ARC Review: Werewolf in Las Vegas by Vicki Lewis Thompson

Luke Dalton and Benedict Cartwright are playing poker for the highest stakes: for Luke, his family’s casino and for Benedict, his family’s bar. Their fathers started as friends and turned into bitter enemies. These properties sit next to each other. Luke wins and changes the makeup of Las Vegas. As a human, he just bested a member of a powerful werewolf pack and doesn’t realize it. But Luke’s haul is bittersweet. His sister, Cynthia, has run off with Bryce Landry because Luke doesn't want her to be a showgirl. Giselle Landry arrives from San Francisco, looking for her wayward brother. He’s supposed to get married and assume more duties for his werewolf pack. The Cartwrights’ Illusions hotel offers many amenities, including a simulated forest and only caters to werewolves. It has a tunnel to the bar, but the entrance has been blocked by Luke. Gisele and Luke decide to team up to find their missing siblings. Also as a courtesy to the Cartwrights, she’ll try to get Luke to sell the bar back to them. The couple hit the road and follow clues left by Cynthia’s taunting texts to her brother. Strangers approach him and lecture him about letting her dance. Luke’s doused by water a few times, compliments of Bryce’s practical jokes. On their journey, Luke and Giselle indulge in their physical attraction. Giselle keeps her true nature a secret. Even Luke’s butler, Mr. Thatcher, is a werewolf. Upon finding the wayward couple, Luke and Giselle must part and head back to their lonely lives. Will love help them accept the other’s careers, family obligations, and shape shifting?

Luke is oblivious to all the werewolves around him. No one has ever slipped up and he’s never noticed any strange behaviors during a full moon. I would like him to question and be shocked by the revelations, When Giselle does tell the truth, he’s not alarmed. In other books, there’s a wildness to shapeshifters. They have trouble controlling themselves. Not true of the Cartwrights, Mr. Thatcher, and Giselle. The wild beast is more docile than the human. Luke doesn't show many alphas traits and gives in to every request. He and Giselle make a playful couple, but not a lasting one. She would overwhelm him.

Giselle is an alpha and spins Luke around her little finger. She has a clear set of objectives and follows through to the end. She respects her heritage and doesn't plan on falling in love, but it happens. She finds others who have fallen for humans and made it work. She decides to try. She’s the redeeming character in the book.

Cynthia and Bryce’s antics get tedious very quickly. They both come off as pampered spoiled brats. Their older siblings should cut them loose to see if they could live on their own.

**ARC provided by Publisher**

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ARC Review: One Night With a Billionaire by Vicki Lewis Thompson

One Night With A Billionaire is the first book I have read by Vicki Lewis Thompson. I really enjoyed reading this novella. It was short and sweet and everything I hope for when reading a contemporary romance. Melanie has dreamed of going to Paris and when her friends both bail on the trip, she decides to go anyways. Right after arriving she is mugged and loses her backpack containing her money, credit card and phone. A handsome stranger named Drew, attempts to get it back but is unable to catch the muggers. Seeing that she is obviously a tourist, he immediately offers to help her. By some crazy coincidence, Drew is also from Texas like Melanie and they immediately hit it off. Drew sees the hotel that she is supposed to stay in and offers to let her stay at his home. Even though Melanie is suspicious at first, she quickly sees that Drew means no harm and decides to stay with him and let him show her Paris. What starts out as a friendly companionship around the city, quickly becomes an attraction that neither one can or wants to fight.

Drew is from an extremely well to do family from Dallas and has had every priviledge growing up. Now that he is an adult he has expanded upon the wealth he was born to. He knows instantly that Melanie is different from the women in his social circle, and that is part of what first appealed to him. I loved that he liked Melanie because she was her own person and refused to rely on others to help her when she could clearly take care of herself. It was nice to see that even though she wasn't rich and didn't have fancy clothes that he could see who she was beneath the surface. Melanie was strong and independent refusing to let a mugging ruin her trip. She was a really likeable character and I loved that she showed her wonder and awe of visiting Paris for the first time. It was so sweet how Drew would encourage her to experience everything like that because he got just as much enjoyment out of seeing it through her eyes as she did. Drew and Melanie were so sweet together and the growth of their relationship was very romantic.

For me this book was like a dessert at the end of a meal. It was quick, light and fluffy and the perfectly sweet end to a day. I read this in one sitting as it was a short novella. Even though the story was a quick one, I really felt the connection between Drew and Melanie and found their story to be completely believable. I would give this book a try if you love short and sweet romances. I know I will be looking for more books to read from Vicki Lewis Thompson in the future, and I can't wait to check out the rest of the Perfect Man series featuring Melanie's two best friends!

**ARC provided by Publisher**

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ARC Review: Tempted by a Cowboy by Vicki Lewis Thompson

This novella by Vicki Lewis Thompson is the second installment in her Perfect Man series. Though I generally lean towards paranormal romance and urban fantasy I couldn’t help but pick up this title. After all, what country girl doesn’t have a thing for cowboys....right? After finishing this story I was very pleased I’d given into the temptation (see what I did there? Haha!).

The story begins innocently enough. Fletch watching over his favorite broodmare’s worrisome labor with Astrid, his vet and the woman who’d caught and held his eye for sometime now. He’s aware of Astrid’s ‘no client dating’ policy, but is willing to put in the time to make her change her mind. Little did he know after a first kiss, a near death experience, and a harrowing rescue in the space of one evening, he’d get his chance sooner than he’d ever thought possible.

Astrid has long been attracted to Fletch. Her favorite client and the most caring man she’d ever met. Be it for the men who called him boss, or the animals in his care. Astrid’s need to keep her business strictly business to avoid damaging the reputation of her clinic was not the only reason she worked to dampen her feelings for this man. The knowledge that they were from two very different worlds was always a nagging thought in the back of her mind. But upon seeing how easily life could be taken from her, priorities begin to shift and all those obstacles seem to dim in light of a chance at the life she’s always wanted for herself.

This was a quick and very enjoyable read. Fletch will warm your heart from the first page. Astrid’s strength and independence is commendable, and her love for her work and the animals in her care endearing. Their romance is steamy and though moves a little quick you definitely get the feeling that this has been brewing since far before page one. If you are looking for a little something to pass some time and leave you with that ‘feel good’ feeling of a happily ever after I can easily recommend you pick this up.


**ARC provided by Publisher**

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