Shuffle Up and Deal

By Susan DiPlacido

Editions: here

Published:b March 17th 2010 by Neon Fiction/CreateSpace (first published March 3rd 2010)

Genre: Adult Contemporary / Romance {Hot}

Source: review copy

Meet Izzy Santillo. She’s a charming-but-lonely thirty-four year old woman who loves poker and harbors a secret crush on the reigning king of Hold ‘em.

Meet Nick Nolan, the reigning king of Hold ‘em. On the tables, he’s fast and loose and almost always wins. But when it comes to women, playboy Nick holds his cards too close and always loses.
When Izzy and Nick meet in embarrassing fashion at a Las Vegas poker tournament, Izzy’s secret dreams turn into a public nightmare. But despite her humiliation, she may have finally sparked Nick’s interest in something other than cards. Before long, Nick takes a gamble on Izzy and raises the stakes when he offers to help her sharpen her game. But Izzy’s convinced that Nick is bluffing and will fold his hand after he’s had her on the flop. But a string of outrageous proposition bets and steamy trips on the poker tour, from Los Angeles to Miami, make these two fierce competitors realize that it may be time to put all their chips on the table. Will Izzy and Nick pair up? Or will they lose it all if they go all-in for each other? Sit down, ante up, and hang on, as Nick and Izzy get ready to Shuffle Up and Deal.
~ Pump Up Your Book BT

Bomy's Flutter: very fun & exciting

World Building: Contemporary Pittsburgh and Vegas.
Characters: Izzy was absolutely awesome, she was a charming independent-ish woman who had a magnificent sense of humor and the wit to make it shine. I was delighted to read about her, all spunky and playful as she kept with her brother. Her family life was, well...interesting, I totally got what she felt and I must say I agreed with a lot of it. She was super real and felt solid. Nick Nolan was awesome too, at first I didn't know what to make of him but as thing progressed I loved him and loved the two of them together. This time the star of the read was Izzy for me.
Their one on one was hot but not overly focused on, the romance was a slow burn and it felt uber-satisfying by the end with enough drama on the way to keep my evil reader desires satisfied. :D
Other characters were also lovable and well done, including Dani, even izzy's step-mom and her dad made a solid impression each in their own way.
Plot: Aside the romance arc there's a lot of poker playing and talking about it. I've never had much of a passion for cards by large and never for poker, so that whole poker game, tournaments and championships sort of went over my head but the characters kept me focused and interested in a topic I don't care about, that's no small achievement.
Writing: Really good, direct and filled with humor - always love that -, strong enough to make me empathize with the characters and love them pretty much. It's a first persona narrative divided in parts, from her and his POV which made me get Nick better and like him more.
Curb Appeal: I'm not a personal fan of the style of cover this book has and the title is pretty clearly a reference to some card-thing, so I wouldn't say this would be an impulse buy for me. But it has a good presentation and the blurb made me want to read it.

All in all this was a good read, I had fun reading it and if you're into poker and romance I say this is definitely a must read.

About the Author & Links:

Susan DiPlacido is the author of 24/7, Trattoria, Mutual Holdings, House Money, Lady Luck, Shuffle Up and Deal, and American Cool. Trattoria was nominated for the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award for Best Small Press Romance 2005, and her short story, “I, Candy,” won the Spirit Award at the 2005 Moondance International Film Festival. American Cool won the bronze medal in the 2008 IPPY awards and was a finalist in the 2008 Indie Book Awards. Shuffle Up and Deal was nominated for the Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Award for Best Small Press Erotic Fiction 2010. Her fiction has appeared in Susie Bright’s Best American Erotica 2007, Maxim Jakubowski’s Mammoth Book of Best New Erotica vol. 6 and 7, Zane’s Caramel Flava, and Rebellion: New Voices of Fiction.
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