Gamemaster

by Stephanie James, Jayne Ann Krentz

PLAYERS IN A TOUCH-AND-GO GAME
Shelley Banning was an enterprising accountant determined to acquire aid for one of her financially ailing clients. Her first task was to secure a loan from Joel Cassidy, ruler of a successful video-game empire.

But Joel was a masterful player. He challenged Shelley word for word, kiss for kiss, until her supple body ached with longing. Joel's love bewitched her senses; his caress engaged her in a frenzied love match. But how could Shelley hope to win when Joel arrogantly informed her he was playing by his own rules?

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Category Romance

187 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

Jayne Ann Castle was born on 28 March 1948 in Borrego Springs, California. Her mother, Alberta Castle, raised her with her two brothers, Stephen and James. In 1970, she obtained a B.A in History at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and later she obtained a Masters degree in Library Science from San Jose State University, where she met Frank Krentz, an engineer. After her graduation, they married and moved to the Virgin Islands. She worked in the Duke University library system, where she began to write her first romance novels. The marriage moved to Seattle, Washington, where they continue living.

Now, Jayne Ann Castle Krentz with her seven pennames is considered a pillar in the contemporary romance genre. For some years, she only uses three pennames for each of three different periods from time: "Jayne Ann Krentz" (her married name) from the present, "Jayne Castle" (her birth name) from the future and her most famous penname: "Amanda Quick" from the past. She is famous for her work ethic, beginning her writing by 7 am six days a week. Her heroins never are damsels in hardships, they are often heroes. Her novels also contain mystery or paranormal elements.

Enthusiastic of the romantic genre, she has always defended its importance. To help educate the public about the romantic genre she became the editor and a contributor to Dangerous Men and Adventurous Women: Romance Writers on the Appeal of the Romance, a non-fiction essay collection that won the prestigious Susan Koppelman Award for Feminist Studies. She established the Castle Humanities Fund at UCSC's University Library to allow the library to purchase additional books and has given money to 15 Seattle-area elementary schools to enhance their library budgets. She is also a member of the Advisory Board for the Writers Programs at the University of Washington extension program.

Psuedonyms:

Jayne Ann Krentz
Amanda Quick
Jayne Castle
Jayne Bentley
Jayne Taylor
Amanda Glass

Reviews

[*CJ* · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Gamemaster" is the story of Shelley and Joel.

Another one of JAK's banter-fests, in which our accountant h goes head to head with the H, who has loaned money to her client. They engage in a battle of wills, and their road to love is paved by crazy possessiveness, video games, blackmail, trust issues and hot lovemaking.

I think it got a bit repetitive at one point, and the story got a little absurd. The ending was nice though!

Read it if you want smut surrounded by insanity.

Safe
2/5

[Lena Papanikolaou · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,8/4

[Mara · Rating 1 out of 5]

A plot so thin to be see through and boring to boot.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

This 1983 publication (early Jayne Ann Krentz) is reasonably good. Shelley Banning is an accountant attempting to save a company in debt to Joel Cassidy. Cassidy is a video game owner/leasor who is more interested in Shelley than his $100,000 loan. The plot is better than most written in this period but could have been a bit more developed. The characters were interesting and the dialogue a bit stretched to string out the plot. Nevertheless, like all Jayne Ann Krentz, I enjoyed it and re-read it every five years or so.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an okay read. Again I really like Krentz writing but her first books were sometimes on the aggressive side. Men saying they'll beat you, lock you up, own you (but never reciprocate = you own them)
Second Read - Well this one is again slowly phasing in more personality for the hero other than a personality that is mostly aggressive/possessive. I do enjoy this book because it's fun and quick.

[Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Her characters are always different than expected. I enjoyed all of her 80's books and took them for the era they were in and what was selling.