Armenian by heritage, born in Iran, lived in Barcelona, and escaped New York until he found his home in Los Angeles, Ara’s first eleven years were both busy and confusing. The fruit salad of languages would slow down his genetically encoded need to tell stories. Until then, an alter ego would be required…
He received an engineering degree from California State University Northridge and earned his MBA from the University of Southern California. Today, he is a technology executive in the entertainment industry. True to the Hollywood life, Ara wrote for a children’s television pilot that could have made him rich (but didn’t) and nearly sold a video game to a major publisher (who closed shop days later).
But something was amiss until his wife read him the riot act. “Will you stop talking about wanting to be a writer and just do it?” So with her support (and mandate), and their two boys serving as his muse, he wrote stories.
Fascinated by the human species, Ara writes about choices, relationships, and second chances. Always a sucker for a hopeful ending, he writes contemporary romance stories. He is an alumnus of both the Santa Barbara Writers Conference and Southern California Writers’ Conference (where he also serves as a workshop leader). Ara is an active member of the Romance Writers of America and its Los Angeles chapter.
Ara is represented by Stacey Donaghy.
My Thoughts
I really liked Game of Love because it was interesting and engaging. I was actually surprised by how much I liked it. I'm not big into tennis, but I signed up for a review copy because the story itself seemed interesting and I was intrigued enough to want to read it. Although it's a typical opposites attract tale, author Ara Grigorian kept the plot fresh and had well developed characters.
Despite not really having an interest in tennis itself, I enjoyed the athletic aspect of the story. Gemma is a driven woman, choosing to focus on tennis, to the exclusion of other pursuits. I thought this was admirable and I appreciated what she was giving up in order to succeed. However, it was nice to see her be able to relax around Andre and be herself, without all the pressure to be the best.
Ara Grigorian did a great job of portraying what it is like to be a celebrity and all that comes along with it. The average person might think it's cool to be well known and have people always wanting to meet you and get your autograph (among other things), but it reality it is very intrusive on a celebrity's personal life and it's hard to live like that - always looking over your shoulder and having to censor every little thing you do or say because it might show up on the internet the next day.
Game of Love combines sports and romance in a entertaining novel that I recommend to anyone who likes a good love story full of passion.
Game of Love
New Adult Contemporary Sports Romance
Published: 4 May 2015 by Curiosity Quill Press
Gemma Lennon has spent nearly all of her 21 years focused on one thing: Winning a Grand Slam. After a disastrous and very public scandal and subsequent loss at the Australian Open, Gemma is now laser-focused on winning the French Open. Nothing and no one will derail her shot at winning - until a heated chance encounter with brilliant and sexy Andre Reyes threatens to throw her off her game.
Breaking her own rules, Gemma begins a whirlwind romance with Andre who shows her that love and a life off the court might be the real prize. With him, she learns to trust and love… at precisely the worst time in her career. The pressure from her home country, fans, and even the Prime Minister to be the first British woman to win in nearly four decades weighs heavily.
As Wimbledon begins, fabricated and sensationalized news about them spreads, fueling the paparazzi, and hurting her performance. Now, she must reconsider everything, because in the high-stakes game of love, anyone can be the enemy within… even lovers and even friends.
In the Game of Love, winner takes all.
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