Ruby Palmer works on costumes at the Cirque D’Amour. She’s watched the magician, Blake Cannon from afar since he arrived. When she finally gets one night with him, she couldn’t predict how her life was about to change.
This was a whirlwind story. Definitely some twists I didn’t expect. I really loved Ruby’s characters. She definitely deserved some happiness by the end of the story. I highly recommend.
**I received an ARC of this story in exchange for an honest review
Sometimes I need a little feathers, glitter, and body oil (okay I never need body oil) with my Romance.
Here are some great Romances where heroines (and sometimes heroes) make or made their living working a pole, doing the bump and grind, and other sexy topless dancing.
Strippers and Showgirls in Romance! My lists are never in any particular order.
1. Forever Buckhorn: GabeJordan (The Buckhorn Brothers) by Lori Foster
Jordan
Jordan Somerville thinks he wants a woman who's a paragon of virtue. But then the gentle veterinarian—rescuer of strays—meets Georgia Barnes, single mother and exotic dancer. She's a far cry from Jordan's dream woman—and she's made it clear that he's hardly her dream man, either. So why is he suddenly tempted to break all his own rules?
2. Lightning that Lingers Sharon Curtis
Philip Brooks is a man with a passion for biology, wildlife, and restoring his old family home—all of which add up to a pile of bills that require attention. Moonlighting as the Cougar Club’s hottest dancer is a job, nothing more, nothing less—until lovely Jennifer Hamilton nearly faints during one of his shows. Her sweet innocence tugs at his heart and makes him painfully aware of his longing for the kind of love a woman as perfect and real as Jennifer can offer.
Watching her most secret fantasy come to life on the dance floor is almost more than Jennifer can bear. Now, the sexiest man she’s ever met is near enough to hold. For a shy, bookish lady with little experience in the romance department, life feels as if it’s spinning out of control—and not in the direction, or with the kind of man, she ever imagined. Can she believe in the passion Philip ignites and take a chance on a dance that could last a lifetime?
3. Solar Flare by Autumn Dawn
Hero goes undercover as a stripper. Slow burn.
Azor agreed to take Brandy off planet to avoid a scandal, never knowing they’d ignite a white hot passion of their own. Sassy, sexy, Brandy makes him burn. If the hostile aliens don’t kill him, his companion just might.
Hunted by a shapeshifting assassin, fighting an infection that's killing her, he knows that time is short. Can he reach her distant family before time runs out?
4. Dark Needs at Night's Edge by Kresley Cole
A RAVEN-HAIRED TEMPTRESS OF THE DARK...
Néomi Laress, a famous ballerina from a past century, became a phantom the night she was murdered. Imbued with otherworldly powers but invisible to the living, she haunts her beloved home, scaring away trespassers -- until she encounters a ruthless immortal even more terrifying than Néomi herself.
A VAMPIRE WARRIOR CONSUMED BY MADNESS...
To prevent him from harming others, Conrad Wroth's brothers imprison him in an abandoned manor. But there, a female only he can see seems determined to drive him further into madness. The exquisite creature torments him with desire, leaving his body racked with lust and his soul torn as he finds himself coveting her for his own.
HOW FAR WILL HE GO TO CLAIM HER?
Yet even if Conrad can win Néomi, evil still surrounds her. Once he returns to the brutality of his past to protect her, will he succumb to the dark needs seething inside him?
5. Skintight by Susan Andersen
Professional poker player Jax Gallagher should have known better than to wager a World Series baseball that wasn't his to lose. Now the man who won the collectible is demanding his prize... or else. Trouble is, the ball is owned by his estranged father's widow--a flamboyant Las Vegas showgirl. Jax will do whatever it takes to get it back.
Yet Treena McCall is anything but the ruthless gold digger Jax expects. She's built a life for herself filled with good friends and hard work. And she's got enough on her plate trying to hang on to her job as a dancer without being wined, dined and seduced by sexy Jax Gallagher....
6. The Notorious Scoundrel by Alexandra Benedict
Like an irresistible siren, the veiled dancer with the bewitching green eyes lures dukes and earls down into London's underworld to see her dance--and succumb to her spell. Some say she's a princess, but only one man knows her darkest secret.
She is Amy Peel, an orphan from the city's rookeries, and she believes the bold rogue who unmasks her to be nothing but a scoundrel--albeit a dangerously handsome one. He may have rescued her from an attempted kidnapping, but she will not give in to his sensual seduction or to the wicked desire she begins to feel . . .
He is Edmund Hawkins, swashbuckling pirate turned reluctant gentleman, and he will not let the lovely Amy slip through his grasp, especially when he learns she's in greater peril than she could possibly know. He will do everything in his power to protect her--for this notorious scoundrel has truly, unbelievably, lost his heart . . .
7. Stripping Her Gears by Sahara Kelly
She's a long-legged blonde who loves people and dancing and needs a part time job. What could be better than joining the staff of Boston's hottest private club - Goggles and Cogs. In her Steampunk outfit, Cora Standish taps her way through old-time music hall numbers three nights a week and waits tables as well, loving every minute of it.
Jack Brandon is thrilled his club is a success and fascinated by one particular blonde. When an old friend books a bachelor party for a closed door event, Jack offers three of his best girls a chance to make some big money. All they have to do is entertain--in the style of the best burlesque shows. He's torn between business and desire. He wants the booking but would rather have Cora strip just for him.
When the power fails, Jack and Cora take a chance...learning that lap dances are more erotic when done in semi-darkness and that passion doesn't need anything but the right couple. But are they right for each other? A stupid mistake may wreck it all and strip her gears for ever...
8. Beefcake & Cupcakes by Judi Fennell
Sugar is sweet, but so is revenge
All Lara Cavallo wants to do is make her bakery business, Cavallo's Cups & Cakes, a success, and be able to stop accepting alimony from her rotten, cheating ex-husband. But first she needs to find her clothes and escape the strange hotel room she wakes up in before she embarrasses herself any further in front the owner of that gorgeous naked keister she spots through the bathroom door. She needs to keep her mind on her cupcakes. She doesn't have time for beefcake, no matter how enticing.
Cupcakes are sweet, and so is Lara…
All Gage Tomlinson wants is to find a way to help his single-mom sister pay the hospital bills for his six-year-old nephew, badly injured in a hit and run accident. Working construction during the day and as the owner of the exotic male dance troupe BeefCake, Inc. by night doesn't leave much time for indulgence. Too bad the sweetest thing he's seen in ages passes out on him and then takes off before he even gets a nibble. He's got a sweet tooth, and only Lara's "cupcakes" will satisfy him.
But when cupcake finally meets beefcake, it's hot enough to melt the buttercream right off the cake.
9. Bride of Shadow Canyon by Stacey Kayne
Respectable showgirl
When the widowed boardinghouse keeper he has come to rescue turns out to be a scantily-clad showgirl, Jed Doulan knows he's in for trouble. With his shadowed past, he'd be mad to let this spirited—and surprisingly innocent—woman get close.
Rebellious bride
Bound by a hasty marriage to her reluctant hero, Rachell Carlson senses his struggle to keep a distance between them. But the message in Jed's eyes makes her pulse quicken—and even dares her to believe in love.
10. The Nerd Who Loved Me by Vicki Lewis Thompson
Nerd to the rescue!
Shy accountant Harry Ambrewster never dreams his crush on Vegas showgirl Lainie Terrell will amount to anything. But then he agrees to babysit for her precocious four-year-old son Dexter and her drunk ex-boyfriend shows up demanding to see his kid. Escaping out a second-story window with Dexter isn’t Harry’s style, but Lainie and her son need a hero, and Harry isn’t about to let them down . . .
Alarmed by her volatile ex’s sudden interest in Dexter, Lainie’s desperate to keep her son from harm. Harry offers his mother’s security-enhanced home as a safe haven for Dexter while he and Lainie attempt to mislead her ex by posing as a husband and wife checking out a Sedona timeshare. What starts out as a platonic arrangement quickly morphs into red-hot passion, but can either of them trust emotions created in a powder keg?
Did I miss your favorite? Do you simply need more? Visit my Goodreads list: Spangle: Strippers and Showgirls in Romance.
O sea,
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Ruby loves sequins and sparkles. After her job on Broadway falls through she becomes the seamstress for the Cirque d'Amour. There see finds her libido lit by the magician, Blake Cannon. After one-night Blake disappears and it seems Ruby knew nothing about him and her lack of knowledge gets her in a lot of trouble. Kidnapped and taken to Morocco she has to survive to make it back home but will she be able to escape her captors, find the American embassy, and find a life that includes Blake?
I loved this book. I loved Ruby and the fact that she is not tiny and petite. She is also spunky and does what she must to survive. She thought that Blake never knew she watched his act each night but finds out he was a fascinated by her as she was him. Blake is harder to capture. At times I loved him. At times I disliked him. He never gave Ruby a straight answer until Ruby makes decisions he does not like. Both are strong personalities. Their character development was well done.
The story is full of action and adventure. Some of it over-the-top since Ruby does not have any special training but it gives life to Ruby and I had a real sense of her and her strength, intelligence, and abilities. I had a hard time putting this down so I read it in one sitting. I wanted to know what happened.
The secondary characters were an eclectic mix--some good, most evil. I loved Lilli, Ruby's friend and the woman who taught Ruby she could succeed anywhere she wanted. Ruby and Lilli are opposites. Their friendship is strong and believable. I'd like to see Lilli get her own story. She sounds fascinating.
This is a good, fun read. I loved the tongue-in-cheek humor of Ruby's thoughts as she goes through the story, occasionally speaking it aloud. It fit Ruby and made me chuckle. I'm looking for more reads from Michelle Fox |
Before (Burlesque Bombshells, #1)
Brash(Burlesque Bombshells, #2)
Blush (Burlesque Bombshells, #3)
by Nicola Marsh
Actually as I'm writing this down I already finished the first one and wrote it's review. I'm not sure if I'll be reading the following ones since I have an issue with the main heroine.. so I might do a "break" and read other books before I return to the next two, or I might skip them entirely.
The Edge of Never (The Edge of Never, #1)
The Edge of Always (The Edge of Never #2)
by Redmerski, J.A.
I'm not sure who recommended this series to me. Haven't a clue about it.
Country Mouse: The Complete Collection
by Aleksandr Voinov and Amy Lane
After reading "Unhinge the Universe" I've been looking for books by Aleksandr Voinov. I think I have more planned by him.
Find You in the Dark (Find You in the Dark, #1)
Cloud Walking (Find You in the Dark, #1.5)
Light in the Shadows (Find You in the Dark, #2)
Warmth in Ice (Find You in the Dark, #2.5)
by A. Meredith Walters
I had the first one planned for March but when I realized I'm not going to make it I decided it's better to plan for a time to read a whole series and not just for the first in each new series (if I don't like it and don't want to continue there is always what to read ;))
By Samantha Hunter
Another one I has planned for the previous month. This is just a short novella that will turn into a series I think, not sure. Samantha is one of the 5 authors of "strangers on a train" and for that I'm looking into her books. This one is quite new. I have another new one scheduled for next month I think. I'm not sure how to pick through her endless list of books so if you have recommendation about specific books you liked by her I'll be glad to hear :)
Wicked Nights (Angels of the Dark, #1)
Beauty Awakened (Angels of the Dark, #2)
By Gena Showalter
I'm actually not sure if I'll get to read the both of them this month considering I "lost a week" with reading only one book.. But anyway since the 3rd one will be released somewhere in the end of April it seemed a good place to put these two. This is a spin-off for Lords of the Underworld series. I really loved Zacharel character in Paris's book (The Darkest Seduction LotU #9) so I can't wait to read his book (the first in the series). I also figured I haven't read a Paranormal Romance for a while.. There were none in March and on February they have been a disappointment mostly.. Finding a new good Paranormal series would be great!
As I've started on February, I'm re-listening the the Black Dagger Brotherhood Series by J. R. Ward "preparing" myself for the 12th book "The King" which was released on the 1st of April. I did want to listen to them fast enough to get to the last book in April but I'm being realistic here that it's NOT going to happen.
Right now I'm listening to "Lover Avenged" (Rehv's book and no. 7 on the series).
I have a few books from March I had to postpone to further months. "If You Stay" (Beautifully Broken #1) by Courtney Cole which I decided to put somewhere I'll have time to read all the series not just the first one (like I wrote in "Find You in the Dark"). "By Degrees" series by Taylor V. Donovan has quite longs books so I had to find a big enough space for them. I'm not sure where I scheduled them at the moment (and things do change so..)
That's it!
Have a great April everyone! :)
February Goals / February Recap
Note - I crossed off the ones I'm not planning on reading.
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