Review and Giveaway: Werewolf in Las Vegas

Werewolf in Las Vegas (Wild About You - Book 6) by Vicki Lewis Thompson

Publication Date: 03/04/2014
Publisher: Penguin Group
Imprint: Signet Eclipse
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Pages: 336
ISBN-10: 045141568X
ISBN-13: 978-0451415684

(Received for an honest review from Signet Eclipse)

Purchase: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, Indiebound

Vicki Lewis Thompson on the WEB: website, twitter, facebook, goodreads

Books in the series: Click links to see my reviews of previous books in the series (If there are no links, I haven't reviewed any of the other titles.) Numbered titles are books in the series, non-numbered titles may be novellas or short stories in anthologies.

Wild About You

1. A Werewolf in Manhattan 
2. Werewolf in the North Woods 

3. Werewolf in Seattle 
4. Werewolf in Denver 
5. Werewolf in Alaska 
6. Werewolf in Las Vegas 
Werewolf in Greenwich Village 

Coverart: Click the Image for a larger, clearer view of the covers in this series.

Excerpt from, Werewolf in Las Vegas, courtesy of the author's website.

Synopsis:

Win it all, or lose it all… 

Giselle Landry is in Las Vegas to haul her wayward brother back home. But casino owner Luke Dalton is also looking for her brother, who has run off with his little sister. The two should join forces, but Luke is unaware that Giselle’s brother is also fleeing his duties as the future alpha of the Landry werewolf pack—which includes his Were bride.

The Landrys don’t believe in Weres mating with humans, and Giselle is no exception. Though Luke is wealthy, gorgeous, and protective, Giselle can’t let herself get close to him, even to solve their shared dilemma. But the tension wears away her resistance, and after a wild night with Luke, she is shocked to find she’s fallen for him.

But Luke still doesn’t know Giselle’s true identity. And once their siblings are found, Giselle must return to San Francisco. Can they overcome the odds—or will what happened in Vegas stay in Vegas?

Thoughts:

The sixth book in the Wild About You series by Vicki Lewis Thompson is a tale about falling in love with the wrong person, and making it work. Werewolf in Las Vegas has all of the wit and charm readers have come to love from this author, along with a bit of humor and a prankster. Humans and weres don't make good mates, but when Giselle and Luke can not longer deny their feelings for each other, maybe it's time to change the rules. Readers are treated to, not one but two couples that have a lot to learn about love. This humorous romp through Vegas will have readers smiling all the way through.

What I liked:

This is the first book in the Wild About You series that I have had the privilege to review, though I have read and thoroughly enjoyed the other five. Vicki Lewis Thompson has a knack for taking a plot and stripping it down to it's simplest form. Her writing is straight forward, concise and to the point. Boy meets girl. Girl falls for boy even though he isn't right for her. Boy and Girl defy the odds and make it work. That's about as simple as you can get, but for this series that's a good thing. It works. 

Werewolf in Las Vegas features another werewolf/human combination that has been so successful for Vicki Lewis Thompson thus far. Luke and Giselle are both looking for their wayward siblings. Luke's sister doesn't want to go back to school, she wants to pursue her dreams of being a Vegas show girl. Giselle's brother is shirking his duties as the future alpha of their pack and must be reigned in. Both of siblings have joined forces against Luke and Giselle and lead them on a merry chase, including riddles and pranks that will have the reader in stitches. There were good parts about their relationship and some not so good parts.

I liked the way Luke and Giselle interacted. She has always believed that humans and weres should not mate. I liked the fact that her ideas of what she thought she believed were challenged. She was able to see things from a different perspective when she started to fall for Luke and that provided an avenue for a lot of character growth in Giselle. I also enjoyed the way Luke was with her. He was adventurous and playful. The author uses a lot of humor throughout the book giving this paranormal relationship a lightness that was enjoyable to read about. There was plenty of sex for the adult reader to enjoy and plenty of everything else to keep readers flipping the pages.

I can see a future book featuring Cynthia and Bryce in the works. Perhaps this book was really more of a set up for what's to come. Vicki Lewis Thompson is one of those writers who is always thinking ahead and having the secondary characters play such a big part in this novel is probably giving readers a little foreknowledge. I liked the secondary couple, but thought some of their antics were a bit high schoolish for my tastes. I can get into a good prank now and then, but repeatedly making your family solve riddles and running them around on a wild goose chase was a little much.

What I didn't like:

I thought the chemistry was definitely there between Luke and Giselle, but all the running around trying to find Bryce and Cynthia took a little bit away from the relationship that was developing between them. So much attention was paid to the secondary couple, that the main characters had to take the hit. Though I understood the necessity for that, it was still a little disconcerting.

Through out the series so far, Thompson has taken the concept of Werewolf/human mating and given readers the ups and downs, ins and outs and provided a good overall story arc for the series. I agree there are only so many stories of this kind that will work, before readers start to loose interest. Considering that Werewolf in Las Vegas is book six of the Wild About You series, it might be time to consider adding some other source of conflict to keep the series fresh and original.

Bottom Line:

I liked this book. It was light and had a lot of humor but the overall story arc is starting to lag a little bit. Too much attention was paid to the secondary couple and caused the relationship of the main couple to loose some of it's luster. I still love the series and would recommend it to anyone. This just wasn't my favorite so far.

Werewolf in Las Vegas is available NOW from your favorite bookseller.

I'm giving this one 4 out of 5 apples from my book bag!

About the Author:

A romance-writing career has brought Vicki Lewis Thompson many wonderful things: New York Times bestseller status, the Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award from Romance Writers of America, thousands of readers, many dear friends, and the cutest little yellow convertible in the world. Although she’s written more than a hundred books, she continues to be fascinated by the many ways that a man and a woman fall in love. The age-old story remains a challenging puzzle to be solved anew with each book.

Giveaway Details:

The publisher is sponsoring a giveaway for one copy of Werewolf in Las Vegas by Vicki Lewis Thompson.

~ You must be an email subscriber to participate.
~ US addresses only.
~ The deadline to enter this giveaway is Midnight EST, March 26th.

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