Customer Reviews

Skintight (MIRA)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Characters are what Susan Andersen does best. Her latest offering is no exception, delivering Las Vegas showgirl Treena McCall and world-class poker player Jax Gallagher, along with Treena's best friend, fellow showgirl Carly, ex-librarian Ellen, and handyman Mack. We meet all of them as we step into rooms with them and watch them interact. Then, once we're on friendly terms, we're let into their heads, experiencing their thoughts and feelings through casual, yet touching prose. They are all wonderful people, sensitive, strong, and flawed. The men, in particular, are well-drawn, their natural masculinity preserved even as we see the chinks in their armor.

The story begins as Jax listens in on Treena's 35th birthday celebration in a bar at the fictitious Aventurrato Casino on the Las Vegas strip. Treena, recently widowed, had been married to Jax's father, Big Jim McCall, and is now in possession of a valuable World Series baseball handed down by Jax's grandfather. Jax knows exactly who Treena is, but she has no idea of his real identity.

Jax's image of Treena as a gold-digging trophy bride is wildly inaccurate, though, as he starts to discover during his staged pursuit of her, the ultimate goal being to abscond with the baseball. Jax finds himself throwing away opportunities to find the ball, however, as he falls in love with Treena, even though his health is dependent on his plan's success, since the man he lost it to on a bet is threatening to break his hands. As things between Jax and Treena deepen, Jax realizes he needs to come clean with her about who he is and why he sought her out. Naturally, he does it too late.

At this point, unlike an unfortunate number of her contemporaries, Susan Andersen does not fabricate a contrived emergency that throws our hero and heroine back together, nor does she stumble through a sloppy resolution that drags on. Instead, she comes through with flying colors, taking the opportunity to really show us what these characters are made of, from the wrenchingly painful depths of their emotions to how they behave under pressure.

Though I didn't get as excited about this book as some of Andersen's others, I liked it a lot. I appreciate her female characters in particular; strong, self-sufficient women with both feet on the ground, working hard and fulfilling their own lives without giving up an ounce of vulnerability or femininity. This book has the added bonus of a deftly-handled senior romance as a side story that fits neatly, as well as a tease into what will next surely be Carly's story.
This was a very nice, very satisfying modern romance with surprising depth.

maybe i have grown bored with books about female protagonists with an edgy chip on their shoulders because i've found myself gravitating toward sweet, kind heroines more and more these days. Skintight delivered just that with Treena, a Las Vegas showgirl with a heart of gold and Susan Andersen completely makes the cliched notion work. Treena is very real and kind and amazingly down-to-earth and I was rooting for her the whole way. normally a son-father thing would be creepy but again the way it's done in this book works. i'm giving it 4 instead of 5 stars because Jax, while sexy in the bedroom, was a bit annoying everywhere else. the constant whining about how "nothing was ever good enough for his old man" got kind of wimpy and tedious. it wasn't enough to take away from my thorough enjoyment of the book, but enough to make me roll my eyes on several occasions. also Treena's friend, Carly, was often an irritating obstruction to the Treena and Jax's romance and quality time together. other than that, i highly recommend this fun, lighthearted book.

I am a little surprised by the first two reviews of Skintight. I enjoyed Susan Andersen's newest book, thought it isn't my favorite by her. It was exactly what I expect when I pick up one of her books.

Jax Gallager is a professional poker player who gambled away a family heirloom that he doesn't have in his possession. It is a 1927 World Series baseball that his grandfather caught and had signed by the entire Yankees team. Unfortunately his father's widow, who he is convinced is a gold digger, has the ball. While the whole "she's a stripper, therefore a gold digger" cliche was happening, I really enjoyed the story. Treena was misunderstood, but really, would you expect anything else? I really enjoyed the story overall.

The secondary characters added to the story, as did Treena's friend Carly. Andersen opened up for the sequel, which I'm sure will be Carly's story. I always find her characters so loveable. Skintight was no exception.

Likeable characters, a breezy style and steamy sex... this book has it all! Jax, a professional poker player, tracks down the gold digger, a Las Vegas dancer, that is his father's young widow. He hopes to retrieve a family heirloom that will bail him out of a jam.
That sets the scene for some heavy romancing that seduces both Jax and the dancer, Treena. There's a secondary romance that's charming as well (between Treena's older friends - a retired librarian and an inarticulate handyman). The author is even able to make a sexy moment out of dusting the furniture.
Switching between the hero and heroine, one gets insight into their thinking and really empathizes with each. Jax is sophisticated, yet vulnerable and Treena is quite genuine and caring. Great characters that you would like to really meet and a fun read. This was my first Susan Andersen and I've already bought another of hers and can't wait to start reading it.
This one is hard to categorize. It's not exactly a romance, not chick lit, not exactly a mystery but still it has a blend of each and moves to a new level. Enjoy!

Jackson "Jax" Gallagher arrives in Las Vegas using a high stakes poker tournament to hide his efforts to steal his late father's prized autographed 1927 World Series ball from his dad's widow dancer Treena McCall. Jax was estranged from his father, but loathes the widow who he assumes took advantage of the much older man. He regrets the loss of the ball, an heirloom from his grandfather, but he foolishly used it in a poker game in Monaco with the dangerous Sergei Kirov, fan of Americana collectibles. Failure to payoff his debt will mean broken bones.

Jax meets Treena but hides from her that he is her stepson albeit older than her. He is shocked that she is nice and seems to genuinely like her dad and fails to come across even remotely as a gold digger. As they fall in love, he knows he cannot steal the ball though he will be lucky to survive the beating from Kirov's thugs and fears she will hate him when she learns who he is.

Treena is a nice person (perhaps too good) who actually nursed an ailing Big Jim throughout their short marriage, which in turn cost the dance captain spot. She loved Big Jim like a father and mourns him when she meets the son, who she falls in love with like a lover. Jax appears selfish at first but ultimately tries to do the right thing. Kirov is an interesting Elvis loving thug. Together this threesome makes for a fine romantic suspense with the action coming late.

Harriet Klausner

Recent widow and Vegas showgirl Treena McCall is not sure if she wants to give her husband's prized autographed 1927 World Series baseball to his estranged son, Jackson. Further complicating the matter - she does not know where to find him since he did not even bother to come to the funeral.

A chance meeting with a sexy poker champion gets her heart racing again. Jax Gallagher is everything she ever wanted in a man. Talk dark and handsome... he is even more than she ever wanted, as he is also her late husband's estranged son, with the intention of keeping his parentage a secret, and romancing the ball right out from under her. She is not sure she wants to get involved, as she needs to concentrate on the career she put on hold while nursing her husband,, and going through both their life savings.

The night that Jax found out his father died is the night that he realized there would be no reconciliation. He would never have the chance to understand why his father kept him at arm's length and never was there for him. A math prodigy, Jax was shipped off at an early age to fend for himself in an adult world. Making a rookie error, he was out of cash and bet the 1927 baseball to a Russian card sharp, and lost.

As he sets about to insinuate himself into Treena's life, he does not count on falling for her, as she is nothing like the gold digging bimbo he thought she would be. As they get closer, and the Russian more adamant about getting his baseball, Jax struggles with his heart and his conscience, and discovers that his father was not the callous bastard he thought him to be. And that baseball could make all Treena's financial dreams come true. What's a guy to do?

Susan Andersen has penned another tug at your heart, funny and sexy tale in Skintight.

Jax Gallagher, professional poker player figures this trip to Vegas will be a snap. He just has to retrieve a valuable baseball he used as an IOU. His late fathers showgirl widow has the ball. But once he meets Treena McCall all of his preconceived notions start to fall one by one. To make matters worse Jax finds himself falling for Treena.

Treena McCall is slowly getting her life back on track. She had to put her dancing on hold to nurse her dying husband. It's been four months since his death and she is ready to try to live again. She is drawn to Jax and really opens her heart and her world to him.
Will she be able to forgive him once she finds out who he really is?

Treena and Jax connect as friends as well as lovers. Treena's friends form a wonderful, funny family that you just want to be a part of somehow. This book made me laugh, cry and shy. It's a gem.

Susan Andersen is one of the few authors I will buy based on her name alone, so I purchased this book although the description on the back had me highly skeptical. I won't recap the plot since that is done in a few other reviews, but if I had read the same blurb about a book by a NEW author, I would never in a million years have purchased it -- so I was very pleasantly surprised to find this book so enjoyable. The characters are believably imperfect and quite likable, and the plot (although incredibly silly) is somehow presented in a way that makes for an easy, light-hearted, and enjoyable read.
But I do have two minor complaints... First, I agree with one of the previous reviewers that the books stagnates a bit towards the middle. And second, a bit more character development and/or background would have been nice for Treena, especially concerning the whole deal with Jax's father. We get a good sense of Jax's reasons for his negative feelings about his father, but there isn't much explanation for Treena's seemingly blind loyalty to Jax's father (on the matter of the father-son estrangement).
Overall, though, I would definitely recommend this book. And, really, it is quite a testament of Ms. Andersen's writing ability that she made such a nice story out of an idea with so little potential!

I must come to Ms Andersen's defense on this one! It may not be perfect, but it's not two stars bad either! I agree that it has some flaws but I liked this one more than her last book (HOT AND BOTHERED).

Jackson Gallagher McCall is professional poker player Jax Gallagher who, in a moment of weakness, made a rookie mistake. He threw a 1927 World Series baseball into the pot in a game with a slippery Russian - and lost. Only problem is that the ball technically does not belong to him but to his estranged father who recently died. So Jax finds himself in Las Vegas scoping out his father's widow with plans to get the baseball from her. She's a gorgeous red-haired showgirl and Jax just knows that she's a manipulative gold-digger who married his old man for his money. Well, at least this way he can romance her, steal the baseball and feel no guilt at all. What's that saying about "best laid plans"? Because Treena McCall turns out to be nothing like he thought.

Treena McCall is a dancer/showgirl in a review for a Vegas hotel. She's thirty-five - old for a dancer - and she's very worried she won't pass the auditions in order to stay in the show another year. She'd rather be teaching dance in her own studio, but that dream, along with her life-savings is now gone. Caring for Big Jim in his last years drained both his and her finances and now she really needs her job. She still has that baseball and she knows it's worth a lot of money. But she can't bring herself to sell it as Big Jim always intended it to go to his worthless (in Treena's opinion) son Jackson who didn't even bother to attend his father's funeral. If she ever meets up with him, he's going to get a real piece of her mind!

Of course they do meet just as Jax plans, but Treena does not know that Jax Gallagher is Jackson McCall. All she knows is that a really cute, sexy guy has just asked her out. And so Jax's pursuit begins and as he spends more and more time with Treena, he has to face the fact that she's not the woman he thought. She's sweet, funny, kind and sexy as hell. She also tells him things about his father that he'd rather not hear or that he refuses to believe. So now what does he do? Can he really steal the baseball from her now? Epecially since it looks like she needs it almost as much as he. But if he doesn't he's going to have real trouble with a certain Russian and his goons. And he knows that Treena will hate him when she finds out who he is. Oh man is he screwed!

No, this isn't a great book. I think the problem is that the author made Treena and Jax both too nice and too right for one another too soon so that, by the middle of the book it kind of runs out of steam for a while. But since she couldn't end the book there, she trots out a secondary romance between two older, parental figures who live in Treena's condo complex. It was okay, but I wasn't really all that interested in it. She also seemed to be setting up (possibly) her next book about Treena's best friend and fellow dancer Carly which also just seemed to be filler.

But even with flaws I liked it. It has some really nice dialog, some snappy banter between Jax and Treena and their romance is really fun and very sweet. I liked these two people and wanted to see them together. Sometimes I'm more willing to overlook things than others and this is one of those times.

I have thoroughly enjoyed Susan Andersen's previous books. However, this one I found to be pretty much ho-hum. I like to feel involved with the characters but here I could have cared less.