Slippery When Wet

by Kimberly Raye
         
   
Sexy, funny and just downright reading fun
   

Race car driver Jaycee Anderson grew up around NASCAR all her life. Now she is poised to win and win big. Having finished fourth in the last Nextel Cup race, she has a shot at racing her way into the top three. Now, one man stands in her way to fame in the NASCAR Sprint Cup--- Rory Canyon! The Canyon racing family with their Men on Top group would irritate any woman on the racetrack circuit, but especially Jaycee. Rory has swooning fans and confidence galore. If his current popularity and swaggering image weren't bad enough, Jaycee cannot forget their childhood past. Jaycee is a woman in the man's world of NASCAR, a world that is rapidly gaining female fans. With Rory so quick to gain sponsors, how can Jaycee compete against him on both the racetrack and the sponsorship track? As the only driver in Race Chicks, her half-sister Riley Vaughn's team, everything rests on Jaycee, not only for Jaycee but also for Riley. Forced to work together, can the two sisters put aside their enmity long enough to achieve success? When her one sponsor gives Jaycee an ultimatum --- change to rev up fans or be dropped, Jaycee must adopt a whole new life from pink shoes, feminine attire and make-overs to goddess meditation and attitude adjustments. Can Jaycee turn herself from tomboy into a glamor girl and save her team? Will Rory finally look at Jaycee as a woman? As Jaycee and Rory come face to face in competition, the sparks fly!

Kimberly Raye's SLIPPERY WHEN WET takes the reader right into the heart of the NASCAR racing world with its competition not just on the race track but also for sponsors. The history of two great car racing families comes face to face in the sizzling rivalry between Jaycee and Rory, a competition that sets their bodies and hearts on edge along with the pre-race excitement. As Rory and Jaycee find themselves drawn to each other, can they overcome the missteps of their past relationship to find a space where best friends can also be lovers? Jaycee is a wonderful heroine --- gutsy, self-reliant, and success-driven ---- and yet with just the perfect combination of vulnerability and humorous, dynamic quirkiness. Rory is all man and everyone on the racing circuit knows it. Popular with fans and sponsors, Rory also has a side to him no one sees. Kimberly Raye's portrayal of his publically unknown side makes for loads of laughs and sensuality with just the right dash of tenderness. Kimberly Raye creates an intriguing contrast between Jaycee and her half-sister Riley. Here, the potential relationship is not quite developed as much as this reader would enjoy. I am hoping that their appearance in SLIPPERY WHEN WET is a teaser for future development of these fascinating secondary characters and their relationships in future NASCAR books. The glimpse here is certainly peaks my interest in seeing more of these Canyon racing brothers as well! SLIPPERY WHEN WET is a perfect pick-me-up read as winter approaches (or any other time a reader needs some good perking up) ---sexy, funny and just downright fun!

Additional Notes:
Best known for her DEAD END Dating romances, Kimberly Raye's SLIPPERY WHEN WET will appeal to NASCAR romance fans but also  perhaps to readers like myself who are not particular racing fans but like to see a woman heroine with a strong career trying to get ahead in a man's world.  For women who have even just a bit of tomboy remaining inside, the make-over scenes and especially Jaycee's rebellious reactions are just delightful.  Sometimes I get a bit uneasy when I read make-over kinds of romances because, although many are fun, the endings often disappoint me because inevitably the woman gets her make-over and becomes a new woman and thereby in submitting herself to gender stereotypes, she gets her man but loses herself somehow.  Without creating spoilers, I found the more unique ending of this romance much more satisfying than other make-over romances and also in tune with the NASCAR environment.  The humor and sensuality inside the book were just what I needed to prod me out of a reading slump but the turns in the ending are what make it so memorable in comparison to other books in the genre.  Kimberly Raye plays with gender stereotypes with a vision of humor but also one that sees beyond the humor to create both a hero and heroine with unexpected richness.

Dorchester (Love Spell Contemporary Romance) November 2008

Reviewed by Merrimon, Merrimon Book Reviews