A story that starts with “Once upon a time in Vegas…” isn’t supposed to end with “happily ever after.” Sebastian I know this better than anyone, and I can’t let history repeat itself. This is why I have rules, and at the top of that list is no fraternizing with audience members after shows. But my rules mean nothing after my instant connection with Kendall. Her southern accent suggests a … accent suggests a certain charm, but her sharp tongue says otherwise. Which is why I can’t help myself—she’s a mystery I need to solve. The more I get to know her, the more I start to believe she could be the one.
Until my past comes barreling in and makes me wonder if my one night with Kendall was real or all a cruel game.
Kendall
Although I live in LA, my conventional family loves to remind me of my small-town upbringing. They’ve never approved of my life choices—dropping out of college, moving across the country, and dating around, to name a few. Getting involved with Sebastian will be yet another decision they disapprove of—how much more of their disappointment can I take?
After all, he’s a stripper for Vegas’s hottest male revue show. He can’t be my forever.
The odds are against us, but then again, anything can happen in a story that starts with “Once upon a time in Vegas…”
*Strip for Me is Book 1 in the Naked Heat series. Each book is a standalone contemporary romance.
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I’ll start with I’m not a reviewer that hashes out the story, if you’re reading the reviews you already know what it’s about. I will tell you what I look for in a review, what I like (or don’t) about the story without spoilers. This was a quick fun read. The characters are well developed and likeable. The story itself is believable. It’s moves at a good pace, no lagging or rushing. I was a bit disappointed that it took so long to use your grown up words and work through some of the angsty plot, but that’s just me. I’m sometimes a bit impatient when opportunities for growth are overlooked by the characters. All in all, I would recommend this book. It’s my first by this author but it won’t be my last.
Sometimes, the people we are on the outside aren’t the ones who we are inside.
This is true for both Kendall and Sebastian in this book. Both have pasts they are trying to overcome, and both of those pasts have left scars that you can’t see from the outside. Their chemistry is instant and you know from the first second that they meet that what happens in Vegas is not going to stay in Vegas. 5-star read that will give you major Magic Mike vibes!
3.5 STARS REVIEW
Contemporary Romance
First Person, dual-POV
This is book #1 of Naked Heat series and this is Ms. Coffman’s debut novel.
WHAT HAS REALLY WORKED FOR ME
Addictiveness: 4/5 This story was fun and interesting to follow. It was an easy read with good pace and cool plot. As addictive as pizza!!!
Character: hero 4/5, heroine 2/5, secondary characters 4/5, growth 4/5, real 4/5 Both main characters were a bit immature, but they have shown throughout the story good personal growth. I’ve liked and understood them, but had a harder time to connect.
Sebastian was a good hero. He was hot, smart, had big dreams, loyal to his friends and a loving boyfriend. He was a bit immature sometimes, but most part of his insecurities were because he came from a dysfunctional family.
This book had lots of interesting secondary characters. Emma, Kendall’s best friend, was a good friend (she did put up with Kendall childish behavior all the time). Ty and Leo from the Naked Heat were some of the males that I would love to read their book.
Villains.. antagonists… .The biggest villain of this story was Kendall’s immaturity and the greatest antagonist was Sebastian hung-up on his past experience. They had to grow up and be adults to face life.
The hero was easy to like, connect and understand!
Cover: art 4/5, title 5/5, color-font 5/5, buy 4/5 I’m obsessed with book covers. I love to find snippets of the stories within the art. This book cover is hot, but a bit generic. It could work for several books, I don’t see anything particularly made for this story. I love the title, I think it fits the story and the use of colors/font was really smart. I would probably buy this book by its cover without needing to read the blurb!
Freshness: 3.5/5 This is contemporary romance with strippers, but male strippers. I’ve liked the concept. There is nothing complete original, but the story as a whole felt refreshing. As fresh as mint tea!
Plot: believable 4/5, conflict 3/5, dialogue 4/5, ending 5/5, enjoyment 3.5/5, opening 5/5, pace 4/5, setting 5/5, subplots 4/5, twists 4/5 Exciting opening for an amazing ending. Good dialogues, great pace, wonderful setting. Interesting subplot with a bit convoluted conflict and ok twists. Good level of enjoyment!
Romance: believable 5/5, chemistry 5/5, description 5/5, development 5/5, steam 4/5 This was a romantic contemporary romance. From the beginning of the book I believed on the main characters attraction to each other. When together their chemistry was undeniable and their love story felt really believable. The smut had great descriptions and was executed. There were lots of scenes, but they all felt part of the story. Passionate love!
Writing Style: 3/5 I didn’t know while reading, but then read somewhere that this was the debut novel for Ms. Coffman. She did a solid job. Her plot concept was great, she has created the perfect setting for an ongoing series. The hero was really easy to love and the love story was very well executed. The story felt fresh and the pace made this a very comfortable read. Good writing!!!
WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER
Character: The heroine!
Kendall was really hard to like, connect or understand. It was really shocking because at the first few chapters, while still in Vegas, it felt like she would be this amazing kick-ass heroine that I would love. But, throughout most of the book she was insecure, immature and phony. Yes, she had some baggage, but that is life, nobody gets a free ride. Her actions were really hard to justify. She was a horrible sister, a self-centered friend, a whiny girlfriend and not a very good daughter. She was very judgmental and came out as if her family wasn’t accepting, but neither was she. She was always messing up, but never accepting blame and couldn’t say she was sorry. She had no drive, no aspirations, but it was everybody’s fault but her own. She did have the biggest character growth in the history of books, but it took too long and by the time that it happened I was ready to see her go.
Plot: I guess there were some subplots that felt like loose ends. While Kendall’s family was well explored and explained, Sebastian’s was a bit convoluted and hard to comprehend.
MY THOUGHTS
This was a wonderful debut for the author. She has created a good foundation for a series with a main group of interesting characters to be explored (the Naked Heat dancers) and several places that she could go forward with the series.
The beginning and the ending of the story were really strong and it left me wanting Ty and Emma’s book.
26/35 STARS – 3.5 STARS (between 24.5 stars and 27.5 stars)
Addictiveness: 4 Character: 3 Cover: 4 Freshness: 3.5 Plot: 3.5 Romance: 5 Writing Style: 3
Action 1/5 Angst 1/5 Darkness 02/5 Humor2/5 Romance 5/5 Suspense/Mystery 0/5
Would I recommend? I think this series has promise to be a fun, sexy read!
Would I re-read this book/series? No, but I will follow the series.
Would I read more from the author? I want to read the series and from their I will see.
You MAY read this because you like contemporary romance, you SHOULD read this because you enjoy good smut; you MUST read this for a good love story!!!
Definitely different than what I was expecting but I enjoyed it nonetheless. The relationship between Sebastian and Kendall started off as an instant attraction and just grew between the two. I found it really interesting that as confident and cocky as they first came off, they were both a bit broken with unresolved issues. Their journey to a healthy relationship definitely had some bumps and I enjoyed the humor and the sweetness mixed in with the wreckage of the past that was haunting their present. For me, this was kind of a light, easy read that kept my attention and made me want to root for the hero and heroine to get their act together. A nice story.
When Kendall goes to Vegas for her sister’s bachelorette party she never thought that she would meet someone that made her spark. She never thought that one of the strippers would change her life and outlook on things, but that’s just what Sebastian did.
From reading the blurb, I knew I had to give this debut novel a chance. On a whole, I enjoyed the romance between Sebastian and Kendall. This was not only about the attraction between Sebastian and Kendall but also their growth as people and coming into their own person.
I liked this book and I think that Georgia Coffman had the right amount of engagement throughout the book to keep my interest. I freaking adored everything about him from the beginning. He was one of the main reasons that I adored this book. Just know that he is not perfect, not even freaking close, but I liked how real he was and he felt just a bit more genuine.
Strip for Me is the debut novel for Georgia Coffman and it was captivating. I almost want to book a flight to Las Vegas just to see some hot male stripper because there is nothing wrong with a half-naked man dancing round.
Sebastian knows better than to sleep with a woman he met at a show but the moment he laid eyes on her, he couldn’t stop himself. Kendall is a small-town girl just looking for her place in the big city, but the night of her sister’s bachelorette party change her life more then she thought was possible.
I don’t think I have words to describe how good this book was. From the first chapter, I was hooked and couldn’t stop reading. The twist in this book I knew was coming but I didn’t want to happen hit and I was still in shock. But nothing was better than what happened at the wedding between sisters – I’m still laughing about that. I am really looking forward to seeing what happens with Seb’s BF and Kendell’s BF!
I am highly recommending that you give this New Author a try.
Loving the start to this new series from Georgia! Both Kendall and Sebastian are working in jobs that they are comfortable in and living safe lives, unwilling and scared to branch out and start doing things they actually love as their careers. With Sebastian back working with Naked Heat, a refuge of sorts for him, after a failed engagement, he’s been burned and is essentially going through the motions. But that stops when he lays his eyes on Kendall, who is attending a show for her estranged sister’s bachelorette party. Meeting up after the show, the pair have an epic one-night stand where they instantly click not only physically but mentally, but because they are scared of what could happen, the don’t exchange numbers. Weeks later, neither can forget about the other, and Sebastian ends up adding her on social media, and the connection between them continues. Developing and starting a relationship, they end up pushing each other emotionally and make each other realize what they’re scared of and help to move them into action. I loved that this book provided not only a romantic element but also some insane character growth! While it was the beginning of a series, it gave us a full storyline while also providing introductions to those who will get their own books within the series. Can’t wait for the next one – especially Ty and Emma after their insane chemistry within this book!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
So this book was more then just stripping, I mean there’s a lot of it in the book but its about two characters who have been burned before and uses their issues to push the other away. One wants to get close while the other doesn’t. They both have issues they need to work on before they can be happy and able to move on. Sebastian and Kendall come from different worlds but they make it work. It takes time and space but they do. These two are incredible together and realize that they need to separate to make it work. I really liked this book and the characters in it! Can’t wait for Ty and Emma’s story next!!
From reading Strip for Me’s blurb, I knew I had to give this debut novel a chance. On a whole, I enjoyed the romance between Sebastian and Kendall—once it finally got going.
I loved Sebastian’s self-confidence and “give no F’s” attitude. He was proud of his achievements and wasn’t going to allow anyone to belittle him. He was looking toward the future—toward fulfilling his dream and dancing was merely a means to an end.
But I struggled a bit with Kendall, she came off as selfish and self-centered sometimes. And judgmental. She paid lip service to how open and accepting she was, but in reality, she really was a bit closed-minded. Being with Sebastian certainly helped her get over some of these issues, but it took a while.
Overall, Strip for Me was a typical debut novel. Some bumps in the road, some awkwardness in the story, but I would like to know what happens next in the series.
Sexy, sweet and a lot of heart Strip For Me ended up being an interesting surprise for me. From the blurb I was expecting something lighter, but found myself pleasantly surprised with a story that contains not only delicious heat but also a lot of emotional growth.
I fully admit there were points for me where both Sebastian and Kendall came off as either extremely immature or incredibly self centered. It was like they even alternated who would be the self centered immature one occasionally. Normally that would result in me giving one giant eye roll, BUUUUUUT, the growth that these two had throughout their story not only kept me hooked it made that behavior something I understood. Both Sebastian and Kendall have had some serious pain in their pasts and they wore those attitudes like armor.
The intense and immediate attraction between them brings them together but it’s the deeper connection filled with sweetness that grows into something much bigger that helps them grow and shed that armor.
***ARC generously provided by author/publisher for an honest review.***
Storyline: 4 stars
Characters: 4 stars
Heat Factor: 4 stars
Overall Rating: 4 stars
Strip for Me is the debut novel for new and upcoming author Georgia Coffman. It’s also the first book in The Naked Heat Series. This book was highly enjoyable and I’m excited to see what’s next from this author.
This story follows Kendall and Sebastian.
Kendall isn’t close to her sister Lauren. In fact, they don’t get along at all but as sisters, Kendall feels obligated to attend her sister’s bachelorette party… a weekend in Vegas. Moving from a small-minded town in Alabama, Kendall now lives in LA so when her sister has her bachelorette party so close, there’s no excuse. What Kendall isn’t expecting is to meet a man that’ll soon turn her world upside down.
Vegas, Sin City. The City that never sleeps. Home of bachelor and bachelorette debauchery. Where the slot machines are always going, and shows are always happening… especially if you are a stripper.
Sebastian is a part of Naked Heat, an all-male review show. Spending his nights performing for screaming women, he’s become accustomed to the women and the grabbing. What he doesn’t expect is to see a beautiful blond in yoga pants in the club. Faced with an intensifying attraction to her, he’s determined to learn more about her. However, his past is determined to complicate things.
So what happens when sparks connect between a stripper and just an average girl?!? Well, you’ll just have to find out yourself….
I was impressed with this book especially since it’s a debut novel from this author. The story was well written and interesting. It had humor and drama galore. The characters were likable. Overall it was a good start to a series, and I will read this author again.
4 stars!
When Kendall goes to Vegas for her sister’s bachelorette party she never thought that she would meet someone that made her spark. She never thought that one of the strippers would change her life and outlook on things, but thats just what Sebastian does. With that one look, one touch, and one dance, the two start something that will change them both, but when they both have issues from their past, will they be able to conquer their fears?
So for me, this was just a seriously ok book. This fell flat, and I really didn’t care for the MCs as they both were very immature. With some drama, just ok naughty bits, and loads of working out (seriously it was like overboard gym time) I give this 3 stars.