House Rules

Savage Trust #1

by Christa Wick

Big Girl Lesson #1 - The House always wins...

Reformed con artist and card sharp Marie Lafayette never had a chance to "come of age." She was too busy staying out of jail and keeping her little brother and sister out of the morgue. Six years on the run from her father, living as clean as she can to raise her siblings, she was hoping L.A. would give her family a fresh start.

Instead, her sister is taken hostage by a violent criminal from their past who forces Marie to once again put on her game face and take a seat at a Vegas Blackjack table.

Busted by casino owner Luke Masters when Marie's soft lips and lush curves catch his eye, she has one chance to save her sister and erase the past -- if she surrenders to Masters' every passion for thirty days.

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PREVIOUSLY RELEASED AS VEGAS This 32,000+ sensual romance features a second chance coming of age in the arms of a dominant billionaire casino owner with a bag of tricks and toys meant to teach a plus-size cheat that there are no rules when it comes to love.
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Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Erotica, Dark

102 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 10, 2019

About the author

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Christa Wick has been hybrid publishing since 2012 (yep, she's one of the O.G. indie authors). She's written 50+ romances starring curvalicious heroines and alphalicious heroes whose stories span the spectrum of: steamy & sweet, steamy & emotional, steamy & suspenseful, steamy & paranormal, steamy & dark, and...well, you get the idea. Her darker, dirtier books are under C.M. Wick, and she also writes general fiction sci-fi thrillers and suspense novels under other pen names.

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Reviews

[Andria Potter · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was just purely awful. Bad writing, I disliked the characyso thoroughly for their stupidity that I dnf'd at 15%. I wanted to like this but it's poorly edited, poorly written, and the main female character was just ugh. Huge pass. No thank you. 1 ⭐.

[Coco.V]

🎁 FREE on Amazon & on iBooks today (4/25/2020)! 🎁

[Theresa · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF 19% OMG are you freaking kidding me. You are scared for your brother and sister's life after being on the run for 6 years. So you don't have your brother being cautions about anything and let your sister fuck who ever she wants till she ends up with a bad crowd and is kidnapped and being held for ransom. So you rely on your old skills as a con artist and count cards to raise the money for your sister then you get caught by the owner ( gasps). when your racking 7 gs up in a casino someone will notice.

Then this is where you get stupid to me anyway. After being caught you find out that he's hot so you decide to mind fuck him, turns out that he ends up giving you the money in exchange for your plump body cause this is his type. ( they like telling you she's plump in every few sentences. Eye Roll) So after giving you the money that you think you can just run away without consequences.

He dangles the string before letting you walk away scot free. He freaking kidnapped and beat up your brother who you left in the house alone while there was danger. You run away to give the ransom money to get your sister back who you think might not be alive anyway but you stupidly hand over the money with out trying to demand proof of life. But they still want you to come back with more money anyway and you agree. So when all is said and gone you decide to go to a diner and sit for awhile instead of heading back to your injured brother who you called your favorite. But you have time to think dirty blow job thoughts about the man who kidnapped and beat your brother. (face palm) I have no idea what happens after this and I don't plan to find out.

[Tammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

For the last six years, Marie has been doing whatever she must to keep her father away from her and her brother and sister and keeping them all alive. When her sister is taken Marie is forced to steal money from a casino. When she is caught by Luke sparks fly between them, will he help her save her sister? Fast-paced read with an entertaining, intense story. The chemistry is steamy and I really liked the twists and turns.

[Erin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Inconsistent character psychology and behaviour. Also the story moved at what felt like a breakneck speed with no concept of timeline. Also back stories were sketchy at best and felt like they should have come earlier and in smaller more frequent bursts in a more subtle way, because you basically got info-dumped 3-5 seperate times with bits and pieces that made the backstories seem like they were tacked on later.
The whole thing felt like a badly written Wattpad story.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really great plot that has plenty of twists and turns that held my attention. Marie has a lot of baggage to work through but the chemistry between her and Luke isn’t easy for them to ignore. A strong female character and an even stronger male character makes this story a wonderful read.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Queen I of Book Whore. · Rating 1 out of 5]

First time hating a Christa Wick book. Simply put the book is a clusterfuck festival and to think i loved the 2 other books in the series. The writing is mediocre,the story inconsistent and all over the place and characters stool samples!

[Diane · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay but

This had such potential to be great but was just mediocre. Mixing bdsm and crime within the book should have worked but it didn’t.

[Beth McCauley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok but

The story was good, but the grammar was distracting. Major issues with word choices and lacking decent editing. If those issues are fixed then it would be much better.

[Jessica Buszkiewicz · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dnf. Awful writing

[Emily Lindsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exciting story, easy to lose yourself in

This is a deeply nuanced, multi level, addictive book to read! It starts off with a con, a kidnapping, and tons of sexual tension. Marie is strong, but damaged, and although she's a con artist, she has no self-confidence. Luke is the strong, silent type, but he goes after her hard. I loved the emotional depth of the story, the way the story details how family can eat you up and spit you out. I loved the connections that Marie was able to make and how she's always willing to save everyone but herself. This book was hot. The scenes were so intimately described that I kind of felt like I was there. It's an intense read whose story will stay with you for awhile.

[Serena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Savage

Oh where to begin. This book has a lot one can love. Suspense, thrills, anger, deception, LOVE.
Marie goes into her old life she was running from to save her sister. When she's caught and an opportunity is laird out in front of her the skeptical Marie accepts with reserve.
Luke can't keep.his eyes or hands off Marie. He curves are his weakness and her safety is his ONLY goal... so he says... Luke trys to help her but has a stipulation. She gives him 30 days of complete submission and he'll help fix her dangerous situation.
Thus give a you ALL kinds of emotions and you will get caught up in each character.

[Marcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

For as short of read this was, I thought it was really well done. Heat level was pretty high and it was insta-lust, but the emotions between the Marie and Luke were clearly present. I think the latter was what made this a really enjoyable read for me. Marie was a solid character endured a lot of hardship because of her family, but was so protective of her brother. Luke was alpha AF, but not an a-hole so he was easily likable too. Mikhael's story is next and I definitely want to read his story as he made quite an impression in here.

Definitely recommend if you're looking for a hot but well done short story.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marie's rescue

Marie is caught cheating in Luke's casino, but she's doing it to rescue her sister. Luke decides to help her and the cost is Marie for 30 days. She's not confident in herself and can't believe his offer is real. As he helps her fix the problem with her sister he builds her confidence.

Now she has to figure out what is going to happen after the 30 days are up.

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Romantic suspense.
From abusive father to best con player to her first and only love. She try to survive on legit job but web of suspense put her on other path. Will Luke help her to get some self esteem or will she always question him ?
The storyline is intriguing and keeping on the edge from first page.

[Patti · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had me hooked from the first page, and while I was able to predict what was going to happen, that did not make it less interesting for me. And, yes, I did shed a few tears for Luke and Marie; both of them feeling unsure about how the other person felt toward them. In the end, they get their HEA, and it's beautiful.

[Noemi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love uncovered

Luke spots a cheat in his casino and discover her identity. Marie Lafayette. Marie is running and has all sorts of people looking for her. Luke will be her knight and protect her.

I loved these characters! There interplay was riveting. I enjoyed this book.

[Amanda Rosario · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy Hotness!!!!

Loved every minute that I spent reading this book. Like wow. Truly enjoyed it. The chemistry was off the charts hot. It was suspenseful and steamy at the same time. It’s hard to explain lol but I recommend reading it

[Aspen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was interested in the description but Luke is anything but a savior and I'm not into women basically being coerced into sex for help. He took advantage of her fucked up situation and used it to get what he wanted out of her. I'm also friggen tired of women being portrayed as mindless, sex starved things with absolutely no self worth or control over their bodies just because they see a good looking man. It's only made worse when the woman is curvy/plus size because apparently good looking guys will never give them a second glance so this one guy who does makes them fall apart completely.

I couldn't bring myself to finish this book and I'm hoping the rest of her books that I have aren't the same.

[Ali · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh. So so.

I thought the book started off really well, but the FMC kept getting progressively more annoying. I can’t figure out if this was a mafia romance or suspense romance. Just too confusing. The steam was fire though.

[Kt Blanker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kept me entertained

It was a good read had the twist and turns I love but kinda went like I thought from the beginning so just ok for me

[Anne Young-Cronister · Rating 5 out of 5]

Christa Wicks books rock!! This is an action packed roller coaster of a story. Wonderful characters, some of them you’ll love and not like a few!
Great job with lots of feels!

[susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the basic story interesting but I don't think after six years of hidden she would give in so easily.

[Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

[Lisa Lingelbach · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good.

Very good read. Yes I encourage others to read. It's rewarding to read books on big curvy women. They deserve hot sexy muscled guys too.

[Becky Hedge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wrecked

Excellent book. Highly recommend this book to everyone. Excellent story line kept your interest and attention making it hard to put down.

[Stasi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Suspenseful and sweet

Well written and well passed. A lot of suspense and adventure but allows for personal growth as well. This is definitely a book to read again.

[TheNelliReads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Previously published as "Vegas Curves" and "House Rules".

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fast, sexy and enjoyable

The storyline has bondage, kidnapping and extortion so is not for a person looking for a sweet story. But is is a hea and a quick page turner of a book.

[Inga · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book.
It was fast and steamy.