Gray, Ava: Skin Game
Skin Game (2009)
Written by: Ava Gray
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Pages: 307 (Mass Market Paperback)
There's only one reason I bought and read this book: Ava Gray is the pen name for Ann Aguirre. 'Nuff said.
The premise: taken from the author's website: A beautiful fugitive-wanted dead or alive.
Kyra is a con woman and a particular kind of thief. She steals with a touch, but she only takes one thing: her target’s strongest skill. Which means she can be a fighter, an athlete, a musician, an artist-anything she wants… for a limited time. Heartbroken, she turns her gift toward avenging her father’s murder; with deadly patience, Kyra works her way into casino owner Gerard Serrano’s inner circle. After pulling off the ultimate con, she flees with his money and his pride.
A hit man who never misses the mark.
Reyes has nothing but his work. Pity for Kyra, he’s the best and mercy never sways him once he takes a job. He’s been hired to find out where Kyra hid the cash-and bring her back to face Serrano’s “justice.” Dead will do, if he can’t locate the loot. He’s never failed to complete a contract, but Kyra tempts him with her fierce heat and her outlaw heart. So Reyes has a hell of a choice: forsake his word or kill the woman he might love.
Review style: no spoilers, which surprises me, since I thought there would be. But if you're paranoid, just skip to the "My Rating" section of the review. :)
So let's make one thing clear: this book is paranormal romance, which means, quite literally, it's a ROMANCE with paranormal elements, which means you SHOULD find this shelved in ROMANCE, not SF/F/H. I point out this distinction because I don't read a whole lot of paranormal romance, though I welcome romantic plots and subplots in the stuff I do read. And I've enjoyed paranormal romance in the past ( Jeaniene Frost, anyone?), and I've even read straight romance, which I also enjoyed. But such focus is not something I read regularly, and the traditional formula in the genre is a major reason why.
What's this formula? Girl meets Guy. Girl is attracted to Guy in spite of [insert obstacle here] and Guy is attracted to Girl in spite of [insert obstacle here]. Tension grows as the characters learn more about each other, and just when one of them, usually the Girl--in my experience--confesses TRUE FEELINGS (or maybe there's a kiss, or something), there's a MAJOR misunderstanding that pulls the couple apart, and it's only once the misunderstanding is cleared up (or understood) that the couple can be together.
I do dislike such formulas. Some people don't have problems with them, but with me, I need to be able to FORGET about such formulas in order to enjoy the book. In this case, I couldn't forget.
And I'll be fair: the week I read this book was EXTREMELY BUSY and I was really tired and grumpy, and that could have EASILY colored my reading. However, it took me a week to read this sucker because I kept losing interest. Nothing wrong with the writing or the story itself: I rather liked the premise, as well as Kyra's abilities, and for the most part, the fact that neither Kyra or Reyes were your traditional types of characters. I mean, come on, Kyra's a con-woman and Reyes is a hit man. But both have their own rules for which targets they'll take, and in Reyes's case, he's very much mislead.
The problem, for me, is that sometimes I really, really, really hate knowing more than the characters. Sometimes it works and creates a giddy, page-turning tension, other times you just want the air cleared so you can finish the book.
Another problem I had was the absolute focus the two had on each other. The plot, in and of itself, was a little weak: Kyra was heading somewhere to hide the money she stole, but didn't think too heavily on the fact that Serrano might be trying to kill her. Reyes is trying to find the money and complete his mission, Foster is an enigma whose only obvious motivation is to get back at Serrano, and Serrano just wants to save his pride. Not bad ingredients, but for whatever reason, I wasn't engaged. And I was tired of the sections where Kyra or Reyes obsess over the other. Which, admittedly, is kind of the point of Romance, but it bothered me for some reason.
Part of my problem, I think, was the fact that Kyra has a one-night stand with Reyes. That in and of itself is okay, as it's fun to see the two try to stay away from each other in the romantic sense but not being able to help falling into each other's spiral. But the whole I-like-it-rough-bitch attitude they BOTH have turned me off, as did Kyra's self-preparation before she and Reyes hit the sack the first time. Sure, these characters grow and change and learn to put a little emotion into their lovemaking, but even one-night stands should be hot, and this one really didn't appeal to me. The fact that this happens in chapter three (with Kyra ignoring the fact that Reyes threatened to slash her tires) set my mental tone for the whole book, which wasn't a good thing for me.
But there are good, romantic, sexy moments that I enjoyed. And I really was engaged by how Ava Gray utilizes Kyra's power for the sake of the story. Some of it was frightening, while some of it was pretty clever. I do hope we'll learn why Reyes was an exception to her touch rule (I though it was prolonged contact, but then we learn that Mia, who's been touched by Kyra for years, isn't an exemption, so hmmm...), but I do hope that knowledge comes from a secondary source, because I didn't warm up enough to Kyra and Reyes enough to want to see them in the series again, except for perhaps as secondary characters, like Mia and Foster were in this one (and they'll be the focus of the next book, Skin Tight).
My Rating
Worth the Cash: another tricky rating, because by all rights, the book is very solid with an engaging premise and interesting characters. I liked all the details surrounding Kyra's ability, how those details made her more human than super-human, and Reyes was the type of character you could sympathize with (even though he's a hit man). But whether it was because I read this book during an EXTREMELY busy week or I was turned off by Kyra and Reyes's initial meeting, but I wasn't engaged by this book like I expected. Maybe it's because I know the author, under her real name Ann Aguirre, does a fantastic job with angst, and there was very little angst in this book until the end, and then, of course, Gray had my full attention. Perhaps I prefer my romances to be slightly more subtle or more in the background, but that's not fair to say either, because I've read books that are straight up romance that I connected with better. So maybe my reaction is more of a "I had a horribly busy week while reading this" kind of a thing. I'm certainly interested in the sequel, Skin Tight, which focuses on two secondary characters that appear in this book, as Gray does introduce larger plot elements that don't get resolved (no worries, the immediate story is DEFINITELY resolved), so I'm curious to see what she's going to do with the four-book cycle. Plus, even though I wasn't fully engaged, I like this author a lot, and have faith that the next installment will work better for me. If it doesn't, no skin (ha ha) off my back. :) At any rate, if you're a fan of Ann Aguirre, you of course have to pick this up. If you've never heard of Ann Aguirre, but you're a romance reader, know this book includes rough sex and characters who are certainly darker than your traditional hero/heroine. If you can handle that, you'll be just fine.
Cover Commentary: I hate it. It's so traditionally romance and it does absolutely nothing for me. Art aside, even the design of the cover is boring in terms of layout. It's sad, because when you go to Ava Gray's website, it's so kick-ass. This cover falls ridiculously short of that.
Next up: Singing the Dogstar Blues by Alison Goodman