ARC Review: So Damn Lucky – Deborah Coonts

January 27, 2012 in Reviews

  • Hardcover: 384 pages
  • List Price: $24.99
  • Publisher: Forge Books;  (February 28, 2012)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0765330067
  • ISBN-13: 978-0765330062
  • Deborah Coonts Website

Preorder So Damn Lucky at:

Lucky O’Toole—Head of Customer Relations at The Babylon, premier mega-resort on the Vegas Strip—thinks it’s just another night in Las Vegas.

But then a magician pulls a disappearing act, right under Lucky’s nose. Is it a stunt? Or something worse?

While Lucky chases leads, someone is trying to put her off the scent. As if this wasn’t enough to ruin her day, Lucky’s relationship with The Big Boss is coming to a head—past hurts can no longer be denied. Of course, she is already on shaky emotional ground: Teddie, her live-in, has been touring with a young and lovely pop star. Paxton Dane, former coworker and would-be suitor, is still circling, hoping to find a chink in the armor of Lucky’s resolve.

And then, there’s this French chef, who is proving to be too hot to handle….

Lucky is the head of customer relations at a hotel in Vegas, Babylon. It’s almost Halloween when a magician’s trick goes wrong; no one is sure if it’s a stunt or if it’s something more sinister. Lucky is all over the place trying to figure out what happens, all the while her personal life is imploding around her.

Teddie, her boyfriend, has been touring the world as a musician. With a hot pop star. Dane, is still circling round Lucky and then there is Chef Hot TastyCakes, the new French chef. What is Lucky to do? Keep fighting!

So Damn Lucky is the first full length Lucky O’Toole book I’ve read, though it is the third in the series. Lucky enough (HA) being new to the series you won’t get lost, it stands alone though there are a few back stories you’ll miss and want to go back to read. Trust me, I’m starting book one soon enough!

I love this series already; it’s witty, snarky and has some interesting back stories. Lucky is one kick ass heroine and does more for the hotel then I think even The Big Boss does. Lucky is a “fixer” she’s gotta fix everything, but sometimes the fixer needs help to be fixed.

Never mind there are THREE love interests in this book and you will have no idea who to root for, they are all awesome.  Dane is the perfect gentleman, Jean-Charles is the sexy European and Teddie is the good guy turned rock star. It was hard I tell you, hard to chose!

Lucky also owns or is owned by a parrot named Newton, who I am in love with:

“Where you been, bitch?”

Who wouldn’t want a parrot that greeted you that way everyday?

“As you can tell, Newton had a very sketchy upbringing. I’m trying to teach him better manners, but parrots are like old dogs and elephants.”

I loved the action and suspense in So Damn Lucky, it was a one day read. I couldn’t put it down; I ate with my e-reader. I really tried to slow down but I couldn’t help myself, I had to keep reading! Be prepared to forget how to function and do anything but read when you get your hands on this book.

Now hurry, you have time to read books one, two and the novella before So Damn Lucky is released. Trust me, you won’t be disappointed.

New Review Posted

January 25, 2012 in Reviews

My review for Darynda Jones’ Third Grave Dead Ahead is live on Heroes & Heartbreakers! 

The Thorn & The Blossom Blog Tour

January 25, 2012 in Reviews

  • Hardcover: 82 pages
  • List Price: $16.95
  • Publisher: Quirk Books (January 17, 2012)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 159474551X
  • ISBN-13: 978-1594745515
  • Theodora Goss’ Website

Buy The Thorn & The Blossom at:

One enchanting romance. Two lovers keeping secrets. And a uniquely crafted book that binds their stories forever.

When Evelyn Morgan walked into the village bookstore, she didn’t know she would meet the love of her life. When Brendan Thorne handed her a medieval romance, he didn’t know it would change the course of his future. It was almost as if they were the cursed lovers in the old book itself . . .

The Thorn and the Blossom
 is a remarkable literary artifact: You can open the book in either direction to decide whether you’ll first read Brendan’s, or Evelyn’s account of the mysterious love affair. Choose a side, read it like a regular novel—and when you get to the end, you’ll find yourself at a whole new beginning.

Because this is such a short story (around 80 pages) my review will reflect as much so I don’t give anything away.

The first thing readers will notice about The Thorn and the Blossom is that it’s visually stunning. It’s an accordion book, with two sides. You can start at either end and get both Evelyn and Brendan’s side of the story. I started with Brendan’s side of the story and was glad I did, I wasn’t a fan of Evelyn nor her perspective of what happened.

I felt like it was unfinished, that there should be a part two of some sorts (there are no plans for a part two). While I could connect with Brendan, the same cannot be said for Evelyn.

To me she ran from her issues for years instead of trying to figure them out and dealing with them. I did love that there was a dual point of view, but like I said, Evelyn’s didn’t sit well with me.

My biggest issue was the fact that after Brendan kissed Evelyn, she ran away screaming, only to send him a short letter saying sorry but not explaining why she did. I get why she ran, but the explanation wasn’t given to Brendan and he never asked why?!

If you are looking for something a little different from the norm, I would suggest The Thorn and the Blossom, but at only 80 pages don’t expect a full fledged novel.

ARC Review: A Little Night Magic – Lucy March

January 23, 2012 in Reviews

  • Paperback: 320 pages
  • List Price: $14.99
  • Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin (January 31, 2012)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1250002672
  • ISBN-13: 978-1250002679

Buy A Little Night Magic at:

Olivia Kiskey needs a change. She’s been working at the same Nodaway Falls, New York, waffle house since she was a teenager; not a lot of upward mobility there. She’s been in love with Tobias, the cook, for the last four years; he’s never made a move. Every Saturday night, she gathers with her three best friends—Peach, Millie, and Stacy—and drinks the same margaritas while listening to the same old stories. Intent on shaking things up, she puts her house on the market, buys a one-way ticket to Europe, and announces her plans to her friends . . . but then she meets Davina Granville, a strange and mystical Southern woman who shows Olivia that there is more to her life than she ever dreamed.

As Liv’s latent magical powers come to the surface, she discovers that having an interesting life is maybe not all it’s cracked up to be. The dark side of someone else’s magic is taking over good people in town, and changing them into vessels of malevolence. Unwilling to cede her home to darkness, she battles the demons of her familial past and her magical present, with those she loves at her side . . . and in the cross fire. Can the most important things in life—friendship, love, magic, and waffles—get her through the worst that the universe can throw at her?

Liv’s had a crush on Tobias for ages, but he is passive aggressive with his feelings. He’s hot and cold, sending mixed messages all over the place. Finally after having enough and needing a change, Liv books a trip to Europe. But then a customer comes in and changes the life she knew, forever.

I can’t really explain my issues with this book without spoiling it for you all, sorry this is going to be the weirdest review I’ve ever wrote.

Long story short I was left feeling like someone should have known and helped Liv out long before the end of the book. I also wasn’t a fan of the maturity levels, their supposed to be in the their late 20′s but they acted like they were in their early teens. I feel like it would have done better as a YA, not an adult novel.

While the first few pages of A Little Night Magic were funny, it felt like something happened and the plot got all sorts of weird. I loved some of the dialogue and the quirkiness of the characters, but I was disappointed in the way the story turned.

Lucky In Love – Deborah Coonts

January 20, 2012 in Reviews

  • Format: Kindle Edition
  • File Size: 374 KB
  • List Price: $3.44
  • Publisher: Forge Books (January 17, 2012)
  • Sold by: Macmillan
  • Language: English
  • Deborah Coonts Website
Buy Lucky In Love at:

Lucky O’Toole, the vice president of Customer Relations for the Babylon, one of Las Vegas’s most over-the-top strip properties, is seriously regretting booking a reality television show, The Forever Game, in the hotel’s small theater.

The four contestant-couples add their own mischief to the incendiary mix normally available in Sin City while competing for a Las Vegas wedding extravaganza. The host of The Forever Game, Trey Gold, appears interested only in keeping the spotlight on himself while the contestants run wild, sampling all Vegas has to offer and threatening to blow the whole show out of the water.

Not only must Lucky keep the couples from killing each other, killing their relationships, or ending up on the front page of the Review-Journal, she has to navigate her own rocky road of love. Teddie, her live-in lover, seems ready to chase a new career as a singer, leaving Vegas . . . and Lucky . . . behind. And the Babylon’s new French chef seems determined to muddy the murky waters of love even further.

Then there’s Lucky’s mother, Mona, who never could leave well enough alone . . .

I had never read a Deborah Coonts novel before starting this novella, with a promise that I wouldn’t get lost in a world I was unfamiliar with. Truer words have never been spoken! Instead of getting lost, I immediately fell in love. How could I not? Lucky’s mother, Mona,  owns a whorehouse! Hello!

Plus it has lines like:

The dildo-wielding banshee.

Tell me THAT doesn’t make you want to know what the hell came before and after that line.

Lucky In Love takes place after book two and before the February release of So Damn Lucky. It’s a short story that will introduce you to Lucky, her father’s casino (Babylon) and the over the top people of Las Vegas.

In this novella, Lucky is trying to deal with the contestants of a reality show that is filming at the hotel on top of her love life. It’s cute, snarky and a perfect intro to the series.

If you’ve read the series, you’ll enjoy Lucky In Love. If you haven’t read the series, you’ll scramble to read the previous books in the series before February!