The Gambler

Bad Romance #3

by Shanna Bell

HIM...
I will get out from behind these bars.

I’ll make those who put me here pay.

All I need is her; the lock to my cell.


HER...
I’m a geeky hacktivist; the internet is my oyster.

But that’s not going to save my family.

I need him; a Kraken to beat a shark.


Game on...


Disclaimer:
* contains adult language and (explicit) steamy scenes
* contains levels of geekiness
* can be read as a standalone

Genres: Romance

155 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 1, 2019

About the author

Shanna Bell is a romance author who loves to write (and read) about sassy, strong women who can save themselves and men with a heart of gold. Wanderlust is her middle name, as she loves to travel and experience new cultures and foods. If you're into romantic suspense, happily ever afters, and some steam she´s got you covered. For updates on her series, you can join her newsletter or mail her. She loves hearing from her readers.

Reviews

[Kira · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked Luca a lot. Tess not so much. I wish the mafia angle had been stronger.

[Floor tussendeboeken · Rating 2 out of 5]

Would have liked it more if it was more fleshed out. A lot of things are happening in this book in a short span of time and in not even 200 pages, that I miss the depth. If it was to me, the book would be like around 350 pages.

Oh and ''unicorn'' is an awful pet name for someone with coloured hair ew... xD

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series, it’s dramatic and sassy and a lil bit sexy ;). I loved Tess as a character in this, she’s so smart and sassy and I love that Luca loved her for her smartness and wit primarily over her appearance. Luca also wasn’t overbearing and super possessive like many alpha men in romance are written as, which I appreciate - it makes him more swoonworthy to me. I was so into this book I read it in one sitting. I’m currently writing this review at 2:52am and I have a university lecture at 9:00am so pray for me 😂. The only thing wrong with this was that I wanted it to go on for longer!

[Kelly Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ARC In exchange for an honest review. This book did not disappoint I love Tess and Luca. She is so quirky and weird and he is so serious and professional it made me laugh out loud. Tess his sense of humor is hysterical and there are moments in this book that had me laughing. This book did not disappoint!! In the beginning Luca was so serious and hard due to what happened to him. I love that Tess was able to unpeel his layers And see the softer side to him. That fact that Tess has no filter is great .There romance was exactly what I expected based on what a nerd she was!! Great read !! Can not wait for what’s next.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow Just Wow

5++++++++Stars for this 3rd book in the series. I just Love this author, but I need the next book. Luca is every woman's dream man. He accepted Tess for who she is. Quirks and all. I just found this author and I need more of her books. Don't believe the reviews that don't like the books. Once you start you can't stop reading them. I am such a fan!

[Reva Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet and satisfying

This is probably my favourite of the series if for no other reason then it is chalk full off star wars and nerd references.
Both characters are easy to love!

Also the in-depth knowledge of hacking obviously lots of research was done to make it realistic and understandable.

This is probably one of the more innocent stories as well theres still heat but compared to the others in the series id give it 🔥 🔥 out of 5

[Sharon Garrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quirky but intriguing!

3rd book in this series. Glad a Detta got out of jail. The miss match was a plus between Lucianno and Tess. Hope a book comes out with Onxy, Vince, and Jax. Would love to see these characters find their mates. Also Angel and Damon too. Love the series. Must read the 1st and 2nd book 1st to follow along with the 3rd. Recommended series here.

[Carolyn Spence · Rating 5 out of 5]

This chapter is even better than the last! Tess is a geek who has shown up in the previous books, this time she gets her own hero. Luca, the Detta brother in jail for a crime he did not commit. Enter a falling body from a pantry, the twins and their "welcome out of jail present", and a previous bet and you've got one out of this world situation that has a two week time limit. Put in some wacky relatives, an alien believing conspiracy computer salesman and it's quite the wild ride. Luca does not do anything for free anymore, or because he's a nice guy, that was the old Luca.

Totally captivated me from page one, and now I'm onto the next chapters. I'm so glad I've found this author.

I voluntarily reviewed this book.

[Liz DivaBooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Een vlot geschreven verhaal van Luca en Tess. Geheimen die uitkomen en problemen met een duivelse tweeling zorgen voor extra spanning. Tess en Luca zijn op elkaar aangewezen, de gevoelens die erdoor los komen voel je als lezer heel goed. Dit zorgt ervoor dat je goed met de personages kan binden. Spanning, aantrekkingskracht en twee totaal verschillende personen die door het lot gedwongen worden tot samenwerken.

De rest van de recensie lees je hier
https://divabooks.nl/2021/09/12/de-go...

[Kaila · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was a good story. interesting and different. i also loved the lack of filter.. it was funny and made me laugh.

[Coco.V]

🎁 FREE on Amazon today (8/23/2020)! 🎁

[Nashonne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as the first two in the series.

[Ruchika Mahajan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little disappointed with this one.i felt the spark was missing between Luca and tess.
Angel and Damin are so much interesting. I want to read their story with onyx.
The steam level was flat in this story.
All the other books in this series are fantastic though .

[Yolanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Minder pakkend dan de eerste delen vond ik. Desalniettemin een leuk vermakelijk boek. Ik vond het soms iets te vlug afgewerkt. Toch benieuwd naar deel 4!

[Sonya Wright · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disappointed

I really love this author and was disappointed in this installment from Shana Bell. Just a few meaningless words intertwined with characters we already cared about. I was so looking forward to this book, but it did not deliver.

[Babel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was hooked and read this book in one sitting.

The couple in this quirky suspense romance is anything but typical. Opposites, yes. Seemingly incompatible, yes, but so funny and adorable together despite the dangerous circumstances that unite them.

Ex-con Luca bears the scars of two years in prison on his muscled body and his heart full of vengeance. Cold and unrelenting at first, he starts thawing under the warm, nerdy, smart, socially-challenged woman who can help him on his brutal quest.

Tess is the best. She’s a computer wizard, can't find her way out of a bucket of trouble yet moves about like a naïve, love-starved, Internet-powered fairy. I loved the dynamics between them. They end up forced to spend time together engaging in all sorts of hilarious, surreal scenarios that I utterly enjoyed. What starts as business-like, it slowly develops into an attraction that binds them unexpectedly. It's not exactly steamy, but the hot moments were welcome.

Secrets, conspiracies, mafia bosses, murder, sass and geek all mix in a very entertaining way. Tess is one of my favourite characters in this series which I hope keeps growing!

[Sparkymom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kraken...yes, please!

Tess needs a Kraken to fight for her, and she gets exactly that in Luca. (Can I just say how much I love that name?) This story was my favorite so far. Tess was just awesome! She was quirky and weird and outspoken and completely comfortable with it. She completely knocks straight-laced Luca's world right off its axis. I love how he is completely out of his element with her yet how he takes the time to appreciate it. This story had slightly less suspense, action, and steam (though the chemistry was amazing) than the other two, but I stick by saying it is my current fave. Just on the side of full disclosure, I was a bit disappointed that after all the drama surrounding Tess's relationship with her father, he never actually appears other than in conversation. I also would have liked a bit more interaction with her grandfather.

I'm really excited that it seems like Carmen is going to get her happy ending next. I'm also very interested in Onyx and the twins. Please write book four fast!

[Ivy Blacke · Rating 5 out of 5]

In all honesty, I was dying to read about Luca, and he was amazing, however I didn't understand the whole scar thing. It just didn't seem clear. Also the heat between him and Tess just wasn't there. I loved Luca's heart though. He was sweet when you thought he'd be an a$$. He was very good dealing with Tess, but I missed the heat.

Tess was funny and quirky. She totally did not belong with Luca, but I'm happy he got someone who was faithful and for the most part honest in her intentions.

I still enjoyed the story but this wasn't one of my favorites. Still liked the story and I'm dying to read the twins and Onyx.

[Yolanda McGee~Veronica's Reading Vault · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars. This is a great story, I loved the plot concept and the characters. Although there were some inconsistencies with the storyline at times, I generally liked this book. Tessa was absolutely hilarious. Her nerdy and quirky personality combined with her smart mouth was a great comic relief. Luciano was also wonderful and I enjoyed his character as well. Overall I recommend reading this book.

[Laquita Collins · Rating 1 out of 5]

Straight Men please

I like the other books. But why can't there be all straight men in a book. I mean Tommie firting with an straight man. The Archillies i straight then there are times i am not straight. If the her next book is with these two characters being together i just stop reading her books. Even though Tommie and Archillies are not the main characters. I like the Mafia story in her books. That just it.

[Brigitte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ook dit boek heb ik in 1 dag uitgelezen.
Het verhaal zit goed in elkaar en is minder spicy dan deel 1 en 2. Het draait dit keer meer om wraak willen nemen en weer leren houden van/vertrouwen. Wel komen alle bekende Detta personen en sommige van de Russische maffia hier weer in voor. Aangezien het boek echt wel in de tijdlijn wordt geschreven als vervolg op “De beschermer”, is het wel een aanrader de boeken echt op volgorde te lezen.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great addition to the series

I was kind of surprised by this book. I liked that the couple were both characters we hadn’t seen a lot of before. The humour tucked in here and there was nice considering heaviness of the revenge theme.

[Esmée · Rating 3 out of 5]

Out of all three books i've read, this one is the most surreal. They both stated they are not each others type but later say they found them attractive? It was a bit weird. However, it was quite amusing to read about a powerful woman Tess and the helpless Luca without her.

[Danielle Tate · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointed

The other 2 books were amazing I just didn't like this one Luka I liked Tess not so much but I will read the next book

[Chanel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just couldn’t get into this storyline. The plot was confusing to me. Both Luca and Tess are likable characters, but I didn’t feel their chemistry.

[E.G. Manetti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read as part of Bad Romance: A Romance Box Set

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story.

[Sassy K. Yocum · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked it so much I binged the whole series! I’d recommend.🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️

[ck8 · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5*