Review: Stripped by Tori St. Claire

Stripped
by Tori St. Claire
Paperback, 416 pages
Published January 3rd 2012 by Penguin Group (USA)
ISBN 0425246779 
Courtesy of Publisher

In Tori St. Claire's dangerously naughty debut novel, a body of secrets is entwined with a body of lies...and deception is part of the game.As a member of the CIA's elite Black Opals, Natalya Trubachev must live a lie, working undercover as the lover of Dmitri, a Russian mob boss. His business is trafficking vulnerable Las Vegas strippers overseas for twisted sex games. Natalya's business is to blow the ring wide open and bring down Dmitri and his American contacts. But the stakes are raised when she learns that the next target is her own sister Kate, a dancer in the famed club Fantasia. Only now does Natalya realize how personal her mission has become, and how far she's willing to go to complete it.The manager of Fantasia is Brandon Moretti, an undercover detective who keeps a close eye on his girls, and an even closer one on his sinfully sensual newest hire. For Natalya, working the club could be the break she's been waiting for. But for Moretti, Natalya is a possible link to a killer. Only he never counted on her being so lethally seductive or so dangerous to get close to. As every forbidden pleasure between them is stripped away, his own secrets threaten their security, but it's Natalya's secrets that could destroy them both.

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My Thoughts:
Dangerously erotic, Stripped will keep you on the edge of your seat!

     Natalya Trubachev has been in Russia for the last three years, deep undercover for the C.I.A. and its top secret elite group the Black Opals. Posing as Russian mob boss, Dmitri’s, lover her mission is to take down Dmitri’s sex trade and human trafficking business. When it leads her to a Las Vegas strip club though, Natalya’s learns that her twin sister is the next victim and she must uncover the names of Dmitri’s two American contacts before the kidnapping of her sister is scheduled to take place. But when she arrives at the club Fantasia and meets its dark and sexy manager, the stakes are raised even higher. 
     Brandon Moretti is an undercover vise cop managing Vegas’ popular strip club, Fantasia. Investigating the disappearances and murders of several strippers, he knows that he only has a short amount of time to find the killer before he strikes again and one of his girls could be next. When his alluring new house mom shows up with her sultry accent, Brandon knows that she is going to be trouble, both to his investigation and his control. But can she be involved with his case or is it just a coincidence that she has shown up right when the killer is about to strike? One thing Brandon knows for sure though, Natalya has too many secrets and he plans to strip them from her one at a time. 
     Each are living a lie, and each is fighting an attraction that if they give in to can mean not only their deaths, but the deaths of those around them as well.


Thrilling, suspenseful, exciting and HOT HOT HOT, Stripped was an immensely satisfying read start to finish! The entire story just builds and builds upon itself, setting the stage for a dark and captivating world of intrigue and sex. There were fantastic and surprising twists, nasty bad guys who when revealed made my head spin and every character  was so well fleshed out that I even felt sorry for the main villain and the betrayal of his love. 
I absolutely loved the main characters of Brandon and Natalya, their chemistry explodes from the pages right from the beginning and they were paired masterfully together. Both of them are strong, determined and sometime frustratingly stubborn but I really enjoyed how their dance of secrets played out, how they unknowingly were seeking the same end game. And the heat they generate, wow – burning passion that light up the pages often! Stripped is seriously a blistering hot suspense all around. 
The plot was intense and fast paced, I immediately wanted to start on the next book, but alas, I must wait until July for Lie to Me.

Highly addictive, Stripped is hands-down a must read for romantic suspense and erotic romance fans this year! This one is going right on the keeper shelf and the author on my watch list! 

Rating: 4.5 Wine Glasses - La-oved it! 

Sexual Content: Through the roof! HIGHLY recommended for adult readers who enjoy a heavy dose of erotic romance because Stripped is five-alarm fire worthy!