eb00kie's review against another edition
1.0
This is a very light PNR/urban fantasy - mostly because the chick is Rogue lite. Everybody else, however, is pretty much normal human. The romance angle is overplayed, the characters are cookie-cutter and the climax scene is somewhat short - not to mention flat.
Actually, the characters are pretty dumb. She's supposed to be a con woman with a paranormal edge, but she's just an average mildly insensitive person with said... gift, while his only redeeming quality - considering how they both suffer from an also average case of the now ubiquitous InstaLove - is his fighting skills. Reyes, thy name is BRAWN. That, and he can cook. Next book will show the male lead knitting.
Hot, but not what I call character development
Let me spell it out for you:
"there are consequences to breaking the heart of a murdering bastard"
On the plus side, there was a secondary, albeit weak, subplot. It kept us mildy entertained and laid the groundwork for book #2.
Hey, there's actually a book #2! hehehe...
The end brought to mind a question I often find myself asking when reading romances. It is very nice to think that our choice of a happy ending doesn't depend so much on us, that there will be a friend or lover who go out of their way to will force us, con us, surprise us out of our mule-headed ways to accept, that the happy ending will be more or less planted in our hands, whether we want it or not.
Most people won't stop to help if you've fallen on the side of the road - let alone set your love life straight because you're cutting the nose to spite the face.
While romance novels (all fiction novels) are an escape from reality, this suggestion permeates literature... quite a great deal. Look at Sleeping Beauty, she's basically the epitome - of my point seeing as she sleeps most of the book. Do try something else. I'll settle for in-the-face-of-death revelation without the quite necessary demise.
Readers, this doesn't count as a spoiler. This book has no plot points to speak of, so there surely can't be a spoiler.
All in all, I finished the book - somehow - but it still gets a 1.
Actually, the characters are pretty dumb. She's supposed to be a con woman with a paranormal edge, but she's just an average mildly insensitive person with said... gift, while his only redeeming quality - considering how they both suffer from an also average case of the now ubiquitous InstaLove - is his fighting skills. Reyes, thy name is BRAWN. That, and he can cook. Next book will show the male lead knitting.
Hot, but not what I call character development
Spoiler
Not to mention, all Kyra had to take care of to avoid the trouble in the end was make a phone call and tell the one and only person who knew her, her best friend Mia, that she was ok and make plans to meet. And, oh my suspension of disbelief, your friend said she was going to take on the murdering casino owner and you just walk inside said casino and inquire the first person you meet - the chief of security in this case - if he knows anything about the-one-who-might-have-conned-his-boss?Let me spell it out for you:
"there are consequences to breaking the heart of a murdering bastard"
On the plus side, there was a secondary, albeit weak, subplot. It kept us mildy entertained and laid the groundwork for book #2.
Hey, there's actually a book #2! hehehe...
The end brought to mind a question I often find myself asking when reading romances. It is very nice to think that our choice of a happy ending doesn't depend so much on us, that there will be a friend or lover who go out of their way to will force us, con us, surprise us out of our mule-headed ways to accept, that the happy ending will be more or less planted in our hands, whether we want it or not.
Most people won't stop to help if you've fallen on the side of the road - let alone set your love life straight because you're cutting the nose to spite the face.
While romance novels (all fiction novels) are an escape from reality, this suggestion permeates literature... quite a great deal. Look at Sleeping Beauty, she's basically the epitome - of my point seeing as she sleeps most of the book. Do try something else. I'll settle for in-the-face-of-death revelation without the quite necessary demise.
Readers, this doesn't count as a spoiler. This book has no plot points to speak of, so there surely can't be a spoiler.
All in all, I finished the book - somehow - but it still gets a 1.
irurian's review against another edition
4.0
Well, this exceeded my expectations in every way possible. I was hooked from the very first line.
Kyra and Reyes had incredible chemistry. Their scenes together were steamy and well done. Gray made me fall in love with her characters almost immediately.
The paranormal elements were a great addition to the story. It explained why Kyra's cons were so effective, and the limitations of the powers prevented them from being a deus ex machina.
I also loved Gray's attitude towards sex. Contraception is never forgotten, nor is the clitoris. There's also a healthy view towards masturbation for both genders, which I find rare in fiction.
I can't wait to read more from this author in the future.
Kyra and Reyes had incredible chemistry. Their scenes together were steamy and well done. Gray made me fall in love with her characters almost immediately.
The paranormal elements were a great addition to the story. It explained why Kyra's cons were so effective, and the limitations of the powers prevented them from being a deus ex machina.
I also loved Gray's attitude towards sex. Contraception is never forgotten, nor is the clitoris. There's also a healthy view towards masturbation for both genders, which I find rare in fiction.
I can't wait to read more from this author in the future.
lemonmarch's review against another edition
5.0
The start of what looks to be a promising new series by author Ava Gray, who also writes under the name Ann Aguirre. The book had non-stop action and truly unforgettable characters. I'm definitely looking forward to the June 2010 release of Skin Tight, the second book in the series.
setaian's review against another edition
DNF and read less than 50% so no rating.
There were some positives to this book but a couple of negatives which made the book difficult. That's not to say it's not a good book just that it's not a good book for me.
There were some positives to this book but a couple of negatives which made the book difficult. That's not to say it's not a good book just that it's not a good book for me.
stefi_books's review against another edition
4.0
I loved the style of the book, it kept me always interested to continue reading. The characters were great, too. It's a challenge to make two criminals likable, but the book did it well enough. There were things didn't like, especially towards the end, but mostly it was a very nice romance.
elifobeth's review against another edition
3.0
เนื้อเรื่องค่อนข้างเรื่อยๆ มีตื่นเต้นบ้าง เรื่อยๆบ้าง ส่วนตัวแล้ว พล็อตเรื่องเดาได้ง่ายเกินไป เรื่องราวของพระเอกกับนางเอกแทบจะไม่มีเนื้อหาอะไรที่ให้ติดตามมากนัก. นั่งรถไปนั่งรถกลับ
shannonleighd's review against another edition
2.0
This book started out so promising but the predictable ending really killed things for me.
Kyra is on the run from a man she spurned, he's a powerful man in Vegas and has the money to send goons after her. One of those goons is Reyes; a tall, dark, and dangerous man that might just be someone that Kyra can't outsmart. It's a good thing for her that he falls for her, hard.
Kyra has a really neat ability; when she touches someone she steals their best ability and leaves them temporarily handicapped. This comes in handy especially in a fight. I'm not really sure what the point of giving her this ability is if the reasons aren't explained. It's not like there are a bunch of people with supernatural powers running around. For the most part, there's only Kyra and her weird power.
I really liked Kyra though, because she's tough, smart, and very pragmatic. She doesn't go all hysterical or shy away from having to kill people. She's on the run and she does what she has to do.
Reyes is a good character too, although a bit cliched. He's the do-gooder assassin - he only takes the jobs where the bad guys are the ones he's sent to kill. Kind of like a really hot Dexter for hire. He has an interesting background though and his personality is well-developed so it's not like he's just a walking cliched "tall, dark, and handsome" man.
The sexual tension and the actual sex between Kyra and Reyes was ridiculously hot. Their scenes were probably some of the hottest I've read in a really long time. I have to say that this probably saved the story for me too; without it the story would have been mediocre at best. The two of them have a really unique Bonnie and Clyde relationship going on that I enjoyed. I also liked that the two of them do unsavory things but they don't constantly apologize for their actions.
I knew how things were going to end and I wasn't looking forward to it. You know Reyes is hired to kill Kyra after reading the first chapter, and you also know that she has to find out at some point and she's not going to be happy with him. I do have to say that I wasn't as annoyed with how things played out as much as I thought I was going to be. I also liked that a ton of time wasn't spent killing the villain.
There are two reasons I'm not running off to the book store to read the next in this series; this one's ending and the characters that will be focused on. The next book centers on Kyra's friend Mia and I thought she was boring and kind of stupid. I'm curious to find out more about the guy that Mia is paired with, but not enough to spend money on it. I checked this book out from the library and I think I'll just wait until they get [b:Skin Tight|6895179|Skin Tight (Skin, #2)|Ava Gray|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1290197059s/6895179.jpg|7117000] in, although I'm not in any rush to read it.
Kyra is on the run from a man she spurned, he's a powerful man in Vegas and has the money to send goons after her. One of those goons is Reyes; a tall, dark, and dangerous man that might just be someone that Kyra can't outsmart. It's a good thing for her that he falls for her, hard.
Kyra has a really neat ability; when she touches someone she steals their best ability and leaves them temporarily handicapped. This comes in handy especially in a fight. I'm not really sure what the point of giving her this ability is if the reasons aren't explained. It's not like there are a bunch of people with supernatural powers running around. For the most part, there's only Kyra and her weird power.
I really liked Kyra though, because she's tough, smart, and very pragmatic. She doesn't go all hysterical or shy away from having to kill people. She's on the run and she does what she has to do.
Reyes is a good character too, although a bit cliched. He's the do-gooder assassin - he only takes the jobs where the bad guys are the ones he's sent to kill. Kind of like a really hot Dexter for hire. He has an interesting background though and his personality is well-developed so it's not like he's just a walking cliched "tall, dark, and handsome" man.
The sexual tension and the actual sex between Kyra and Reyes was ridiculously hot. Their scenes were probably some of the hottest I've read in a really long time. I have to say that this probably saved the story for me too; without it the story would have been mediocre at best. The two of them have a really unique Bonnie and Clyde relationship going on that I enjoyed. I also liked that the two of them do unsavory things but they don't constantly apologize for their actions.
I knew how things were going to end and I wasn't looking forward to it. You know Reyes is hired to kill Kyra after reading the first chapter, and you also know that she has to find out at some point and she's not going to be happy with him. I do have to say that I wasn't as annoyed with how things played out as much as I thought I was going to be. I also liked that a ton of time wasn't spent killing the villain.
There are two reasons I'm not running off to the book store to read the next in this series; this one's ending and the characters that will be focused on. The next book centers on Kyra's friend Mia and I thought she was boring and kind of stupid. I'm curious to find out more about the guy that Mia is paired with, but not enough to spend money on it. I checked this book out from the library and I think I'll just wait until they get [b:Skin Tight|6895179|Skin Tight (Skin, #2)|Ava Gray|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1290197059s/6895179.jpg|7117000] in, although I'm not in any rush to read it.
reginaexmachina's review against another edition
3.0
Really good for PNR, admittedly not my favorite genre. The paranormal aspect was hardly in it though so fans of more light romantic suspense would probably like it too. Towards the end it got a little cliche but for the most part I thought it was highly enjoyable.