Genie by Kitty French
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I absolutely loved the Piano Man Project by Kitty French’s chic lit alter ego Kat French so was excited to try this story. I like a good steamy novel with great chemistry between the leads and this is definitely that.

Genie is a burlesque dancer and more or less assistant manager in her uncle’s theatre. Abel is the owner of a chain of gyms who thinks the theatre will be perfect for his next club. He can’t stand “strippers” but when he sees Genie’s routine he can’t take his eyes off her much to his disgust. When Genie finds out he’s trying to take over the club she makes it her mission to stop him. Needless to say sparks really fly between the two of them. There is a lot of game playing, a lot of arguing and a lot of passion.

Both are pretty likeable characters. Genie is passionate about her job, her home and her family. She’s intelligent, caring and funny. Some of the tricks she plays on Abel are pretty funny but she is not keen on conflict so when she pushes him too far she does apologize.

Abel was a bit more difficult to warm to at the start mostly due to his attitude towards Genie and women in general. He’s definitely an Alpha male and a little bit full of himself. However as the story progresses and Genie shakes him up he becomes quite a sweet guy. I think it’s safe to say his mum has a lot to answer for.

For the most part I thought the book was well written. The pace is about right and there is a lot of chemistry as well as some humour. I loved some of the secondary characters, particularly the other burlesque dancers. The scene when Abel was showing round some potential investors when the dancers were teaching a class was classic. My one relatively minor criticism is that some of the more erotic scenes didn’t quite make sense but that’s maybe just me.

Overall I think this is one of those books that’s perfect when you’re looking for something light, a little bit funny and a whole lot steamy. I will no doubt be reading more Kitty (and Kat) French.