Monday's Book Spotlight

I read Bet in the Dark last week and I have to share it with you. I can't stop thinking about it. Not only did I really like this book, but I was hoping one of the characters (Beckett) would get a book. So, I started "stalking" Rachel Higginson on the internet and I may or may not have squealed like a school girl when I found Beckett's first chapter. I need that book! Soon!

All Ellie Harris wanted was a life of her own.

In a shortsighted decision, she follows her high school boyfriend to college, only to get cheated on and then dumped. And to add insult to injury her overprotective family is suddenly clinging to her again, fighting to control every part of her life.

Bad luck follows her hasty decision and when her roommate steals her identity and leaves town, Ellie is left to clean up a gigantic mess.

Fin Hunter insists Ellie owes him seven thousand dollars from an online poker game and he is determined to get it from her. Determined to keep her family out of her life, Ellie agrees to work for Fin in his illegal online poker operation. He’s given her six weeks to pay off the debt.

Soon sparks are flying between them and the only thing keeping her from falling for him is the debt she still owes and the money she doesn’t have.

At the end either Ellie will have to pay the mistaken debt or bet in the dark that her feelings for Fin will be worth more than the money.

My Thoughts As Seen on Goodreads:
Once I started reading, I was hooked. I abandoned my friends. I ignored my dad and my dog. I barely ate supper. I MISSED A HOCKEY GAME! (Okay, I missed watching tweets about it and listening to it on the radio. I don't even know who won yet.) That right there should tell you something.

Els has *such* a clear voice in this book. She put everything out there and I heard her loud and clear. That really resonated with me, how much of a voice she has. I related to her just because of that. I didn't really connect with her until about 30ish % through. There was a paragraph that clicked with me and suddenly, she was like a friend telling me all her secrets.

And Fin. My God, what a man. I knew for a while there had to be something more to him, but I couldn't put my finger on what it might be. He is definitely a book boyfriend that everyone should love. He deserves so much more than this measly paragraph.

This is my first Rachel Higginson book and it will not be my last. There's something about her writing that allows her characters to speak volumes in every action. You know what, the best way to describe how I feel about her writing, these characters, and this book is this: I'm completely smitten and I need to read more by this author!

Edited to add: Now that I think about it, I think Beckett needs a book. That seems like a story that should be told…or at least, I want to know it.