REVIEW: Strip by Elisabeth Caldwell

OUR REVIEW:

I stumbled across Strip on NetGalley and it immediately reminded me of some of the New Adult reads we read way back in the 20-teens...a time I've started thinking of as the golden age of NA Romance when there were many new adult reads to choose from but they all kinda stayed in the same few trope lanes.  Anyway. Strip sounded like a throwback to those times and I thought I'd give it a try. I'm glad I did because it was very much like those first new adult novels I read, just updated to a 2023 sensibility. There was the smoldering, intense boss (Ryker) and the independent, yet vulnerable employee who had a secret reason for stripping (Sage). The moment they run into each other the chemistry sparks and despite him coming off as a closed off prick and her calling him on it, they manage to make a deal--he'll do her a favor for the favor of her company at a few upcoming events. As the days go on and they get to know each other better, neither of them can stop thinking of the other, even though that's (of course) against the deal they made. They trade childhood stories and worries and the fake dates become more and more real, just as suspicious and strange acts amp up. And just when he decides to take the plunge and allow himself to care for her and she decides to open up and tell him all of the truths she's been omitting, the shizz hits the fan and things seem to be over. But as this is a true romance, Ryker and Sage do get a happy ending.

It appears that this is the first of a series and I hope that Elisabeth Caldwell is dreaming up her next story because I enjoyed Strip and would love to see which characters she writes about next. 

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SYNOPSIS:

Sage Cashman’s sister suffers from a terrible illness and Sage will do anything to help her, including dancing at a gentleman’s club to support the two of them. Every night, she puts on a show for the customers, and the naughtier and more flirtatious she acts, the better her tips. Sage is just going through the motions until she gets closer to the dark, silent Adonis who lurks in the shadows during her performances. When Ryker Madsen is in her orbit, she doesn’t have to pretend she’s a woman easily seduced.

Ryker Madsen turns out to be more than Sage’s boss—he’s the owner of the club. He’s also involved with the company producing the experimental drug that might be her sister’s only hope. Ryker is as arrogant as he is rich, and it’s no secret that he wants Sage and is determined to have her. He’s intrigued when Sage proposes a deal: companionship for connections. Preferring uncommitted and unemotional relationships, Ryker sees Sage’s proposal as the perfect way to get her out of his system. What Ryker doesn't know is that Sage, jaded from a string of betrayals, has many secrets. Including her identity.

The hotter their relationship gets, the closer the truth comes to the surface. When the skeletons in Sage’s family’s closet start tumbling out, they threaten both her plan to save her sister and her future with Ryker.