Review: JACKPOT!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 7, 2012
Hope McNaughton hasn't seen her father in years but he can still create havoc in her life. He has lost the family ranch in a poker game.Hope thinks that just can't be true but she finds out her father got the house in the divorce and they have been renting from him all these years. Hope learns he lost it to New Jersey Mafia boss Big Julie Saladino. He happens to be in Vegas hosting some private poker games so while she hasn't played cards in quite a while she thinks with the right help she can win the ranch back.Hope calls on her honorary uncles--who are totally legit, honestly--to sharpen her game. Poker champion Tanner Wingate doesn't know what's at stake but tries to convince Hope gambling when you can't afford to lose is the wrong thing to do. Hope doesn't want to get mixed up with a card shark like Tanner, who's too much like her father--an irresponsible gambler who cheats and takes too many risks. But she'll do what she has to do to get the ranch back.This was a fast and fun read that I didn't want to end.Hope is a complex character dealing with abandonment issues because her father left their family and never looked back. She has a hard time dating and trusting men which was written beautifully. The romance is true to real life making her character so easy to identify with.The Russians are hilarious and the shopping trips Hope took with Baby are hysterical. Her honorary uncles are loving and so funny. They are really there for Hope and her mom and her sister. Her niece Amber even lines up a couple honorary uncles for herself.This story has it all romance, suspense, and humor. Gambling, mobsters, dysfunctional family, organic farming, Vegas, I loved it!!! I am so glad that what happened in Vegas this time didn't stay in Vegas. I am "all in" on this one. JACKPOT!!