Customer Reviews

The Sinful Life of Lucy Burns

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I'm the first person to shy away from chick lit with a supernatural plotline, so I was initially hesitant to read this. Once I saw it enthusiastically recommended by Jane Green, I decided to suck it up and give it a go. All I can say is that if this book is any indication of what I've missed out on, it is completely my loss and I need to rectify that immediately.
Lucy is an immensely likable character, which is surprising given her job as a facilitator to Hell. Yep, she brings bad people home and sends them to Hell. She made a deal with To Whom It May Concern as an eleven year old when her sister was badly hurt and the doctors didn't think she'd make it through the night. To Whom It May Concern heard her plea and granted her the health of her sister. She gets called upon several years later to keep up her end of the bargain. When she refuses, he shows her exactly what will happen if she reneges. Seeing the cost of her refusal, Lucy acquiesces and takes on the job. It has it's perks; she's granted a wish every birthday and is consequently a stunning, perpetually twenty nine year old woman who can eat all the chocolate she wants and never gain an ounce.
But it's not all it's cracked up to be. She can't see her family, can't have a boyfriend, can't get too involved in friendships because she can't let people know about her career. The distancing of people and the fact that she can't have a child she desperately wants is taking it's toll on her, so when someone she grew up with tells of her a loophole that may just give her back her life, she jumps on the chance to do so.

When she was 11 years old, Lucy Burns swore she'd do anything if her sister recovered from a coma. Thirty-one years later Lucy is 29 and she's doing it, the "anything" that was her part of the bargain she'd struck. It turns out that her prayers were answered by a party other than the one she'd expected. Now she's a "facilitator," guiding deserving souls to their afterlives in the fiery depths of...her basement. Well, not quite, but the door to her cellar is a portal to hell. Lucy anesthetizes her prey with mind control techniques that are a perk of her position--as are her ineffable beauty and agelessness.

The Sinful Life is a fun, light read, but not as tightly constructed as it might be. For example, the recurring references in the book to two movies dueling for attention in the novel--one about Hitler, the other Jesus Christ--don't seem to have a purpose (other than the good vs. evil parallel). Likewise, the Snow White car wash Lucy frequents doesn't seem to fit well in the story; nor do the snippets from a story being written by Lucy's love interest. Stepping back from the novel, then, one has reservations about its coherence, but the book is by no means a chore to get through, and Lucy turns out to be a more nuanced character than one supposes going into the story.

-- Debra Hamel

When Lucy was eight years old, her older sister Ellen was hit by a truck. Ellen was in a coma and Lucy was devastated. So, she wrote a letter to whomever it concerned that she would do anything if Ellen got better and placed it in their play mailbox outside. When Ellen miraculously woke up the next day, Ellen was overjoyed. But when she went to retrieve her letter from the mailbox, she was surprised with a new note addressed to herself wishing her a happy birthday.

Every year Lucy receives a phone call asking her for her birthday wish, and every year she receives it. When she graduates from college though, its time to pay her debt. She is to become the new faciliator for Hell and if she doesn't do her job well, then Ellen will go back to being rightfully dead. So Lucy leaves her family and sets out on her own.

Over time, Lucy has beauty, brains, wealth, and a dog named Pluto that guards the basement door; a portal to hell. But Lucy is lonely and wishes she had a family, a boyfriend or a child. But every time Lucy gets close to a guy she ends up throwing up. The boss figures a boyfriend would distract Lucy from her job, hence the nausea.

But when Lucy's neighbor gifts her with a surprise with concert tickets to her favorite singer, Lucy is thrilled. When Teddy Nightengale beckons Lucy to backstage, she finds out there is a loophole for Lucy to quit her job, but it comes with a very high price, one Lucy may not be able to pay.

THE SINFUL LIFE OF LUCY BURNS blazes onto the paranormal romance scene. A character who sparkles against the good old fight of good and evil is sure to leave you bursting for more. Chick-lit with a supernatural twist, a solid lead character whose antics will have you howling and an ending that will leave you highly satisfied and entertained. Absolutely wonderful!

Where has this book been hiding? This was pure reading pleasure. The dialogue and action is snarky and quick paced. I could just picture this a movie or TV show. Well, there is Reaper, but like all paranormal shows I love, it was cancelled.

Lucy is such a likable character, full of quirky details that make her seem human for doing the devil's work. I am looking forward to more from this author.

A friend of mine brought this book to me. She thought I would enjoy it and I most certainly did! It is a quick fun read. I look forward to the author's next book. I normally don't read books of this type but I recommend it to anyone that wants to take a quick break from life and become absorbed in Lucy's fast paced world filled with a quirky theme. Quite a page turner.
Nancy Dalton, Belton, Missouri

And now for something completely different! The Sinful Life of Lucy Burns is Elizabeth Leiknes's debut novel.

Now when they were young, who didn't promise something (to be good forever, to do your homework, to ....) in exchange for something you really really needed or wanted. Young Lucy Burns writes a letter to Whom it May Concern promising she'll never ask for anything ever again if her sister wakes up from her coma. And Ellen does wake up.

Fast forward... Whom it May Concern came collecting. Lucy is now a Facilitator - expediting the passage to hell for certain sinners.

Lucy is growing a little tired of her vocation and wishing for something more than perfect beauty, unlimited funds and everlasting life. She wants to be part of a family again. When she falls for her creative writing instructor, she is determined to resign her post. Can she redeem herself?

Leiknes has a wonderfully warped sense of humour. The Devil's facilitator hosting a kitchen ware party and being recruited for the Klan are some of my favourite scenes. The Sinful Life of Lucy Burns should not be taken as a morality read, but rather as a quick, quirky (167 pages) read.

You can read the first chapter of The Sinful Life of Lucy Burns.


Leiknes has a wonderfully creative mind. I have to include her author bio here as that's what sold me on reading the book.

"Elizabeth Leiknes grew up in rural Iowa and can make thirty-seven different dishes featuring corn. She attended The University of Iowa as an undergrad, and The University of Nevada, Reno for her Masters. Lucy Burns was "born" somewhere between a third and fourth helping of Captain Crunch in Elizabeth's sixth month of pregnancy with her first child, but the majority of Lucy's story was written during her maternity leave somewhere between debilitating bouts of new-mother panic attacks, and squirting milk in various inappropriate locations about town. Elizabeth has a love/hate relationship with great white sharks, and a slight penchant for speaking in hyperbole, which she says she never does. She now lives and teaches English near Lake Tahoe with her husband, two sons, and mentally ill cat.

The Story


Lucy Burns has not exactly made the best decisions... in fact, she's accidentally killed her sister's cat and made a deal with the devil... both of which were completely unintentional yet creating lasting effects on her life. No, it's not such a great start to life, if you ask me! Now Lucy's reality is one that she never truly wanted in the first place and she would do almost anything to escape it.

Although Lucy is gorgeous, timeless, and powerful, she wants for nothing other than a normal life with its normal flaws and pitfalls. If she eats that entire chocolate cake, she wants it to reflect in her hips. She wants to see those fine lines around her eyes and experience saggy boobs. Lucy wants to find love and not just exist as a sex goddess. She longs to see her family again. And, I'm sure, Lucy would love to have a dog that eats bones and not people.

When Lucy meets her musical idol, Teddy Nightingale, she learns that there is a loophole in her deal with the devil. She can get out of this deal, after all. But, the terms under which she has to get out of her contract are seemingly impossible... despite that, she'll go to nearly any lengths to achieve her freedom.

The Review


Elizabth Leiknes blended chick lit and the supernatural into a spicy novella that was a fun little trist on a Sunday afternoon. After a long nap and in a quiet house, I put on my favorite fuzzy socks and immersed myself into a crazy tale of the unbelievable. I've wondered if I made a deal with the devil, sold my soul away for that greatness, what would it be that I would want for? Would it be fame, riches, or physical perfection? For Lucy, she was given the ability to be irresistible, brilliant, and gorgeous. I'll admit that sounds fun... for a day or two. But, what this story reminded me is that my real life, flawed an all, is far greater than anything that I could wish or trade for.

That's right... I'll keep my poochy tummy, my adult acne, my argumentative kids, and my debt and live a life with purpose and with God guiding it. There is great evil in our world and it often wins out over good. People lie, steal, cheat, and murder... there is both an invisible and visible evil presence living and breathing amongst us. Part of walking a spiritual and good life is avoiding that evil and living for the love inside you. That's what this tale reminded me, today. The bad guys, they'll get theirs and I'll leave my justice up to God... he does a much greater job at it than I do.

What else did this sinful little novel bring me? Simply, a fun little escape and a story in which I could do nothing but completely root for good over evil. You know... like Star Wars or ET... a story where you get lost to the fight and are absorbed in the fiction of.

On Sher's "Out of Ten Scale:"
I'm a huge fan of the novella... this is the 3rd I've reviewed this year. I just love getting a concisely written story that I can engulf in one reading. The novella seems to bring across the message of the story across stronger and faster than that of the 400-pager. Comparable... I think to a 30-minute show to a made-for-tv movie... if you know what I mean.

I believe that Leiknes had a clever idea in creating Lucy Burns and her plight from the devil. She's, at heart, a good girl trapped in bad circumstances. What could you not like about Lucy??? She's just trying to be person she was born to be.

Elizabeth Leiknes and Lucy Burns get from me a rating, genre: Fiction:Novella, an 8 OUT OF 10. If you are spending the day at the pool... grab this read and get lost for a couple of hours in a story of the believable, unbelievable!

The Sinful Life of Lucy Burns - just the title, alone, provokes whirlwinds of images to twist through the mind! Once you crack open the binding of the book, that mind will be thankful and completely lost within the realm of Lucy Burns, I have no doubt.

First of all, I have to admit that something happened while reading The Sinful Life of Lucy Burns, that has not happened in, literally, years - I read the entire book in one sitting. Of course it helps that I had the entire house to myself for an evening, which occurs once a year, if that. So, yes, I spent my nice quiet evening at home, alone, with none other than Lucy Burns and her delightfully sinful life. I have to say that it was a satisfying evening and left me with a smile upon my face.

You may ask - just how did Lucy get wrapped up in a sinful life? Well, it all starts when her beloved older sister, Ellen, gets in a horrific car accident - she gets hit while her and Lucy are out riding bikes. While Ellen lay in a deep coma, with little hope of survival, Lucy goes home and writes a "To Whom It May Concern" letter, asking for her sister to get well again. She places her letter in a makeshift mailbox in front of their playhouse and is met with a huge surprise the next morning. Not only is her sister out of her coma and doing wonderfully, there is a letter of reply in the mailbox stating that Lucy "has a deal."

It is not until years later that Lucy discovers exactly what she unknowingly agreed to - she is to take up a position as Facilitator to Hell. Her job is to escort the sinful to their rightful resting place. Now, this job has some great perks - beautiful ageless body, glamor, wishes granted and best of all - she can eat all the chocolate she wants and never gain an ounce. Sounds like heaven rather than hell, right? Well, there is one little glitch - or actually two. Lucy can never make contact with her family again and she can never develop a relationship of her own or have a "boyfriend". It seems that once Lucy "does the deed" with a guy, the sight of the guy causes her to become exceedingly ill, with lots of vomit involved. Not the greatest way to continue a relationship.

So, it is with that in mind, Lucy decides that she wants out of this whole business. She has no idea how to go about it, however, until one fateful night when she gets to meet her singing idol Teddy Nightingale. It is through him that she discovers a loophole in the "contract" with the devil and decides she must do everything in her power to get out. If she succeeds, she will be able to pursue love, happiness and once again be reunited with her family. However, if she fails in her mission - she won't ever have to worry about being chilly again!

The Sinful Life of Lucy Burns is tons of witty fun that will leave the reader chuckling throughout. It is also a story where the leading character is delightful and so incredibly likable. You will cheer for her, feel for her, and become quickly involved with her and her adventure. This was just such a wonderfully enjoyable book that enabled the cares of the day to just rush out the window, as I became quickly and easily engrossed within the book's pages. I truly truly cannot wait for more by the author and quite simply loved her style of writing. Ms. Leiknes writes in a way that easily captivates the reader and just makes for a fun time. I highly recommend The Sinful Life of Lucy Burns for a fun and carefree romp from the stress of real life!

This book was a devilishly good fluffy read on my Kindle. It made me laugh out loud several times. Lucy Burns is a no holds barred red hot mess, and because of a "To whom it may concern" she wrote as a child she is living the life of short sighted nightmares. She's tired of her job working for the man downstairs, and she wants to make a few changes, especially since she started noticing a better life for herself (and a new guy) But getting out of "the contract from hell" is not going to be easy for Lucy, and it may cost her more than she bargained for.
I was rooting for Lucy from the moment her best friend/next door neighbor conned her into hosting a Pampered Chef party that goes hilariously awry.
She's as tart as a margarita while still being sweet and more than a little clueless.
I liked it.

I read this book because of the recommendation from Jane Green - one of my favorite authors - and I was not disappointed. Creative story, sympathetic main character and some laugh out loud moments. I look forward to reading more of Ms. Leiknes' books in the future!