Stroke of Luck was my first Opal Carew read, and I have to say I’m more than a bit disappointed. Usually, I’m totally on board the erotica train, full speed, and everything, but this one didn’t do it for me at all, and here’s why:

We enter the story after our female lead, April, found her fiancé cheating on her the night of her rehearsal dinner, a day before her wedding. To top it off, he canceled her credit card, went on a shopping spree, and left her the bill. And before you ask, I was a bit confused about the different names in ARC and synopsis too. Unfortunately, I have no idea which one is going to be in the final version. That said, her ex-boyfriend Quinn comes to her rescue and offers her to stay with him and his business partner until she can figure things out, and that’s the introduction to our story. While over-the-top, cliché, and filled with eye-rolls on my part, I tried to stay optimistic about it since this happens to me quite a lot with this kind of book, but it all went downhill from there.

Opal’s writing style simply wasn’t for me; we switched points of view so frequently and without warning that it took me a few moments to figure out who we’re with right now, more often than not. I didn’t connect with any of the characters, not even Austin, who was the only one I sort of liked, and that’s essentially the kiss of death for me with any book. Their emotional reactions seemed extreme most of the time, and their feelings changed so fast it made my head spin. April didn’t have any backbone at all, and while it kind of fit her backstory, I found it very annoying at times. I appreciated her honesty about some of her issues but still felt she should have at some point addressed them by herself for herself, especially after she decided to leave the love of her life out of fear. The character development I had hoped for didn’t happen.

Quinn went from I hate you, to I want you even though I can’t ever trust you, to I never stopped loving you; please marry me in what felt like a matter of minutes. I liked the idea of them reconnecting, but it didn’t have any time to develop – the same for Austin and April’s relationship and this whole threesome arrangement they have. The romance felt superficial and didn’t have any substance. Lots and lots of sexy times, which I liked, but these overwhelming emotions they all felt never reached me. Not in a way that would make me call whatever they have going on more than lust. They know nothing about the people they have become, and Austin doesn’t know April at all. Somewhere in the middle, we’re left in this weird in-between-state that made the entire thing feel kind of awkward to me; either they’re in this together, the three of them, or they’re not. It felt like a couple adding someone to their bed, which didn’t work for me. I don’t mind the threesome, but everyone needs to be on the same level physically and emotionally to sell it as romance to me. It seemed like it was supposed to build the excitement and make you wonder how things would turn out, but it was a definite mood killer for me.

The conclusion was traditional and highly predictable, but I sort of don’t mind that in romance and erotica. We always want the couple, or in this case the three of them, together and our happy ending. So no critique there. Long story short, this one wasn’t my cup of tea. That doesn’t mean it won’t work for someone else. Books are not one size fits all. If you do end up trying it, let me know how you liked it in the comments.

Quinn and April! Let’s see hot sexy and oh so cute. If you need something so sweet this is the book for you. In the beginning I felt so bad for April then comes Quinn and the story changes. The one that got away.

Oh holy sex scenes.

April is left in a terrible situation by sleazy Maurice. Quinn her college love just happens to be at the right place at the right time. Enter best friend Austin and an arrangement full of commands and sex.

Quick steamy read

Stroke of Luck is a wonderful story with a fantastic array of characters and a great storyline, this is one book that captivated until the end.

If you are after reading about lots sex in a MFM relationship, this is for you, if you want developed characters this is not for you. The only character I like was Austin. Quinn is just mean and angry. I don’t know why April just decides to a three way when she has only had one sexual experience. Going from semi innocent to a sexual diva. Quinn treats her like crap yet she does everything he says. He calls her gold digger and doesn’t trust her. She keeps having sex with him with no fuss. How can you keep having sex with someone who treats you so badly?

Everything is so far fetched and then the format is terrible. It hops POVs and jumps around. This was a disappointment.

This was a good book. April caught her fiancé cheating on her on the night before their wedding. Her fiancé is powerful and rich and left her with the hotel bill that was an extreme amount. While the manager was kicking her out, her college boyfriend, Quinn, who now happens to be rich, swept in and saved the day. With a price of course. Quinn is staying at the same hotel with his business partner, Austin. They are both very smitten with April and want to help her manage her situation. Quinn never really forgot about April and was actually bitter that April broke up with him. But things have a way of working out. Austin, Quinn, and April have almost an instant kind of love develop. They are all very sexy, especially together. This does have a HEA with everyone together.

From the cover description, Stroke of Luck should have been a sexy, erotic adventure.

What I found was a novel with several POVs (often not knowing which POV I was reading) and some definite consent issues, for me perhaps not you… that is a matter of opinion and interpretation.

April discovers her soon to be husband having sex with another woman and calls off the wedding. In a revenge move the now ex, a very wealthy ex, decides to stick April with the hotel bill, demanding the return of every single thing he bought for her which leaves her in Las Vegas practically broke trying to negotiate with management a way to pay this unbelievable hotel bill that she’s been stiffed with. And… along comes another ex, Quinn. A man who feels that April dumped him to move on to someone wealthy giving Quinn the strong idea that she’s nothing more than a gold digger… since now Quinn is even richer than the man she left him for.

In another apparent revenge move from a different man, Quinn instructs management to put the charges on his bill. But there is always a catch – and that catch involves sex with Quinn and/or his business partner and friend, Austin while they are in Las Vegas. April and Quinn have unresolved issues since her leaving him weren’t for the reasons he suspects so now in massive debt to Quinn, April agrees… and things get complicated.

I’m going to leave it right there and say that Stroke of Luck is a good book, there were parts I enjoyed, others not so much. I did something I rarely do before posting my own review and went to see what others thought (maybe I was the one out in left field about this one)… but I found mixed opinions. I believe there is an audience that will love April, Quinn, and Austin’s story – I’ll leave that up to you to decide for no two people ever read the same story in the same way.

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher, St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley. That does not change what I think of this story. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*

This book was hot, I will give it that. But other than that it was just okay for me. It provided a nice distraction for a few hours and that's always appreciated.

I thought this was a good read. This book was very steamy and a bit emotional. I could feel for Riana and for Quinn. This is a second chance for them but it is also a MFM ménage romance that adds a new player into the mix. Quinn, Riana and Austin generate boatloads of heat and sparks.

It's been a while since I've read an Opal Carew book, so I was excited to snag this one through NetGalley. It's an easy read that is high on the heat factor. It's categorized as erotica and described as a menage story.. Given these facts, there should be no surprise that's it's heavy on steam and light on plot.

Things I liked:
- Ms. Carew did give the reader a storyline to follow - the details just weren't necessarily very developed
- April and Quinn's history and how it played into their current situation
- Austin....what a sweetheart
- Quinn's ability to include Austin without jealousy
- The ending - it was simply lovely.

Things I wasn't fond of:
- The ex-fiance was so hateful when he leaves April that it felt like overkill. I didn't need the extreme level of nastiness and cruelty on his part to dislike him.
- The tradeoff of April's debt for a "sex deal" felt a little icky - but I understand the author was trying to find a lead-in for bringing these characters together.
- Quinn's continuing distrust of April.even though it's obvious that his original thoughts about her were incorrect
- April's refusal to explain her actions in college to Quinn
- I would have liked better descriptions of the characters. It was difficult for me to picture them in my head.

Overall, Stroke of Luck was an enjoyable read. I would have enjoyed a bit more story development and character description. However, I realize that sometimes those items are traded off in erotica. Also, the characters had their moments that they drove me a little nuts during the story, but by the time we made it to the end, I had found a soft spot for April, Quinn and Austin. Well, I always liked Austin's character. He genuinely had everyone else's interests at heart and was an all around good guy. In my opinion,

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. The opinions contained within are my own.

April Smith was suppose to get married until she caught her fiancé with another woman. Now she's stuck with the hotel bill and all her finances cut off. Abandoned as an infant by her mother, all she's ever wanted was to be loved and wanted.

Quinn Taylor met April in college, he loved her and never understood why she left him. When she finds her in dire straights at the hotel he's staying in, he comes to her rescue and offers her crazy proposition to keep her in his life for the next month.

Austin Wright is Quinn's business partner and closest friend. He just wants to see his friend happy and will do anything to help April and Quinn get back together.

Quinn wants April in his bed along with his best friend Auston. He thinks she's a gold digger and tries to keep things all about the sex but quickly realizes he never stopped loving her.

Once these three connect in the bedroom, things get hot and steamy. There are some really good emotional scenes, but they are almost drowned out by a whole lot of bedroom time.

It was hard to connect to their emotional relationship. It felt like their story was more about how in lust they were. I also had a hard time reconciling the shy, quiet woman with the sexpot she portrayed almost immediately.

Hot, smexy second chance at love romance.

I received a free copy of this book and I'm voluntarily leaving a review. If you like my reviews I hope you will follow my blog. https://wyldheartreads.wordpress.com/

2.5 Stars

My first Carew story leaves a lot to be desired.

The glitz of the Vegas strip, truth or dare poker games, a sexy MFM sandwich, and a second chance romance are all present in this fast-paced read. We start with our heroine April, who is in Vegas to get married to her fiancé of two years, except the fiancé cheats on her and ditches her. More fool her, she’s gave the fiancé complete control over her finances which means without the fiancé April has no credit, no money, only the clothes on her back.

Enter heroes Quinn and Austin. Best friends and billionaires thanks to business in cryptocurrency success. Though, sidenote, all I could think about after that mention was bitcoin and I kept thinking how bitcoin hasn’t been exactly successful. So, suspend a little belief in the profession there. Though, Austin is separately wealthy coming from a rich family – he’s no poor boy. Quinn, once upon a time, dated April and when he finds her being booted from her suite can’t help to sweep in and save her.

This is where things got off the rails for me, but before I dive into what didn’t work, I’ll focus on what did.

Carew is talented at the graphic sex scene, each scene is scorching, with plenty of emotion and detail. The glamor and glitz of Vegas is the perfect aphrodisiac backdrop to all these sexual adventures. Plus, the bonus: Quinn wants to share April with his best friend Austin. Sounds like a book dream come true… so why not?

April is forced into her relationship with the heroes. While the author tried to deftly maneuver this, April is in a vulnerable state where she can’t say no to anything without the fear of being booted onto the street or thrown in jail. So, whatever the heroes ask for she has to deliver. You can see where I’m going with this.

Additionally, April’s ex-fiancé is a gaslighting, ego maniac who’s actions are bit over the top and lead reason to believe that April has been in an abusive relationship. A person who will strip their loved one of every piece of clothing bought and given as a gift wouldn’t just suddenly act this way as a surprise. Though April seems oblivious to this fact, or at least doesn’t call it out much besides ‘he wasn’t what I thought’. Quinn acts similar to the ditched fiancé, and it’s hard to see how outside of trust issues Quinn wouldn’t be a horrible person to her at the first sign of her wanting something he doesn’t. The ex-fiancé of course gets a little more influence on the story, but due to the abundance of sexy bedroom times I felt story plot wasn’t wrapped up as well as it could have been.

~ Landra

Quinn never forgot the girl who broke his heart. So when he finds her in his hotel, crying from discovering her fiancé cheating on her, you'd think he'd walk away to leave her in pain. But no, he pays her hotel bill and brings her to his suite and ends up indulging in an "arrangement" of sorts that will allow her to pay back her debt. Will this end up being a second chance for Quinn and April? What about the third part of their arrangement Austin, Quinn's best friend and business partner? Will the three of them find feelings start developing or will it truly just be sex as Quinn declares in the beginning?

Hmm, this menage did not quite work for me. Purely from an erotica standpoint, I guess it was good, but as a fully rounded, second chance, MFM romance, it did not work. I did not like Quinn for one, he was an ass and the arrangement he forced April into was seiously shady. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for a good blackmail romance, but the way Quinn executed it just felt wrong, gave me the heebie jeebies. April was an OK character, but she didn't particularly stand out in any way, she was a bit meek and cardboard-ish. Austin, though, saves the whole story and kept me from taking even more stars off. I loved him - he's sweet and sexy, and really deserved better than a threesome with two exes.

April is an interesting character at the centerpiece of this story. Cheated on by her fiancé, she’s rescued from a bad situation by the man who came before him...her college boyfriend. While April comes across as damaged and shy, she has an interesting proposition to help pay Quinn back; showing she’s not quite as meek and modest as age seems.
After devouring it in one sitting, I’m still not clear how I feel about April, Quinn and Austin, but I did love the premise and the writing and definitely recommend not only this book but Ms. Carews’s work in general.

April Smith has longed for stability in her life. She thought she had it with Quinn Taylor, her college boyfriend, but when she realized he was more into to studies than her, she cut her losses. April finally thought she had found all what she desired in Maurice Dubois but at their rehearsal dinner she found him with another woman. Furious, April calls off her wedding. Much to April's surprise, she finds out that Maurice left and stuck her with the $100,000 hotel bill. Next thing she knows all of her belongings are being removed by hotel management because Maurice said they belonged to him. April finds herself alone and crying in the hotel lobby and who should walk by, Quinn! Quinn has never forgotten April and he agrees to pay off her debt even though he doesn't trust her. He believes she is just a gold digger. April wants to pay Quinn back, even though she doesn't have any money so they come to some type of agreement......Opal can spend the next month with Quinn and his best friend and business partner, Austin Wright and help fulfill all of his secret fantasies! Having no choice, April agrees. As this threesome spends some scorching hot times together, real feelings start to emerge. Now April, Quinn and Austin need to decide how they really want to spend the rest of their life.

If you are looking for a hot, fun read, give this one a try. I just adored Austin. He was so sweet and giving always knowing the right thing to do. April I had a harder time connecting with and Quinn was just ok but together they provides some very hot times.

STROKE OF LUCK – Opal Carew
St. Martin’s
ISBN: 9781250116826
December 2020
Erotic Romance

Las Vegas – Present Day

April came to Las Vegas to marry the man she thought she loved, but after she found him having sex with another woman, the marriage is off. Her now ex-fiancé is angry that she won’t accept his infidelities and is bent on revenge. He cancels their joint credit card, among other things, leaving April to pay the massive bill at the luxurious resort where she is staying. While she is arguing with the hotel manager, they are interrupted by Quinn Taylor—a man April once loved. Quinn orders the manager to put the charges on his credit card. April wonders why he would do this because their breakup was acrimonious. She soon learns that as part of Quinn’s plan to help her, she must agree to have sex with him—and his best friend, Austin Wright, who is also in Vegas on vacation with Quinn.

The idea of having sex with two men should scare April, but it thrills her, especially after she meets Austin. Both are virile and handsome, and they ooze sex appeal. She must admit that she’s attracted to both men. The agreement between them is that the relationship will last as long as they’re in Vegas, but when she wakes up the following morning after spending an incredible night with them, she discovers that she’s married—to both men.

STROKE OF LUCK takes readers on a sensual ride as April lives out the fantasy of having two men at once. Quinn is her old love who still wants her after all these years despite their painful breakup. Is he over her, or does he still secretly love her? Readers know that he hasn’t ever forgotten her, while she had moved on with another man. April suffers from feeling the lack of financial security as she grew up in the foster care system. When her ex, Maurice, dangled security in the form of never having to worry about money again, she jumped at the chance, leaving Quinn behind. Quinn went on to build a successful business that could rival her ex when it comes to wealth. The sparks still fly between Quinn and April, but can he trust her, or she a gold digger looking to cash in once again?

Throwing Austin into the mix, April has two men who love having sex with her. They’ve never shared a woman before, but once they watch the other have sex with April, it makes the whole arrangement even hotter. Also, is marriage to two men at the same time legal? How did it happen—and why? In STROKE OF LUCK, everything comes all together so that readers get the answers, as well as a sexy story. Will what happens in Vegas stay there, or will April, Quinn, and Austin’s erotic arrangement continue once their vacation is up? Find out by picking up a copy of STROKE OF LUCK. Oh, and don’t forget to grab a bag of ice. You’ll need it to read this sizzling hot tale.

Patti Fischer
Romance Reviews Today

April is Las Vegas for her wedding but when her fiancé cheats, she is left with a huge hotel bill. She runs into her ex-boyfriend Quinn who offers to bail her out. April does want to be in his debt so she offers herself to him for a month. Quinn wants to share her with his business partner Austin and sparks are definitely flying be will she have to choose between them? Fast-paced read with loads of drama and intense steam. Great characters and a hot read. I liked it.

When April’s wedding is cancelled cause her fiancé cheated on her it was horrible but now he stuck her with a hotel bill she can’t pay her luck changes when her ex Quinn bails her out and she wants to barter a deal to pay him back but it surprised by the details of what he wants when it also involves his business partner. Super steamy

A second chance to have the future of your dreams.
When April's life is torn asunder and she is left adrift in the horrors, two saviours appear to help her recover. Quinn's past relationship with her did not end well, but a chance to set things right, a way to make amends and to start new was always the plan. Austin's guidance and friendship mean more to him than anything else and the possibility of sharing this pleasure may just be in the cards. But will this unexpected gift have the power to bring forth 2 fantasies? Will the reality of their relationship be too much to share?

Second chance romances lovers, this is the book for you! Ms. Carew brings us a doozy as our initial contact with April is during the lowest time of her life. Her asshat fiancé treats her horribly. I am ready to get on with the vengeance to bring that jerk down!

Just when April is at her lowest, Quinn, the one she's loved and left behind for a better life with said abusive fiancé, sees her. Luckily for her, Quinn still carries a torch for April and instead, helps her out of the financial bind.

I am always amazing by how cruel a person can be and the type of humiliations they are willing to perpetrate to someone they claim to love. April's treatment at the hands of ex-fiancé is complete the opposite of how Quinn treats her. Quinn's grudging loving care leading to sensual fun times is delightful. Ms. Carew creates a wonderful romance of sexual heat, forgiving and second chances.

I enjoyed reading about April interacting with Quinn and his best friend Austin. What starts as kind of a lark getting back at April becomes sexy times that all three enjoy. This contemporary romance is recommended to ménage lovers who love a second chance theme.