5 Smooches!
Synopsis
I make my living as a hustler, and I’m great at it.
I don’t have a single tell and I use that to my advantage to manipulate any situation.
I’ve always known what a person is about to do before they’ve even decided.
That is, until I met Penelope.
I can’t get a read on her, and what’s worse, she doesn’t want anything to do with me.
Which only makes me want her more.
Now I’m in for the hardest hustle of my life.
Somehow I have to convince her she belongs with me.
Good thing I’m always up for a challenge.
Review
“It should be illegal for a man to be this good looking. How is a woman ever supposed to resist?”
At my core, I’m a happily-ever-after seeking romance reader who lives for the swoon. I love, love, LOVE to read about that cocky to the point of being almost overconfident, swears he’ll die single, Type A guy who is brought to his knees by a smart, sassy, sexy and strong girl he never saw coming. Hustler by Meghan Quinn & Jessica Prince was all of that and a whole heck of a lot more.
“For the first time in my life, I’m going to do something I’ve never done before, something I swore I’d never do. I’m going woo…Penelope.”
At it’s very essence, Hustler is the quintessential girl meets boy, chase ensues, happily-ever-after tale that is the reason we all read this genre. But what made this version of that age-old trope so successful was the deliciously playful and snarky banter between the hero and heroine, the hilarious situations that the couple found themselves in along with a supporting cast of characters I truly adored.
“What are you doing to me?” he growls…
“I don’t know,” I pant. “But whatever it is, you’re doing it to me too. And I don’t want it to stop.”
Gavin Saint, the son of the one-time world’s best poker player, was born and raised on Vegas strip. He soaked in the only wisdom his father ever imparted on him, and not only did he best the man at his own game, but he’s now bound and determined to prove to all that he is not destined to follow in all of his father’s footsteps. He’s the reigning world champion, and now, semi-retired, he’s living the Vegas high roller life. He’s undeniably gorgeous, he’s impossibly cocky, and he darn well knows it. He plays when he wants, he’s got more money than he’ll ever need and there are no shortage of women willing and eager to warm his bed. He doesn’t do repeats, and he doesn’t do relationships. Lately…he’s become bored. He can’t quite put his finger on it, but there is something missing from his life.
“No one comes to Vegas to be a waitress or a card dealer. Those jobs are filled with people who dreamed bigger before the real world knocked them down a couple of pegs.”
Penelope Prescott, or Nell as all of her friends call her, left small-town Tennessee behind to pursue a dream born in her childhood to use her skill as a gymnast not to go for gold medals but to perform and entertain. The only child of two working class parents who sacrificed much so that she could chase this dream, she is nearly desperate not only to land her dream job, but also to lighten the load of the two people who gave up so much for her. Three years later, she’s still auditioning as she works as a cocktail waitress in the high roller suite of Hotel Paragon. With every rejection she gets, it feels like her dream gets further and further out of her reach. What Penelope didn’t realize when she got to Vegas is that it’s not what you know, but who you know.
“Two fingers of whisky.”
“Hmm…I was kind of hoping you were a three fingers kind of man.”
From the moment they met, their positively combustible chemistry sparked, smoked and sizzled. The more Penelope says no, the harder Gavin pursues her. All of his success at the tables was built upon his finely honed ability read people while masking his own emotions. So it’s not surprise that he can read Penelope like a book, and he knows that she wants him just as badly as he wants her. For the first time in a long time, Gavin is feeling challenged, and each exchange, each meeting, conversation and snarky comeback from this fiery little brunette fuels him even further. But in his effort to not play his father’s hand, will Gavin fold or go all in?
“I. Like. You.”
This was a fabulously well written story that could shift from hysterical to hotter than hell on a dime, and the transitions were effortless. Swoony moments, snarky arguments, sidesplitting shenanigans and steamy sexiness, Hustler had everything I hope for in a romantic comedy. The only thing it left me wanting was more, and I am hoping and praying that the other four characters have their stories told, too – please, ladies, I’m begging! I enjoyed every single thing about this book, so it’s a no-brainer that Meghan Quinn & Jessica Prince’s Hustler gets 5 smooches from me!
~ Danielle Palumbo
