Socialite's Gamble

By Michelle Conder

When the gentleman places his bet  

As the darling of London's party scene, Cara Chatsfield isn't surprised when her father's CEO sends her to Las Vegas to host The Chatsfield's world–famous poker tournament. And if behind the glitz and glamour there's a girl hurt by her past? She'll never tell.  

Aidan Kelly detests women like Cara, but when his biggest rival includes Cara in the stakes, Aidan must win–and not just for her protection! But getting to know the stunning socialite, he discovers a beautiful, vulnerable young woman awoken by his own personal brand of passion!  

Welcome to The Chatsfield, Las Vegas!

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Australia
• Release date: Jul 1, 2014
• ISBN: 9781488704345

Michelle Conder

From as far back as she can remember Michelle Conder dreamed of being a writer. She penned the first chapter of a romance novel just out of high school, but it took much study, many (varied) jobs, one ultra-understanding husband and three gorgeous children before she finally sat down to turn that dream into a reality. Michelle lives in Australia, and when she isn’t busy plotting she loves to read, ride horses, travel and practise yoga. Visit Michelle: www.michelleconder.com

Reviews for Socialite's Gamble

[wealhtheowwylfing · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

In hopes of rehabilitating her wild child reputation, Cara Chatsfield promises her family that she'll play hostess for a big gambling event at their Las Vegas casino. There, a man literally runs in to her so hard that he breaks her heels, says it was her own fault, and then when she tries to protest, offers her $50 and calls her a hooker. Her love interest, ladies and gentlemen! In the time honored tradition of terrible romance novels, he continues to find the most absurdly unlikely explanations for her behavior in order to think the worst of her in every situation. Every time she smiles, she's a conniving whore. Every time she protests, she's a ball-breaker. Every time she cries, she's trying to manipulate him. It's deeply annoying retrograde idiocy. Anyway, stupid contrivances get them to a vacation in Fiji together and they fall in love over the course of about two days. The end!

So dumb. Just, so dumb. Aiden's POV is a deeply troubling one, as he's such a misogynist that he sounds like he's about three seconds away from murdering women a la Jack the Ripper any minute, and Cara is implausibly naive and unable to care for herself. Either of them would be terrible in any relationship, let alone a relationship with each other.