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Queen of Hearts
World class professional poker player Tess McLeod is known for keeping her cool in high intensity situations. What happens when an upstart new player, Zoey Cameron, sets her world spinning out of control? Their passion burns bright enough to light up the entire Vegas strip, but will it be enough to sustain them in the dog-eat-dog poker world?
345 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 1, 2012
3 people are currently reading
24 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 1, 2015
If there's a trope you love in lesbian romantic fiction, any trope at all, then you'll love this book, too, because they're all here: the woman who's identified as straight her entire life, the magical lesbian who causes her to realize she's gay, the bigoted, male chauvinist ex-boyfriend who couldn't keep it in his pants, the Christian conservative father who disapproves of his daughter's decisions, the innocent hug that's misinterpreted as an affair, the love connection that's made faster than you could make instant coffee, a happily-ever-after that fixes absolutely everything (including stuff that almost certainly wouldn't have been fixed). Every last one of them is here.
What isn't here is poker. At least, there's not much of it. The characters could've been chess players, golfers, ping-pong experts, it really didn't have much effect on the story. They spent a small amount of time gambling, but they spent more time having sex on poker tables. Speaking of which, there was sex. Lots of sex. So much sex. Too. Much. Sex. I love a good sex scene, but only when it has something to add to the narrative or when it contributes to the emotional state of the characters. Here, it mostly felt like pointless, repetitive filler. Okay, so maybe the hot tub scene was great. (Note to self: price check hot tubs.)
As far as the relationship between the two romantic leads goes, to say it was unbelievable would be an understatement. The speed at which everything happened was... Well, let's just say that the only people I'd recommend this book to would be the folks who work at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, because I'm pretty sure that U-Haul trailer moved faster than the speed of light. Someone really should look into that.
Additionally, the side characters weren't really developed. I'm just not sure who they were. They were faucets who dripped out essential plot elements, but they weren't even interesting faucets. There was no personality there, no artfully flared nozzles or extended pop-up drain swivel heads. Just plain, public restroom faucets.
So, this book is fluff, and not even good fluff. There's absolutely nothing here you haven't seen a hundred times before, with the possible exception of a main character who wears pink Chuckies (which was actually pretty awesome). It's the kind of book that can cause eye strain due to the amount of time you'll spend rolling your eyes at the absurdity of it all.
Still, I hate to discourage anyone writing lesbian fiction, romantic or otherwise, since there are so few people doing it and it's so desperately needed. Each voice is important, so let me close with the positive:
1) The scenes at Tess's parents' house were lovely. Sure, they were a little clichéd, but the emotions felt real. Bravo for this. I would've enjoyed more scenes of this nature.
2) The idea for basing the book on professional poker players was original and appealing, even if it was underutilized. The premise drew me to the book.
3) I liked that Tess and Zoey didn't physically resemble Xena and Gabrielle.
1.5 stars, rounded up to 2.
What isn't here is poker. At least, there's not much of it. The characters could've been chess players, golfers, ping-pong experts, it really didn't have much effect on the story. They spent a small amount of time gambling, but they spent more time having sex on poker tables. Speaking of which, there was sex. Lots of sex. So much sex. Too. Much. Sex. I love a good sex scene, but only when it has something to add to the narrative or when it contributes to the emotional state of the characters. Here, it mostly felt like pointless, repetitive filler. Okay, so maybe the hot tub scene was great. (Note to self: price check hot tubs.)
As far as the relationship between the two romantic leads goes, to say it was unbelievable would be an understatement. The speed at which everything happened was... Well, let's just say that the only people I'd recommend this book to would be the folks who work at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, because I'm pretty sure that U-Haul trailer moved faster than the speed of light. Someone really should look into that.
Additionally, the side characters weren't really developed. I'm just not sure who they were. They were faucets who dripped out essential plot elements, but they weren't even interesting faucets. There was no personality there, no artfully flared nozzles or extended pop-up drain swivel heads. Just plain, public restroom faucets.
So, this book is fluff, and not even good fluff. There's absolutely nothing here you haven't seen a hundred times before, with the possible exception of a main character who wears pink Chuckies (which was actually pretty awesome). It's the kind of book that can cause eye strain due to the amount of time you'll spend rolling your eyes at the absurdity of it all.
Still, I hate to discourage anyone writing lesbian fiction, romantic or otherwise, since there are so few people doing it and it's so desperately needed. Each voice is important, so let me close with the positive:
1) The scenes at Tess's parents' house were lovely. Sure, they were a little clichéd, but the emotions felt real. Bravo for this. I would've enjoyed more scenes of this nature.
2) The idea for basing the book on professional poker players was original and appealing, even if it was underutilized. The premise drew me to the book.
3) I liked that Tess and Zoey didn't physically resemble Xena and Gabrielle.
1.5 stars, rounded up to 2.
October 20, 2016
I like that this book kicked the predictable roadblocks in the teeth and we got to see lots of happy. I didn't like that after the couple is solid at the 50% mark, until the tournament excitement at 90%, we get to take a boring skip-some-pages nap.
Would have been 4 stars without that middle.
Would have been 4 stars without that middle.
Want to read
January 18, 2013Read the sample. It was pretty good. There's a lot about poker in the story. Wished it moved just a little bit faster.
December 3, 2014
Awesome
Just....awesome!!!!!! I really enjoy this author and the work she put into her books. They're incredible and i can't wait for her next book.
Just....awesome!!!!!! I really enjoy this author and the work she put into her books. They're incredible and i can't wait for her next book.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews