Games of Chance

by Cynthia Dane, Hildred Billings

The sequel to GAMES WE PLAY.LEAHLeah Vaughn’s life couldn’t get better. While the world changes around her, she has a successful bakery in Downtown Portland and a girlfriend who tends to her every financial, emotional and physical need.Yet a wrench is thrown into her life when her daughter Karlie, the one raised as Leah’s little sister, announces that she is pregnant.What should have been a fond farewell as Karlie returns to college is now the surrealist dream Leah has ever experienced. Not only does she have to navigate these waters on her daughter’s behalf… but she has to reconcile becoming a grandmother in her early thirties!SLOANNobody is less impressed by the situation than Sloan, an older woman who has not only endured one of the nastiest divorces to hit the Pacific Northwest but has sworn to never have children. Yet as the drama in Leah’s family ramps up, Sloan realizes that things won’t be as simple as their kid, their problem.Leah will make sure it’s Sloan’s concern, too.Thus beings the most unlikely phase of their relationship. Sloan’s life is no longer expanding her business, traveling the world, and spending long, luxurious nights with her beautiful girlfriend. It’s arguing over who will raise Leah’s grandchild and what that means for Karlie’s own uncertain future.All while dealing with Leah’s mounting insecurities – both out of and in the bedroom.Sloan only knows two ways of dealing with these kinds of things…Money, of course. And enough late-night loving to sate even the hungriest panther in the sheets.

Genres: Lesbian

224 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 25, 2021

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some stories are best left as they fall...

I'm not entirely sure that we needed a sequel to Sloan and Leah's story - especially not one that revolved around every other chapter mentioning that Leah had a baby at 12 - we already knew that, we didn't need the constant reminder. It also felt entirely unnecessary to have an entire book that focused on Leah's daughter having her own baby. It was conflict without any real resolution. As Leah grapples with what her daughter's pregnancy means to her, Sloan throws money around as she did in the first book, because obviously, money solves all problems...

Except that by the end, Leah hasn't made any progress in all the tumultuous issues she had throughout the story. Sloan is just as distant from everyone save Leah as she was to begin with.

I will say I enjoyed Sloan submitting to Leah - but as I am noticing with a lot of the works I'm reading from Dane/Billings, the sapphic element is lacking. So far, every book I've picked up has to have a strap on. And it seems we just skirt around the dom/sub elements in some ways. It certainly wasn't the focus here. Many of the intimate scenes strike me as more... trying to please the wrong audience, almost like these aren't tales of fantasy geared towards the sapphic audience.

I'd honestly have rather seen Book 2 have Leah and Sloan attend the Summit. It would have made for a much better storyline than what this was.

[Chloe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tearjerking story of love

I'm used to Hildred's stories being hot, scorching hot. This is no exception in places but more than her other books, this story really focusses on love for me, with a kinky backdrop.

Her characters typically have many different dimensions and Sloan and Leah don't disappoint. Games of Chance peels back the layers of Sloan and Leah, and those around them, to show their nature as a real loving couple. Even though Sloan likes to live upto her reputation for inapproachability, her love for Leah shines through.

The twists and turns kept me gripped throughout.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Depth & personality elevates this relationship

“Because that’s what made a relationship like theirs work. Give. Take. A mutual exchange of love, trust, and sex.
Sloan was the kind of woman to hold all three in equal regard.”
+ • + • + • +

An emotional & entertaining story with characters that become so authentic they truly become like real people in your mind & a riveting plot lines that draws you in so effortlessly & subtly without you even noticing.

An entertaining, well-written story with intriguing & likeable characters, some hot scenes & an interesting storyline.

[Robin Kenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is just the right mix of love, sex, anxiety and laughter to fill my heart.

This continuation of the love between two women and their journey is just so well written! I feel the connections with the characters very deeply due to the depth and fullness the author has drawn them with. The complexity of the relationships between mother/daughter/grand mother and the lover is very intense and fraught with difficulty. Then add in a boy friend who is soon to be a daddy, and wow the temperatures climb in the room or plummet drastically! Great writing and story telling at its best right here!

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb!

It was great to pop back into Sloan and Leah's world and catch up on their lives. I find added pleasure in recurring characters that tie authors' stand alone books loosely together. Hildred Billings's/Cynthia Dane's overlapping characters create a much more detailed and vivid world that feels like catching up with old friends and making new ones. If you love lesfic, you'll want to dive into their world! (Sloan and Leah's journey begins in "Games We Play", which I highly recommend you read before this one. )

[Gene · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn't like this one as much as the first in the series, actually didn't like it at all. Print in the paperback was tiny, so finally got it from Kindle Unlimited and finished it. I could never read more than a few pages. I don't think this duo deserved a sequel. The first was far too long, this wasn't, but it wasn't any more interesting than the first. Really wasn't a character I felt empathetic toward in either book or even marginally liked. I don't understand what any of them see in each other, because I sure missed whatever it was.

[Tammy Carney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book

This story shows us how Sloan and Leigh are doing after the pandemic. They have been together for three years now with Karl ie jyst getting use to Leigh being her mother. When Karl he fines out she is pregnant, Leigh is going to be a grandma but not handle it well at first. Sloan is Sloan she never changed her personality, but for the love for Leigh is deeper just wish there was a proposal maybe there will be a short book for number three

[Eliza]

dnf @ 118 pgs ( 53%)

I was enjoying seeing Leah and Sloan again but I thought this book was going to be something different than what it is. tbh I don’t care enough after Karlie pregnancy ( which the book is basically about ) to continue reading.


I might end up finishing this another time because I have 102 pgs left, but for now out of mind, out of sight.

[Nikka Curtis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Is there going to be a part 3?

This book brought back all of my favorites and played catch up on my Sloan. But will they ever get married?

[Jude · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Story

I really enjoyed this story. The author does a great job of making you feel like you really know the characters in the story. Well done!

[Phyllis Mann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book

I liked this book. I like how Slone supported Leah's daughter and how he they loved each other. I was hoping that they would of ended up married.

[Alecia Montgomery · Rating 5 out of 5]

excellent

There needs to be a book #3! These books were so good and interesting! These books are a must read!