Reviewer: Tracy Just for the Weekend by Susanne Matthews
Publisher: Crimson Romance
Publication Date: April 14th 2014
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It’s time to play with the grown-ups.
Kindergarten teacher Cleo James needs a change. Three years at her widowed dad’s beck and call are enough. A weekend in Vegas at a sci-fi convention with her best friend will do for now, and the hot guy who wants to spend time with her only adds to her excitement. After all - it’s just for the weekend. What can possibly go wrong?
Multimillionaire Sam Mason is sick of gold diggers. He’s looking for someone who’ll fall for him, not his wallet. When he meets a shy, green-skinned slave girl, she pushes all his buttons - the best part is she has no idea who he is and mistakenly believes he’s a Chippendale. Between the sexual attraction and too much alcohol, he wakes up married to his green-skinned beauty, but the bride has vanished. Finding her will be a lot harder than he thinks.
Tracy’s review of Just for the Weekend by Susanne Matthews
Cleo is a kindergarten teacher who is, because of her job, completely worried about appearances. She knows that teachers are kept to a standard that most citizens are not. She doesn’t want to do anything that would reflect badly on her and cause her to lose her teaching license. When her best friend invites her to Vegas to help her at her authors booth at a sci-fi convention Cleo is hesitant but agrees.
Once there Cleo finds herself dressed as an alien slave girl costume that has all the men leering at her. One man however, catches her attention and won’t let go. The night before she had seen him in the bar and believed him to be one of the Chippendale dancers. After helping her out of a sticky situation with a drunken man he suggests they dine together and she quickly agrees.
Sam Mason is a multi-millionaire who can’t keep his eyes off of Cleo. Even as her skin is painted green he believes her to be unbelievably beautiful and is smitten by the time dinner is through. He plays along with the Chippendale dancer cover because he wants Cleo to want him for who he is, not his money. The pair end up spending that evening together and when Sam asks her to be his date for the entire weekend Cleo quickly agrees.
The couple spend a wonderful time playing tourists while sitting in luxury. Cleo believes that the helicopter belongs to a friend of Sam’s who runs LJS Enterprises but it really all belongs to Sam. As the day goes on Sam wants to tell Cleo the truth about who he is, but after some remarks that Cleo makes about men with money he thinks that maybe being rich will create a roadblock in their relationship.
That night they both get drunk having the time of their lives on the Vegas strip. When Cleo wakes up the next morning, however, she finds she did some things that she knows aren’t ok – especially ones that involve an exotic dancer named Sam. She loves Sam (though it happened quickly) but she runs from him fearing that her job will be on the line if she stays. Sam is determined to find her as he loves her as well. Too bad she gave him a fake name as well as telling him she lived in Canada in a fictitious town – it makes finding her difficult but not impossible.
Just for the Weekend was a very sweet romance. I really loved both Cleo and Sam and the pair together made them that much better.
I did feel that Cleo was a bit anal about some things but I’ve never been a teacher in a small town so I’m not personally familiar with the expectations. They could possibly be exactly as Cleo had stated in the book – if so I feel bad for those teachers! What a limited life to lead. Anyway, despite her concerns she managed to let go and have a great time in Vegas – a really great time. Sam made it all the better with his kindness and giving spirit. Yes, he had the money but it was the thoughtfulness behind it that made me love him. Cleo’s joy and wonder forced him see the life that he’d taken for granted for so long and view the simple things in a new light. Their time together was darned near perfect
Mitch, Cleo’s best friend was a crack up. She made me laugh with all of her sci-fi references. I would love to read a book about her – hopefully I can in the future. Sam’s sister Liz was also a lively secondary character and a nice addition to the story.
Overall I thought JftW was a lovely book and I very much enjoyed reading it.
Rating: 4 out of 5
You can read more from Tracy at Tracy’s Place.
This title is available from Crimson Romance. You can buy it here or here in e-format. This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.