Waking up in Vegas with a book giveaway!

**Giveaway is now closed**

We have a couple of treats for you today! One of our associate reviewers, Gail Allison, is here to talk about why she "hearts" Las Vegas. And Lindsey Kelk, care of HarperCollins UK, has FIVE copies of her upcoming novel, "I Heart Vegas," to share with some lucky readers anywhere in the world! It will be available on December 8th, so take a gamble you can't lose and make sure to buy yourself an early holiday treat (if you don't win a copy here first). You can even pre-order it for your Kindle!

Vegas, Baby!
By Gail Allison

You know that tingly feeling that starts in your fingertips and runs straight down your spine when you know something wonderful is about to happen to you? Your face gets warmer, you can’t help grinning like an idiot, and you want to high-five whoever is sitting next to you. You’re inclined to raise your glass to anything at all, and the least little bit of good news makes you want to break into applause and cheers. And that feeling is exponentially multiplied when you know everyone around you is feeling the exact same way. The air crackles with excitement that practically lights up the inside of the airplane.

Welcome to a flight landing in Las Vegas. I’m not kidding.

What other town can boast long-term headliners ranging from Frank Sinatra to Elvis Presley to Garth Brooks? Where else can you find mega-casinos with real live lions in the lobby? I saw two grown men shoot each other in the face in Las Vegas and they both lived!! (Admittedly, they were Penn and Teller, and it was part of their magic act at the Rio, but still!) I defy you to find me anywhere else in the world that I can (for a price, of course) head outside to the dolphin pools to be a dolphin trainer for the day, wander over and check out the white tigers when I’m done, and finish up with a four star dinner, all within minutes of each other. Oh…and then go dancing (with a very real chance of a celebrity sighting) at one of the upscale nightclubs nearby. And then bungee jump off the top of a hotel just up the street. Just another day in Vegas.

That being said, it’s probably not for everyone. My mom, for one, doesn’t seem to be impressed by the glittery façade of the strip (although I still wonder if she’d be more impressed if I hadn’t come home a few years ago from Vegas proudly sporting my first tattoo). But I still maintain that if she just took a deep breath and plunged headfirst into the glitz, she’d be awed. There’s really nothing else you can be when your plane is landing in the middle of the desert at night, and all you can see is the shimmering strip cutting through the middle of the city. The sheer magnitude of the strip is breathtaking.

Last time I was in Vegas, my husband and I were down there with a friend. Just to give you a sense of how wonderfully, ridiculously grandiose the properties are there, I decided that we could easily walk down to Caesar’s Palace for breakfast (What? Serendipity 3 is there! I had to! The frozen hot chocolate was calling to me!). We were staying at Treasure Island. The only hotel between the two is the Mirage, and they’re all on the same side of the street. The stroll from TI to Caesar’s took us fifteen minutes. I’m not kidding. FIFTEEN minutes to leave one hotel, go past another, and into the next one. Yes, we are all still on speaking terms, but if breakfast hadn’t been so incredibly delicious, it might not have turned out so well. Everything is bigger and shinier and just a little more dazzling in Vegas for no reason other than “we wanted it like this, so we made it like this”.

Oh...and it’s hot there. Being from a city where winter runs from October to March (at the very least), the heat is a big kicker for me. The fact that I was walking around in flip-flops and capri pants last time I was there (mid-October) practically made me giddy. That we got to drink from the world’s largest margarita may or may not have contributed to the giddiness. I can’t really say. I guess I’ll have to go back again just to make sure, right?

And that’s why I heart Vegas.


We are thankful to Gail for sharing her thoughts about Vegas with us and to Lindsey and HarperCollins for sharing "I Heart Vegas" with our readers!

How to win "I Heart Vegas":
Answer ONE of these three questions (only one entry per person):
1. What is your favorite thing about Vegas? (If you've never been there, what is the first thing you'd do if you went.)
2. What is your favorite Vegas themed movie, song or TV show?
3. Have you ever gambled (playing the lottery does count)? What are your thoughts on gambling?

Please make sure to include your e-mail address or another way we can find you if you win!

Open worldwide! Giveaway ends December 4th at midnight EST.