REVIEW: Bet in the Dark by Rachel Higginson

Book Description:

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 REVIEW

“I love you, Ellie. You came into my life and demanded that I paid attention. I’m not letting you go, I won’t. I’ve let a lot of things go in my life, things that needed to be set free, things that if I didn’t release I would have become bitter and empty. You are not one of those things; you are one of the rare, beautiful things that I am desperate to keep. I want you forever, Ellie.”

Ellie has always grown up under the watchful eye of her three brothers and her parents. Now in college, dealing with her cheating ex-boyfriend, her terrible roommate and still fending off her brothers, Ellie is determined to continue living her independent life. That is until Finley Hunter pays Ellie a visit.

When Bet in the Dark starts off Ellie and Fin are in a heated argument over money that she owes for a gambling bet unpaid. Ellie isn’t at fault but unfortunately Fin isn’t convinced and he needs his money. So against his better judgment Fin makes a deal with her in order to get his money back.  Ellie must be his personal secretary and she must pay off her debt in 6 weeks, at all cost.
But the two don’t count on the attraction that sparks between them.

“And Ellie, if Fin is offering his heart to you, it’s just a formality because believe me when I say you already have it.”

Fin is a ladies man running an illegal gambling ring. He is everything Ellie should stay away from but can’t help being pulled too. Throughout this story she tries to fight off every emotion she is feelings towards him. But Fin is much more than what the eye sees. He’s hardworking, devoted to his family, sweet, loving and attentive. Under his tough and intimidating exterior he has a heart of gold which will make you swoon over him quickly!

Unfortunately, Ellie although sassy at times, which I like, was very much frustrating by the end. I understood her desire to want to be independent but she was rude and mean about her families protectiveness and love. She only saw the bad in them when it was really the good. And the moment she found out why Fin needed his money I would have thought she would have wanted to help him, at all cost. Even if she had to stop thinking about herself for once, and asked her parents for help. That didn’t happen and I thought at that point her argument was weak. Throughout the book I felt like she was the selfish one.

The other characters in this book were awesome; I would go as far as to say, much better than the main protag. I loved Grayson, Lennox, and Breckett, Ellie’s brothers, and their protectiveness over her. I loved the possible brewing romance between two of the characters’ and hope to see more of them in a future book! :-)

There is nothing more difficult than contemplating what rating to give a book from an author you have never rated below a 4. If you’ve read any of Rachel’s fabulous books you would know how quickly it’s easy to get sucked into the storyline, how every character captures your heart, and how amazingly the romance is built! Sadly, this book was missing some of it. But don’t let that deter you from reading it. It was a good read and the storyline was different.

So pick this up! Read it! Enjoy it!

Buy: ~Amazon~ or ~Barnes & Noble~

HAPPY READING!!