Play with Me

Angels of Désirer, Book 3

Carmela: Someone is trying to kill me.

For weeks, I’ve been receiving letters at my club with the same warning: they’re coming for me.

And they’re leaving a trail of bodies in their wake.

When my ex—a high-profile senator—says he’s flying in an experienced detective to handle the case, the last thing I expect is a cocky, condescending jerk who I can’t seem to take my eyes off of.

Anderson Brooks is the worst person for the job, and now we have to work together to attempt to lure the murderer out, by putting on a show at my exclusive club.

The line between lust and hate is thin, and we blur it like watercolors on a canvas.

Neither of us wants to work with each other.

Now, if we could stop ending up in bed together, that would be great.

Anders: I get called to New York when Carmela Lane starts getting threats from someone who’s murdering members of her club. I’m supposed to keep her safe, but the fact that we despise each other doesn’t make it easy.

Neither does the fact that we can’t seem to stop tearing each other’s clothes off.

With her life on the line, it’s a race to catch the killer.

That is if we don’t end up killing each other first.

Play With Me is the third book in the Angels of Désirer series, which is an interconnected stand-alone series. It can be listened to alone. This book deals with heavy themes. Please check the warnings.

©2024 D.L. Darby (P)2025 Blue Nose Publishing

Enemies, Fire, and Désirer… My Favorite Yet! 🔥

I think this might be my favorite in the Angels of Désirer series so far! This time we dive into Carmela’s story, the woman behind Désirer, and finally get to see what shaped her into the powerhouse she is. We get a glimpse into her past and how she met Mick, and honestly… my heart broke for everything she went through with him. He gave me the ick real fast.

When Carmela starts receiving threatening notes, an investigator named Anders is brought in to help but here’s the twist: she meets him before knowing who he is, and the two share one insanely steamy night together. 👀 The next day? Surprise! He’s that investigator, and when he finds out what she does for a living, he immediately judges her, calling her a prostitute and insisting he’s “not into that type of woman.” Cue my rage and my obsession.

From there, it’s enemies-to-lovers tension at its finest. Anders starts off as a total ass, but honestly… there’s just something about a man who falls hard once he realizes the woman he underestimated is everything he never knew he needed. The chemistry? Explosive. The twists? Didn’t see them coming. I was absolutely rooting for these two the entire time. Carmela’s fiery, fierce personality paired with Anders’ commanding presence made every scene feel like a power play and I ate it up.

This audiobook was perfection. This was my first time listening to Janine Granda, and she nailed Carmela’s Latina accent and attitude. She brought out every layer of fire, sass, and vulnerability in her performance. And Robert Hatchet? That man never disappoints. His tone fit Anders perfectly authoritative, confident, and undeniably sexy. Together, their duet chemistry was phenomenal.

Incredible story and narration

This book & audio was **Chef's Kiss**

Law and Order meets Sex & The City in the most delicious book by DL. Darby.

Carmela is a fiery badass who holds back nothing. She is fierce, stands up for what she believes in and protects everyone she loves.
I loved getting to know her back story with Mick who we meet in books 1 & 2. I never liked him and I never will.

Anders... OH Anders... he really is the definition of 'let him warm up to you'. Because if there is anything you'll learn about Anders is he's FROZEN before he becomes VOLCANIC!

The inevitable chemistry between those two.. 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Carmela is a dominating badass and she definitely got Anders to bend the knee..

Janine & Robert brought these characters to life with the perfect voices & emotions. The voice acting was impeccable.

Loved the dirty talk!

Good plot and nice spice. Love a dirty talking MMC (4 out of 5 for that category).

Great 3rd book

Ok, so I really liked most of the story. The only disappointing part was the end. I was really pissed about how some of the ending played out. There was a lot of murder in this book, I wasn’t fully expecting that. I think there was possibly more spice in this book than the last one or roughly the same. Either way, the spice was good. The narrators were good and the duet narration did well.

Unexpected secrets and lots of suspense!

ᴀᴜᴅɪᴏʙᴏᴏᴋ ʀᴇᴠɪᴇᴡ 🎧: ᴘʟᴀʏ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴍᴇ ʙʏ ᴅ.ʟ. ᴅᴀʀʙʏ

This book was full of surprises I was not expecting. We meet Carmela in the previous books of the series and loved her big boss lady vibes and she brought all that and more here.

There is so much I want to say but I don’t want to spoil anything. I didn’t read any reviews before diving in so just the knowledge of the previous books and characters and I am glad I did. Darby did a great job of making me think one thing but giving me something else in all the best ways. I will say the power struggle between the characters was great. This is a standalone but I feel like to get a better reading experience they should be read in order since the characters from the series all connect throughout the series.

The audiobook was wow. I loved Janine Granda voice as Carmela she totally brought her boss lady vibes. Robert Hatchet did a great job as well. Amazing overall narrator performance.




Forehead Kiss |Adult Sex Club | Forced Proximity |Fake Relationship | Dominance Struggle | Whodunit | Touch Her & ☠️ | Workplace Romance | Exhibitionism/Voyeurism | Mutual Pining | Suspenseful | Baby Girl | Good Boy