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Liked It1 of 1 members found this review helpful “August 2008 (c) Gracie C. McKeever |
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“An enjoyable read to while away the afternoon with, Jax & Treena are both believable and interesting as are the secondary characters. I'm looking forward to finding and reading the sequel(s) to this. Grade C+”
FictionFreek wrote this review Sunday, May 17 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No1 of 1 members found this review helpful“August 2008 (c) Gracie C. McKeever
Gracie wrote this review Tuesday, October 28 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Jax Gallagher has made an amateur's mistake and wagered away a valuable baseball in a poker game. Problem is, the ball does not belong to him but to his father's widow.
Jax has a plan to get the ball and it involves a lot of charm and a lot of lying.
Treena McCall is a showgirl with dreams of opening up her own dance studio once her career as a Las Vegas showgirl/dancer is through. The baseball in her possession could easily pay for the downpayment on a studio with plenty to spare, but Treena cannot bear to part with it for it was meant for her husband's son. And no matter how no-good Treena thinks the stepson she has yet to meet is, she wants to abide by her dead husband's wishes.
Jax's plans soon go awry when he meets and gradually falls into the very beautiful showgirl's good graces and discovers that she is not the selfish and gold-digging younger wife that he had Treena originally pegged for. Now his heart is involved and he doesn't know how to come clean to Treena before his time runs out and his debtor comes to collect what belongs to him.
Jax and Treena make a great, combustible couple, their love scenes off-the-chart sizzling and flowing.
Andersen's narrative is smooth and fast-paced with natural, witty dialogue and great characterizations--both main and secondary (there's an engaging subplot and romance involving two of Treena's older neighbors--Mack and Ellen--that I really enjoyed following).
This was an old-fashioned, boy-meets-girl contemporary romance that was well-written and rose above the cliches.
I look forward to reading the sequel with Carly and Wolfgang.”
“Review I wrote for AAR and gave it a C+ grade and Hot sensuality: "Susan Andersen’s latest offers a twist with its unconventional occupations for both the hero and heroine. No spy, cop, architect, or powerful businessman here – the hero is a professional gambler. And breaking new ground for me is this heroine’s occupation – she is a Las Vegas showgirl who, I quickly discovered, dances in a topless chorus line. Hmmm…interesting territory for a heroine. Jax Gallagher, aka Jackson Gallagher McCall, is considered a financial success in the world of international poker. A mathematical genius, he has an aptitude for remembering cards and calculating odds that few can match. More intellectual than athletic he had been a grave disappointment to his sports-minded father, Big Jim McCall. At fourteen he received a full scholarship to MIT and had seen little of his estranged father since. Jax was certain Big Jim had been duped by a scheming gold digger when, a year earlier, he had proudly married a Las Vegas showgirl. Now Big Jim was dead, leaving a wealthy widow behind and in possession of the one thing he had to have - a 1927 World Series baseball. Treena McCall is feeling every bit of her thirty-five years as she competes to keep her place in the chorus line of a lavish Las Vegas revue. Returning to this cutthroat industry after taking a year off to care for her ailing husband is difficult and a sense of desperation is slowly creeping over her. What will she do with her life when she ultimately fails the annual show audition? Her dream of owning a dance studio was no longer an option. All of the funds she had saved for her dream studio, as well as Big Jim’s money, had gone to cover his health care. Mind control is essential to Jax’s methodical lifestyle but now his life is a total mess and control is fleeting. After a mind boggling loss in a game of one-on-one poker, his life is in jeopardy until he can deliver the winnings. Upon learning of his father’s death, Jax had uncharacteristically buried himself in alcohol in the company of Sergei Kirov, a Russian thug who dresses like Elvis in everyday life and maniacally collects baseball memorabilia. When Sergei boasts of his latest addition to his 1927 World Series collection, Jax can’t resist bragging that he owns the first home run ball of that series, although he doubts his father actually left him the valuable piece. Before the night is over, Jax has not only staked his father’s baseball in a game with Sergei but has lost it as well. He knows he can’t welsh on the bet but he has to find the thing before he can hand it over; therefore, Las Vegas becomes his next destination. Losing is as much a part of gambling as winning, I suppose, but this incident reeked more of stupidity than bad luck. Since Jax is written as a cautious, successful gambler with a sharp mind that constantly assesses the odds, this predicament seemed wholly out of character. As a result, Jax’s carefully controlled existence begins to spin out of control, causing an otherwise reasonable man to make some grave errors in judgment – particularly when Treena enters his life. Since Jax considers Treena a money-grabbing woman with morals to match, he won’t seriously consider just asking her for the infamous ball. They have never met, so he decides disguise, seduction and theft are the best route to reclaim his baseball. He must create his own opportunity to meet her since it is evident a straight pickup won’t work plus the grieving widow doesn’t seem to date at all. His carefully planned manipulation works so well that he has a date with Treena minutes after rescuing her from a tray of spilled drinks. Treena is quite taken with the apologetic yet strikingly attractive man. Normally she refuses any attention from male admirers after a show but he seems different somehow. After such a bleak existence this past year, she is ready for some fun time, especially with a man who triggers such animal attraction within her. Deception can be an effective means of setting up a story – it is its continued use without resolution that becomes tiresome for me. Jax’s false identity and deceptive seduction create quite a dilemma when he begins to care for Treena. Since he enjoys her company and her bed, he can’t seem to gather enough courage to fess up about his charade causing him to appear indecisive as well as cowardly. Treena’s refreshing character was one of my favorite aspects of Skintight. Not hardened by life as I expected, she exhibits kindness, charm and vulnerability. Although tainted by his continued dishonesty, Jax is a likable, slightly tortured hero who easily earns your sympathy. His discovery of enjoyment in some of the more mundane aspects of life - such as cleaning Treena’s apartment - displays an undeveloped tenderness within him. A strong family element is present among Treena’s neighbors with two middle-aged characters creating sparks for a satisfying secondary romance. Treena’s best friend, neighbor, and fellow dancer, Carly, is a strong secondary character who I predict will be featured in the second of two books Andersen has planned featuring Las Vegas showgirls. Treena and Jax had the beginnings of a terrific couple – I even accepted his initial dishonesty with barely a thought other than it seemed a trifle immature. But waiting for that other shoe to drop quickly became tedious and spoiled a promising love story. Consequently, the leads were stifled by a lack of growth that could have developed within an environment of some honesty. This glimpse of life on the stage and in the casino was intriguing as well as enlightening, but ultimately even it was short-changed by the story’s predictable culmination." ”
Lea AAR wrote this review Sunday, May 25 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I really enjoyed this story. One of the best contemporary romances I have read in awhile. I like how Susan Andersen doesn't play up the stereotypes of gambler or the showgirl.”
blackadder wrote this review Thursday, March 20 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
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