SKINTIGHT

Author: Susan Andersen ISBN: 0778322009 7/2005 CONTEMPORARY Publisher: MIRA

In a rare moment, professional poker player Jax Gallagher committed a rookie's mistake. He threw an IOU for a valuable baseball that wasn't his to wager into the pot -- and lost. Now the man who won the collectible is demanding his prize . . . or else. The problem is, the ball is in the possession of his estranged father's widow -- a flamboyant Las Vegas showgirl. Jax intends to get it back, by any means available. Only, Treena McCall is anything but the ruthless gold digger Jax expects. She's built a life for herself filled with good friends and hard work. And if she sometimes wonders what it would be like to share her dreams with someone, she can live with the suspense. She's got enough on her plate tyring to hang on to her job as a dancer without being wined, dined, and seduced by sexy Jax Gallagher. In Vegas there's more than one way to lose your shirt, and both Jax and Treena know better than to bet on love. Yet sometimes rolling the dice in a high-stakes game can lead to a prize beyond compare -- if you have the courage to gamble your heart.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

If you like subtle, slow-building romance instead of the usual, i.e. filled with endless sex scenes, then SKINTIGHT is a must read. SKINTIGHT is the story of a professional poker player who attempts to steal a valuable baseball from a Las Vegas showgirl. The plot is fast moving and Andersen is anything but your typical romance author. She actually uses words that require more than a high school education.

Susan Andersen has created colorful, dynamic and life-like characters. Jax Gallagher is the professional poker player who attempts to Don-Juan his way into a Las Vegas showgirl's pants. He tries desperately not to fall in love with her, except he is the only one convinced he has not fallen for her. However, it is apparent from chapter one that Jax and his showgirl are destined for one another.

Treena McCall is the Las Vegas show girl and the receiver of Jax's romantic seduction. Jax believes Treena is a ruthless gold digger and feels no remorse stealing from her. Treena is written as the nice girl-next-door and only Jax is assured of her cunning ways. Unfortunately there is no mystery as to how this novel will end. The guy gets the girl, they fall madly in love and live happily ever after, and all this is laid out in the first chapter.

Although SKINTIGHT is well-written, the story line is predictable, which makes this a disappointing read.

Kendra Wheeler