Customer Reviews

Under Her Skin (Lone Star Sisters, Book 1)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Another wonderful book by Susan Mallery with a HOT hero and the beginning of a great series -- Lone Star Sisters

Lexi is the oldest Titan sister, Skye and Izzy are her half-sisters but they may only share a father, a strange hard businessman,but they have a real love for each other. The girls have a wonderful, tough best friend, Dana the policewoman who seems to have problems with men too!

Lexi finds herself in a financal bind-she had taken a $2 million loan to buy the building her day spa is in and make improvements to make it a bigger business and now the loan is being called in and she doesn't want to go to her father or sister for the money to cover the loan. In steps sexy Cruz Rodriquez who has business proposition for Lexi.

Of course Cruz and Lexi have a history they raced for pink slips some years ago. She lost her car and her virginity that night and maybe she lost her good sense where Cruz is concerned. Cruz's proposition is for her to be his fiancee for 6 months to introduce hin to the Texas Society he can't get into without an introduction by a member - Lexi and her family are one of the "first families" of Texas Society.

Cruz came from the barrio and has a father that he doesn't want! He has a plan and wants to follow it but he has a hard time not falling for Lexi, of course he doesn't know how he feels just that he likes having her with him. Lexi creates a wonderful world for Cruz, takes him into her confidence re:her loan and all the other unusual happens with her father and sister, and of course living with him! They both can hardly wait to be alone wherever it might be in their home. Lexi has a bombshell for Cruz, can he take it?

I'm eager for next month, the month after and finally the 4th book in the fall. The Titan's are a BIG Texas family!

Susan Mallery is an auto-buy for me. As soon as I see her name on the cover, I buy the book. I don't even bother reading the back because I know she's going to provide me with a funny and emotional read.

Under Her Skin is excellent! Lexi Titan is in trouble. She took out a two million dollar loan to expand her luxury day spa, and the loan has been called. Somehow, Lexi has to come up with two million dollars in just a couple weeks. She can't go to her father for the money; he'll see her as a failure. Lucky for her, her sexy and somewhat dangerous first love, Cruz Rodriguez, has plenty of money to spare, and he needs something from her, too. Even as rich as he is, Cruz has never been able to break into the exclusive world of the elite Texas society. He'll give Lexi the money in exchange for her connections.

Lexi agrees to an engagement of convenience... and from that moment on, the sparks fly! This is a wonderful introduction to Mallery's new Lone Star Sisters series. I can't wait to read the rest! Great summer reading beach books. Fans of Debbie Macomber, Sherryl Woods, and Susan Wiggs will love Susan Mallery.

Lexi is the owner of a day spa, but she is also a Titan - a very important Texas family. She wants to expand her business but can't ask her father for money because he is a controlling jerk, so she takes a loan from an anonymous source. She is given $2 million and the only catch is the loan is callable. Her loan gets called, giving her 21 days to come up with $2 million dollars. And in comes Cruz - a man from her past who now is extremely wealthy. He tells her he will write her a check for the money if she agrees to be his finance for 6 months - she has to introduce him to all the 'right' people, stay at his house, and sleep in his bed.

Ok, I really really wanted to like this book. And parts of it I did - but parts I just hated. First of all, I can't get past the thought that Lexi was will to sleep with him for money. Also, I really didn't like Cruz. I get he had a rough childhood, blah blah blah. But come on - he is a complete jerk and he doesn't change until way too late in my opinion. Because of him I almost gave this book 2 stars. Also, I really didn't like how much Lexi wanted her father's approval. I know it happens and is important to people, but come on - she goes WAY too far.

All that being said, I liked the secondary characters - especially Izzy and Dana. The writing pulled me in to the story, so that is good as well. (which made me give this book 3 stars) All in all, if you are a Susan Mallery fan, read this one if you think you can get past the heroine being willing to sleep with a man for money. It is definitely one to check out of the library or borrow from a friend at the very least if you need quick light read. Also read it for the set up of the rest of the series.

STORY BRIEF:
Jed Titan is wealthy with three grown daughters, Lexi, Skye and Izzy. He divorced one wife, and the other died. He told his daughters that only one of them will inherit everything, depending on which daughter is the most successful on her own. Lexi opened a day spa. She borrowed $2 million from an anonymous source through her banker. The source calls the loan demanding she pay it off in 21 days. She doesn't want to ask Jed for help. Cruz conveniently overhears her dilemma and offers to give her $2 million if she will pretend to be his fiancé for six months. She agrees. This means she must sleep with him and introduce him to the right people, including politicians and potential wives. Cruz wants to marry "a woman with good bloodlines and family connections who would allow his children to have a much easier beginning than he did." He grew up poor and started making money by racing for pink slips. He owns businesses in the car industry, is into racing, and is extremely wealthy. Ten years earlier, Lexi was attracted to Cruz and spent a night with him. She liked him a lot, but when he saw that he took her virginity, he was scared. When she saw the look on his face, she said something cruel to protect her pride. He left and they never had any further contact until now. She finds herself still drawn to him but doesn't tell him.

A second story involves someone wanting to hurt the Titan family. This generates bad publicity for Jed, Skye, and Lexi about illegal activities and a lawsuit. None of this is true, but false statements are being made.

REVIEWER'S OPINION:
This is a romance novel, but it didn't pull me in emotionally. There is nothing new, surprising, or exciting. Dialogue is unremarkable. Some of the conflicts were too convenient or contrived. More than once Lexi goes against her feelings and lies which creates false conflict. Cruz wants a connection with her so he attends a charity event. He just happens to overhear her banker discussing her financial problem which solves his problem - a little too convenient. Cruz is not likeable. He is arrogant, insensitive, and cruel to Lexi. I had trouble with the ending. Cruz conveniently changes his views of love and commitment - just in time for a happy ending. I didn't buy it. In my opinion, changing his views needed more time, events, and emotional development.

I was unhappy that the second story about someone trying to hurt the Titan family was not finished. There are unanswered questions. I assume this story will continue into the sequels, which I do not plan to read.

DATA:
Story length: 320 pages. Swearing language: strong. Sexual language: mild. Number of sex scenes: 2. Total number of sex scene pages: 7. Setting: current day Texas and Louisiana. Copyright: 2009. Genre: contemporary romance.

This was the first book in my new favorite series of Susan Mallery. I found her books about a year ago and so far I haven't been disappointed yet. This book was fun, a fast read, entertaining, and one for all romantics. I fell in love with the Titan sisters immediately.

Lexi Titan wishes that someone would give her a break. Not only has her father pitted his three daughters against each other for his company, but now someone is calling a two million dollar loan of hers. When the one man she never thought to see again, the one who broke her heart, offers her the money if she marries him, she is stunned. That is until she hears why he is willing to help, and now with the prospect of losing all that she has built she is out of options and counter proposes Cruz.

What looks to be a perfect deal is anything but, as both Lexi and Cruz find out. There is more than just a shared past between the two, their hearts have never let go of their feelings. Now when Lexi and Cruz also learn who is behind the loan, and what implications this might have on Lexi and her family what are they to do?

More importantly will Cruz realize what he has in Lexi before it is too late, or will he let past experiences ruin it for both of them?

Susan Mallery has a strong start to a new series in Under Her Skin. I enjoyed reading about Lexi and her striving to not only be independent but do things on her terms. I think Lexi and Cruz have an explosive relationship and while it may be entered into as a business deal, it is anything but business in the end. As usual Ms. Mallery has me hooked on a new series and I can't wait for the follow up to Under Her Skin to be available. Great summer read.


Tanya
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

Under her skin is a sizzling engagement of convenience story that kept me reading well into the night. Susan Mallery is introducing a new family, the Titans, and three sisters who are all strong women in their own right. Lexi meets her match when she agrees to pretend to be engaged to Cruz, a wealthy businessman in exchange for him saving her business. You have to put a rubberband around this book to keep the sexual tension in. Absolutely amazing. Well-crafted characters, fast-paced plot. The type of people I could really care about. This will be an amazing new series from the author and I'm going to read every single book in it.

Under Her Skin by Susan Mallery is the first book in a new series titled the Lone Star Sisters. This story is Lexi Titan's story. The following two stories are about Lexi's sisters, Skye and Izzy. This one was a great start to what looks like a very promising series.

Lexie is in a bind. She needs $2 million dollars to save her spa business. She has less than a month to come up what that much money. She doesn't want to go to her sister Skye and she doesn't want to go to her wealthy businessman father Jed Titan. But what happens is that her first lover, Cruz Rodriquez, comes to her rescue offering her the money in exchange for helping him get broken into society. He wants her to pose as his fiancee for six months while also living with him in his home and sharing his bed. He hasn't ever forgotten Lexie and the one night of passion that they shared years ago which ended badly the next day.

Someone though is after the Titan family, and they are causing loads of trouble for the Titan sisters. As things go on, Cruz finds himself wanting to protect Lexie from this person as well as finding himself wanting Lexie more and more for himself. This is a very emotional story, and the reader will discover a theme of lack of parental love present throughout the whole story with Lexie and her father, Cruz and his father, and Cruz and his daughter.

The only thing that I didn't like about this story is how slow it took for Cruz to realize how much he really needed Lexie, and how he would talk about he was going to meet other females, after their engagement ends, right after he and Lexie had just been intimate. It took me reading over three-quarters of the story for me to really like Cruz. Some readers might also not like how Lexie agrees to sleep with Cruz in exchange for the money, but she did have conflicting feelings about doing so, and she tries to put Cruz off for several weeks because of this.

Promises to be a fantastic series about 3 sisters who were born rich and gorgeous, but they are very different in personalities and looks as well. This one was about the cool blond sister who fell in love with a guy from the wrong side of the tracks when she was in college. Due to misundertanding, they didn't pursue the relationship, but of course, they do meet again. The book is not shallow, it has good insights into human nature. The characters are incredibly well written, has depth, and individuality.
I 'm not sure I like Cruz all that much in the middle of the book for being so clueless, but the sisters characters' more than made up for it.

Characters a bit stiff and typical, A fun beach read where you know the ending.