Customer Reviews

Just for Kicks

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Vegas showgirl Carly is having trouble getting her pup Rufus to behave and her sexy neighbor's patience has just about run out. To add insult to injury, neighbor Wolfgang Jones is second in command in security at the casino she works for, forcing them to coexist in a truce-like atmosphere. Wolf's future plans don't include getting involved with a sexy showgirl with legs up to here, but when his nephew Nik is suddenly thrust on his doorstep, and strikes up a friendship with Carly and her motley crew of pets, Wolf realizes there's more to her than what meets the eye.

With Wolf and the rest of the friends and neighbors, Nik has finally found what he has missed most of his life - a sense of family. Nik knows that the only way to put an end to the nomadic existence he's been forced to contend with thanks to his flighty mother is to get Uncle Wolf to settle down, and what better candidate than Carly. As he schemes to get the two together, they quickly become willing pawns and enter into a sex for convenience relationship. Of course, despite their efforts, they both fall for each other, and everyone (but the two of them) seems to know how they feel about each. Meanwhile, Nik himself is falling for a cheerleader, giving further reason to stay put in Sin City. But the job Wolf has worked his while life for is suddenly on the table.

In a suspenseful twist that harkens back to Andersen's romantic suspense roots, Carly starts receiving anonymous gifts that suddenly turn threatening. Wolf enlists her as bait to set a trap to catch her would-be paramour. Knowing that their no-strings affair is about to end, Carly tries to distance herself from him, but is a boring corporate job in middle America what he really wants?

"Just for Kicks," a follow up to "Skintight," includes many of the original characters in the condo complex who add plenty of comic relief, though Carly's constant use of the term "toots" is grating. Carly and Wolf really burn up the pages (chapter 15!!), while Nik is the heart and soul of the story.

This book was charming, with well-drawn characters and a believable love story, but there was just something missing. . .

In my opinion, the lack of spark comes from Andersen's mix of "older" and "younger" dialogue. I had the same problem with the first book, "Skintight." Like some of the other reviewers, I, too, cringed every time Carly referred to someone as "toots" or referred to sex as the "hootchie-kootch." I mean, who uses terms like that anymore? There were times when the words sounded very much like a 30-something person; other times, they sounded like my grandmother. It kept a good book from being excellent. Ironically, Nik's "teenage" language was very well done. Too bad she couldn't have made Carly's language a little more realistic.

I would recommend this book as a light, pleasant read, nothing spectacular. Andersen has much better books that I consider keepers, but I would not count this as one of them.

This author writes on the verge of the dreaded "chick lit" genre
but keeps her books a little smarter and more developed. Here the gals, as usual, pretty much have it together. Interesting jobs, good friendships--all written up in the day-to-day worklife of a Las Vegas dancer/showgirl. The twist that makes this one a goodie is that two men enter our female leads life
who don't have it together. One, our male lead, is a strict, career oriented Casino security expert and an unsuspecting Uncle
to a smart, talented teen boy essentially kicked to the curb by his overwhelmed mother. Watching the change and development of these two guys as they enter into the lives/hearts of our solid female lead is wonderful and rings completely true. Stuff happens, usually with a reason and change is hard but the rewards make the hard stuff worthwhile. Well done, with just a little silly stuff inserted to give a some plot tension. Enjoy!

Just for Kicks is a light summer romance that succeeds in being fun and funny. Our heroine, Carly, can't stand her animal-hating, driven, uptight neighbor who just happens to be second in charge of security in the same casino where she works. Wolfgang has no patience for the seemingly flaky, flighty showgirl and her overly loud cats and dogs.

Although very attracted to the other, Carly and Wolf get a boost in the romance department from Wolf's matchmaking nephew, Nik. Nik has been moving from town to town his whole life and struggles with feelings of abandonment and acceptance until he moves in with Wolf. He attempts to set our hero and heroine up so that Wolf will have a reason to stay put rather than move away to his dream job. Carly and Wolf are fun characters with good chemistry and funny moments. I smiled, I laughed out loud, and I reread a couple of the steamy scenes. Overall, a fun and quick read.

Just For Kicks by Susan Andersen is an exceptional book. Its sassy, funny, emotional and sexy as it can get.

Carly Jacobsen, Las Vegas showgirl has been butting heads with the security expert Wolfgang Jones at work for months. Doesn't help matters that he is her next-door neighbor and has no sense of humor. But just one kiss has Carly rethinking her feelings for Mr. Cool As Ice.

Wolfgang Jones is a man with a plan. He knows where he wants to go and how he is going to get there. His orderly world is thrown for a loop when his teenage nephew comes to live with him. Factor in his growing attraction to his neighbor and all bets are off.

Carly and Wolf begin a short-term affair since Wolf has plans to move on to another town. But when Carly attracts a stalker both feelings begin to change.

Just For Kicks was an absolute treat. Wolf and Carly burn up the pages whether they are in a bed or not. The emotions are so deep and true and really moved me. I have re-read this book several times already. It's a must read.

This book was a good entertaining read and just what I expected from this author.

I have read several of her books and this one was consistent with those with the hero and heroine who act more like real people than romance novel characters. In Susan Anderen's books, not everyone is a billionaire prince or playboy and not every hero or heroine is perfect. Her characters like real people come with jobs, real problems, meddling family and friends. This book was no exception.

Carly is a Las Vegas showgirl who takes in stray animals. Wolfgang is a security specialist in the casino resort wher she works. They also happen to be neighbors and he constantly complains about her barking dogs. The two of them get together and there are actually real issues on their way to happily ever after. 1st Wolf wants to move up to a better job and that would require him leaving Vegas. Also, due to his childhood, he has definite ideas about what he wants out of life and Carly does not fit into his plans. Also, Carly is commitment shy and does not want to consider a future with anyone. The author resolves the issues between Carly adn Wolf throughout the book in a realistic manner. There is no miraculous last chapter resolution after 20 chapters of conflict. These characters grow and change throughout the book.

In addition to Carly and Wolf, we meet up with characters from the book Skintight again and Wolf's nephew Niklaus comes to live with him. It was good and natural to see Treena again since she is Carly's best friend in both books but I felt that alot of the author's efforts to put Jax in the book seemed forced and he did not flow as easily into the book. Niklaus is a good character and I liked his part in the story but I was not convinced that he was written realistically considering his background. I would have expected him to be alot harder than he was.

As in all of Ms. Andersen's books, the main characters do alot of swearing. This does make their language seem more natural but sometimes there was too much and it was distracting. Also, I agree with the reviewer who found Carly's use of the word "toots" annoying. After the umpteenth time, I was like enough already.

The sex scenes were HOT and there was none of that flowery language nonsense so prevalent in roomance novels.

I went with 4 stars because there was some drama in the book (I will not give away the storyline) that I felt was unnecessary. While it did push the characters to one of their breakthroughs, I felt that it was mostly unnecessary and distracted from the story. Also, some of the stuff I mentioned above.

All in all this was a good read. I laughed out loud in places and I related to the characters. It was exactly what I expected from this author and she did not disappoint.

Susan Andersen takes us back to the world of Las Vegas showgirls, where Treena McCall and Jax Gallagher last met and fell in love. This story is about Treena's best friend, co-worker, and neighbor, Carly Jacobsen. Carly is tall, blonde, beautiful, and built, and she's also big-hearted and fun-loving. Like the other characters, Carly has wounds from her past and had felt herself a misfit until realizing she fit in right where she was, and made a family with similar people who also built their lives in Sin City. Carly doesn't expect to add her uptight neighbor, security expert Wolfgang Jones, to the group because they detest each other. Carly tends to live in the moment while Wolf doesn't do anything he hasn't planned as carefully as a chess move, including his sex life. That all changes one day when they accidentally land in each other's arms and all but go up in flames. Intense animosity becomes red hot lust, and they find themselves sucked inexorably into an all-consuming affair. At the same time, Wolf's nephew Niklaus lands on his doorstep after nearly 17 years of being dragged from place to place by his flighty mother. Wolf, who had always found it safest to be solitary, suddenly finds himself a parent with a lover and burgeoning friendships. Nik, prepared to hate everyone and keep his distance from his rigid uncle, instead finds himself with a group of friends and a girl, as well as developing love and respect for his uncle.

Though there was only one very long, very well-written sex scene, this book is nevertheless very hot as it details not only the lust but the budding of very important, very deep feelings that can sometimes go with it. It doesn't stop there, though. It also dealt lightly with a teenage romance from the boy's point of view, and showed how the warmth of the love of friends can create a surrogate family for people whose lives have been fractured in one way or another. Wolf is an especially endearing character as he opens up from his "solitary is safe" stance to becoming a good parent to Nik and tumbling head over heels for Carly.

The focus of this book is very different from Andersen's last, "Skintight," which detailed a lot of the work that goes into being a showgirl. This one was more about cracking open wounded hearts and the healing power of many kinds of love, from burning romance to the bond with man's best friend. Susan Andersen has always written excellent modern romance, and this book really shows her stuff. She brings us her familiar sense of humor while humanizing larger than life characters. These people have flaws and vulnerabilities, and are so real you can almost touch them. I can't wait to see where the imagination of Susan Andersen will take me next.

Sequel to SKINTIGHT.

Even though she graduated with a teaching degree, Las Vegas showgirl Carly Jacobsen loves her dancing job. She's got the talent and body for dancing and it allows her to thumb her nose at her money-grubbing, ladder-climbing mother. In her spare time Carly indulges her love of animals by rescuing cats and dogs and using them as therapy pets for children stricken with cancer.

Carly immediately strikes sparks with her uptight new neighbor, Wolfgang Jones. Wolfgang also happens to be the number two security honcho at the resort hotel/casino where Carly works. Wolfgang's army/embassy worker dad married his German mom and has lived all over the world.

Wolfgang's got a "plan" for a white picket fence life and a Stepford wife. His plan doesn't involve anybody even remotely like Carly. Too bad for him. When his nephew, Niklaus, comes to live with him, Wolfgang's plan is further sidetracked.

Good, solid story. Carly was an incredible, positive woman - strong, smart, funny. She carried the story. The stalker subplot was dumb and conveyed no real sense of threat. And Niklaus was typical teen angst, just stellar.

I've just finished the book and love the storyline. Carly is so real - most of the time, heroines in romances are too good to be true. They are afraid to face their attractions head one but Carly is unabashedly open and direct with Wolfgang about her attraction to him. Thats refreshing! If you want a light read with some hot scenes, this is it!

I enjoyed this book by Susan Andersen - the plot was good, the sizzle and tension between the hero and heroine was great, resulting is some great steam scenes. I loved the author's skill in developing secondary characters, and although I know most were carried over from a previous book, I was able to enjoy the story without reading the other one first. The only problem was the heroine's overuse of the word "toots". The overuse jarred me out of the story repeatedly and started to really detract from my enjoyment of the book. Other than that, it was a good story and worth the read.