Sale Blitz & Review::: Black Number Four by Kandi Steiner
Known as one of the youngest and most ambitious poker players in the country, Skyler Thorne has a reputation to uphold in Vegas this year. Her sole focus for spring semester is to perfect her game and get tournament ready – and have some fun with her sorority sisters, of course. Meeting a care-free pledge with incredible arms adds a whole new element of fun to her semester, but when a shocking discovery about his past surfaces, Skyler finds herself stuck in a game she wasn’t prepared to play.
Kip Jackson is on a mission from his father. His plan was to get in, have a little fun, and then get out – on to bigger and better things. A feisty girl with bright blue eyes wasn’t on his list of things to do, but she quickly moves her way up to the very top. When he realizes completing his dad’s mission means crushing her in the process, he must decide if his dreams are worth the risk – or if he even has the same dreams, at all.
Two secrets. Two hearts. Two hands being played in one twisted game of deceit.
When the cards are on the table, will anyone be left standing?
The perfect poker face can only hide them for so long.
On sale for $0.99 for a limited time!
5 out of 5 stars!!!
I LOVED this book more than anything I’ve read recently. Skylar and Kip are two characters that I wish I could read more and more about. They developed into friends thru the course of the book and I’m so happy that I got to meet them!
I’ve only read one other book by Ms Steiner (Tag Chaser) and I liked it well enough, but this one just really spoke to me. I’m not a poker player, but my boys love to try. As I was reading, I was thinking about them growing up to be like Kip…and how that wouldn’t be such a bad thing!
Both Skylar and Kip are playing games with each other in the beginning. They both want something from the other, but what they discover is that what the wanted to begin with isn’t what they truly wanted.
Skylar is in line to be the next president of her sorority. Kip is a transfer student from Kansas trying to get into his dream school to work on screenplays. Skylar is consumed with what other people think of her and how to make them happy. Kip just wants to do this one last favor for his dad so he can get into his dream college - UCLA.
The twists and turns that they went thru made me cry. I was so pulling for them and I knew they would be great together, but they had to pull their heads out of their butts in order to see what everyone else clearly saw.
The way that Ms Steiner wrote about the characters really made me believe their relationship and their thoughts. There were so many times when the girls were hanging out talking that I wanted to be one of them. They were funny (like the discussion with nicknames for the vagina) and they were soulfull (like when they nursed Skylar back after a breakup). They were exactly like the friends I would want to have.
Then the guys were great, too. Bear was obviously someone I wanted to know much more about. He seemed like the best guy friend. Adam hung on to Skylar a little too long and Kade was just the best comic relief!
There are passages where the characters just felt real - the first time that Kip joined Skylar at a poker tournament he described all the other players and the best was what he had to say about the last four -- he compared them to dads. I totally got the idea better than if he’d went into great detail. They were easy to picture because that’s how I would describe some people, too.
Of course, there was also some sexy time and the first time that Skylar pleasured Kip I loved the way that Ms Steiner made her thoughts come out:
If there’s one thing I do better than poker, it’s blow jobs -- and judging by the sounds coming from Kip right now, I’ve still got it.
And then there were the words coming out of Kip’s mouth -- he was so darn hot!!!
“I’m going to take you, Skylar. But I need you to know that once I do, I’m going to own you. you’re going to be mine. This game between us? The rules are going to change.”
I really felt all of this novel. I think I experienced every emotion while I read - I was laughing, I was crying, I was angry, and I was anxious. Truly, this novel had everything I love in a book! Every character brought something to the book and every page left me wanting more. The way she wrapped it up was also amazing. This book is definitely a five star read!!
"I want to know your secrets.” I walk to the sink and drop the dishes in, waiting.
Skyler leans against the wall and crosses her arms. “Oh yeah? In poker or in life?”
I tuck my hands in my pockets and shrug, my eyes locked on hers. “Both.”
She stays there for a while, smiling and scrutinizing me at the same time. Suddenly, her face falls, and I feel the same resistance from earlier stretch between us like a tense rubber band. “I should probably go,” she says, lifting from the wall.
I check my watch. “Why don’t we go watch the sunrise? It’ll be up in twenty minutes.”
Skyler chews her cheek, her foot tapping on the floor. “I don’t know, I think this would be a lot easier if I left now.”
I shake my head, walking toward her. “What do you mean by this?”
She goes to back up but hits the wall. “This. Us. I just, I don’t think we should get caught up. I have to focus on poker this semester and you’re pledging. It would just be easier if we didn’t complicate things.”
I keep walking until our chests touch and place my hands on the wall around her head, my face inches from hers. Her breath hitches in her throat, but her bright blue eyes don’t leave mine.
“Baby, you made me lick tequila off you the first night we met. This is nothing if not complicated.”
Kandi Steiner is a Creative Writing and Advertising/Public Relations graduate from the University of Central Florida living in Tampa with her husband. Kandi works full time as a social media specialist, but also works part time as a Zumba fitness instructor and blackjack dealer.
Kandi started writing back in the 4th grade after reading the first Harry Potter installment. In 6th grade, she wrote and edited her own newspaper and distributed to her classmates. Eventually, the principal caught on and the newspaper was quickly halted, though Kandi tried fighting for her “freedom of press.” She took particular interest in writing romance after college, as she has always been a die hard hopeless romantic (like most girls brought up on Disney movies).
When Kandi isn’t working or writing, you can find her reading books of all kinds, talking with her extremely vocal cat, and spending time with her friends and family. She enjoys beach days, movie marathons, live music, craft beer and sweet wine – not necessarily in that order.
Kandi started writing back in the 4th grade after reading the first Harry Potter installment. In 6th grade, she wrote and edited her own newspaper and distributed to her classmates. Eventually, the principal caught on and the newspaper was quickly halted, though Kandi tried fighting for her “freedom of press.” She took particular interest in writing romance after college, as she has always been a die hard hopeless romantic (like most girls brought up on Disney movies).
When Kandi isn’t working or writing, you can find her reading books of all kinds, talking with her extremely vocal cat, and spending time with her friends and family. She enjoys beach days, movie marathons, live music, craft beer and sweet wine – not necessarily in that order.
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