Customer Reviews

Sucker Bet ( Vegas Vampires, Book 4)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the fourth book in the Vegas Vampire series.

Gwenna is a very old vampire, born in the 11th century. Having gotten a divorce from her controlling husband Gwenna has lived the last 300 years or so in almost complete isolation. She came to Las Vegas to witness the marriage of her brother Ethan, Vampire President, to his wife, Alexis, and decided to stay.

She's been filling her time on the computer in a Vampire slayers chat room, when she finally decides to meet one of the members, Slash. Only when she gets to the meeting spot Slash isn't there, instead she finds a dead body.

Detective Nate Thomas is investigating the murder and at the same time going through a horrible time in his personal life. Gwenna has been through a lot in her long life and the two find common ground and an easy companionship in each other. But soon the bodies are piling up, tied into the slayer group and the Vampire Nation. The two work together trying to solve the crimes, even though Nate is oblivious to the Vampires and their existence.

Erin McCarthy writes an emotionally complex tale in this fourth book. Gwenna is finally starting to come out of her shell, find herself, and stand up for herself. Her ex is still harassing her and is creepily obsessed and possessive of her, but Gwena is fighting back. With the murder mystery looming over their heads Nate and Gwenna share some similar sorrows and quickly fall under one another's spell. They have a whirlwind romance and a promising future...except Nate doesn't know what she is.

Like usual I flew through this book in a day, Ms. McCarthy has a knack for writing books you can't set down. My only complaint about this book is it lacked the easy humor most of her books usually contain. There are a few laughs but it's far from the page after page of giggles I usually enjoy with a McCarthy read. Even without the giggles, I enjoyed this book immensely; Gwenna is a fascinating heroine.

This is not a stand alone tale; you must read the previous three books to really know what's going on.

High Stakes (Vegas Vampires, Book 1)
Bit the Jackpot (Vegas Vampires, Book 2)
Bled Dry (Vegas Vampires, Book 3)

Gwenna Carrick is finally coming out of her shell after 900 years or so. Being a vampire she spends her time amusing herself on the Vampire slayers email loop. She sets up a face to face meeting with a fellow email buddy only to come across a terrible murder.

Detective Nate Thomas doesn't know what to make of his witness at the murder scene. His first assumptions about her fall apart after he gets to know her better. Nate enlists Gwenna's online search skills in working on this case. Being so close together causes their already smoking hot attraction to overload.

Gwenna since moving to be nearer her brother the Vampire President and his family is becoming her own woman. This chemistry to mortal Nate rocks her to her core. Plus she has to deal with someone trying to kill off her vamp friends as well as a pesky ex husband.

Nate's world hasn't been easy either of late and the one bright spot is Gwenna. Will he be able to handle who she really is?

Sucker Bet by Erin McCarthy is an absolute joy. Its funny, sexy and emotional. Watching Gwenna evolve into a strong woman is a revelation.

Sucker Bet Gwenna and Nate are right up there with my favorite Erin McCarthy couples. You can't go wrong buying a book by this author.

2008 is already starting strong, thanks to this contribution to the Vegas Vampire series by Erin McCarthy.

Sucker Bet features Gwenna Carrick, sister to the president of the Vampire Nation, and ex-wife to Roberto Donatelli, the villain throughout most of this series. Gwenna is 900 years old, having been transformed into a vampire by her brother Ethan while she was dying of childbirth to Roberto's illegitimate daughter. Now a divorced and sheltered immortal, she's starting to think how much time she's wasted and how ungrateful she has been for the immortality she's been given. She decides to live a little, which ends with her finding a dead body in the exact spot an internet friend from a Vampire Slayers loop asked her to meet him. Enter Det. Nate Thomas, LAPD, who at first writes Gwenna off as an airhead, but soon realizes she's just a little bit naive, but a kind, considerate, and compassionate woman underneath that fragile appearance. Driven together by their shared painful experiences, they come together for a fling that turns into much, much more.

By far, this is the best book in the entire series! I loved the character of Gwenna, and I thought it was very interesting how the author showed the progession of Gwenna's coming into her own. For 900 years, Gwenna had let herself be controlled, first by her brother, then by her ex-husband, and it was great to see her breaking free of that, thanks to Nate.

The character of Nate is great also - strong, sexy, straight-forward, but still a little vulnerable and very willing to let Gwenna live her own life. The love scenes are hot, the suspense plot is riveting, and I had no idea until I had about sixty pages left who the killer was. But there has to be another one! So much was left unsaid at the end ie Ringo & Kelsey and the motive of the villain. I can't wait to see what happens, and I really hope Kelsey kicks Ringo to the curb and the villain gets just what is coming the him/her.

Needless to say I stayed up waaaaaay too late last night to finish this, but it was well worth the eye baggage.

Sucker Bet, by Erin McCarthy is the newest release in her Vegas Vampires series. Glenna is the sister of the Vampire Nation's president, and ex-wife to the Vice President. She has appeared as a secondary character in the earlier novels, and I came into the story thinking of her as a gentle, protected woman who at the same time seemed older than the other vampires. This mix of naïvité and maturity fascinated me, and I'm so glad to see her as the heroine of her own novel.

Gwenna is trying to learn more about the people on a Vampire Slayers email list, and as a result ends up at a crime scene where police detective Nick is working. They both feel a connection, but deaths and exes keep them apart at first. As their lives move closer and closer to each other, Erin gives us glimpses into both of their heads, smoothly switching perspectives. Nick's personality pops from the page, and his first impressions of Gwenna are very funny. In fact, I am happy to pick up one of Erin's books, because I know that in addition to the romance there will be plenty of laughs!

The other characters from the Vegas Vampires series are also involved in the storyline, and well-written supportive characters helps the novel keep you engrossed. The Impalers that also appear in Any Way You Want It show up for a few concerts, and through a friend of Gwenna's we meet the bassist, Dave. Gwenna's mix of boldness and shyness make for a really interesting combination when she gets drunk at an Impalers concert with her sister-in-law and a friend - especially since she's supposed to be gathering information for an investigation with Nick!

Erin McCarthy brings us through a developing romance, a jealous ex-husband, a murder investigation, and the world of vampires, and does it with fabulous characters who catch your interest from the beginning. This book kept me up well past my bedtime - I couldn't put it down! While I think that the Sucker Bet is a great read on its own, it will be an even better if you read the first three books of the Vegas Vampires series.

If you like romances or vampires, or if you just want a few hours to escape the mundane world into a fun read with great characters, pick up Sucker Bet!

I really liked this book, more than I suspected I would. Gwenna was never a terribly intriguing character to me before, but now I love her. She came into her own, powerful in her own way. Donatelli, well if you hated him before... he'll just send you over the deep end in this book. Nate is an amazing character, and I think he made this book for me.

In regards to the missing pages, I too had this problem. But that's simply all it is, a problem. This is a production issue that happens all the time with books. There's no need to be so harsh. After all, the same thing happened with numerous copies of Deathly Hallows -- which I must say is far more earth shattering than missing pages from Sucker Bet.

I encountered the missing pages the night before last, and freaked, not due to the mistake, but because it inconvenienced me at a rather good part! I found am email address where I could contact Erin, and sent an email informing her that copies of her book did have this mistake. That's all it is, a production mistake, by no means is it ground to poorly rate an author's work.

I returned to my local bookstore, actually the one across town since the other was out of copies, and explained, and was allowed to find a new copy sans repeated pages and exchange the defective one for a new copy, no fuss involved. As I said, I contacted Erin, and received a timely response from her, and she forwarded my email to her publisher. I was offered a new copy, but of course it wasn't necessary as I had already obtained one.

Just take a little time, cool down and be level headed when a wrench is thrown into the works of your readings. This happens sometimes.

I took me just a day to receive a gracious response from the author herself and a remedy to the issue.

Regardless of the page issue, Sucker Bet is a fine continuation of the Vegas Vampire Series, and I look forward to what comes next.

I really enjoyed this book from beginning to end. Very well written, which is harder to find these days. The heroine and hero are both well drawn, loveable and very strong. The vampireness added to the story, but did not overpower the love story. The secrets kept you hooked and uncovered slowly, as suspense should.

There were a few parts of the plot that could have been better. One was how she reacted so calmly to Donatelli after a critical event near the end of the story. It took away from her character. The other was how she was always leaving the hero on his own when he seemed to need her the most, the reason was always 'I thought you needed the rest'...whatever... And the end seemed really rushed.

I really enjoyed reading about Gwenna Carrick and how she was coming into her own and standing up to the men in her life. But by the end of the book it was the same old story like the past 3 Vegas Vampire books. I have enjoyed reading the Vegas Vampire series but there getting a little repetitive. Over all it's still a fun and quick read.

Nine hundred years old vampire Gwenna Carrick has spent the last three centuries hiding from her nasty former spouse Roberto Donatelli. However after three hundred years of ennui, Gwenna cannot take it any longer especially residing in her brother's Vegas hotel and casino. She decides that the Internet is not enough even if she enjoys being part of an on line vampire slayer group. So she finally comes out of her sheltered life to have some fun in the night life of Vegas.

On her first night out on the town, Gwenna meets a corpse drained of his blood; she thinks that is not a very charming way to return to the living. Not long afterward she finds other members of her on line slayer group dead; drained of their blood too. Police detective Nate Thomas leads the investigation, but he rejects the idea of a vampire; instead he assumes a sick human is murdering people and somehow removing their blood. He also knows that Gwenna is the link as she is part of the slayer group and everywhere she goes a body is sure to follow. Gwenna wonders if Roberto is behind the killings even as Roberto vows to keep the beautiful woman safe as he assumes she is the ultimate victim of a deranged serial killer.

The fourth Tale of Vegas Vampires (see HIGH STAKES, BIT THE JACKPOT and BLED DRY) is an amusing entertaining paranormal romantic police procedural. The story line is fast-paced as Gwenna comes out of hiding in spite of having to avoid a bunch of corpses. Nate is a hero who will do anything to keep his beloved safe. Their erotic scenes are worth the price of admission even with a clever whodunit; this is a sure bet for sub-genre fans.

Harriet Klausner

It was worth the wait though i did not like the ending but i would suggest reading all 4 books, this book was funny and cute i really hope the series continues

I admit that Erin McCarthy's Vegas Vampires are a guilty indulgence of mine, along with the Southern Vampire Series (Sookie Stackhouse) from Charlene Harris and the Undead Series from Mary Janice Davidson. It is a fun read that a girl can enjoy while laying around the house or pool on the weekend. I always look forward and admittedly mark my calendar for the new release dates on these series. Read one and you will be smitten (or should I say bitten)!