be averse to reading more from other people from this group, especially Poppyās sister.
Poppy is a magazine editor who has just landed her dream job in New York. She loves her small Georgia hometown and her tight-knit family and friends – but she feels she has to spread her wings in the big city. In order to fit in, Poppy finds herself toning down her Southern-ness, and struggling to fit in, while also struggling with the big, broody and maddening Mac, the reclusive star she has to interview in order to keep her job.
I have to start with the narrator of this story as she is absolute perfection in her role. Now Iām not American, so I canāt really testify to the authenticity of her accent, but she sounded exactly what I would expect a southern gal to sound. Meg Price also really adds the sass and spark of Poppy, and her character just shines through. To be honest, I could have listened to Ms Priceās voice forever. Glorious! The book is also written solely from Poppyās point of view, which means more from Meg Price, and I donāt have to complain about one narrator reading both points of view.
With the story only coming from Poppyās point of view, it also lends itself to the mystery of Mac. We only ever know what Poppy knows which is great for the slow burn, gradual build of feelings and chemistry between her and Mac. Itās hard, then, to describe Mac as a character except to say heās a beast of man – burly, grumpy, brooding and suspicious, especially of Poppy and her motives. But he was also tenacious and his blindsiding of Poppy as the pair start to date, was unexpected and adorable. And extra points for all the handholding in the book. Thereās something surprisingly arousing about a grumpy man enjoying the simple connection of holding his sunshineās hand. Sigh.
“Meg Price also really adds the sass and spark of Poppy, and her character just shines through.”
As the story builds, thereās a nice amount of heat with our couple and I really felt the developing relationship and feelings between them. I also enjoyed the story thread running through the love story. It was interesting and while not a big mystery, I didnāt see the outcome of that coming. I also liked the way Poppyās feelings about her move from a small town to big city, and missing her friends and family, was handled. It was emotive but not too heavy; it felt exactly right.
There were also a good amount of secondary characters. None that overshadowed our main pair or their story, but they just added something extra. Naveed and Poppyās sister are definitely worth a mention. Oh and Poppyās grandma and her pearls of āwisdomā before each chapter.
As always with Sylvie Stewartās stories we get a whole heap of humour added in with the romance. I laughed out loud on so many occasions and generally had such a good time listening to this story.
Although Iām giving this 5 stars, I do have one teeny tiny complaint. Mac is of Scottish origin and speaks Gaelic to Poppy on occasion. I donāt speak Gaelic myself, so I canāt say whether it was correct, but I do know that the narrator continually pronounced it like you would Irish Gaelic, rather than Scottish Gaelic. Just a quickie that someone should have picked up on (or checked) before production. But I know that it doesnāt affect the story and my Scottish ass is just over-sensitive about these kind of things!
Anyway, with that said, this is another fun and delicious story from Sylvie Stewart and one that I very much enjoyed getting stuck into. Definitely a recommended read/listen and very worthy of 5 full stars.




USA Today bestselling author Sylvie Stewart is addicted to Romantic Comedy and Contemporary Romance, and sheās not looking for a cure. She hails from the great state of North Carolina, so itās no surprise that most of her books are set in the Tar Heel state. Sheās a wife to a hilarious dude and mommy to ten-year-old twin boys who tend to take after their father in every way. Sylvie often wonders if theyāre actually hers, but then she remembers being a human incubator for a gazillion months. Ah, good times.
Sylvie began publishing when her kids started elementary school, and she loves sharing her stories with readers and hopefully making them laugh and swoon a bit along the way. If sheās not in her comfy green writing chair, sheās probably camping or kayaking with her family or having a glass of wine while binge-watching Hulu. Or sheās been kidnappedāso what are you doing just sitting there?!!

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