The Gambler
Wicked West, Book 1

Eryn Blackwell

Publisher:
New Concepts Publishing

Release Date:
September 2006

Genres:
Erotica
Historical Romance
Western

ISBN:
eBook
No ISBN

Bookmark Rating:

Reviewed by
Jennifer Ray

Review Posted:
June 2008

When Regina needed a way to save herself and her sister, and becoming a mail order bride seemed the best way out of a very bad situation.  But her new husband, Egan proved to be no savior, and she still needed to rescue her sister.  But now her husband has lost her as the stake in a poker game – to a stranger who owns a brothel, no less! 

Every instinct inside Draven screams for him to make the beautiful Regina his own, and he can’t believe his good fortune when her odious husband carelessly bets her when he runs out of money.  But Draven isn’t complaining – quite the contrary.  Now that she is his, he intends to keep her…

WICKED WEST:  THE GAMBLER is the first in a series of WICKED WEST stories by author Eryn Blackwell, and in this reviewer’s opinion, she is off to a very good start!  Anyone who has a taste for sexy Western Historicals should enjoy this hot little story. 

For such a short tale, WICKED WEST:  THE GAMBLER has a pretty full story, and yet the author manages to make a complex history flow naturally into the story, allowing the reader to learn enough to follow along without once feeling as if information were being squeezed into the scenes for the sake of disseminating information.  Consequently, I was left with the illusion I’d read a full-length novel rather than a short story.  Indeed, when I revisited the book recently, I was surprised to see the PDF file was only 27 pages. 

Regina’s tragic life could easily have beaten anyone down, and yet she still keeps fighting, searching for a better life for both herself and her sister.  Draven is the kind of hero women dream about, and yet has enough bad boy in him to keep any woman on her toes. 

It is with bated breath I await the next in the WICKED WEST series!  Meanwhile, I will certainly be looking for more of Eryn Blackwell’s work after reading this one!

Note:  This review was originally written by Jennifer Ray for another review site.  It is being reposted at Wild on Books.

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