"Luck of the Draw" was a charming, Cinderella-inspired romance between single mom Deeandra "Dee" Bowers and younger bartender Dylan DiVirgilio. After Dee was challenged to "break the rules" by her Bad Luck Club sponsor, her best friend Samantha surprised her with a makeover and then convinced her to crash a wedding to fulfill the challenge. Bartender Dylan, who was working at the event, nearly caught them and threw them out, but instead ended up spending the night with Dee. In spite of their instant connection, Dee sneaked out of his apartment the following day because she believed that their age difference would stand in the way of a serious relationship. However, Dylan knew that there could be something special between them, so he tracked her down through mutual friends. Could he convince her to take a chance on them?
Dylan and Dee were both likeable characters, and I found it easy to empathize with their struggles, both past and present. That said, while I liked them as a couple, there were times I found myself growing frustrated with the seemingly never-ending series of misunderstandings between them. Rather than having an honest conversation, they just kept jumping to conclusions that did nothing but keep them apart. Fortunately, with the help of their friends, they managed to get past these challenges and ended up in a good place.
Aside from that (relatively minor) frustration, I enjoyed "Luck of the Draw" and recommend it for fans of contemporary romance and romantic comedy. I look forward to finding out what Swank and Casella have in store for us next.
*Review copy provided by the authors via Social Butterfly PR. All opinions expressed are my own.
About "Luck of the Draw"
Luck of the Draw, an all new sassy and fun novella from New York Times bestselling author Denise Grover Swank and A.R. Casella is available now!
Life’s not a fairytale for women like me, divorced and creeping up on middle age…until a hot younger man finds my lost shoes.
Life’s not a fairytale for women like me, divorced and creeping up on middle age…until a hot younger man finds my lost shoes.
Crashing weddings is so not my thing. I’d much rather stay home and watch HGTV . . . and ignore the fact that my life is messier than those fixer-upper houses. Because my jerk ex left, and the only thing keeping a roof over my sons’ heads is my crappy telemarketing job.
But then I get a challenge from the Bad Luck Club, the group I joined to turn my luck around: Do something that breaks the rules. One ill-advised confession to my best friend later, I’m strapping on a pair of heels and crashing the wedding of two of the owners of Buchanan Brewery.
The last thing I expect is to meet someone, let alone the sexy younger bartender who calls me out and finds my lost shoes, something straight out of Cinderella. And the very last thing I expect is to fall for him.
It feels like I’m in a dream come true, a fairy tale, but the crap part about dreams is that they have to end.
Or do they?
Read an Excerpt from "Luck of the Draw"
Good grief, the way Dylan had slid off my flats and put my heels back on…it had lit an actual fire inside of me. Randy had never done anything even close to as romantic as that. His idea of romance was watching Discovery Channel’s Alaskan Bush People in bed, rolling over to cop a feel of my breasts, then getting pissed when I didn’t jump from zero to sixty.
When was the last time a man had looked at me like this?
A very, very long time. If ever.
I lifted my chin slightly, the beaten-down part of me embarrassed that Dylan was staring at me so intently, but the rest of me wanted to be the person he seemed to see—a sexy, intriguing woman.
I scraped my bottom lip with my teeth, and his gaze followed the movement, his hand tightening over mine.
Another pulse of heat filled my core, and I barely restrained the gasp rising in my throat.
“What kind of challenge?” I asked, shocked at my coyness.
He grinned, taking a step backward toward the dance floor and holding my hand up like he was a duke at a Victorian ball.
The dance floor? He wanted to dance with me? Was he crazy? But something about him told me that this was just as uncharacteristic for him as it was for me.
Or maybe it wasn’t. Maybe this was just a game for him. Maybe he bartended weddings every weekend and met all kinds of women. Maybe he picked one every night and looked at her the same way he was looking at me now. He was certainly hot and charming enough to pull it off.
The flood of disappointment and jealousy made me stumble.
He stopped, concern filling his eyes, and leaned in close, his lips next to my ear. “I will never ask you for what you aren’t willing to give, Cinderella.” Then he added, “Like your Netflix password.”
I couldn’t stop my giggle. I was sure the strong drink I’d just downed wasn’t helping.
Despite his joke, he was solemn when he said, “If you’d rather not do this, just say the word.”
His breath was hot on my neck, and a wave of desire rolled through me. All I could think was that I wanted to be in Dylan’s arms. I wanted to touch his chest and feel his body against mine. I wanted this as much as he did.
“No,” I said as I pulled back to look into his amber eyes. “I want to dance with you.”
It occurred to me that I’d have no good explanation if Blue or Lee saw me. Especially if I was dancing with the bartender. But when Dylan looked at me like that, his mouth just inches from mine, he filled my every thought. I wanted to dance with him, and to my surprise, the potential of getting caught added a little thrill. A slow smile tugged at his lips—very kissable lips—and I resisted the urge to close the distance and see what he tasted like. Because we were playing a game of seduction, and I very, very much wanted to be seduced.
When was the last time a man had looked at me like this?
A very, very long time. If ever.
I lifted my chin slightly, the beaten-down part of me embarrassed that Dylan was staring at me so intently, but the rest of me wanted to be the person he seemed to see—a sexy, intriguing woman.
I scraped my bottom lip with my teeth, and his gaze followed the movement, his hand tightening over mine.
Another pulse of heat filled my core, and I barely restrained the gasp rising in my throat.
“What kind of challenge?” I asked, shocked at my coyness.
He grinned, taking a step backward toward the dance floor and holding my hand up like he was a duke at a Victorian ball.
The dance floor? He wanted to dance with me? Was he crazy? But something about him told me that this was just as uncharacteristic for him as it was for me.
Or maybe it wasn’t. Maybe this was just a game for him. Maybe he bartended weddings every weekend and met all kinds of women. Maybe he picked one every night and looked at her the same way he was looking at me now. He was certainly hot and charming enough to pull it off.
The flood of disappointment and jealousy made me stumble.
He stopped, concern filling his eyes, and leaned in close, his lips next to my ear. “I will never ask you for what you aren’t willing to give, Cinderella.” Then he added, “Like your Netflix password.”
I couldn’t stop my giggle. I was sure the strong drink I’d just downed wasn’t helping.
Despite his joke, he was solemn when he said, “If you’d rather not do this, just say the word.”
His breath was hot on my neck, and a wave of desire rolled through me. All I could think was that I wanted to be in Dylan’s arms. I wanted to touch his chest and feel his body against mine. I wanted this as much as he did.
“No,” I said as I pulled back to look into his amber eyes. “I want to dance with you.”
It occurred to me that I’d have no good explanation if Blue or Lee saw me. Especially if I was dancing with the bartender. But when Dylan looked at me like that, his mouth just inches from mine, he filled my every thought. I wanted to dance with him, and to my surprise, the potential of getting caught added a little thrill. A slow smile tugged at his lips—very kissable lips—and I resisted the urge to close the distance and see what he tasted like. Because we were playing a game of seduction, and I very, very much wanted to be seduced.
***
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments make my day! While I do not expect everyone to agree with my point of view, please note that I reserve the right to delete any nasty or uncharitable messages, as well as spam. Open discussion is welcome and appreciated, but personal attacks are not. Thanks for understanding and have a nice day. :-)