cover image Betting on Love

Betting on Love

Cheris Hodges, . . Dafina, $6.99 (377pp) ISBN 978-0-7582-3147-5

Hodges (More than He Can Handle ) gambles that hot sex scenes will make up for a predictable story, but her bet doesn't pay off. After being unceremoniously dumped and bilked out of thousands by her slimy restaurateur fiancé, Jade Christian takes an uncharacteristically reckless trip to Las Vegas. James George thinks women just want to use him to get to his NFL star brother, so when he bumps into Jade in a hotel, neither is prepared for their instant and genuine attraction. Though the sex sizzles, he's put off by her lust for revenge against her ex, and their friends and families are skeptical. Too obvious coincidences make the main conflict predictable and uninteresting, and side characters border on stereotypical. Hodges does score, however, on illustrating that taking a chance on love is not always a bad thing. (Nov.)