Julie's Review: Luck, Love and Lemon Pie

Author: Amy Reichert
Series: None
Publication Date: July 12, 2016
Publisher: Gallery Books
Pages: 320
Obtained: NetGalley via publisher
Genre:  Contemporary Fiction, Women's Fiction
Rating: 3.75/5
Bottom Line: Good story about figuring out what's important in life
Grab, Just get it at the library, or Remove from your TBR list? Library

Summary: When Milwaukee-area wife and mother MJ Boudreaux notices her husband Chris seems more interested in the casino than her, she’s more bothered that she isn’t upset than by her husband’s absence. She picks up poker as a way for them to spend more time together—and reignite their marital flame. Although the game doesn’t give her the quality time with Chris that she’d hoped, MJ finds she has a knack for it. Increasingly unhappy at home, she turns to the felt top of the poker table for comfort. Intoxicated with newfound freedom, MJ begins spending more time at the gambling tables and less with her family, finally carving out for herself a place outside her role of wife and mother. After a string of great wins, MJ finds herself in Vegas, attracting the attention of a certain magnetic poker star. But when she’s forced to choose between her family and her new exciting lifestyle, the stakes may be higher than she thought and MJ will have to play her hand carefully…or risk losing it all. ~amazon.com  

Review: Luck Love & Lemon Pie is a story about finding your way back to who you were and what your marriage used to be. MJ and Chris have been married for 20 years, have 2 kids and have hit a valley in their marriage. Chris is more interested in going and playing poker at the casino then spending time with her. So after he blows off their anniversary lunch, MJ decides the way that she can save her marriage is to learn to play poker with him. As you can guess this doesn't help their marriage as it drives a wedge deeper into it. MJ starts to realize that she's pretty good at playing poker and uses her days to hone her skills. Pretty soon she's entering herself into the casino's tournament and winning it.

Meanwhile, things are falling apart at home not only in her marriage but something is going on with her eldest daughter Kate. Her house is a mess, her husband is growing more distant instead of cheering her on or spending time with her. Instead he has a mysterious new client that MJ doesn't really think is a client.

While I enjoyed  Luck Love & Lemon Pie, I wish there had been a bit more of a twist or something. For me it was a bit too predictable. I didn't really think that MJ and Chris were headed for splitsville even if it looked like it. Doyle is just a nice piece of eye candy for the book, an exciting subplot to make MJ see what she really wants.

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