Reviewer Comments: Mike Corwin is a tough Boston detective. He knows that the men in his family have been living with the Corwin curse for generations and although he doesn’t believe in it, he isn’t trying to find love to prove it wrong either. The curse states that all Corwin men are doomed to lose both their loves and their fortunes should they fall in love. Everything changes for Mike when he goes to Las Vegas for his partner’s wedding. There he meets Amber Rose, gets married and wins $150,000. The next morning he awakens to find both his new bride and his money missing.
Amber Rose grew up in Las Vegas with a con artist as a father. She adores her father and learned quite a few useful tricks at his side. When he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and had to be put in a home, Amber knew that counting cards along with her photographic memory would be the fastest way to raise the money that she needed to put her father in a quality place. Now she is trying to leave her con-artist ways behind and to make it on her own. She did not expect to find Mike or to have the feelings that she does for him. When her father’s life is at stake, she betrays him by stealing the money he won. Now she has to find a way to make it right and to see if their quickie marriage could be for real.
This is the second book in Ms. Phillips’s Lucky series and continues the saga of men who are trying to find true love while under the shadow of a curse. The context of a family curse adds an interesting dimension to the series. Although the current generation doesn’t think that they believe in the curse, the evidence of the past generations is hard to ignore. Each man has to challenge his own beliefs in order to find love. Each story is as unique as the men involved. This series is not paranormal in that they have to use magic to overcome the curse, but rather it explores the beliefs that people have and how normal ordinary people would react to such a thing.
I love Ms. Phillips’s books for the fun and steamy romances that she creates. Lucky Streak is just one more example of her outstanding talent. She builds characters that are flawed, but who admit those flaws and try to work through them just like the rest of us. We can relate to them. I especially liked how Amber was able to convince Mike to give her another chance despite their past differences and how each of them was willing to do the right thing to help each other out.
The added suspense and tension of Amber being sought after by a Texas big shot with mob connections heightened the sexual tension between Amber and Mike. The way in which their better natures appeared and the lengths they went to in order to protect each other and Mike’s family raised this tale into something worth reading. Waiting to find out if Mike can forgive Amber and put aside his concerns about the curse to create a life together kept me reading.
