The Winner

by Melissa Silvey

Camille Reed is a single mother to a beautiful teen-aged daughter. She has a dead end job, no education, and no hope that her life will ever get better... until she buys two lottery tickets in her small town in West Virginia. And she wins more money than she can imagine. She ends up in New York City. She meets the perfect guy with influential friends. He's rich, good looking, and genuinely cares about her and her daughter. But her past, and his secrets, prevent her from falling in love with him. Can she overcome her demons and give herself to a man who is much more than he appears? Read "The Winner" and find out... What would you do if you won the biggest jackpot ever?

This is a mature book intended for adults.

286 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 8, 2013

About the author

Like one of her characters, Melissa doesn't reveal much about herself at first glance. She's shy and reserved, she's socially awkward, and she constantly says the wrong thing at the wrong time. But if you take the time to get to know her, you'll see she knows how to have fun! Give her a few drinks, and she'll have you laughing and dancing in no time. In her mind, she's the greatest dj ever, and she especially loves upbeat 80's music. She started writing short stories and poems in elementary school, basically as soon as she picked up a pencil. When she's not writing, and studying (the end IS near!) she enjoys watching football, hockey, and she really loves live music (live, not recorded), and she will sing off key constantly (as long as no one else is around). She's also a huge moviephile, preferring big budget action movies. Also, she has several television shows she MUST watch, and if you interfere with her shows she will get angry! Get to know Melissa Silvey, and her characters. You might just find an awesome new friend!Contact me at masilveywrites@yahoo.com or on facebook at facebook.com/melissasilveyauthor. Thanks and I hope you enjoy my books. If you do don't hesitate to let me know! I appreciate any and all feedback!

Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

*revised my review*

I was given a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Cami is a single mother to Sydney. She is struggling to take care of them and buys a lottery ticket. She wins a ton of money and moves to New York and meets Rafael. There is lots of twists and at times I wanted to yell at cami. Really loved the story and Rafael.

My only complaints would be at times it would switch perspectives for a paragraph or two and I would be confused on who was thinking what. Also, I felt a huge built up throughout the story and felt like it ended abruptly.

All in all it was definitely a great read and would recommend this to others!! I also think it would be great to read Sydney's story.

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After posting my review, the author contacted me agreeing about the ending. The new epilogue makes the story flow and end without feeling like it stops abruptly. Solid 4.5 stars!!

[grumpyoldbird · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent read. I enjoyed the darkness of the book. A number of times you wanted to slap them all upside the head and scream "WTF are you doing?", which is what you want from a read, because you want to get involved with the characters. I agree with the reviewer who said about the ending, as it is quite abrupt.

I also wanted to know a bit more about the characters, and felt that some parts were left hanging, whether this is because they will be resolved in another book I don't know. I especially wanted to know what happened to Elizabeth, because after all the years and courage it took her to admit her feelings, I can't believe that she apparently didn't have some sort of mental fall-out from being knocked back. I wanted to know more about the 'feud' with Matt & Raphael, we got that Matt was obsessed with Elizabeth, but it just seemed as if there was more to it than just that. We also never found out if Cami contacted Mr Johnson, I saw him as a sort of father figure to her and would have liked to have seen resolution there as well. Cami also investigated getting her GED and possibly Uni, at the end I expected to see her achieve those things or to at least have gained her GED, possibly with Mr Johnson helping her.

I don't want much do I? lol...

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is, like Cami, sad and happy and sad and happy again. I loved it and I wanted more. I didn't want it to end, I wanted it to keep going! Hopefully there will be another book with the Tates, or maybe Sydney! This would be a beautiful, powerful movie.