Tour: Sleight of Hand Series with Review for Private Performance Book 1 by Reese Galloway

Private Performance by Reese Galloway Sleight of Hand #1
  Publication Date: October 13, 2014
  Genres: Contemporary, Erotica, Romance

Synopsis:

Ellaine Greene has simple desires. She just wants to do her best as the event coordinator for the local aquarium, to support environmental conservation efforts, and to keep immature man-children out of her life.

So when a major donor to the aquarium demands Ellaine find a magician for her granddaughter's birthday party, all she can imagine is a long line of card chuckers and coin flippers wearing cheesy sequined vests. Instead, she gets Xander Hollatz, a sophisticated, powerful man in a crisp suit, with nimble fingers and a warm smile. He's the man for the job, no doubt. And, to her surprise, she realizes he might be the man for her, too. Will she let her doubts get in the way of their feelings for each other? And when everything goes wrong at the birthday party, will he be able to perform a miracle to save the day? Sleight of Hand #1: Private Performance is a 17,000-word novella, introducing readers to Ellaine and Xander's passionate and tender romance, to the fascinating wildlife inhabiting the aquarium, and to the mysterious world of professional magicians.

Excerpt: 

She lost track of time. Two o’clock arrived in the form of a knock on her open door. 

She jumped a little, looked up.

Standing in the doorway was the man of her dreams. And not in a metaphorical way, 

either. It was simply… him. The man she had dreamed about last night, right down to the 

color of his suit jacket. Her skin went all goosebumpy. Here, in the flesh, he was even more 

broad-shouldered, more muscular than she’d imagined.

And then he smiled. The room actually got brighter, as if someone had pushed some 

drapes aside and let in the sun.

“Hello,” he said, in a rolling, resonant voice. “I’m Xander. Sorry for barging in like 

this. Your assistant said you were expecting me.”

“I was. Am.”

They both hesitated — he by the door, she at her desk — as a timeless moment 

passed, and they sunned themselves in the sudden heat of each other’s bodies.

Then Brissa’s face appeared, peering around the doorway with an amused 

expression. Her eyes flicked downward. Ellaine realized her assistant was checking out the 

man’s ass.

Brissa looked back up, met Ellaine’s eyes, and nodded vigorously.

Ellaine cleared her throat and said, “Please, have a seat.” Then quickly added: “And if 

you’d shut the door?”

Brissa gave her a thumbs-up, then disappeared.

“Of course,” her applicant said, and as he turned to close the door Ellaine took a 

glance of her own.

Oh yes.

She looked up just in time as he turned back around and took a seat across from her.

My REVIEW: 

Private Performance is book one in the Sleight of Hand series and it introduces us to Ellaine and Xander.  

At the start of the book, Ellaine is stuck with a problem, she needs a magician for a party she's coordinating/planning and the last magician she used she had to let go due to a major issue.  But she wants to make her client happy and keep the funds the party would bring in, so she's on the look for a new magician. In walks Xander, ready and willing to step in as the magician needed. 

Trouble is, not only is Xander just the magician she needs, he's also the man of her dreams.  But Ellaine is going through a rough time and doesn't feel she's looking for a man in her life right now. 

But something about Xander pulls Ellaine towards him, makes her feel comfortable with him, makes her tell him things. And Xander is definitely feeling more for Ellaine that just a casual, you are my boss sort of thing. 

Through a big part of the story, Ellaine's pushing him away, and Xander's not fighting hard for a place in her life, leaving you to wonder will they be able to actually form a relationship and be able to have it last? And just when you think maybe just maybe they have a real shot, Ellaine thinks the steps they've taken are a big mistake, though one she's willing to repeat in the future. 

Private Performance is a quick read but don't let its length fool you, it is full of story.  There are bits of funny, steamy, and sweet mixed in. 

I want to read the second book in this series and see if these two are able to work through things and give their chemistry a chance at a great relationship and maybe a happily ever after.

 

The Sleight of Hand series continues with 

Repeat Performance by Reese Galloway Sleight of Hand #2
  Publication Date: October 27, 2014
  Genres: Contemporary, Romance

Synopsis:

Ellaine Greene has a new man in her life, the famous magician Xander Hollatz. He's ripped, kind, and mysterious -- nothing like her ex-husband. He has even volunteered to perform at her aquarium's annual fundraising gala. But she's still having trouble leaving the past behind, especially when her ex shows up to beg for money. Before the new couple knows it, someone's trying to break into Xander's mansion to steal the secrets of his many famous illusions. Ellaine's ex becomes their prime suspect. But maybe it's actually the up-and- coming street magician they've befriended. Or maybe it's even someone from Xander's mysterious past. Whoever the thief is, if he uncovers and reveals the secret of Xander's newest illusion for the fundraiser, the event will be a disaster. Ellaine may lose her job. And there's a still greater question: Is this feeling they share together just lust -- or is it something more? Find out in this 74,000-word book, the second volume in the Sleight of Hand series.

 

Excerpt: 

Then she went to a nearby washroom and checked herself in the mirror. Why am I 

worrying so much about what I look like? She was going to tell him what had happened 

between them had been a mistake. To cut him out of her life. Why would she need to look 

good for that?

Because you want him to want you.

She hardened herself against that desire. Straightened her shoulders, set her jaw. 

Nope. This was it. Thanks, but no thanks. That's what she was going to tell him.

She returned to her office.

He was there, sitting in the chair across from hers. Her heart felt as though it were 

atop a cresting wave. Her skin felt like a shimmering ocean.

Brissa, at her own desk just outside the office, looked up from her computer with a 

knowing smile.

"Brissa, could you..." Ellaine trailed off. Damn. Why couldn't she think of an errand to 

send her on?

"Would you like me to get you some coffee?" Brissa suggested.

"Yes. Um. No."

"Not from the cafe."

"No, not the cafe."

"From the coffee shop all the way down the street?"

Ellaine dropped her voice. "Maybe... even a little further away than that."

Brissa grinned. "You got it, boss." She made herself scarce.

Ellaine closed the door behind her as she entered her office. Xander looked up. She 

could read neither his eyes nor his body language. She endeavored to make herself as 

inscrutable as he was.

Then she banged her hip against the desk.

"Owwww!"

"Oh! Are you—"

"Shit. Ow."

"Are you okay?"

She rubbed her hip. "I'm fine. Ow. Fuck. That really hurts."

He got up from his chair and, before she could say anything, he placed his fingertips 

upon the fresh bruise.

His other hand found the small of her back.

They looked at each other.

And kissed.

It started sweetly, their lips and tongues just touching. Then their hunger for each 

other grew. He pushed her against the wall. She wrapped his arms around him as he 

pressed his body against hers. Their tongues leapt and danced. She felt his hands wending 

their way underneath her clothes.

It's happening all over again, just like last night. And just like last night, he'd give her 

pleasure again and again, until she was either too tired or too timid to return the favor.

Before he could undress her, she pushed him, backed him up against her desk. Then 

she knelt down and unbuckled his trousers. In an instant she had his pants down and his 

shirt up. She peppered his stomach with kisses and little licks. He sucked in his breath, 

drawing his abs even tighter than they already were.

About the Author

 

 Reese Galloway loves great magic tricks, animals and bars of fancy soaps. Actually, his soap obsession is getting a little out of control.

Blog • Twitter • Facebook • Goodreads

a Rafflecopter giveaway