So Damn Lucky (edition 2012)

I dove right into this book after finishing Lucky Stiff, since the ending left us with sort of a shock regarding Lucky's mother. The story line in So Damn Lucky revolves around the disappearance of a magician. That in and of itself wouldn't be too strange, especially in a city like Las Vegas, but the circumstances surrounding the disappearance become more and more peculiar and suspicious. While trying to help solve the case, Lucky also has to deal with her confusing and unstable love life. Once again, I absolutely loved the characters. I love reading about her parent's relationship; they're like teenagers and are so cute together. I enjoyed getting to know the new chef, Jean-Charles more in this book. My first impression of him in Lucky Stiff was that he was a jerk; in So Damn Lucky, we learn more about his life and my opinion of him completely changed. Paxton Dane is his usually yummy self (I don't know how Lucky resists him). And then there's Teddie...

On one hand I was so happy that Teddie was finally able to live his dream and be a star. Unfortunately, distance is rough on a relationship. It was hard to judge what was going to happen between Lucky and Teddie, as well as the rest of the men in her life, but it sure had me turning the pages as fast as I could to find out!

If you're looking for a fast-paced novel with humor and romance then you should definitely make yourself acquainted with the Lucky O'Toole series, especially this newest installment. I don't know what is in store for the characters next, but I know I'm definitely along for the ride! ( )

Lucky O'Toole, head of Customer Relations at the Babylon in Vegas runs all day and night in the city that never sleeps. This time, magicians and alien seekers fill the hotel and Lucky never runs out of things to try and handle. The series is a great antidote to those who loved the original Plum books. Lucky is funny, surrounded by good looking men and has a Birkin! I look forward to each and every one! ( )

Reviewd by Marissa
Review copy provided by Forge
There are several reasons why I like Deborah Coonts’ character Lucky O’Toole. First off, she has a demanding yet rewarding job at a high profile, high-class hotel/resort in Las Vegas. She also gets to wear designer clothes without worrying about how expensive they are, and she can wear high-heels and not trip or stumble in them (and her feet don’t get sore after five minutes like mine do!). Her tall, handsome, talented boyfriend looks good in both jeans and evening gowns. Her mother is an out-spoken ex-prostitute-now-madam. Her father is also her boss. Her assistant can anticipate her needs, even before Lucky knows what those are. Lastly (and probably the best of all), she gets to drive high-performance sports cars without paying for them. Yes, Lucky seems to have it all. Only in this book, she starts losing some of it.

It’s a fun ride whenever Lucky gets in the Ferrari and this time is no different - and another great adventure as I attempted to solve the mystery right along with her. This third installment in the series has Lucky dealing with magicians, UFOs, an ex-lover, a new lover, an old woman who wants to marry her dog, and an over-sexed couple from Muskogee, not to mention the usual chaotic family and friends. I’m hoping that some of these new characters make future appearances in Lucky books down the line.

It seems to me that the third book in a character series is typically where an author “jumps the shark” and tries to make the character more interesting by having them do outlandish and ridiculous things. Conversely, the character starts to die a slow and painful death, becoming less and less interesting with each book. Lucky, however, does not disappoint. She is strong-willed, just out-spoken enough to be interesting, and keeps her attraction to several men going strong. I mean, just because we decide to become monogamous with someone doesn’t mean we lose appeal for any other man on the planet; yet most books would have us believe that’s how it should be.

Coonts pshaws that theory. Lucky has a lover, Teddie, yet she has been fascinated and attracted to two other men at the same time – Dane Paxton, six-foot-four of rugged Texas stock, and Jean-Charles Bouclet, a yummy French chef she is currently working with on a new restaurant. *sigh* Yes, Lucky really does have it all.

Favorite Quote: “Are all men compulsively self-absorbed?“…”Is there an antidote to gross stupidity, or is it an incurable part of the Curse of the Y Chromosome?” ( )

Deborah Coonts's book is hysterically funny, strange, light-hearted and a mystery in so many ways! Deborah is a nut-case, she's so funny! I had a great adventure reading "Lucky." Here's the thing about Coonts; she's a wonderful mix of a good writer, a satirist and a student of people. She's also a comedian.

"So Damn Lucky" is the best trip you'll ever take to Las Vegas! If you've never been there, you only have to pick up this book to experience it. I laughed myself off the chair in the first chapter visualizing the exact characters she portrays that I'd seen there myself! This is a side-buster of a book, and a great mystery, too. Viva Las Vegas, absolutely captured and delivered in the hands of "Lucky" and Deborah Coonts...Elvis is definitely still alive there, so are aliens and missing persons!

If you're looking for a book to make you laugh and read like a bandit, and that will keep you wide-eyed with the joy of finding out about crazies and cons, this is the one for you. I found it a refreshing oasis from the books I've been reading lately. It's not always good to have a steady stream of the serious and fantasy world...once in a while it's so nice to have a sorbet between courses. "So Damn Lucky" is the raspberry sorbet of a book that will have your literary palate tingling!!

4 stars

Deborah/TheBookishDame ( )

***Though the publisher provides the free ebook, I offer the opinion.***

My Look:

Lucky O'Toole was not the only one to receive the death threats. The magician, Dimitri Fortunoff, received a few scary ones, while tonight's had been the worse thus far.

Right now, Lucky is kind of running the show at The Babylon, a mega-resort, and she's made and executive decision to close down the recently acquired Athena. However. in closing down the casino, she was putting the entertainment and staff out of a job; her death threats could be warranted. However, in Dimitri Fortunoff's case, these threats all begin from a rumor.

Dimitri is said to be the Masked Houdini; he's the guy who tells then shows the tricks of the trade to the world, proving magicians to be just the same as you and me. That masked man is hated even by Star Trek aliens, apparently.

With the illusion of magic gone, the fans, crowds, and monies also disappear, and the rest of the casino suffers without the income.

Consequently, Dimitri protests the claim, but Lucky doesn't actually buy that. It's not a case of thou doth protest too much as much as it is a case of not protesting loud enough. Nevertheless, what the man does is his business. Lucky can't get her own life right, who is she to say what another should do?

Tonight is the last night of shows at the casino, and Dimitri steps on stage with bravado, in front of an audience that includes the members of the Magic Ring—a secret authoritative society in the magic arts community. But Lucky knows there is a whole cast of other entertainers who could believe he's the Masked Houdini, the one to blame the lackluster casino's closing on.

Lucky's stomach knots when Dimitri announces he is going to perform a special escape, just for tonight's performance.

The Great Dimitri Fortunoff is going to escape from Harry Houdini's Chinese Water Torture Cell. With his legs padlocked in stocks and his wrists handcuffed, he is lowered inside the water-filled box head first, but it doesn't take as long as it felt for someone to scream Dimitri is dead!

The ambulance arrives much too late and take the dead illusionist to the nearest hospital, but that doesn't end Lucky's problems.

Dimitri Fortunoff never arrives. Who took his body, and why?

My Take:

Deborah Coonts give us readers quite a mysterious and funny performance in SO DAMN LUCKY, with a special backstage pass inside Lucky O'Toole's unusual life.

Her lineage is a hoot, while Lucky's souring romance, need for love, and mystery to solve make her a loveable and endearing character. Filled with a cast of characters that you'd love to have more time with, Deborah Coonts gives us a promising romance, laughs, and a true mystery to solve.

While SO DAMN LUCKY is a standalone title, you'll want to read the other novels in the series, WANNA GET LUCKY (May 2010) and LUCKY STIFF (February 2011). ( )