LUCKY STREAK

Author: Carly Phillips ISBN: 9780373773756 6/2009 CONTEMPORARY Publisher: HQN

Long ago, a witch proclaimed an eternal curse that every Corwin male who married for love would be destined to lose his woman and his fortune... When Mike Corwin awakens after some wild partying in Vegas $l00,000 richer and married to Amber, the gorgeous woman he met the night before, he thinks he's hit the jackpot. The bad news is that Amber's a con who takes his money and runs. Seems the family curse has finally hit him. Hard. But to Amber, Mike isn't business as usual. If only she didn't need the money to ensure her father's safety, she might actually have fallen for the intense lawman. Instead, she's forced to betray him. Now Mike's hell-bent on divorce and Amber's on the run ...but when a twist of fate reunites them, can they turn their run of bad fortune into a lucky streak?

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

LUCKY STREAK by Carly Phillips is pure fun. It is filled with quirky characters whose off-beat lives not only amused me but stole my heart.

Amber has always been a part of the Las Vegas scene. Her mother was a showgirl, her father an ace gambler, and now she carries on the tradition of winning big by using her brain to get the upper hand at the gambling tables. She’s got a partner who enjoys the finer things in life her winnings afford him, and when she tells him she’s going to quit the life, he is less than pleased. He gets nasty, reminding her why she does what she does—as if she needed a reminder that her father’s medical care cost a mint. When a man rescues her from the ugly exchange, there is no way of knowing that her luck is truly about to change. She cannot know, either, that the cop is also tied to his family in a way that binds him fully—by a curse.

LUCKY STREAK is a delight to read. The story is engaging, and moves along at a fast pace. The reader goes from set up to introduction to marriage—then, to the fall out of that impetuous act—in a heartbeat. When the slot machine pays off for them I felt like I was right there on the Vegas strip. I was transported for a few hours, and loved every minute of it. When Amber leaves Mike high and dry, I felt sorry for him. The important thing is that I cared about these characters, a lot. I wanted him to defeat the curse, and for Amber to find a new life. I wanted success for them, and when it looked dicey my heart fell.

A pure escapist romantic romp, LUCKY STREAK is sure to please. There is one book left in this series, and I can hardly wait to read it. Well done!

Kay James