Unlucky [Mass Market Paperback]

Jana DeLeon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 2007

FORTUNE'S FOLLY
Everyone in Royal Flush, Louisiana, knows Mallory Devereaux is a walking disaster. At least now she's found a way to take advantage of her chronic bad luck: by "cooling" cards on her uncle's casino boat. As long as the crooks invited to his special poker tournament don't win their money back, she'll get a cut of the profit.

But Mal isn't the only one working some major mojo. There's a dark-eyed dealer sending her looks steamier than the bayou in August. Turns out he's an undercover agent named Jake Randoll, and for a Yank, he's pretty darn smart. Smart enough to enlist her help to catch a money launderer. As they race to untangle a web of decades-old lies and secrets amid a gathering of criminals, Mallory can't help hoping her luck's about to change....

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 308 pages
• Publisher: Love Spell (November 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0505527294
• ISBN-13: 978-0505527295
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #839,383 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jana DeLeon was raised in southwest Louisiana among the bayous and gators. Her hometown is Carlyss, but you probably won't find it on a map. Her family owned a camp located on a bayou just off the Gulf of Mexico that you could only get there by boat. The most important feature was the rope hammock hanging in the shade on a huge deck that stretched out over the water where Jana spent many hours reading books.

Jana and her brother spent thousands of hours combing the bayous in a flat-bottom aluminum boat, studying the natural habitat of many birds, nutria and alligators. She would like you to know that no animals were injured during these "studies," but they kept makers of peroxide in business.

Jana has never stumbled across a mystery or a ghost like her heroines, but she's still hopeful.

She now resides in Dallas, Texas, with the most spoiled Sheltie in the world.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars royal flush romance, October 30, 2007

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Unlucky (Mass Market Paperback)

Her gambler Uncle Reginald St. Claire needs his niece Mallory Devereaux to hang around for lady luck; that is good for him and bad for others, as he hosts a poker tournament and she is his ace card cooler. Mallory is jinxed as a walking disaster who somehow causes calamities. Uncle has the uncanny ability to insure people lose at cards so she is a fixture at her uncle's casino boat docked in Royal Flush, Louisiana. Currently, Mal is insuring poker playing thugs lose their money; he promises her a cut of whatever they make from dealing an ice cold deck.

Undercover agent Jake Randoll obtains a job as the lead torunament dealer. His assignment is to bluff money laundering player Silas Hebert into revealing information on the sleuth's missing partner Mark. However, he cannot concentrate on the cards or his mission whenever Mal is nearby; she cannot think about jinxing the players with poor hands when Jake deals. As they fall in love, he believes lady luck is definitely on his side.

With a terrific eccentric support cast especially those involved in the deep look at casino boat poker and a strong lead couple, fans will feel lucky to read Jana DeLeon's royal flush romance. The story line deals readers a straight hand except for a bluff of the whimsical paranormal and a full house of intrigue. Readers will enjoy this humorous romantic caper starring a pair of winners.

Harriet Klausner

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unlucky-A Joyfully Recommended Title, October 29, 2007

By 

M. Nix - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Unlucky (Mass Market Paperback)

Mallory Devereaux is the town of Royal Flush's bad luck charm. It's
not so bad when she's trying to help her friends win at pool by
jinxing their opponents, but when she really likes a guy and he breaks
up with her because he ends up in the hospital, it's not a good thing.

Mallory has to make a lot of money fast to help her surrogate father
Harry Breaux out of trouble so she agrees to cool cards at her uncle's
poker tournament to get a share of the winnings. Jake Randoll is a
dealer at the tournament. He's keeping a close eye on one of the
players, Silas Hebert. He's got them on Mallory too though.

When Jake explains what he's up to and asks for Mallory's help, she
reluctantly agrees. They have a common goal-getting Silas out of the
game. Mallory goes from sexy card cooler to Sherlock Holmes in the
blink of an eye.

The stakes are heating up in the game and for Jake and Mallory too,
but the danger is growing as well.

A priest who gets drunk and spout people's confessions, a postal
worker who reads everyone's mail, beautiful, havoc- reeking Mallory
and sexy FBI guy Jake are just a few of the colorful and outrageous
characters in Unlucky. I loved this story; it's a blast. It's sexy,
and it has a few exciting twists at the end too!

Nannette
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Uninspiring, January 10, 2008

By 

Butterscotch (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Unlucky (Mass Market Paperback)

The one thing I can say about this book is that it's different; the characters and plot are unlike most romances you'll read. Mallory Devereaux is a very unlucky lady, and everyone in her small Louisiana town knows it. She seems to bring destruction to everything around her, especially people. Her touch is dangerous and, knowing this, her uncle enlists her to help him during a poker tournament. By spreading some bad luck around, Mallory will assure his own success, or so he thinks. The action in this story revolves mainly around the poker tournament that Mallory's uncle Reginald is hosting; during the tournament Mallory meets Jake, a card dealer with some secrets. Of course there is romance, but not too much - I would say the book is more action-oriented than romantic. In fact, the two characters main characters didn't seem particualrly well-matched, and they spent more time chasing criminals than developing a relationship. The book has some things going for it: easy to read, likeable characters, and some humor. But it's also got some downsides, such as poorly written characters, an unbelievable plot, and rushed ending, among others. It's not a bad book, but there are just a whole lot of other, better reading choices available.