Customer Reviews

Unlucky

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

 

 

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

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

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.

Mallory "Mal" Devereaux is well liked in Royal Flush, Louisiana. She is very pretty and friendly, but that does not mean she gets many dates. Everyone may like Mallory, but everyone also knows that she is a walking disaster. Just a touch from Mallory will give a person bad luck. Nothing will go right for the person. Those who touch Mal for longer than an instant, such as a hug on one of the few dates she has ever had, end up in the hospital. After growing up unlucky, Mallory has learned to deal with it. She has a masters degree in civil engineering. But insurance companies refuse to underwrite any site Mallory is an employee of. So Mal works in destruction. She is the foreman at Royal Demolition. The owner, Harry, is not only her boss, but a close friend.

When Mal learns that Harry owes the IRS a lot of money, she knew that she was in trouble. Walter Royal has been buying up property and businesses in the area and then giving his relatives the better positions. Unless Mal came up with the money to buy the IRS our of Harry's tax dept, she jobless. Then her uncle, Reginald St.Claire, hires Mal to "cool" cards on his casino boat. Reginald is having a special poker tournament. He has assembled a group of heavy hitters - mafia, drug dealers, politicians, crooked law enforcement. So Mal is taking advantage of her chronic bad luck to get the needed money quickly.

FBI agent Jake McMillan/Randoll has been after Silas Hebert for money laundering and counterfeiting for quite some time now. Jake gets the position of the dealer at Hebert's table, right next to the most enchanting lady he has ever met. Jake does not believe in bad luck, much less Mal's bad mojo. But it does not take long for Jake to become a believer! Problem is that dating Mal is risky to his continued good health.

***** A sassy and hilarious walk down the swampy bayou side. This story gives readers plenty of romance and high drama. Touching Mal is very bad lucky with horrible consequences, so I could not help but wonder how the author, Jana DeLeon, could possibly pull off a romance between this main couple. I am happy to say that DeLeon did a FAN-DANG-TASTIC job of accomplishing it! ENCORE! *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

Got the book in good time. it was in good shape. enjoyed the story. Great service. Like the fact I can find a book I want to read without looking everywhere.

Love Jana's books, wasn't so in to this one. Maybe too much "language" that was offensive to my delicate eyes :-)

This book was an enjoyable read.

Mallory, a demolition expert needs money to buy out a delinquent IRS lien in order to save her Uncle's company and her job.

She takes a job as a 'cooler' in a gambling tournament held in her questionable Uncle's Casino in Louisiana. She knows something is wrong in the entire set up. Something is also wrong with the 'Yankee' Dealer. He is a bit too attractive.

This book turned out to be a fast-paced, funny, romantic romp into the worlds of ATF, FBI, and gambling.

Very likable characters. You find yourself routing for them.

Before I complain about this book, let me say that I did enjoy it, and it's a good beach-type light read. Now, for my complaints. The story line and premise of this book is very similar to Toni Causey's Charmed and Dangerous. They both have a chronically unlucky Cajun woman who gets mixed up in a criminal scheme and goverment set up, only to fall in love with the undercover FBI agent determined to keep her safe. Inprobable but hilarious situations ensue. They are so similar that they even both include an element of voodo in their plots! That said, Causey does this storyline MUCH better! So, if you read the back cover of this book and liked it, I strongly suggest putting it down and picking up Charmed and Dangerous. I promise you will enjoy it more, and you can always read Unlucky later.

This book is an easy read and quite enjoyable. The plot and characters are quirky, the pace is fast, and the humor is laugh-out-loud. I especially like the little bit of woo woo thrown in.

I will definitely read more of this author.

I am lucky to have purchased this book. It is great. Humor, romance and suspense.