Skin Game (Berkley Sensation) [Mass Market Paperback]

Ava Gray (Author)

Book Description

Series: Berkley Sensation | Publication Date: November 3, 2009

Kyra's a con woman and a thief who can steal her target's strongest skill. But when she becomes the target of a hit man, she won't be able to hide from the passion that engulfs them.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Ann Aguirre's first book as Ava Gray adds a tiny touch of the psychic to a riveting romantic suspense novel. Con woman Kyra Beckwith can absorb a person's special skills through touch, allowing her to beat them at their own game. She rips off and humiliates a casino owner who then orders a hit on her. Hired for the job by a strange intermediary with an agenda of his own is Reyes, who only kills those he finds deserving of death. Posing as a drifter, he offers Kyra his protection after her latest mark threatens her. Chemistry sizzles between them, and once Reyes realizes his contact lied to him about Kyra's history, the two team up to figure out what's really going on. Strong, nuanced character development adds depth to the danger, but over-the-top coincidence and drama occasionally interrupt the narrative flow. (Dec.)
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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Berkley; Original edition (November 3, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425231534
• ISBN-13: 978-0425231531
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #698,214 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

In her life, Ava has been a clown, a clerk, a savior of stray kittens, and a voice actress, not necessarily in that order. She grew up in a yellow house across from a cornfield, but now she lives in a terracotta adobe house with her husband and two adorable children who generally do as they are told. In this guise, she writes high octane paranormal romances; she also writes romantic science fiction and urban fantasy as Ann Aguirre.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I am slowly descending from a romance high..., November 3, 2009

By 

Leontine's Book Realm (Netherlands, ZH) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Skin Game (Berkley Sensation) (Mass Market Paperback)

Kyra Marie Beckwith has been a con artist for as long as she can remember and she is good at it, very good. So when her father dies at the hand of a very powerful man she burns for revenge, and she gets it, big time. Only, to ruffle the feathers of a powerful man such as Gerard Serrano means he wants back what he considers his, and restore his pride at the same time.

To get what he wants Serrano hires the best man for the job to hunt her down, get his assets back, and bring Kyra along for him to deal with. The best man for that job is Porfirio Ten-Bears Reyes, a.k.a. Reyes, and he catches up with Kyra as she pulls a con in a small town bar. From there a road trip commences that becomes more dangerous with each passing day. Danger is something Reyes is used to dealing with, feeling increasingly more torn between his budding attraction for Kyra and his highly valued work ethics however is something new to him.

I heard many raving voices about the novels of Ava Gray's alter ego; Ann Aguirre, and after a while I still had not read any of her work. It was the moment where I read a blogpost on this author's blog that I took my chances in winning an ARC of Skin Game. I entered, and lo and behold I was one of the winners. I lost my Ava Gray cherry to the story of Kyra and Reyes and I am slowly descending from a romance high. Not only did she court me as a reader with well paced action, storytelling and sultry sensuality. Ava Gray introduced me to a set of characters who had me at their hello.

The instant Kyra and Reyes meet it is spontaneous combustion between them which doesn't diminish in any way, shape or form throughout the story. There are some wonderful opposites; he is a health nut and she needs her junk food, he has learned his skills, she steals them from others. There are also some similarities, they both like rough love between the bed sheets, they are both very good in what they do and both do it for reasons that meet their own moral standards. From the get-go their personalities grabbed my attention, I instantly liked them and I just loved the quirks that went with these two.

If there is one thing I learned from my first experience with Ava Gray's work it is that she is an author who knows how to bring compelling characters to life. It is a certain elemental magnetism emanating from the characters, whether friend or foe, that captivates me. The way they live, love, feel, fight, work through their inner turmoil's, it all enriches and works with the other elements in this novel. The romance is what ensnared me so in Skin Game. Gray gave me such an in-depth portrayal of both Kyra and Reyes that I understood both their emotional triggers for their individual decisions.

Kyra is a bit paranoia at times, she is also fierce, sensual, intelligent, a bit pragmatic and comfortable in her own skin with her ability, though it often also has less desirable side effects. Reyes is lethally dangerous, virile, skilled, commanding, keeps himself unattached and is not expecting anything from anyone. Together they make the verbal sparring and body language sizzle through the pages and such a pleasure to read. At times their passion and feelings were raw and demanding and at other times it was caring and gentle and I just gobbled it up like it was my next Ben and Jerry's fix.

I was immersed in their romance and for quite a while it felt the suspense factor was in a supportive role and almost subservient to the character/romance development of Reyes and Kyra. I got to meet Gerard Serrano who fills the bill for an unforgiving and cruel enemy and if there was one secondary character who profiled himself in Skin Game then it was Addison Foster. I still remember the page where all my red flags went up in utter want of finding out more about this character. He is neither fully good or bad but in a grey area that keeps me on edge what he will do. With highly intriguing aspects regarding Foster, Ava Gray created a man who has all the right character traits to become quite the dark tormented hero.

After a well paced build up of first time encounters, revealing conversations, passion, and growing trust something happens that shot my feelings straight in to a range of shock and raw intensity. From there the suspense had twists and turns and I almost got to feel pity for Serrano...almost. The only thing that had me puzzled at times was the paranormal factor in this book, because save from Kyra's ability there is not much paranormal to be found. Okay two things had me puzzled; I also would've liked an explanation in how Kyra's ability was canceled out with a certain person, now it just appears to be a convenient solution. Upon closing Skin Game I noticed I read this novel in the blink of an eye and this is largely due to Ava Gray's writing style which effortlessly held my attention. An easy flowing style yet fraught with all the rich emotions from the characters and a good dose of suspense from the plot.

Ava Gray wined and dined me with the best elements I love in a novel; beguiling but flawed characters, high-voltage sensuality, great dialogues and a suspense that held my attention from cover to cover. Skin Game was an exhilarating way for me to lose my Ava Gray cherry!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Suspenseful Paranormal (A- Grade), November 3, 2009

By 

K. Garrabrant "Katiebabs" (Bloomfield, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Skin Game (Berkley Sensation) (Mass Market Paperback)

Kyra Beckwith has screwed over a dangerous man and she did it on purpose as payback. The man in question is casino owner and small time mobster Gerard Serrano who had Kyra's father killed. She made him fall in love with her. He even wrote her poetry and was going to ask her to marry him. But Kyra got the last laugh and was able to steal a good chunk of his money right under his nose. Now Serrano is out for her blood and hires Reyes, a hit man, to retrieve his money and get rid of Kyra permanently.

Reyes may kill men for a profit, but he's not comfortable killing a woman like Kyra, especially when he sees her in action hustling a pool game. Kyra is a hustler, a con artist who travels from dinky town to dinky town in her Mercury Marquis looking for the next score. Krya lives for the action, much like her father did. But it got her father killed and Kyra is not sure how much longer she can stay in the game. When Reyes comes to her aid, she decides to take him along for the ride. She thinks they will have one hot night together in a squeaky motel room bed and that will be it. What she doesn't know is that Reyes is a hard man to outwit and he won't allow Kyra to skip out on him.

When Reyes tracks down Kyra again, she is wary but there is something about him that makes her want to keep him. Not only can she touch him without draining her energy because of a secret, special ability she has that helps her with her cons, but she feels safe around him. She decides to make him her partner until she has had enough of the game and wants to drive off into the sunset. As Reyes gets to know the enigma Kyra is, he wouldn't mind going off in the sunset with her also. He just has to figure out a way to keep her alive as well as find a way to tell her he was hired to snuff her out.

Talk about a book where you can feel the heat coming off the pavement! Skin Game is a thrilling read with a touch of paranormal, suspense and a steamy romance that will have you panting. The chemistry between Reyes and Kyra is hotter than hot. I knew things were going to be oh so good the moment Kyra asks Reyes what he wants with her and he thinks how great it would be to have her up against a wall.

Because Ava Gray has such a talent writing great character interaction, Skin Game excels in so many ways. The majority of the time the reader is witness to Kyra and Reyes on the road driving, playing their cons or just eating. This may seem boring, but because Ava is able to expand on these actions, the reader can't help but stay interested. She brings out such interesting quirks in regards to these two such as Kyra's love of fast food and Reyes desire to protect Kyra and make sure she finds happiness in such simple things such as him making a homemade meal for her. There is nothing sexier than a man that can cook.

Even though Reyes and Kyra have made such an impression on me, there are other secondary characters to take note of. Serrano is a sad man so obsessed with power that it almost ruins him. He doesn't realize that he is being played and played well by Addison Foster, the security chief for his casino. Foster is one of the biggest mysteries in Skin Game. He has deep rooted secrets and may or may not have an ability much like Kyra has. His ambiguity will have readers wondering what his reasons are for the things that he does. Foster's story, Skin Tight will be out next summer, where he battles wits with Kyra's dearest friend Mia Sauter, who is also introduced in Skin Game and has some interesting interactions with Foster.

For those who don't know, Ava Gray is also known as Ann Aguirre who writes outstanding science fiction as well as urban fantasy books. Her skills at writing a taut masterful tale have become well known, and as Ava Gray she has definitely done that here with Skin Game.

Katiebabs

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful character and relationship development. There was only one paranormal talent in the story, but it was good., February 22, 2010

By 

Jane (Chicago, IL, United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Skin Game (Berkley Sensation) (Mass Market Paperback)

STORY BRIEF:
Kyra has a talent. When she touches someone, she gains their strongest ability, and they lose it (temporarily). She keeps their ability for one or more hours, but she can`t predict how long she will have it. Examples of the talents she gains are pool player, dart thrower, martial arts fighter, and piano player. If she touches two or more people within the same evening, she will get severe headaches - overload. Using her talent, she makes a living hustling people. She has never had a relationship with a man due to the touch problem. She was raised by her father who was a small time con man. They lived on the road. One day, her father tried a con at a casino. The casino owner Gerard had him beaten to death. For revenge, Kyra conned Gerard into falling in love with her. She publicly humiliated him by using the engagement ring he gave her to win $3 million at his gaming tables. She then flaunted in front of a casino camera that she was leaving him. Someone put the video of her taunt on YouTube. Gerard was in a rage and wanted her dead. He had his chief of security Foster hire a hit man to find her, find the money, and then kill her. Foster hired Rey. Rey pretended to be a drifter and helped Kyra in a couple of cons. The first time she touched him, she gained his martial arts abilities. But subsequent touching had no effect. For the first time, she could touch someone without consequences. She offered him a job helping her with cons, and he accepted.

REVIEWER'S OPINION:
I wasn't chuckling or laughing, but it was good, solid writing. I liked Kyra's talent. It's different. I've not read anything quite like it before. I enjoyed how she obtained and used the powers. Don't expect a lot of paranormal in this book. Her talent was the only paranormal element, but that wasn't a problem for me. It was good. There was wonderful character and relationship development with Kyra and Rey. My only disappointment was that Kyra held a grudge too long and didn't forgive Rey when I thought she should have. He clearly showed trustworthiness and love, but she wouldn't buy it. I think the author wanted to prolong their conflict for awhile. I didn't like it, but the rest of the story was good. Very feel good ending.

Toward the end of the book I found myself fascinated with the character Foster. I wanted to know his back story, why he did what he did, and what he would do next. I was hoping to get some answers before the book was over. I did not get those answers. But I was ok, because I learned the story of Foster and Mia is in the sequel "Skin Tight" (available in June, 2010). A preview of "Skin Tight" is in the back of this book. I hope the sequel goes in depth with Foster and satisfies.

DATA:
Story length: 294 pages. Swearing language: strong, including religious words. Sexual language: strong. Number of sex scenes: 6. Total number of sex scene pages: around 18. Setting: current day mostly various places in the U.S., plus St. Moritz, Switzerland, and Budapest, Hungary. Copyright: 2009. Genre: contemporary paranormal romantic suspense.