Blog Tour: Don't Hate The Player Hate The Game By Katie Ashley

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Don't Hate the Player...Hate the Game

By:  Katie Ashley
Published:  April 30, 2013
Genre:  New Adult


GR's Summary:

For Noah Sullivan being the best friend to a douchebag and player like Jake Nelson has never been easy. It's been a rocky road since kindergarten when Jake duct taped Noah to his chair before recess. With just six weeks to high school graduation, Jake accidentally blows his drunken ass up on his grandfather's tractor, and Noah finds himself immersed not only in a whirlwind of grief, but on a quest to find a mystery girl from Jake's past. 

While cleaning out Jake's room, Noah and Jake's dad make a startling discovery. Instead of the obligatory porn collection or pot stash, they find a ring, but not just any ring. Its half a carat of commitment in a platinum setting-proving even man whores have taste. After Jake's mom pleads with Noah to find the girl who meant so much to Jake, Noah begins a modern day Grail quest to track the girl down.

Since Jake was a notorious player with a legendary collection of trophy panties, Noah finds himself in over his head. There are the usual suspects like Avery, the Ice Princess Jake dated for appearances, or Presley, the school mattress Jake dated for convenience. But the trail begins to point to the most unlikely of suspects: Maddie, the Valedictorian and choir girl who was trying to help the unmotivated jock graduate--the girl who also has surprisingly caught Noah's eye and meddled with his heart. 

Hanging out with Maddie shows Noah a different side of Jake--one that was deeply human and surprisingly douche-free. And the more he tries to solve the mystery of the ring and of Jake, the more Noah starts to discover about himself and of love.

My Journey:

Don't Hate the Player Hate the Game, by Katie Ashley is a great high school love story.  In the beginning of the story we meet Noah Sullivan.  Noah is the sensitive type, who always does what he is suppose to do.  When he's with Jake Nelson, his best friend, there is nothing but trouble!  Jake is a player, that has two girls he is doing at the same time.  The ice princess, Avery Moore, and the stuck up school slut, Presley Patterson.  He humiliates kids, plays pranks on people, gets stinking drunk, copies and cheats off other people's work, and frankly, just doesn't give a damn about anything.  Well, that is what his best friend Noah thinks, and he has known him since Kindergarten.  Unfortunately, at the very beginning of the book, Noah's best friend, Jake, the party animal, is off spending his Spring break chilling with his grandparents instead of out raising hell with his friends.  He accidentally kills himself, in a freak accident, and the journey begins in finding out who Jake really was underneath all the callous behavior and facade.   Noah finds out about his friend's death from the staff at school, that call in the gang of kids that use to hang out with Jake, so they can tell them about his death at the same time.  Noah is devastated by the news, and proceeds to run outside, and fall apart.  He can't believe that this has happened, and still hasn't come to terms with the death of his Grandfather from cancer, (more a father) from two years prior.  Jake goes through a reflective period, and remembers all of the sentimental times, and out of character moments he shared with Jake.  Jake was actually a sensitive guy, though he only let others see his, "douche bag" side.  When school ended the boys had already planned to share a dorm room at Georgia Tech, and become fraternity brothers.  Now, Noah was all alone to find his own way, without the friend that had been by his side since he taped him to the chair in Kindergarten.  Noah sobbed uncontrollably, not knowing if he could stand the heart-wrenching pain.  All the kids from their "crew" were devastated.  Noah goes on a quest to find a mystery girl that was suppose to be the recipient of a beautiful engagement ring from his friend Jake, at the request of his mom.  The ring was found by accident while going through Jake's belongings after his death.  This is the journey Noah travels to find the girl, but what he finds only leaves him more confused, and leaves his feelings festering.  His journey leads him to Maddie Parker, (the pastor's daughter, and Jake's tutor/friend) on his quest for the truth, and he feels himself falling for her.  Is he making the right decisions, or is he betraying his best friend?


I loved the way Ms. Ashley let the reader into the psyche of Noah, and let us see him at his best, and his worst.  The reader gets Noah's point of view, and it helps to understand what is going on with the turmoil that overtakes him.  I found Noah changing and almost taking over where his friend Jake left off.  He is troubled, and at times disrespectful, and luckily for him, his mother is very understanding with the devastation she knows has inundated her son.   


There are so many revalations that come to the forefront throughout, Don't Hate the Player.  The reader learns of them, as they become, "AHA Moments" for Noah.  So many things were overlooked over the years of their friendship.  I loved the story telling, and could not put down the book.  When good things were said about Jake, his friends wondered if they were made up or true since they never saw that side of him.


This book is a roller coaster ride through the perils of Noah and Maddie.  The way Maddie helps Noah find himself, and Jake's mother, (Mrs. Nelson) brings reality to the forefront for the sake of Noah.  This is a wonderful full circle story of friendship, love, redemption, and closure.  Get your kleenex ready!  You will sob your heart out in this long, sad, journey.  I give, Don't hate the Player, Hate the Game 4.5 devastaingly sad, regretful, loving, heart felt stars!

About the Author:

Katie Ashley is the New York Times, USA Today, and Amazon Best-Selling author of The Proposition. She lives outside of Atlanta, Georgia with her two very spoiled dogs and one outnumbered cat. She has a slight obsession with Pinterest, The Golden Girls, Harry Potter, Shakespeare, Supernatural, Designing Women, and Scooby-Doo.

She spent 11 1/2 years educating the Youth of America aka teaching MS and HS English until she left to write full time in December 2012.

She also writes Young Adult fiction under the name Krista Ashe.

Katie Ashley's:

Twitter/Facebook/Goodreads/Website

Purchase At:

Amazon/Barnes and Noble/Smashwords

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