Wanna Get Lucky? By Deborah Coonts

Genre:
Mystery

Publisher:
Forge

Release Date:
February 2011-07-30

Format:
Paperback

Lucky O’Toole is head of Customer Relations at the Babylon, a casino and resort in the heart of Las Vegas and what a crazy life she leads. Her mom runs a bordello, her boyfriend is a female impersonator who everyone thinks is gay, and the hotel’s guests are more than a handful with their drinking and gambling.

When a young woman falls from a helicopter and lands in front of the Treasure Island hotel, Lucky is stuck trying to figure out what’s going on. Although it’s not her hotel, the woman worked for Lucky and the pilot was also one of her employees. It’s part of Lucky’s job to make sure her hotel isn’t surrounded in scandal, so decides to unofficially investigate.

Lucky’s days are full as she juggles the investigation, her love life and even an awards show held by the Adult Film Industry. There are some twists and turns and an ending Lucky never even suspected.

This is the first book of the “Lucky O’Toole Vegas Adventure” series and it’s off to a great start. This reminds me of the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. I’m looking forward to reading more in this series. It looks to be a fun series as this first book had quite a few quirky characters and fun scenes “laugh out loud” scenes.



FTC Disclosure: The FSB Associates provided me with a copy of this book to review. This did not influence my thoughts and opinions in any way. All opinions expressed are my own.

The Friday 56

This is a fun meme to do hosted by Freda's Voice. If you'd like to join on the fun go to The Friday 56.

Rules:
*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56.
*Find any sentence that grabs you.
*Post it.
*Link it here.

It's that simple.

This week one of the books I'm reading...



This is from page 56 of the ebook...

I don't keep old donuts around the place overnight. If I have many extras at closing time, I box them up. What happens next depends on my mood. If I feel sociable, I take them around to businesses and offer them free of charge in the hopes of drumming up more business down the line.

Follow Friday Four Fill-In Fun - Week 21

This is a fun meme and it's hosted by Hilary at Feeling Beachie. Check out her lovely blog, if you'd like to participate.

This week’s statements

1. I find watching TV helps me relax when I come home from work


2. I always think my significant other looks best when he comes home from work and finally can relax after a hard day.


3. Someday I’m going to retire.

4. When I open my eyes in the morning, I want to go back to sleep! (especially on a work day).



see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!

Cover Art Weekend Blog Hop

<center><a href="http://socratesbookreviews.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/Yvonne473/coverartweekendbloghop.jpg"/></a></center>



This is a brand new meme to display all those beautiful, funny, crazy and even those that make you think book covers you come across each week. I don't know about the rest of you, but I love looking at different book covers. You may not be able to judge a book by its cover, but they are sure fun to look at. So, if you'd like to join in the fun, all you have to do is...

1. Take the button at the top of this post and post it on your blog.

2. Chose a book cover of your choice and post it. (You can post as many covers as you'd like.)

3. Sign up with Mr. Linky below. Please use the url that links directly to your cover art post.

4. Visit other blogs on the list to see what covers they are featuring this week.

Instead of just one day, I thought I'd run this through the weekends - from Fridays to Mondays. That gives people more of a chance to blog hop.

Have fun!

If you're a regular reader at my blog, you know I love cozy mysteries. I was browsing through the upcoming August cozy releases and they had some really nice covers. I always think the cozy covers are so cute. Anyway, here's the one I chose for this week's meme. Since it's an August release, I haven't read it or bought it yet, but it's on my shopping list.

Booking Through Thursday - Night Owl

If you'd like to join in on Booking Through Thursday, just click the button above.



This week's question...

What’s the latest you’ve ever stayed up reading a book? Is staying up late reading a usual thing for you?

My answer...

I used to stay up as late as 2 or 3 in the morning to read, but I can't do that anymore. I'm usually in bed by midnight. I can't even keep my open to read and understand what I'm reading at night anymore. LOL I'm more likely to read as soon as I wake up because I usually wake up very early. I'll read before I go to bed, too, but the days of staying up really late to read are over for me.


see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!

Theme Thursday - ANY ACTION (go, walk, close, clap etc)

This is a new meme hosted by kavyen at Reading between Pages.. “Theme Thursdays” will be open from one thursday to the next and anyone can post it. The rules are simple:

* A theme will be posted each week (on Thursday’s)
* Select a conversation/snippet/sentence from the current book you are reading
* Post it and don’t forget to mention the author and the title of the book
* Since we may take a few days to finish a book, this event is open for one whole week

This will give us a wonderful opportunity to explore and understand different writing styles and descriptive approaches adopted by authors.

This week’s theme is – ANY ACTION (go, walk, close, clap etc)

This week one of the books I'm reading...



Leaving my headlights on as the Jeep was pointed toward the front door, I unlocked it, disengaged the alarm, and turned on every light in the place. After that, I cut the lights on the Jeep and raced back into the store, not really breathing again until I was safely inside.

Cat Thursday - July 28th

Welcome to the weekly meme that celebrates the wonders and sometime hilarity of cats! Join us by posting a favorite LOL cat pic you may have come across, famous cat art or even share with us pics of your own beloved cat(s). It's all for the love of cats! Enjoy! This fun meme is hosted by The True Book Addict. Go over to her site to join in the fun.





see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!

Teaser Tuesdays - July 26th

If you'd like to play along on Teaser Tuesdays, just click the button above.


Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This week one of the books I'm reading...

From page 1, it grabbed me right from the start...

Trust me when I say that I usually lead a pretty ordinary life. It's not every day that I stumble across a body while I'm working at Donut Hearts, my handmade donut and premium-blend coffee shop perched on the edge of the downtown district of April Springs, North Carolina, population 5,001.

Musing Mondays - To Store or Not To Store Your Books?

If you'd like to play along on Musing Mondays, just click the button above to join in.


This week’s musing asks…

Do you need to have your owned books out where you can see them, or are you okay with them being stored away?

My answer...

With my huge TBR, I've learned to be okay with storing them away in Rubbermaid bins. I have the bins numbered and I have a list on my computer of which books are where. I'd much rather have them lined up on bookshelves, but it's just not possible. Even with all my books taking up the guest room, it's just unmanageable. I still have to clear alot of books out of there, although I have made some headway.

My dream would be to have them all shelved, by author, so I can see everything whenever I wanted to, but it's not going to happen. I'm not that organized. LOL


see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

This meme is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading is where we share what we read this past week, what we hope to read this week…. and anything in between! D This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from!

Last week, I finished listening to ...




I'm still reading ...

I started reading ...

So, how about you? What are you reading this week?

Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris

Genre:
Paranormal

Format:
Audio

Publisher:
Recorded Books

Release Date:
May 2011

Here's a blurb about the book from Fantastic Fiction:

With her knack for being in trouble's way, Sookie witnesses the firebombing of Merlotte's, the bar where she works. Since Sam Merlotte is now known to be two-natured, suspicion falls immediately on the anti-shifters in the area. Sookie suspects otherwise, but her attention is divided when she realizes that her lover Eric Northman and his "child" Pam are plotting to kill the vampire who is now their master. Gradually, Sookie is drawn into the plot-which is much more complicated than she knows...

My thoughts...

This is the 11th Sookie Stackhouse book and I'm still enjoying this series. Of course, as with any series, some books are better than others. I might be one of the rare people who actually prefers the TV series to the books, but that's okay. As often happens, there are differences when you have different forms of media.

I still enjoy the relationships Sookie has with Eric and Bill. For the past few books she's been more on Team Eric, but Team Bill peeked through in this one too. Not a lot, just a couple of implications. In the past, Bill has hardly been in the books but he was in it a bit more this time around. I just have to keep reminding myself that these are the books not the TV show.

I don't have much more to say about the book itself, since I've already mentioned how much I enjoy the stories and characters of this series in past reviews. I do want to say something about the audio books I listen to. This series is narrated by Johanna Parker. If I didn't know better, I would swear it's Anna Pacquin (the actress who portrays Sookie on True Blood). She's perfect in the role and I love how she speaks and narrates these books. She's a joy to listen to.

This wraps up the Sookie Stackhouse Reading challenge for me. I have read all the books written in this series. I hope everyone has enjoyed it as much as I have. If you are still reading this series and are part of the challenge, the challenge continues until December 31st, so you still have time to finish!

Enjoy!

Sunday Salon - It's Hot Out There!!!

If you'd like to participate with The Sunday Salon, just click the button above.

We're in the midst of a heatwave here in New York, as most of the rest of the U.S. is experiencing as well. We started with 103 degrees on Friday and it's been hovering near 100 all weekend. It's sweltering, you can feel the steam when you walk outside. So, I haven't been going out much. My air conditioning works really well :)

First, I'd like to thank Cheryl at CMash Loves to Read for making me her Shining Star this week. I'm so honored by this. Cheryl has such a great blog. If you haven't checked it out, you really should.

You'd think I'd be catching up on my reading since I've been inside from the heat, but I haven't. I think I'm in a reading slump which I'm attributing to the overwhelming amount of reviews I have waiting for me. Not only can't I catch up, but I'm a very moody reader and sometimes I just want to read for enjoyment. Right now, I'm in a cozy mood and I think it's making it harder for me to read anything that's not a cozy.

I thought I'd ask this - how long does it take for you to get to a review? Has it ever taken several months? Nobody is putting any pressure on me, it's something I'm doing to myself. Do you guys ever experience this? What do you do about it? I just started to read a cozy which I've been wanting to read and I think it helped with my slump, a little bit.

Because of my slump, the only book I finished was an audio "Dead Reckoning" by Charlaine Harris. It now completes my Sookie Stackhouse reading challenge. I still have to write up the review and post it.

That wraps my week up in a nutshell...it's 9:30 in the morning and it's already 84 degrees with a heat index of 90. It's crazy! I only like this weather when I'm on vacation in the tropics :)

Hope you all have a great week!


see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!

Author Interview: Clea Simon

I recently had the honor of interviewing author Clea Simon. She is the author of several pet mystery series - The Theda Krakow books, the Dulcie Schwartz books and the Pru Marlowe books. As an animal lover, you know I can't pass these books up. Sit back, relax with a tall glass of ice tea and check out what Clea has to say.




1) What made you decide to become a writer?

I don’t know if I ever decided to become a writer. I simply always was one. Some of my earliest memories are of reading or being read to (the two kind of blend together, I think because I was sitting on my father’s lap and beginning to make out the words as he read them). And I also made up stories for friends and family, knowing they would amuse. I remember loving frogs, for example, so I told my mother I’d had a dream in which the frogs formed a circle and held hands and danced around her, singing.

The decision to write professionally, however, was a different matter. I never thought I could make my living by my pen. In college, I studied literature and language, but I tried an internship at a college press and at a magazine, and ultimately decided to pursue journalism. I became a music critic and then went into, first, magazine journalism (I ended up editing the short-lived Boston Woman monthly) and then to the daily Boston Globe. It seemed like I could make a living either using my knowledge of language to help shape others’ writing or I could be a purveyor of information – i.e., an editor or a journalist. I had written three nonfiction books already before I dared try writing stories again. And that was only because Kate Mattes, who owned the old (now defunct) Kate’s Mystery Book Store, told me at a party, “Clea, you should write a mystery.” I guess that felt like she was giving me permission to do what I’d always done, what I always wanted to do. I haven’t looked back.


2) You write both non-fiction and fiction. Do you have a preference? Is one genre easier to write than the other?

At this point, I much prefer writing fiction (see above)! But I am grateful for the research skills and discipline I learned as a journalist and nonfiction writer – and I like to think I’ve written some good nonfiction. As far as one being easier than the other, I will tell you what happened one day when I was working on my first mystery, Mew is for Murder, and talking it over with my husband Jon, who is also a writer. (He started off writing fiction, got his masters and was teaching college expository writing while writing short stories –but he’s a jazz fan and a movie fan, so he also started doing some reviews, for the fun of it, and since he liked getting published and making money from his writing, he started doing that more and more… he is now the arts editor for the Boston Phoenix, our weekly alternative newspaper – he also writes a column on jazz.) At any rate, I remember getting all excited about writing fiction. I said, “This is great. You can make (bleep) up!” And he turned to me and said, “Yes, but you HAVE to make (bleep) up.” That about sums it up – fiction is more free, but you have less information to fall back on.

3) How did you choose to feature animals in your books?

I have always loved animals and they’ve always been a part of my life. So I guess it just seemed natural to me that they would be part of my characters’ lives too.

4) Where did your ideas come from for the Dulcie series?

The basic idea came a few months after we had to put our beloved cat Cyrus – the original for Mr Grey – to sleep. I was walking down the street and I was sure I saw him. Must have been a cat who looked just like him – but I thought, “what if he came back? He would want to take care of me.” Beyond that, I’m not sure exactly. I know that I love books within books – think of A.S. Byatt’s Possession and The Children’s Book – and I have always wanted to champion underrated books. I think I was thnking about how people put down cozy mysteries – say they’re not “real books.” Well, people used to say that about the Gothic novels, too. Plus, I live right near Harvard and I could get an alumna pass to Widener library.

5) How many books do you plan to write for the Dulcie Schwartz series?

As many as my publisher wants! I am finishing up book #4 now, Grey Expectations, and I have an idea for the fifth. I honestly think they’re getting better – I set up a lot of the history (maybe too much?) in the first book, and from there on in, it’s all story!!

6) What about the Theda Krakow books? Can we expect anymore?

Probably not, but I will never say never!

7) How about your Pru Marlow series? The first one is called Dogs Don’t Lie. Would a cat lover enjoy it too?

I hope so! I want to include all animals in the Pru pet noirs – but Pru’s sidekick is a VERY opinionated tabby named Wallis. She’s my alter ego, I think. I adore her.

8) Can you give us any hints for some upcoming books? What can we look forward to?

Well, I am just polishing up Grey Expectations now and I can promise you that the kitten Esmé has a bigger role – though she is very much a kitten still and not Mr Grey, which causes some heartache for Dulcie. And Pru and Wallis are called in to help figure out a freak accident involving a white Persian in Cats Can’t Shoot.

9) Do you have any real life animal story to share with us? We love hearing stories :)

Well, I wrote about my and Musetta’s terrifying run-in with a pitbull on the new Poisoned Pen Press blog at http://www.poisonedpenpress.com - on a happier note, I can tell you that we all just moved from a one-level condo to a three-story house (it’s tiny, but it’s tall!). We werent’ sure how Musetta would take to stairs, but she loves them. She likes knocking her toys down the stairs and carrying them back up. But she seems to be a righty, because when she is walking down the stairs, she always starts with her right front paw.

10) Are you doing any book signings in the near future?

I will be a panelist and signing books at the New England Crimebake in Nov. The info is on my website. I don’t have other signings or readings beyond that, but I will – and they will all go up on my website, http://www.cleasimon.com (click under “appearances”).

Cover Art Weekend Blog Hop

<center><a href="http://socratesbookreviews.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/Yvonne473/coverartweekendbloghop.jpg"/></a></center>



This is a brand new meme to display all those beautiful, funny, crazy and even those that make you think book covers you come across each week. I don't know about the rest of you, but I love looking at different book covers. You may not be able to judge a book by its cover, but they are sure fun to look at. So, if you'd like to join in the fun, all you have to do is...

1. Take the button at the top of this post and post it on your blog.

2. Chose a book cover of your choice and post it. (You can post as many covers as you'd like.)

3. Sign up with Mr. Linky below. Please use the url that links directly to your cover art post.

4. Visit other blogs on the list to see what covers they are featuring this week.

Instead of just one day, I thought I'd run this through the weekends - from Fridays to Mondays. That gives people more of a chance to blog hop.

Have fun!

I'm so excited! I just won this one at Dollycas' Thoughts and, since I love the cover, I'm using it for my cover blog hop.

The Friday 56

This is a fun meme to do hosted by Freda's Voice. If you'd like to join on the fun go to The Friday 56.

Rules:
*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56.
*Find any sentence that grabs you.
*Post it.
*Link it here.

It's that simple.

This week I'm reading...



page 56

"With all this stuff in your pockets, what keeps your pants up?"

"The dictates of fashion."

I made a rude noise. "There are no dictates of fashion in Vegas."

Book Blogger Hop 7/22-7/25

The blog hop is hosted by Jennifer at Crazy-for-Books

This week's question...

What’s the ONE GENRE that you wish you could get into, but just can’t?

My answer...

I actually have two answers. One is fantasy and the other his historical fiction. I try to get into them and, once in a while, I do find good books in both genres but overall, I'm just not into either one.

With fantasy - I can do vampires, witches, shapshifters - I like those. However, I can't do wizards or fantasy like Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter.

With historical fiction - I do enjoy western romances, but I'm not much into the Regency era or Civil War era...although I have read good books in those genres too.

If I get a good recommendation, I won't shy away from either genre. I just won't seek it out either.


see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!

Follow Friday Four Fill-In Fun - Week 20

This is a fun meme and it's hosted by Hilary at Feeling Beachie. Check out her lovely blog, if you'd like to participate.

This week’s statements

1. I probably worry way more than I should (I don't know why...lately I worry about everything and it accomplishes nothing. Most of the things aren't even worthy of worrying about.)

2. I just tried dark beer for the first time and wasn't thrilled.

3. If I had to have a large flower bouquet with only one type of flower in it, it would be made of red roses. I love red roses. They are so pretty.

4. I have a Snuggie but I never use it. My robe is warmer.


see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!

Theme Thursday - Smile (Laugh, Grin, Giggle, Guffaw, etc)

This is a new meme hosted by kavyen at Reading between Pages.. “Theme Thursdays” will be open from one thursday to the next and anyone can post it. The rules are simple:

* A theme will be posted each week (on Thursday’s)
* Select a conversation/snippet/sentence from the current book you are reading
* Post it and don’t forget to mention the author and the title of the book
* Since we may take a few days to finish a book, this event is open for one whole week

This will give us a wonderful opportunity to explore and understand different writing styles and descriptive approaches adopted by authors.

This week’s theme is – Smile (Laugh, Grin, Giggle, Guffaw, etc)

This week one of the books I'm reading...



What was it with me lately? A handsome guy flashes me a grin, and I melt into a puddle. And a handsome guy who was off limits at that - I would never pull the rug out from under Miss Patterson.

Cat Thursday - July 21st

Welcome to the weekly meme that celebrates the wonders and sometime hilarity of cats! Join us by posting a favorite LOL cat pic you may have come across, famous cat art or even share with us pics of your own beloved cat(s). It's all for the love of cats! Enjoy! This fun meme is hosted by The True Book Addict. Go over to her site to join in the fun.

Teaser Tuesdays - July 19th

If you'd like to play along on Teaser Tuesdays, just click the button above.


Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This week one of the books I'm reading...



During my 11 years on the Sullivan show, no one created more excitement than the Beatles. February 7, 1964: Kennedy Airport. Their first trip to the United States. The screaming fans! The haircuts! The sassy answers! Welcome to New York!