Lucky Bastard by Deborah Coonts

Author / GoodReads / Purchase

Lucky O’Toole, the newly promoted vice president of Customer Relations for the Babylon, Las Vegas’s primo Strip property, has never met a problem she couldn’t handle. But when a young woman is found dead, sprawled across the hood of a new, bright red Ferrari California in the Babylon’s on-site dealership, a Jimmy Choo stiletto stuck in her carotid, Lucky’s skills are maxed out. Of course her life is already on overload. Her mother, Mona, is pregnant, hormonal, and bored — a triple threat. A song that Teddie, Lucky’s former lover, wrote for her is getting national airplay as he hits the talk shows, pleading for her forgiveness. Lucky is less than amused by the high-powered “infotainment” spotlight on her personal life. She’s having enough trouble fending off Chef Jean-Charles Bouclet, the Babylon’s tasty new dish. All of this and The Smack-Down Poker tournament, the second-largest poker tournament in the world, is holding its final round at the Babylon. Hookers, thieves, players, cheaters, media, and hangers-on descend, looking to win or to score. When one of the players turns up dead, Lucky starts to make connections between the two murders, putting her in the crosshairs of the killer. After a revelation by someone close to her sends her world reeling even further, Lucky struggles to keep her life in balance, and a murderer from killing again as bodies pile up. Then, just when she’s losing control… life deals another major complication to her personal life… and it’s not going to be pretty. Lucky struggles to keep her life in balance, and a murderer from killing again as bodies pile up. (synopsis courtesy of GoodReads)

I was so excited to get the chance to read and review the new book in the Lucky O'Toole series. Lucky Bastard did not disappoint; it was full of mystery, suspense, humor, and of course, a dash of romance.

All of our favorite characters are back, although some didn't see as much page time as I would have liked. Lucky was her usual workaholic self, perhaps even more so in this novel, as she tried to help solve a particularly gruesome murder. It's also personal for her, as someone close to her may be involved. We get to see a lot more of detective Romeo in this one, as well as "the beautiful Jeremy Whitlock". Have I mentioned that I absolutely love Jeremy? Not only is he gorgeous, but he's also Australian; I like to imagine him as Jesse Spencer (who played Dr. Chase on House). Yum! Sexy cowboy Dane also makes appearances, but things are more than a bit complicated in his world. On that note, let's talk about the men vying for Lucky's heart.

When I first started reading, I had a very specific outcome in mind.  I knew that Lucky was developing strong feelings for the new chef at the Babylon, Jean-Charles, however I was still hung up on Teddie. I wasn't alone, because Lucky obviously was missing him too. He attempted to apologize in phone messages, but she was just too hurt by his choosing music over her to even call him back. I wasn't feeling the same connection with Jean-Charles. He seemed like a really nice, loving man, he's just no Teddie. As Lucky started to get closer and closer to the chef, I began to get irritated. This wasn't supposed to happen! As I got to know Jean-Charles more, he started to grow on me. I began to see how good he was for Lucky, and how good he was to her. He treated her like a queen and they had a special connection that I finally allowed myself to appreciate. I still like Teddie. It's hard to fault him for following his dreams, even if it did hurt both him and Lucky in the end. 

I enjoyed both the mystery and suspense. The story kept me guessing the entire way; I would think I had everything figured out, only to be completely shocked. The one thing I did see coming was the very end. It was predictable and inevitable that it would happen, and leaves us with a nice little cliffhanger that I assure you will make you very excited about the next book in the series. 

Lucky Bastard is the 4th book in the series, but I'm still enjoying the characters and unpredictable story lines just as much as I did in the beginning. It had me hooked and I found it hard to put down until I finished the last page. I absolutely can't wait for the next book!

Waking Up Married by Mira Lyn Kelly

Purchase this eBook from B&N, Amazon (at the time of writing this review, Waking Up Married is FREE!)

Publisher: Harlequin

Publication Date: 12/1/2012

Genre: Fiction, Romance

Synopsis from Amazon: 

It's the morning after her cousin's bachelorette party in Vegas and Megan Scott wakes up with the mother of all hangovers. Even worse, she's in a stranger's penthouse having woken up with something else as well—a funny, arrogant, sexy…husband!

Up until now, finding even a boyfriend had seemed impossible—been there, got the broken heart, sworn off men for good. Then a few martinis with Carter…no, Connor Reed and she's gone from first meet to marriage in one night!

Megan wants a lawyer. But Connor's shocking bombshell?

"I don't want a divorce."

**I obtained this eBook free on Amazon. As of 3/6/13 it is still free!**

I was in the mood for a nice, sweet romance and when I saw this one was free on Amazon I just couldn't resist! 

Waking Up Married starts out with Conner and Megan in a Vegas hotel room, trying to come to terms with the fact that they got married after only knowing each other a few hours. It then proceeds to explain how they got there by way of a series of flashbacks.

The first approximately 1/3 of the book did not make much of an impression on me. For one thing, we know next to nothing about these characters. We are given a few details through Megan and Conner's conversations with each other, but nothing that helps the reader relate or connect with either character. Another reason is that I found myself so annoyed at Megan. She called Conner "Carter" at least 7 or 8 times; I think 3 of those were before she was even drunk, so that's no excuse. Seriously, how hard is it to remember one name, especially if it's a really hot guy who has a particularly intense fascination with you? I'm assuming it was the author's way of driving home the point that they barely knew each other, but after awhile it was just annoying. 

Conner is dead set on making this marriage work, despite the fact that: A) In general, marrying a complete stranger is not a recipe for success; and B) Megan is less than enthused about giving the marriage a trial run because oh yeah, she doesn't remember getting married. That's right folks, she was so drunk she doesn't remember most of that night, let alone saying "I do". Conner is extremely persuasive though, so eventually he convinces her to give it a go and move in with him to see if they can make it work. 

Shortly after she moves in is where the book did a total 180 for me. I went from being pretty disinterested in the characters and overall story to finding myself eagerly flipping pages to find out what would happen next. This is all due to some deeper looks into what makes both Megan and Conner tick, specifically in regards to relationships. The scene with Megan and one of her ex-stepfathers was the one that really got me. All of a sudden the characters came to life, became more human. I guess you can just chalk up my feelings about the beginning of the book to a slow start. The author could have just thrown all of the info out in the first few chapters, but it would have had nowhere near as big of an impact as it did.

The ending was as predictable as you would expect, yet I didn't find myself annoyed or disappointed by that. It was still a sweet story with likable characters and an engaging storyline.

If you're in the mood for a light, romantic read, then Waking Up Married is a good bet. 

Rating: 4/5 stars

To learn more about author Mira Lyn Kelly, connect with her on Twitter or visit her webpage.

Sweet Chaos by Misty Evans

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Synopsis from B&N:

The past always finds a way to bite you in the ass.

As a three-hundred-year old vengeance demon, I’ve made a lot of enemies. The worst was Queen Maria, the Italian Court’s most devious succubus and a ruler who used me as a weapon of mass destruction to inflict pain and kill hundreds of humans in her torture chambers.

Now she’s back, this time as a ghost, and she’s invited a new friend to the party—a vampire king who wants my head on a stake. Together they’re bringing a war to Chicago that will topple the carefully constructed world I’ve protected for centuries. 

But I’m Kali Sweet. I never run from my past…and I’m not about to hide from my present.

If you happened to miss my review of the first book of this series, Revenge Is Sweet, check it out here. I absolutely adored that book and, if it's possible, I loved Sweet Chaos even more!

It takes up pretty much where the first one left off. Kali is dealing with many different issues, from her conflicted feelings for long-time love Rad to fulfilling her duties as Queen of the central U.S. vampires. That's a lot for one demon, but if anyone can handle it, it's Kali. Her problems just get more complicated as her worst nightmare, Maria, comes back into her life. If you read the first book, you know the kind of hell Maria put her through. If you didn't read it, lucky for you the author made sure to give background on the situation.

The men in Kali's life are sexy as ever. Seriously, I don't know how she keeps her sanity. We get to see more of the sexual tension between her and her boss, Damon. I am even more convinced after reading this novel that he has true feelings for her that go beyond what he is willing to admit. There's Dru, son of the slain vamp king Vlad the Impaler. I absolutely love Dru and I had said that in my first review as well. I would have no problem with Kali starting up a relationship with him, but she continually insists how that will never happen, that he's just a "friend". Their relationship became much more complicated this time around (and really that's an understatement), so I haven't completely lost hope. If I could pick anyone for Kali, though, it would be Cole. He is completely amazing and is incredibly sexy, loyal, and not-so-secretly in love with our heroine. He has a quasi-relationship with a vampire, but I think his heart really lies with Kali. I know she has feelings for him too; she admitted to being jealous when seeing him with another woman. Then again, she seems to get a bit jealous when any of the men in her life stray from her, even if she doesn't want them in her bed. That brings us to Rad. They have a long history together, so I can see why she keeps him around. They definitely have a chemistry together, but I don't always think he's the best choice for her. I can't help but like him though.

There was no shortage of action in this book, which kept me flipping the pages like mad to see what would happen next. I tried to put it down a couple of times, only to pick it right back up to fit in a few more pages. Before I knew it, I was done with the book!

I am completely in love with the Kali Sweet series. Even after I finished Sweet Chaos, the characters remain with me. It feels like they are real, which is the sign of an excellent read. I am desperate for the next installment to see what happens next and revisit my favorite supernaturals.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult

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Synopsis from B&N:

In the wild, when a wolf knows its time is over, when it knows it is of no more use to its pack, it may sometimes choose to slip away. Dying apart from its family, it stays proud and true to its nature. Humans aren’t so lucky.

Luke Warren has spent his life researching wolves. He has written about them, studied their habits intensively, and even lived with them for extended periods of time. In many ways, Luke understands wolf dynamics better than those of his own family. His wife, Georgie, has left him, finally giving up on their lonely marriage. His son, Edward, twenty-four, fled six years ago, leaving behind a shattered relationship with his father. Edward understands that some things cannot be fixed, though memories of his domineering father still inflict pain. Then comes a frantic phone call: Luke has been gravely injured in a car accident with Edward’s younger sister, Cara.

Suddenly everything changes: Edward must return home to face the father he walked out on at age eighteen. He and Cara have to decide their father’s fate together. Though there’s no easy answer, questions abound: What secrets have Edward and his sister kept from each other? What hidden motives inform their need to let their father die . . . or to try to keep him alive? What would Luke himself want? How can any family member make such a decision in the face of guilt, pain, or both? And most importantly, to what extent have they all forgotten what a wolf never forgets: that each member of a pack needs the others, and that sometimes survival means sacrifice?

I was perusing the new releases and best sellers at Walmart, and found myself automatically gravitating toward Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult. I have yet to find one of her books that I don't like, this being no exception. 

This novel follows the aftermath of a serious car accident, which injures Luke and his daughter Cara. This ends up bringing the estranged family, including Luke's ex-wife and son, back together in order to support each other and decide what should be done for Luke, who suffered immense brain damage. 

As with any Picoult novel, you may think you are strictly on one character's side or another, but it's never so cut and dry. For example, I started out being very sympathetic to Cara's situation. This changed to annoyance as I found her behavior at times very childish, despite her being 17 years old. Yet in the end, I found myself understanding her better and re-thinking my harsh criticism. This was true for pretty much all of the characters in the book. My feelings for them changed from chapter to chapter, as more secrets and details were revealed. What this author does so well is make you stop and think about what is happening and try to put yourself in the characters' shoes; not everything in life is black and white.

I enjoyed how every chapter was voiced by a different character. I find that this is the absolute best way to ensure that the reader connects with all of the personalities in a book, although I admit it doesn't necessarily work in all cases. To be able to see through that person's eyes and get an in depth look at how they are feeling and why enables the reader to connect with the character on such a deep level. It helps the book stay with me even after I have finished the last page.

I only have one small complaint, and that is the fact that I had trouble pronouncing the names of some of the wolves. They were given names derived from a Native American language; with no pronunciation guide, I had to guess at how to say most of them. It bothers me when I don't know if I am saying a name as the author intended it to be, but overall it did not detract from the intriguing story.

As I said, this book did not disappoint. As with every Jodi Picoult book I've read before, I found it impossible to put down until I finished. I just had to see what was going to happen to these characters and I wanted to uncover all of the secrets. Also, just like with each of her other books, I cried like a baby. I've come to terms with the fact that it's inevitable, so make sure you have some Kleenex handy!

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

An explanation (Part 2)

I had the best of intentions to jump right back into book reviewing, but I'm really struggling. I thought it would be easy, because it would take my mind off my grief, but it is the grief that is making it hard to want to do anything. It still doesn't feel real at all and I find myself going through all of the stages, from overwhelming sadness, to anger, to denial, and back again. I think it's time to admit to myself that it's ok to ask for help, and plan on making a doctor appointment in the near future. I just want to thank everyone for understanding and for being there for me. I know I'm not alone and that helps. Keep an eye on this page; I just finished reading Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult and fully intend to work on the review.

An explanation

I owe everyone an explanation for where I've been most of this year. I made promises to a lot of amazing authors and I failed to follow through on those promises. I don't have a good excuse for the earlier part of the year. I guess the only thing I can say is that I was just enjoying not having to do anything when the semester ended, since I had a full load of classes that left me no time to spend with my husband and wonderful 5 year old son. Then August came around and it was back to school; I also made the mistake of taking too many classes again.

Recently though, my life came to a screeching halt. On October 11 of this year, my mom passed away. It's hard to even write this, but it's also sort of therapeutic as well because sometimes I still forget that she's gone and expect her to come up the stairs. She lived with my husband and I for the past 3 years and we were pretty much inseparable. That wasn't new to us though. All my life we were not only mother and daughter, but also best friends. I could always tell her anything and everything, and she was such an important part in my son's life. She watched him a lot while I was in school, and even after I would get home in the evening she would spend time with him when I couldn't because I was so busy with homework. He's handling this so much better than everyone else, and I suppose it is because of his age. I ask him sometimes if he misses her, and he says he does, but that she's not coming back. He never asks about her; I thought it would be a hard concept for him to grasp, the finality of death, but maybe not. The week after her death, I tried going back to school. I tried, because I know that's what my mom would have wanted; she was so proud of me. I just couldn't do it. Not only could I not focus on my work, but I also was having a hard time with the fact that with all of the homework I consistently had, I would be neglecting my son. I was not okay with that. With my mom gone and my husband working 3rd shift, who would spend time with him? So I made the decision to drop out of school. I knew it was the right decision for me, because I didn't feel upset about it afterwards. No, I felt relieved. At this moment, I don't know if I'll ever go back to college. I was starting to hate my classes even before this happened, so maybe I was going down the wrong path again anyway.

I miss my mom every second of the day. Every where I look, everything reminds me of her. I keep thinking, "I can't wait to tell mom....", then the crushing realization hits me that I'll never be able to talk and joke with her about things again. The only thing that makes this halfway bearable, is that I had no regrets as far as our relationship was concerned. I told her I loved her absolutely every day and we never fought with each other. This of course makes the hurt worse as well, because our connection was so strong, but I'm glad that I can say that she knew how much I loved and cared about her. At this point I can't even imagine it getting easier. I know it hasn't even been a month, but every day is just hard. On one hand I wish for the hurt to go away, even just a little; on the other hand, I don't want it to fade because I'm afraid of my memories of her fading as well. Things seem so clear right now, but what about in 5, 10 years? Will I still remember how her laugh sounded, or even just her voice? She hated having pictures taken, even worse hated videos, so there aren't a lot for me to watch and remember. I'm terrified that my son won't remember her, so we look at her picture every day and I keep telling him to remember the fun times we had.

I have a lot of free time now and reading has really helped me escape my thoughts for awhile. So I'm going to try and revive my blog. I can't promise how it's going to go, but it's something I love and wasn't sure I'd be able to do again. I want to give it a try and I hope you'll all be patient with me. So, if you're an author who had contacted me and I had agreed to read your book and review it, I'm going to go back over my emails and start reading. I'll try and shoot you all emails individually to let you know my plans. Thanks for your understanding and I'm glad to be getting back in to this.

The Right To Remain Mine by Linda Kage

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Publisher: Champagne Books
Publication Date: 2/6/2012

You have the right to remain cherished. Anything you read or scream out in rapture can and will be used against you in the bedroom of Willow DeVane. You have the right to enjoy a big, sexy cop. If you can't find your own, one by the name of Raith Malloy will be provided for you to enjoy and explore thoroughly within these pages. 
Tempers flare from the first moment divorce lawyer Willow DeVane crosses paths with sheriff deputy Raith Malloy. Both too stubborn and controlling for their own good, Willow and Raith butt heads until anger turns to passion, and they begin an affair despite their brewing hostilities. But more than one force works against them when they learn Willow's being targeted by a dangerous stalker.

I have to fan myself after finishing up this read; it was incredibly hot and steamy! The main characters, Raith and Willow, certainly did not experience love at first sight. Lust, yes, but not love. For over half the book they were constantly getting on each other's nerves, biting back with snarky comments, and trying to convince themselves that they actually hated each other, all while having mind-blowing sex. It drove me a bit nuts at times; they both clearly were developing strong feelings for the other, but were too stubborn and afraid of rejection to express it. They wasted a lot of time trying to pretend they were just in it for the sex. However, I did really enjoy their interactions. One minute they would be tearing each other apart, the next they were rolling around in bed...or on the table...or wherever they happened to be. Like I said, very steamy! The secondary characters added some different dimensions to the story and I liked them for the most part. I became slightly annoyed by Willow's cousin, Camille; one minute she would be kind of okay with Willow being in a "relationship" with Raith, and then she would admonish her for continuing to see him. I guess she probably couldn't decide if she should support what her cousin wanted or be completely against it. 

The relationship between Raith and Willow was not typical, but that's what I liked about it. Every once in a while they let their guard down and it was actually pretty sweet. I'm bummed that I can't tell you more. One of my favorite quotes from the book would be a huge spoiler, and I don't want to ruin this book for anyone. So disappointing! I'll just say that it was a really sweet quote by Raith and it may have brought a little tear to my eye. 

I loved the ending. The story started to lose me after a certain huge plot turn that felt a little ridiculous, but I felt different about it by the end. The suspense part of the novel seemed more of an after thought. I realize the main theme of the book is the complicated relationship between Raith and Willow, but I wish the stalker aspect would have been developed just a little more. 

 I wasn't sure exactly what to expect when I started this book, but I would say it exceeded my expectations. I liked the characters and really enjoyed the story line. If you're in the mood for a steamy romance with a little suspense thrown in, definitely check out this book!

**I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review**

If you would like to learn more about the author, Linda Kage, please visit her webpage and Twitter.