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Skin Game (Skin, Bk 1)
Skin Game - Skin, Bk 1
Author: Ava Gray
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...  more »
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PBS Market Price: $8.09 or $4.19+1 credit
ISBN-13: 9780425231531
ISBN-10: 0425231534
Publication Date: 12/1/2009
Pages: 308
Rating:
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 62

4 stars, based on 62 ratings
Publisher: Berkley
Book Type: Paperback
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

Catherine1 avatar reviewed Skin Game (Skin, Bk 1) on + 60 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
These protagonists were pretty unique. The hero is an assassin and the heroine is a con artist. Both are totally fine with their choices and don't wish to change. That right there is a rare quality. Usually if a character like that is written they secretly hate themselves for what they do or are forced into it and at the first opportunity they'll change their ways. That is not the case with Kyra and Reyes, thank God.

Kyra is on the run. She pissed off a very dangerous man and now he wants her dead. She's making her way through the US biding her time until she can get a hold of a friend. Along the way she can't resist conning the suckers in the towns she stops in. Not only does she want to earn money to pay her way, she finds what she does fun. What makes her so good at her con is that in the beginning she's honestly a bad player. It's only when she decides the time is right that she uses her "gift" to increase her skill.

Along the way she meets up with a guy, Rey, who helps her out of a tight spot. One thing leads to another and she winds up enjoying a very hot night of sex. She parts ways and doesn't give their meeting another thought. Unfortunately for her, things are not what they seem. Reyes is on her tail and plans to stay there until he gets what he wants.

I liked the details we learn about Kyra's talent. Until I read this book I never would have thought of that sort of talent as a bad thing. I didn't think about the fact that she couldn't pick and choose who she took from. Anyone who touched her gave up something. What a lonely life that would turn into. Also, when you think of "best" skills you usually think of that as a good thing, or at least I do. I never thought that someone's best talent could be something so horrifying.

Reyes was an interesting character. He had a lot of issues, not the least of which were due to his past.

***SPOILERS***
At one point he thinks about how close he's gotten to Kyra and realizes that he'll have to change how he plans to kill her. He'll now have to kiss her one last time and then snap her neck so it's quick and painless.
***END SPOILERS***

Now, that's totally in keeping with his character, but I found it a bit disturbing. The thing that made the romance work for me is that they both were messed up. If Reyes would have been paired with someone else who was sweeter or nicer I wouldn't have been able to see how it would work out. Fortunately for Reyes, Kyra has as many issues as he does.

The sex was hot, and I liked the insight into both their characters. The glimpses of their pasts and the little quirks that made them tick were nice. I appreciated that they weren't static characters. I require a bit more depth than that to really get into the story.

There were a few things that bothered me, although it was easy for me to ignore them and concentrate on what I liked about the story.

***SPOILERS***
Kyra trusted Reyes a little bit too easily. I can see it happening, but I wish she would have suspected a little before he ended up telling her. Also, when we find out that Kyra had Mia's cell phone number the whole time I was a little pissed. Why didn't you try her from a payphone earlier? It just seemed illogical. Also, why exactly did Kyra's talent stop working on Reyes? Yes, it makes it easier for the romance to work, but no explanation was given for it. It just ended up looking way too convenient.
***End SPOILERS***

The author did a good job creating interesting secondary characters. I'm intrigued by Foster's actions in this book and want to understand what's driving him. I can't wait to get my hands on Skin Tight.
mluvsj avatar reviewed Skin Game (Skin, Bk 1) on + 40 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
What a great book! For this being this Authors first release Its such a well written book. Kara and Reyes are both strong lead characters and the storyline was action packed and didnt lag for a minute. A few hot scenes between the two main characters but nothing over the top..just enough to make ya say hmmm. I am definately looking forward to the next release Skin Tight involving Foster and Mia (secondary characters from Skin Game) All in all a pretty good read. Highly recommend this
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ra7 avatar reviewed Skin Game (Skin, Bk 1) on + 1026 more book reviews
Kyra is con artist who has an ability to "take" (for an undetermined period of time) a person best skill or ability. She goes from place to place never staying long. Reyes is a bounty hunter/hit man. He always gets the "man." He is after Kyra she something she did to a man in Las Vegas. It turns out the Serrano (the man in Vegas) was "humiliated" and didn't like getting taken by a woman. His plan is to make an example of her. And find his money.
This was really good. Both characters are flawed, criminals. However, they each live by their own ethics, targeting those that "deserve" it . Serrano, for example, was responsible for Kyra's father's murder, so she went after him. Both has history's that make it difficult to trust, but they do each form a fragile trust in the other.
Reyes is very accepting of Kyra's ability. It's not really explained how she got such an ability. It's not mentioned if her father (or mother) had anything special. We do meet Foster (Serrano's head of security) who has his own beef with him and Krya's only friend, Mia. Their story is next. Foster also has some ability, but exactly what, I don't know. There were hints, but nothing definite.
Spoiler- I think he has sometime of shapeshifting ability; ie being able to look like other people & touch effects it. Or something.
reviewed Skin Game (Skin, Bk 1) on + 166 more book reviews
Very unique and original. Great characters! Reyes has been hired to track down and kill Kyra after he finds out where she has hidden money she stole from a casino owner. Reyes didn't know he would find a woman like Kyra however. She is a smart, sexy, strong willed con artist with a huge distrust for anyone. Will he be able to keep his word and kill Kyra when the time comes??
reviewed Skin Game (Skin, Bk 1) on + 929 more book reviews
The second book is better but this one wasn't bad either. I still think Foster and Mia kind of steal the show but I'm biased since I'm ga-ga over the second book. I think I would have liked the dialogue between Kyra and Reyes to be a little more clever. I do love the sweet scenes between them. It's also a little slower than the second book.

Overall it was a good read with a nice plot.


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