I thought this book had a great premise. Casey and Talia had great chemistry and passion. But right away I was dismayed by the heroine and her opinion about Casey's gambler profession. While I understood why she had such negative feelings, it became draining and took away from the story. All in all however, this was a great start to the series and I look forward to more in the future!

I would like to thank Netgalley and Harlequin for an advanced copy of this book for an honest review. 4 stars! ~Ratula

I felt bad for Casey. He kept going out of his way to show Talia how good he was for her and how well they were perfect for each other and Talia just kept making him pay for another persons sins. It was well written, a little slow paced for my own liking but otherwise I still enjoyed it.

4 1/2 STARS!

Steamy, fresh and full of angst! I really enjoyed the kick-off to the Joker's Wild series! It's encompassed with a unique hero and the journey towards happily ever after even when it seems like the cards might be stacked against him. There was a rich background given on both main characters and a plot that moved at an adequate pace to keep our attention and yet keep us guessing at the same time. Looking forward to more in the series!

Talia Spencer can't believe she meets a hot guy and immediately embarrasses herself by dropping condoms at his feet. To later run into him when she's out at a club celebrating her possible new job just seems like a sign to her. Why not live it up and have a wild night with a sexy stranger? It's not until the next day that she realizes it's a bad idea ... when he walks into the interview as her potential new boss!

Casey Waltham owns the brand new Vegas casino Jokers Wild with his two best friends. He's determined to make a success of their newest venture, and they all agree that Talia is just what they need in the social media marketing position ... even if he can't keep his thoughts from turning lusty at the very sight of her! Can he manage to convince her that what he does for a living isn't all that bad?

Jokers Wild #1, Jokers Wild is a new Casino in Las Vegas it's owned by three friends who have been by each other's side since they were kids and they have in their each way made it big. Casey the gambler, Nicholas the magician, and Darien the dare devil; all three of them invested their money together to create a new experience for those coming to Vegas. Talia has spent the last seven years of her life cleaning up her father's mess, an inept gambler, if it wasn't for Talia her grandmother would have lost the house to a loan shark because he used it as collateral. Talia has sworn off gamblers she's concentrating on her job and taking care of her Gran.

Talia has the opportunity to get a really good job managing the social media for the new Jokers Wild casino if she gets this no more working two jobs. Casey isn't looking for anything more than a good time but a chance encounter with a woman not once but three times in one day has him thinking differently. One wild and hot night was all it was supposed to be until the next day when they realize Casey is Talia's new boss.

Talia and Casey's sexual attraction is very strong the chemistry is there, but Talia focus so much on the fact that Casey is a gambler and that is basically the epitome of everything she hates that as the reader I had a hard time seeing anything else in the way of Casey's redeeming qualities besides the sexual attraction. Whereas Casey loved everything about Talia you could tell even when she was being obstinate he still loved her and he was trying very hard to get her to see a future for them. Told in the third person POV you get a omniscient view of both sides of their story.

Overall, it was a very smokin' hot story. I enjoyed the characters and their story and I look forward to Nick and Darien's books.

Rating 4/5

Buahahahaha! That first encounter was one for the books! This story had me laughing so hard I thought I almost wet my pants! Loved this sexy read and its devilish writing!

This was my first book by Katherine Garbera and I loved the premise, it was fantastic. BUT I really struggled with Talia. She hung onto her issues like they were a security blanket and mandated by God. She was extremely scarred by what her father did and I understand that. My issue is she made decisions that put her right in the middle of the one thing she hates. And she continues to do so.

I really liked Casey and his friends, Nicholas and Darien. Casey had the patience of a Saint and had so many different facets to his character. Nicholas and Darien were his best friends and co-owners. Their dynamic was interesting.

My issues with this book won't deter me from reading the next book in this series or any other books by Garbera. I am also equally intrigued by Nicholas and Darien's books and I look forward to them and see what Katherine Garbera has in store for them. I did enjoy the humor and it was definitely steamy

This is the first book of the Joker's Wild series and my very first book by Katherine Garbera.
It is a fun, sexy but also sweet story of Talia Spencer and Casey Waltham and I enjoyed reading it. The plot is great, storytelling is good and the characters are well build. I kinda have more sympathies for Casey here, Talia is a bit more complexed and she has to go over some things from the past so she could live happily in the future.
I liked grandmother's situations that made me smile too.
I am not getting into the story itself, you have the blurb for that, I just want to add that I had nice time reading it and helped me to spend nice time during this cold winter days. I am looking forward of reading the next instalments of this series.

This is a voluntary review of an advanced copy.

I enjoyed this book and loved watching as Casey and Talia meet for a one night stand then find out that she is interviewing for a job with his casino.

I liked both of them and could understand where they came from and their baggage from that background. While Talia really does seem to judge Casey based on her father's gambling problem, she seems to be getting along until she sees Casey and Darien resolve their argument.

At first, I kind of felt that she was overreacting but I put myself in her shoes and how I would feel if my boyfriend broke our relationship down to a draw of the cards. Could he really walk away if he drew low card? Did he really not care that much about her that he was "gambling" on their relationship? I think I would have been devastated if that happened to me and I don't have a problem gambler in my family!

I loved that even after this, Talia stuck around and did not leave which showed to the three guys that there were women that did not walk away and leave when things got tough! I really liked her more at that point!!

It was also great that Darien came to Talia and apologized for giving her such a hard time and causing the break up (well, events that led to the break up - as Talia was really wondering if she should end things just before this) and giving Casey the chance to show Talia how much he loved her. Great HEA!

Talia lives in Vegas but has seen first hands the effects that gambling can have on a family. She is trying to save up funds to leave Nevada and the lifestyle, but in the meantime, she will need to work in the industry and has an interview at Joker’s Wild Casino.

Casey has his own past when it comes to gambling and he has seen the profitable side. He co-owns a casino with his two best friends, and they are looking to hire a Social Media manager. He is surprised when his next interview turns out to be Talia, who he shared a one night stand with the evening before.

Working together causes the chemistry between them to erupt but will she be able to leave her past in the past so that they can have a future together?

Great secondary characters, humorous banter and heartfelt moments make this an enjoyable story. I am looking forward to the next book in the series. I voluntarily reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book.

“One Night Gamble” left my romantic heart completely satisfied! Katherine Garbera has written a fantastic story that has wonderful characters and amazing content. This book gave me all the feels and I’m looking forward to reading more books by this author. Definitely recommend

The Good, The Bad, and Everything In Between

The Good
The series setup is intriguing. I like the idea of taking a card shark, a daredevil and an illusionist, set their romances against the backdrop of Las Vegas and all that glitters, then give them some solid tropey goodness, like boss-employee mixed with some ONS awkwardness. The blurb promised some hilarity with their first meet, and I was all on board for it. And then….

The Bad
Alot of telling, not show drags down the romance, as well as the story in general. When your story is contingent on instant heat between the hero and heroine, I need you to bring the HEAT. Especially if the blurb promises some quirky, but quick connection between your characters. From their first meeting, Casey and Talia should have been a chemical fire, but they just fizzled. Instead, the reader is told that Talia’s upbringing really did a number on her. We are told that she has big trust issues. We’re told that the feelings between Casey and Talia go beyond just chemistry (of which there is none). We are told alot of things, but I would have preferred to focus on dialogue that showed it and scenes that really conveyed those feelings beyond being told about them. . I would have loved to have character scenes where they’re interacting and the dialogue is not broken up by so much internal monologuing that’s telling me the same thing the dialogue is telling me. It made scenes feel redundant, and I was barely into the first half of the story.

Once I struggled to connect with the characters, all the little details in the story that didn’t mesh (for example, her father died of lung cancer one page, then died of a heart attack the next time it’s referenced) began to stick out even more. It was a snowball effect that jarred me out of the story, time and again.

Everything in Between
Meh. Sums up how I felt about everything else in this tale.


The Bottom Line
Unfortunately, this was only an ok read, at best. I wanted to like it, but there was no inherent chemistry between Casey and Talia and while there are small moments of promise, the Firsts (meet/kiss/love scene) happen very quickly, they didn’t wow me and it set the tone for the entire tale. It my first Garbera read, and perhaps it’s a case of her writing style just not being my particular cuppa. I’m not sure I’d rush out and read the next.

I really enjoyed this love story from the excellent author Katherine Garbera. She writes with such ease and confidence that I never felt that the story lost its way or became muddled.
Talia and Casey are much more than they appear on the surface. I liked how they both grew as people throughout this book.
There were a few lighter moments provided by Talia's grandmother that I welcomed as a nice counterpoint to the heavy emotional times.
Overall a good read.

Talia’s father had been driven by gambling. Talia had never gotten over what he did to her growing up. Talia had been raised by her grandma and father when he had money, Talia’s father had lost everything of importance because of gambling and broke Talia’s heart. Than when he died he left his debts that she had just finally paid off as her father had got deep in debt with several loan sharks. He had died from lung cancer just before Talia’s eighteenth birthday.Sami was Talia’s best friend. Talia ran into Casey at the store when she was buying her grandmother some condoms. She literally ran into him in her rush and the box of condoms fell to his feet. At an early age Casey had learned to bluff and play the odds to keep a roof over his mother and his head and keep his mother out of jail. He had become a very successful power player. Casey made millions gambling and he now co-owns a casino in Las Vegas with his two best friends he had met in the foster care system-Darian and Nicolas. Casey knew his limits. Casey was head of the day to day operations running of the casino while his other two partners worked with their strong points. The Publicity Manager wanted someone hired that understood social media- a Social Media manager. Talia had an interview at Joker’s Wild Casino for an interview as she needed a good paying job to eventually get out of Nevada. The second time Talia see Casey is when she is out with Sami at the Joker’s Wild Casino which was the casino Casey co-owned. Casey asked her to dance and than Talia decided that she was young and decided to go for it when Casey asked her if she wanted to get out of there. and went to Casey’s place for what they both will be a one night stand. Than Talia is hired and Casey is her boss. She had believed Casey was just a card player at first. Talia and Casey both have problems with trusting people other than a select few,
I did enjoy this book. Talia and Casey had had hot chemistry but she kept going on got annoying. I really liked Talia’s grandma, she added to this book. I liked Taila and Casey together, and how they interacted together. This was a quick read and I finished it in one setting I loved how close Casey abd Nicolas and Darian were. I loved the characters and the ins and outs of this book and I recommend it.

"One Night Gamble" by Katherine Garbera.

The kind of story I've read several times : girl meets hot guy, hot guy turns out to be her new boss...
But it never gets old. I loved it! I loved how it stars with her buying condoms and dropping them in front of him, embarrassing... you always try to come up with an excuse in that situation...

Also great book cover!

4 stars. Well written, interesting from page 1. No need to wait half the book for the story to start.
I really enjoyed it! Short read.

My first time reading that author. Now I want to read more!

Thank you NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the ARC of this book. This is my honest review.

This was an enjoyable story. Both sweet & sexy are what we get with Casey & Talia. Casey & Talia’s one night together turns into more when Talia interviews for a job at a new hotel in Vegas, one which Casey is part owner. The gambler Casey falls quickly for Talia who’s very anti-gambling. There relationship is rocky & Casey makes many mistakes when it comes to Talia. Talia’s history isn’t good when it comes to gamblers, her father gambled everything away & put her grandmother’s home in jeopardy when he used it as collateral with a loan shark. Now she has to decide if she can live with the idea of loving a gambler. Definitely recommend.

One Night Gamble by Katherine Garbera is book One in the Joker's Wild series. This is the story of Talia Spencer and Casey Waltham.
Talia and Casey have a one hot night stand but the next day when she goes for a job interview she finds that her one night stand would be one of her bosses. Casey brought himself up from nothing to be a co-owner of a casino. Talia didn't have things easy either and how her father treated her. But slowly together that were able to see something other than past hurts. The Grandmother's scene were always a good break in the story.

I really thought I would like this one a bit more than I did. Casey was everything a book boyfriend should be and I wanted him to get his HEA but unfortunately I just couldn't find the same connection with Talia. I just found myself becoming more and more annoyed with her as the book unfolded. This was my first Katherine Garbera book and will probably be willing to try another book by her in the future but I hope she writes other characters with a little more depth.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

One Night Game was a one night read! It was very cute and gave me instant feels. I really loves Casey and Talia. I thought it was a breath of fresh air seeing a man who constantly went out of his way to understand his lady. He listened and did his best to be the man Talia needed. During her doubts instead of letting her walk away, he comforted her and camly spoke to her. As we know communication is key! I recommend this book, it will definitely put a smile on your face!

Thank you for the ARC!

3.5⭐
One Night Gamble was a sweet story. That was also fairly light on angst, easy to read and engaging. Plus, the two main characters shared a few hot moments. Although the chemistry and connection wasn't quite there if I'm really honest. However, they were intriguing, and so were some of the secondary ones and for that reason I would certainly check out the next book in the series.

*I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I'm sorry, but I couldn't get into this book. The story, the characters, I didn't like any of it and I wanted to. I loved the synopsis and was very excited for this one.