Reviewed by Kim
for Read Your Writes Book Reviews

One Night in the Spa is full of surprises. Kim Castillo is the manager of John's Fitness. David Pepke is the spa manager of Pamper Me Spa. The two have known each other for three years, every since Kim started working at John's Fitness, and are now best friends.

For a twenty-four-year-old, Kim has overcome a tragedy that has shaped her life. With the loss of her professional racketball career, Kim's life is spinning out of control. Things are happening to her and she isn't sure how to deal with them.

David comes across her journal and figures out what's happening with Kim. He thinks that this is his chance to let her know how he feels about her and move out of the "friend" zone to something more. When David offers Kim a facial and massage at Pamper Me Spa, both will get more than they bargained for.

This is the story of what happens when you go for what you want and throw caution to the wind. But sometimes, things are not always as they seem. It's going to take a strong friendship and an undeniable love to get these two through a betrayal and a secret.

Source: NetGalley ( )

One Night at the Spa by Kathy Lyons was an amusing and sweet short read. What it lacked was heat between the characters. While David (who is a beta hero) insists he has been in love with Kim for some time, there was little sizzle between them. The relationship as friends, and later as lovers, was too comfortable. Kim’s issues with her own sexuality might be technically correct, but it was too easy an excuse and the reason given made her seem too conveniently ignorant of sexuality in general. The tension and drama are more from external forces, not the inherent issues with moving a good friendship into a different sphere.

This is a shorter read and it seems to have caused a lack of depth in both the characters and the plot. Where there is backstory, it seems to be built in for the express purpose of explanation rather than organically part of the whole. Actions and motives seem to be more designed to move the story to an inevitable conclusion than what feels right for the characters. Had this been a longer story, it might have had the space to expand into better characterization with fewer convenient excuses.

RATING: 3

Heat Rating: Mild

REVIEWED BY: Monique Neaves ( )

"A NIGHT AT THE SPA", by Kathy Lyons, is a short story of 77 pages published by Entangled Publishing. I'm not sure how long Entangled Publishing has been around (yes, I looked, but couldn't easily find an answer) but I've read more & more of their books in the past year and I've been incredibly impressed by their authors / book selections.

Kim & David work at connecting health businesses - she's the manager of a gym and he's a masseuse at a spa. One night he offers to give her a massage and all their normal walls come tumbling down... resulting in a tumble on the table! While David is ecstatic it's finally happened, Kim is nervous. But David is nervous, too - because he's hiding a really big secret that could turn Kim away forever...!

Okay, girls, this was just such a fun, hip little HEA romance with a tiny bit of intrigue thrown in for good measure. Featuring an alpha-y masculine man as a spa masseuse was almost funny. The sex is hot, the romance is fun and you could really believe in these two characters. Check it out - it's a great way to spend that time while you're sitting waiting for soccer practice to be over! But don't take MY word for it - here's some feedback I got from the author, Kathy Lyons, about "One Night At The Spa"!

Kathy, thanks for joining Snarky Mom today to talk about "One Night At The Spa". Since it's just us girls - did you have fun researching for this book? (I tried to convince The Man that *I* needed a day at the spa in order to give this review & interview the due it deserved - unfortunately, he didn't go for it.)

Okay, so yes, I confess--I really did get the idea of this novella while getting a facial. Let me say that there was NOTHING sexual or unprofessional about my spa appointment. Just that my mind went there, and once there...I had to write it. So tell your husband that you do indeed need a facial to fully experience the joys of this novella.

Without giving TOO much away - where do you think David's heart really was in his work - at the spa or at the office?

His heart was with the heroine, of course! And giving her the absolute must perfect physical experience for one glorious night.

Okay, Kim going through puberty in her twenties was an interesting twist. How did THAT ever come to mind?

Um...well, personal experience. First off, I was a racquetball pro for 2 weeks until I blew my knees. So climbing the ranks of athletics from amateur to pro is a world I know. I know how much an athlete sacrifices to make that climb. Not just physically, but emotionally too. Everything is set aside in pursuit of that dream. Kim's experience is extreme, but after I blew my knees, I had 2 years of rehab and slow recovery. Suddenly I had 4-5 more hours in the day that were NOT devoted to athletics and could not use my knees. At all. Years of constant physical activity suddenly STOPPED. All that energy had to go SOMEWHERE. And yes, I had a sexual renaissance. Frankly, I'd NEVER looked at a man sexually before that moment. Sure, I'd evaluate his physical body in terms of performance, but that whole idea of sexual attraction--that didn't happen until I stopped everything and started realizing what those emotions and feelings were.

Your dedication in this book mentions "To the real David & Kim" - how close was this book to the truth?

As much as I'd like to say the pages are right out of reality, the truth is they're not. Kim and David are my friends and they both asked to be named in one of my books, though there are elements of their personalities that carry over. And beyond that--I'm not going to say! ( )