Stacia in Progress

3.5 stars. Rounding up because Jason is such a rock star. She quietly said good night, rolled her eyes as Jason mumbled, "I love you" to his brownies, and headed off to the bathroom.I picked up Playing for Keeps because it was getting some attention and I was curious to see why a seemingly unnoticeable book (have you seen the cover?) was starting to cause a stir.What I was expecting : Neighbors who don't get along spend half of a book torturing the living daylights out of each other before they finally realize their attraction.What really happened : Neighbors torture each other for a very brief period of time, before the rest of the book has them exploring a friends-turned-lovers scenario.While I had hoped for a lot more "neighbor from hell" action, I was not disappointed with the turn of events. Granted, it would have been a riot to read an entire book of neighbors sabotaging each other (if you guys know of one, shoot me a rec, please)...but I can honestly say that this was a fun read, regardless of how it turned out!This book does prove that I am the queen of double standards. I have a statement on my profile saying that it's up the author to convince me to buy into something I wouldn't normally like about a book. I'm happy to report that this author had me buying everything hook, line and sinker.Drama : As much as I enjoy reading a good drama-fest, I usually find myself complaining that it's been done in such a manner which is way too over-the-top. PFK is an example of how to write drama into a book without taking it to a point where you want to strangle the characters.Nicknames : Again, this is another big turnoff for me. Outside of VA's endearing use of Roza and Dimka, I'm usually not a fan. I know that not everyone loved the use of "Grasshopper" in this book but I found it cute and personal. Maybe because of this : She glared over her shoulder at him. "I'm not going to call you Mr. Miyagi you know.""Yes you will, but that's not important at the moment."Epilogues : Rarely, are they necessary. In the case of PFK, I appreciated the followup.I enjoyed the book so much that I didn't even mind a few typos. In fact, one of them even added to my enjoyment. How could you not laugh at : Fists of Furry?Love story aside, Jason is the real reason to read PFK. His love for food is probably even more entertaining than his love for Hayley."You never brought me to a buffet restaurant at home," she pointed out.Jason mumbled something."What?" she asked."I said, I've been banned," he grumbled unhappily. "It's all political," he sniffed."Uh huh...and your father?" she asked."He's been banned since 1995," Jason said with a shrug. "In two years the ban in Las Vegas will be lifted. We're planning a big trip," he said."You've been banned from Las Vegas?""Not from Las Vegas, just from all the buffets.""All the buffets?" There had to be hundreds of buffets in Las Vegas."I guess they had a meeting or something. As I said before, it's all political."