LUCK OF THE DRAW

Author: Gail Link ISBN: 0843956631 3/2006 HISTORICAL Publisher: DORCHESTER/LEISURE
Time Period: Victorian, Old West

With one lucky turn of the cards in a high-stakes poker game, Beau McMasters finds himself the new owner of a Montana ranch and saloon. But this Southern gentleman likes his women bold, just like the new schoolteacher in town. It’s only a matter of time before the auburn-haired beauty falls to the charm of the McMasters touch. Miss Abigail Butler intends to keep her cards close to her chest, and not even a honeyed Southern drawl can make her show her hand and spill her secrets. With a reward on her head, she can’t afford anything other than anonymity. But the golden-eyed gambler awakens her desires, and she’ll find out he is the only one who can help her turn the Luck of the Draw.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

The new book by author Gail Link is called LUCK OF THE DRAW. It's the love story between gambler Beau McMasters and schoolteacher Abigail Butler. Both are instantly attracted to each other, but they have secrets that could tear their love apart.

I enjoyed reading the primary story between Beau and Abigail. Beau is a strong and handsome hero, while Abigail has the strength and beauty to match. Abigail is harboring some pretty dark secrets—I'd rather not give too much away by revealing them—but she's run away from her home and has taken the job of schoolteacher far away from New York in Heaven's Gate, Montana. Beau has left New Orleans to take advantage of a saloon and ranch he won in a game of high stakes poker. When Beau and Abigail meet, they are instantly attracted to each other. Things really heat up between them as soon as Beau kisses her!

What bothered me about LUCK OF THE DRAW was the character Baser. He's the father of one of Abigail's friends, Sabina. The man is a pervert. I'm not even going to mention why he's one. Miss Link wrote a romantic love scene between Beau and Abigail, but totally ruined it for me by adding Baser to it. The man is a bad seed and I would have enjoyed the story a whole lot more without Baser's wickedness added to it. Not only that, there were other parts of the story, involving secondary characters, that I thought, "why was this scene written so raw?" That's why I'm not going to give LUCK OF THE DRAW 4 Roses.

Gail Link's LUCK OF THE DRAW has a good love story between two unlikely people. Unfortunately, I couldn't get over some parts of the book, which ruined the enjoyment of the story for me.

Julie Kornhausl