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A review by beckymmoe
One Night Gamble by Katherine Garbera
3.0
Reviewed on my blog, Becky on Books, on 1/16/19.
One Night Gamble is the first book in a new series about three casino owners and friends. Casey, the gambler of the trio, has a meet cute in the condom aisle of a grocery store with Talia, the woman who's on her way to an interview with his company (but stopping for pantyhose--for her--and condoms--for her grandmother--as one does). She interviews with company underlings, it goes well, she celebrates in his casino that night (for research, of course), they have a one night stand, and the next morning when she interviews with the owners--you know where this is going, right?
For the most part, this was an I liked it, but... kind of story. I liked Casey and Talia together, but things between them moved really fast, especially considering he was her boss. At one point they already felt like an established couple nearly at their HEA, until I realized that I was only at about 60% in the book! You know going in that Talia's going to have some major emotional and psychological hangups with their relationship because of her past--she's the daughter of a gambling addict, and he's a poker player at heart--which seems like a great source of conflict, right? It is, but it seemed to take way too long for her to really commit to it, so that by the time she does it felt a bit overblown and reactionary. A kind of why is this suddenly bothering you now? kind of thing--it was like everything he'd been trying to show her all along suddenly meant nothing. For his part, Casey's problems with Darien (one of the other co-owners and best friends) seemed a bit over-the-top and too little too late by the time they become a real issue--maybe we just don't see him enough until that point for it to seem like a big deal?--but suddenly they're a big part of why Casey and Talia are calling it quits?
So...a whole lot of I liked it, but... There were some pretty funny moments, and a whole lot of sexy times, and the three friends at the heart of the casino all sound really interesting in their own rights. Darien's (a stuntman/ daredevil) clearly going to have a second chance romance plot to his story, though the epilogue here lets us know that Nick (the illusionist) will have his story next, and I'll be keeping a eye out for that one to see if there's more I liked it than buts... in book two. ;)
Rating: 3 stars / C+
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
One Night Gamble is the first book in a new series about three casino owners and friends. Casey, the gambler of the trio, has a meet cute in the condom aisle of a grocery store with Talia, the woman who's on her way to an interview with his company (but stopping for pantyhose--for her--and condoms--for her grandmother--as one does). She interviews with company underlings, it goes well, she celebrates in his casino that night (for research, of course), they have a one night stand, and the next morning when she interviews with the owners--you know where this is going, right?
For the most part, this was an I liked it, but... kind of story. I liked Casey and Talia together, but things between them moved really fast, especially considering he was her boss. At one point they already felt like an established couple nearly at their HEA, until I realized that I was only at about 60% in the book! You know going in that Talia's going to have some major emotional and psychological hangups with their relationship because of her past--she's the daughter of a gambling addict, and he's a poker player at heart--which seems like a great source of conflict, right? It is, but it seemed to take way too long for her to really commit to it, so that by the time she does it felt a bit overblown and reactionary. A kind of why is this suddenly bothering you now? kind of thing--it was like everything he'd been trying to show her all along suddenly meant nothing. For his part, Casey's problems with Darien (one of the other co-owners and best friends) seemed a bit over-the-top and too little too late by the time they become a real issue--maybe we just don't see him enough until that point for it to seem like a big deal?--but suddenly they're a big part of why Casey and Talia are calling it quits?
So...a whole lot of I liked it, but... There were some pretty funny moments, and a whole lot of sexy times, and the three friends at the heart of the casino all sound really interesting in their own rights. Darien's (a stuntman/ daredevil) clearly going to have a second chance romance plot to his story, though the epilogue here lets us know that Nick (the illusionist) will have his story next, and I'll be keeping a eye out for that one to see if there's more I liked it than buts... in book two. ;)
Rating: 3 stars / C+
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.