Played

Continuing my quest to get through my physical TBR—and apparently become intimately acquainted with every member of the James family—we’ve arrived at Book 4 in the Manhattan Ruthless series by Sadie Kincaid: Played.

Now, if you’ve been keeping score:

* Nathan almost lost his marriage because he trusted the wrong people.

* Drake works 24/7 and keeps secrets like they’re government documents.

* Elijah and Amber spent fourteen years refusing to communicate.

* And now we have Mason.

The handsome one.

The gay brother.

The COO of Jamestech.

The man who, according to family lore, never falls in love.

Baby... after this book? We know exactly why.

Grab your swim cap and your floaties because we’re about to dive headfirst into trauma, billionaires, homophobic parents, and enough family secrets to make the CIA nervous.

## 📚 Plot + Vibe Dump (aka controlled chaos summary)

Eighteen years ago, Mason James fell in love with Kyngston Worthington IV.

Unfortunately, Kyngston also came with:

* a violently homophobic father,

* a spineless socialite mother,

* generational wealth,

* and enough internalized self-hatred to power Manhattan.

Fast forward to present day and Kyngston is now King Blackthorn. He’s changed his name, buried his old life, and returned to New York to care for his dying grandfather—the only member of his family who ever actually loved him.

Meanwhile, Jamestech has an information leak, and who gets hired to investigate it?

You guessed it.

The ex-boyfriend who shattered Mason’s heart.

And when Mason sees King standing in Elijah’s office after eighteen years?

Baby, if King doesn’t leave immediately, there’s about to be some slow singing and flower bringing because Mason James is ready to throw that man through a window.

I was CACKLING.

## 💀 Character Crimes Section

### Mason James (MMC)

I would like to formally announce that I understand the hype.

I get it now.

Move over Nathan. Slide over Drake. Elijah, I still love you, but this is Mason’s world and we’re all just living in it.

This man is:

* successful,

* fiercely loyal,

* hilarious,

* an amazing uncle,

* emotionally intelligent,

* and carrying enough hidden pain to break your heart.

What got me was that Mason spent eighteen years carrying this secret by himself.

He never told his brothers.

He never told his parents.

He buried what happened to him because at the same time his own world was falling apart, his mother’s cancer came back.

The scene where he comes home after being assaulted by King’s father only to find his entire family crying over Verona’s diagnosis?

I had to put the book down.

And then this sweet, kind, loving man still somehow grows up to be the brother everybody leans on.

Excuse me while I cry.

### King Blackthorn (MMC #2)

SIR.

We need to talk.

I understand trauma.

I understand survival.

I understand what happens to a child raised by monsters.

But I spent at least half this book wanting to grab King by the shoulders and yell:

LEAVE MASON ALONE IF YOU’RE JUST GOING TO BREAK HIS HEART AGAIN.

This man:

* stays in the closet,

* pushes Mason away,

* gets jealous,

* stalks Mason’s dating life,

* wants to control everything,

* and somehow still acts like the victim.

This ain’t Wimbledon, baby.

Stop batting Mason’s feelings back and forth over the net.

Now…once the truth comes out?

That his father chained a FOURTEEN-YEAR-OLD CHILD in the basement, starved him, beat him, and forced him to renounce who he was?

Everything clicked into place.

King didn’t just leave Mason.

He was surviving.

And while I still think he should’ve groveled harder—and I mean ON HIS KNEES harder—I understood him in a way I didn’t before.

But let the record show:

Mason forgave that man quicker than I would have.

I would’ve made him suffer just a little longer.

## 🏆 MVP Section

Grandpa Blackthorn.

A gay ally. A legend. An icon.

This sweet old man takes one look at Mason and immediately goes:

> “He’s gay, isn’t he? I have a finely tuned gaydar.”

😭😭😭

And then he tells King not to let anybody—not even his parents—stop him from finding love and living authentically.

Protect Grandpa Blackthorn at all costs.

Honorable Mention: Bill the doorman.

King tried his nonsense and Bill was READY.

> “Leave or I’ll have the police remove you.”

Bill said, “Not on my watch, sir.”

## 👀 Side-Eye Section

Kyngston Worthington III and his wife.

Straight to jail.

No trial.

No appeals.

No sympathy.

These two are among the worst parents I’ve ever read in romance, and that’s saying something because I read mafia books for fun.

What they did to King was monstrous.

What his father did to Mason?

Unforgivable.

Also, shout out to Verona James, who was ready to put out a contract on whoever hurt her baby boy. That’s my kind of mother.

## 🔥 Spice Rating (13Pages Scale)

🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ = Why Is This So Graphic I Was Just Trying To Read

Sadie Kincaid, respectfully…

You could have cut at least two of these scenes and given me another chapter of emotional healing.

Optional tag:

“Plot paused for another orgasm.”

## 📊 Book Rating (13Pages Scale)

⭐⭐⭐⭐ = I liked it but I will be complaining.

## 🧨 Final Verdict (signature sass paragraph)

This book surprised me.

I thought Nathan would always be my favorite James brother.

I was wrong.

Mason walked onto the field, hit a walk-off home run, turned the stadium lights off, and told everybody else to go home.

This story was funny, heartbreaking, rich, and deeply emotional. I loved seeing the family dynamics up close:

* Elijah quietly stepping into the father role,

* Nathan and Drake operating like twins,

* Maddox and Mason having the sweetest sibling relationship in the entire series.

And I especially loved seeing Mason finally open up—to his brothers, to Amber, and eventually to himself.

My biggest complaint?

King didn’t grovel enough.

I understand why he did what he did.

I understand he was abused.

I understand he was terrified.

But after eighteen years of pain and what happened to Mason at the hands of his father?

I needed a little more suffering from that man.

Still…

The happily ever after felt earned.

And honestly? The moment Nathan called Shane and Connor Ryan because King disappeared?

I knew this family had fully adopted him already.

That’s the good stuff.

## 💬 Signature Outro Line

This family keeps secrets longer than Fort Knox, but somehow they still find their way back to each other. And honestly? I’m rooting for every last one of them.