Naughty Nicks

Naughty Nicks
by Christine d'Abo
Rating: 4 of 5 stars

My Review:
This was a fun and sexy, holiday read. I thought the story could have easily been a full length novel. I would have enjoyed reading lots more about these two. It's such a constrained space when we see the characters. I felt like seeing some part of their outside lives would have given me a better read on who they were. They both have other jobs and seemingly other friends, but we only see them in this small holiday box. It sounded like they almost didn't even talk throughout their non-holiday years of knowing each other.

Kim and Blake meet when she picks him up at a bar near Christmastime. They have a fling and Blake hires Kim to run his upcoming business (that was designed for his ex-wife before the divorce, obviously). They see each other for a couple months leading up to Christmas. Now working on year three in the business. The business of sexy, stripper Santas.

Kim is ambitious, brash and goes for what she wants. You can see that from the very first page and it stays that way through the whole book. She's likable, but just rather sure of herself. Except when it comes to Blake. Kim knows how to handle everyone around her; whether it's the employees, the clients, her friends. She seems to know exactly what everyone needs and is able to find a way to get it for them. She also knows herself and doesn't take time second guessing or feeling guilty about who she is.

Blake, well, he's the more damaged one in this book. Getting over his divorce, he's still trying to get back on his feet. He seems competent at what he does, but he's not nearly as necessary to the Naughty Nicks business as Kim. He's “older” (haha, 36), so he just doesn't think it would work out with Kim. Doesn't keep him from some rather explicit fantasies though. I liked seeing him get over himself.

He's a settled sort of guy, who wants to be settled in married life again, but just doesn't think Kim would be that sort of person. And for as much as he kept the business going, it felt like he had to work a long time to move through the stigma of “those people” can do crazy things like strip and he's not one of them. He had everything pretty black and white of who fit where. Since he sees Kim as being on the other side of the divide from me, it just won't work between them. He had to somewhat find a way to put himself on the other side, but more so break it down to say that everyone has a bit of wild in them.

I liked that there was no shame involved in any of the conclusions. No one had to feel like they were wrong for what side they were on. It was just a matter of them (especially Blake) growing to see life more fully and accept love and friendship from the people around them.

The story mostly revolved around sex or thoughts of sex, but in between the sexiness there was quite a bit of sweet. There's some talk about kinky stuff, but they didn't really take it very far. The piercings didn't do anything for me. I find them a little strange personally. But I enjoyed this book and I will definitely look for more by this author. When you need a sexy, holiday read and hello, stripping Santas! Pick up this book.

I received a complementary ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.