Sandy M’s review of Slippery When Wet by Kimberly Raye
Contemporary Romance published by Love Spell 25 Nov 08
I’ve been having luck reading and enjoying contemporaries lately. Then I hit the proverbial brick wall with this book. It’s not a really bad book. It’s just not a really good book either. It’s slow reading and has a hero and heroine that I just couldn’t warm up to.
At first I thought maybe it was the NASCAR theme that didn’t appeal to me. I’m not into racing, so that seemed logical. But the more I read the more I realized there were other problems for me. First, Rory and Jaycee, our hero and heroine, spend very little time together for much of the book. They’ve been friends since they were kids, but when Jaycee as a teenager dolled herself up to make a play for her man, he rejected her and that was the end of their friendship. They’ve seen each other here and there because they’re both NASCAR drivers, and now that they’re taking over the top spots after each race, things are heating up and they’re thrown together more for publicity reasons.
That’s when we find out Rory does have feelings for Jaycee, but he’s determined to keep them buried because racing is his life and he won’t allow any distractions. So he stays as far away from her as possible. No matter how worked up he gets just seeing her. But they’re competitors and that’s just the way it has to be. However, his racing begins to be affected when he can’t keep his concentration on the track. So maybe the better way to go would be to just bed her and get her out of his system. So begins the turnaround of his attitude toward Jaycee that has her completely baffled.
Until she realizes that it’s not her that has Rory now sniffing around. It’s the makeover her sponsor has insisted she go through to make her more likable to their demographic targets. She’s always been a grease monkey because it was the only way to get her father’s attention. He lived and breathed racing, so she did too. When he passed away, his will stipulated that Jaycee and her older sister, Riley, had to spend the next racing season together before they made the decision to stay with the team or walk away. Not knowing she had an older sister, it’s taking everything Jacyee’s got just to get through her days, let alone the next year. And now on top of that, she’s got Rory and his smiles and dimples and that body to contend with.
So until Rory makes his decision to have Jaycee, which is more than halfway through the book, all we get is Jaycee’s makeover, talk about Rory’s chauvinist father’s attitude, Riley constantly haranguing Jaycee about the makeover and other tidbits before we have the two finally together and things happening between them. Even when they get intimate the first time irritated me. After all was said and done, everything else came to a dead stop and they couldn’t get away from each other fast enough. And that’s before Rory’s decision.
I actually wanted more about Riley and her attraction to Trick Donovan, an ex-racer with a NASCAR talk show. There’s a spark between them that really interested me, but it never came up again. Maybe they’re being saved for a future book. I checked the author’s site to find out, along with some other info, but sadly it’s a site lacking on book information. Practically nil on this book alone. I’m hoping it’s a good sign that I want to read a story about characters in this book. Too bad it’s not the one I got.
Grade: C
Summary:
Jaycee Anderson is the first female to take the NASCAR Sprint Cup circuit by storm, and after finishing fourth overall last season, she has her eyes on the prize: knocking Rory Canyon out of the number three spot. She’ll do anything to see the job done, too, even transform herself from a tomboy into a glamour queen if that’s what it takes to get sponsorship and the edge. Rory’s the kind of infuriating chauvinist who’s just begging to get the pants beat off him by a woman—on the track, at least; Jaycee’s fairly sure he’s never had to beg anywhere else. Not with the millions of female fans who buy his shirts and caps and posters. Rory’s just the type who gets Jaycee’s own pistons pumping, her wheels spinning, and her engine burning oil. With their past, she’s surprised they haven’t already seen a smashup that ended in flames. But this track they’re running has some deadly curves…and it’s getting more slippery by the minute.
Read an excerpt.
