Getting Lucky

Rating:
Summary: Kind of cute, but...
Review: Bethlehem is a town where angels and miracles abound, which is a good thing because when Ben E. Foster drives his GTO into Bethlehem, he needs an angel to help him. He is delivering his recently deceased grandmother's locket to the twelve year old daughter he has never met. Ben left town when he found out his girlfriend was pregnant and he hasn't seen her since or ever laid eyes on his daughter. With everything he owns in his car Ben decides that he will wait to see how to enter his daughter Alanna's life or if he should. He heads to the nearest hardware store to check for a job, where he meets Lynda Barone who is in need of a carpenter for extensive repairs to her house.

Lynda is called the "Ice Maiden" by some in Bethlehem, she is six foot tall, all business, and a multimillionaire. She discovers all work and no play can make a girl very lonely, she lives, eats and sleeps alone, working sixteen hours a day. When Lynda hires Ben to do repairs to her home she is drawn to this sexy southerner, even catching herself doing the unthinkable by daydreaming about him while at work. With the help of a few angels and a meddling best friend Melina, Lynda and Ben are set for their first date.

GETTING LUCKY is the sixth book in Marilyn Pappano's Bethlehem series. We first met Ben's daughter Alanna in SEASON FOR MIRACLES. Ben E. Foster is a southern bad boy that will melt reader's hearts, when he calls the ladies "darlin'" in his Georgia drawl, you will wish he is whispering it into your ear. Lynda has spent her life building an impressive portfolio but has nothing to show for it except a big bank account. Readers will enjoy the struggle Lynda has to relax and enjoy life while Ben agonizes over how to approach his daughter. The story is fast paced and kept me turning the pages well into the night.

Ms. Pappano does a great job of weaving the previous characters from her Bethlehem series through the story without confusing the reader or overshadowing the main couple. The angles Sophy and Gloria, Lynda's mother, and best friend Melina add humor and keep the dialogue witty and fresh. I really enjoyed Melina as she flirts with Ben and keeps Lynda on her toes. There is just the right touch of emotion as both Ben and Lynda come to terms with Ben's past.

Debbie Gilbert
Reviewer for Romance Reviews Today

Rating:
Summary: The "Ice Maiden" meets the Bad Boy in Bethlehem
Review: Bethlehem is a town where angels and miracles abound, which is a good thing because when Ben E. Foster drives his GTO into Bethlehem, he needs an angel to help him. He is delivering his recently deceased grandmother's locket to the twelve year old daughter he has never met. Ben left town when he found out his girlfriend was pregnant and he hasn't seen her since or ever laid eyes on his daughter. With everything he owns in his car Ben decides that he will wait to see how to enter his daughter Alanna's life or if he should. He heads to the nearest hardware store to check for a job, where he meets Lynda Barone who is in need of a carpenter for extensive repairs to her house.

Lynda is called the "Ice Maiden" by some in Bethlehem, she is six foot tall, all business, and a multimillionaire. She discovers all work and no play can make a girl very lonely, she lives, eats and sleeps alone, working sixteen hours a day. When Lynda hires Ben to do repairs to her home she is drawn to this sexy southerner, even catching herself doing the unthinkable by daydreaming about him while at work. With the help of a few angels and a meddling best friend Melina, Lynda and Ben are set for their first date.

GETTING LUCKY is the sixth book in Marilyn Pappano's Bethlehem series. We first met Ben's daughter Alanna in SEASON FOR MIRACLES. Ben E. Foster is a southern bad boy that will melt reader's hearts, when he calls the ladies "darlin'" in his Georgia drawl, you will wish he is whispering it into your ear. Lynda has spent her life building an impressive portfolio but has nothing to show for it except a big bank account. Readers will enjoy the struggle Lynda has to relax and enjoy life while Ben agonizes over how to approach his daughter. The story is fast paced and kept me turning the pages well into the night.

Ms. Pappano does a great job of weaving the previous characters from her Bethlehem series through the story without confusing the reader or overshadowing the main couple. The angles Sophy and Gloria, Lynda's mother, and best friend Melina add humor and keep the dialogue witty and fresh. I really enjoyed Melina as she flirts with Ben and keeps Lynda on her toes. There is just the right touch of emotion as both Ben and Lynda come to terms with Ben's past.

Debbie Gilbert
Reviewer for Romance Reviews Today

Rating:
Summary: An ALL-NIGHTER
Review: First time I've read Pappano---Loved this book---can't wait to get the rest of the series. Ben is the kind of "bad boy" everyone should meet at least once in their life.

Rating:
Summary: An ALL-NIGHTER
Review: First time I've read Pappano---Loved this book---can't wait to get the rest of the series. Ben is the kind of "bad boy" everyone should meet at least once in their life.

Rating:
Summary: Getting Lucky
Review: Getting Lucky by Marilyn Pappano

In GETTING LUCKY, Marilyn Pappano continues her series of small town life centered in Bethlehem, New York. In this installment, Ben Foster has come to town in the hopes of finding and possibly meeting the daughter he has never met. Twelve years ago, Ben had a brief relationship with a young woman whose future seemed to be going nowhere. Not that Ben had any future that looked any brighter. There were no hard feelings between them, but Ben did not want to stick around once he knew Berry was pregnant. He was only 19 years old, and had no clue what he wanted out of life. He left Berry to raise their daughter on their own.

Lynda Barone was a multi-millionaire lawyer that made her career her life. There were no friends except for Melina, and no boyfriends for a good many years. Her mother was constantly nagging her to meeting Mr. Right, but all Lynda thought she wanted was to be left alone.

The day the two meet changes their lives forever.

Marilyn Pappano paints a pretty picture of life in a small town, while at the same time tells an interesting story of love, romance, and doing the right thing. The only complaint I had with this book was that I didn't know it was one of a series of books. You have to get the next book in order to find out how things turn out with Ben and his newly found daughter, Alanna. But, since this book was enjoyable enough, I wouldn't mind reading the sequel or looking up the previous books in the series.

Rating:
Summary: Opposites Attract
Review: Getting Lucky by Marilyn Pappano

In GETTING LUCKY, Marilyn Pappano continues her series of small town life centered in Bethlehem, New York. In this installment, Ben Foster has come to town in the hopes of finding and possibly meeting the daughter he has never met. Twelve years ago, Ben had a brief relationship with a young woman whose future seemed to be going nowhere. Not that Ben had any future that looked any brighter. There were no hard feelings between them, but Ben did not want to stick around once he knew Berry was pregnant. He was only 19 years old, and had no clue what he wanted out of life. He left Berry to raise their daughter on their own.

Lynda Barone was a multi-millionaire lawyer that made her career her life. There were no friends except for Melina, and no boyfriends for a good many years. Her mother was constantly nagging her to meeting Mr. Right, but all Lynda thought she wanted was to be left alone.

The day the two meet changes their lives forever.

Marilyn Pappano paints a pretty picture of life in a small town, while at the same time tells an interesting story of love, romance, and doing the right thing. The only complaint I had with this book was that I didn't know it was one of a series of books. You have to get the next book in order to find out how things turn out with Ben and his newly found daughter, Alanna. But, since this book was enjoyable enough, I wouldn't mind reading the sequel or looking up the previous books in the series.

Rating:
Summary: Second Chances
Review: I have enjoyed all of Marilyn Pappano's books about the little town of Bethlehem and this book was no exception. I read it in a day. It is a heart warming tale of love and second chances. Lynda Barone is all work and no play and she begins to realize how empty and alone her life is. Enter Ben Forster. He is struggling with demons of his own. Like how to atone for what he did when he walked out of his daughter Alanna's life. Together they help each other without realizing it and make you believe in forgiveness and second chances. This heart warming tale with its ever expanding lovable cast of character pulls you in and make s you believe in angels. I look forward to her next installment next year. It looks like Lynda's friend Melina will experience Bethlehem's magic next. I can't wait.

Rating:
Summary: Getting Lucky
Review: Marilyn Pappano is an excellent author and this is my favorite book of hers that I have read so far!

Rating:
Summary: Kind of cute, but...
Review: Maybe it's just me, but I hate when an author uses the same phrase over and over in a book. If I had to read about Ben's "Green Gaze" one more time I was going to throw this book out the window!! It's a small complaint, other than that this was a fun, fast read and I enjoyed it.

Rating:
Summary: A strong relationship dama
Review: Perhaps it was the death of his beloved grandmother two months ago that is the impetus for wild Ben Foster to meet his daughter in Bethlehem, New York. Thirteen years ago, Berry told Ben she was pregnant. He did what was taught to him by his parents and left, never looking back. Over the years his beloved grandmother who always was there for him wanted to meet her great-granddaughter, but now it is too late and Ben feels regret for never accommodating her. Ben wants to become part of Alanna Marie Dalton's life to at least give her a family heirloom, a locket, deserve, but has no idea how to start getting friendly with a twelve year old he has never met.

Ben takes a job repairing the new home of 24/7 businesswoman Lynda Barone. Surprisingly, the drifter and the workaholic begin to fall in love, but neither wants anything permanent or do they? He struggles with his fears as to how Alanna will react to her biological father entering her life for the first time.

Best selling author Marilyn Pappano returns to Bethlehem where she provides her audience with a strong relationship drama. The story line captivates the audience as two total opposites fall in love though both realizes they have no future together. Ben's added woes over his preadolescent daughter adds realistic depth and is not neatly baked into a warm pie. Fans of contemporary tales starring multi-layered individuals struggling with complicated issues will appreciate GETTING LUCKY.

Harriet Klausner