A High Stakes Game by Crista McHugh

Author:  Crista McHugh lives in the Seattle area with her husband and daughter, she has degrees in English and History from Emory University  after diversions to Oxford College and the University of Sussex along the way.  She also has an MD from the University of South Alabama.  She is an active member of Romance Writers of America.  Her website can be found here: http://www.cristamchugh.com

Blurb:  (From Amazon) A Tale of the Kavanaugh Foundation.

Espe enjoys the naughty games of hide-and-seek she plays with Greg. Not only does he satisfy her kink for having sex in public places along the Las Vegas Strip, but he also is a no-strings attached lover. Vampire hunters are strictly forbidden from forming serious relationships, so when Greg asks for something more, she's not sure if she can break his heart, especially since the thought has crossed her mind more than she cares to admit. Before she can give him an answer, their liaison is interrupted by a vampire, and Espe is forced to choose between her dreams and her desires.

This is a short story that takes place between books 1 and 3 of the Kavanaugh Foundation series.



Length: About 4000 words.

Genre: Fantasy, paranormal romance, supernatural

Review: 

I was a bit wary about reading a story which takes place in a series I haven't read, but after reading some information on the author's website it seemed to be in a genre I'm familiar with*(see below) so I thought I would give it a read.  

A high stakes game, is a lively story with plenty of vivid imagery and cleverly written prose.  If, like me, you haven't read the books in the series, it doesn't really matter as the story dives straight in and makes it clear from the start who the characters are and their roles within this world.

Even though it is a short story, the writer manages to give the reader an emotional connection to the characters.  The POV switches between the characters neatly and the dialogue natural sounding.  I am impressed by the story enough to seek out other books by this author as I think I would probably enjoy them.

All in all, a very enjoyable story.



(* As a guy, I feel the need to explain myself.  When I was in college I had three girl house mates, we couldn't afford a telly and all we had for entertainment was a tape player for which we had one tape, the soundtrack to the glam rock film, Velvet Goldmine, and a pile of books.  Aside from a battered copy of American Psycho, all the books were paranormal romances and I read them all at least three times, so I have a good idea of the kind of things which generally pop up in these kind of books.)

Star rating:  **** - 4 stars, fans of paranormal romance will enjoy this story and I recommend checking out the author's blog if you enjoy reading it.

Get it here:  smashwords and amazon