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Injured while helping capture a notorious serial killer, all New Orleans firefighter Connor Scott wants is to visit his grandmother in Florida for a few days of rest, relaxation and recovery. The last thing he expects is to be stuck on a bus loaded with senior citizens—and his ex-wife.

Alyssa Scott thought she'd left the baggage of her old life far behind when she moved to Florida. Instead she's chaperoning the senior group and dealing with the one person she never expected to see—her ex-husband.

Sparks fly and passions reawaken. Neither Connor nor Alyssa can deny the feelings they still hold for each other. But a sinister threat from Connor's past thrusts them into a perilous game of cat-and-mouse to stop a ruthless killer before time runs out. Will Connor gamble everything to save the woman he loves?

242 pages, ebook

First published March 11, 2014

416 people are currently reading
885 people want to read

About the author

Kathy Ivan

77 books181 followers
USA TODAY Bestselling author Kathy Ivan can’t remember a time when books and reading weren’t a part of my daily life. I was blessed with a mother who instilled the love of reading in me at a young age. That progressed into a passion for the written word in all forms, which led to my writing. Every day I have new stories and new ideas roaming through my brain, the characters chomping at the bit for their turn to be front and center and have their story told. Today that love of storytelling translates into my desire to write and share my stories with others. I write in many genres, but I’m currently concentrating on romantic suspense and paranormal.

My day job is about as uncreative as it gets. I do medical transcription, spending numerous hours at the computer each day trying to decipher the mumbled, garbled and often unrecognizable words the physicians are dictating, in an effort to make a complete and comprehensive patient record. It’s almost as bad as trying to read their handwriting!

Born and raised in Miami, Florida, I’ve lived in various places throughout my youth, from California to Hawaii and back to Florida (Key West), before finally settling in Texas. I make my home outside Dallas, Texas with my spoiled black lab (Missy).

I am a member of Romance Writers of American and the Dallas Area Romance Authors (DARA), where I’m an active member; you can find me at the local meetings each month.

That’s about it off the top of my head. I love talking with other readers and writers, so feel free to contact me.

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5 stars
314 (39%)
4 stars
234 (29%)
3 stars
165 (20%)
2 stars
52 (6%)
1 star
27 (3%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews
Profile Image for Chappy.
2,195 reviews113 followers
October 7, 2015
So glad I got this book for free...definitely not my cup of tea.

I found the plot very immature and predictable...with an "evil" character I almost expected to go mwah ha ha!!!

Profile Image for Carol and Gary Curtis.
886 reviews13 followers
July 26, 2015
There is a plot in this story but it's overshadowed by the sex scenes. They may have lessened later on but before I gave up the story was a continuing sex story. The story wasn't bad but little attention was paid to the story, the murder, the effort to reconcile and the trip itself were certainly second fiddle to the sex. I quit at 46 percent. The author didn't stick to the real story enough for me.
518 reviews3 followers
September 28, 2019
Loved this book

I reviewed this book with 5 stars because it deserved it. The book was great and the story about a firefighter and the suspense added the right space.
Profile Image for Vickie Chaisson.
1,176 reviews10 followers
August 1, 2016
Kathy Ivan is an author that truly understands what we as readers need to have to keep us coming back for more. Her characters and storyline are believable and we become invested in the story. I know if Kathy Ivan wrote it I'm going to be unable to put it down . Her stories are standalones and always have HEA ending.

Connor's Gamble is Connor and Alyssa's second chance at true love. They are a divorced couple who are thrown together on the bus ride from hell. This boom is well written and holds your attention from beginning to end. As they deal with acvidents, deaths, a psychotic serial killer and their past the one thing you are sure about is their intense connection and love for each other. The twists and turns in this story will keep you guessing and turning the pages for more. Great job Kathy and keep up the good work. I highly recommend a Kathy Ivan book if you want a hunky hot hero and a strong heroine.
Profile Image for Beatrice Drury.
498 reviews2 followers
February 16, 2015
I loved the storyline. I wanted the two to get back together. The suspense was exciting, very creepy and bloody. It was also great to have elderly characters front and center in the story.

Now the bad, but not so bad that I gave it 4 stars. The copy I have had a lot of errors in it. This usually does not annoy me, but there were actually times I had to think for a moment about what was really being said. The other problem was one of the characters identity was revealed at the end with no explanation of why or how she was there. Disturbed be a bit.

This is my first book by Kathy Ivan and I did enjoy it enough to read more.
Profile Image for Sonia Cristina.
2,264 reviews79 followers
August 22, 2016
Gostei da base da história mas não gostei muito do desenvolvimento. Interessante aquela parte sobre Gladys, O final foi muito querido.
Profile Image for Teresa.
1,386 reviews3 followers
August 5, 2017
A rather predictable but entertaining story

Having read Kathy Ivan's series that she's written for Ms. Stoker's Special Forces Kindle World o decided to try another book from the New Orleans Connection. Connor and Alyssa.'s story of a second chance at love was entertaining but before the halfway point I'd figured out who the demented protagonist was. But it was the side story of Gladys one of the former resident of Whispering Pines who helps Connor and Alyssa rekindle the love that was always there with her pearly white teeth, red wig and pink fuzzy slippers.

But it's the crazy person who take revenge to a new level towards Alyssa, Molly, Connor's Gran, and Remy who will have their reckoning at the Pearly Gates. Can everyone survive so that they can have the love together again?
Profile Image for Jamoz23.
5,323 reviews46 followers
May 11, 2017
Second chance love story. Connor and Alyssa are divorced but it is all due to a physcotic serial killer.
I figured out who the killer was fairly quickly.
This was an okay read until the big finale. Why the hell did Connor let Bethany/Julie get the drop on him. Really, Remy should have come in and just shot her. Talk about drag out the tension.
Why did Alyssa blame herself for believing Connor had cheated. She had photographic proof, pretty damning. I think it woyld be hard for anyone to not believe that sort of proof.

Did like the twist about Gladys.
Profile Image for Barbara "Cookie" Serfaty Williams.
2,705 reviews5 followers
November 7, 2019
Connor's Gamble (New Orleans Connection Series Book 1)

The love story of Connor and Alyssa. Connor is a firefighter in New Orleans, on a run he rescue a homeless man from a series killer and was injured. He go to Florida to visit his grandmother. His grandmother is playing matchmaking. She want Alyssa and Connor to reunite. They were divorce and are still in love. Can she reunited them?
Profile Image for Beverly McCall.
Author 2 books27 followers
January 22, 2021
Connor’s Gamble is the second book in Kathy Ivan’s New Orleans Connection series. In this book we get to know two lead characters—Alyssa and Connor Scott. They were formerly married until Alyssa received compromising photos of Connor and a woman resulting in their divorce. Connor always claimed innocence, but Alyssa felt betrayed and hurt. Despite their break, the two still love each other. Now Destiny brings them back together. Will they get past their emotional scars? Or will Fate through them an insurmountable challenge under the guise of Bethany Banks? Will Connor and Alyssa discover the reason for Bethany’s intense hatred of Connor? Will Connor keep his family safe? To discover what happens, you must read this book.

Once again, Ms. Ivan did a remarkable job with this romantic suspense. I liked how she used characters from book 1 as supporting characters. I appreciate how she uses the theme of family to weave her plot and subplots together. Ms. Ivan is skilled at creating dialog. Her conversational dialog is strong and concise. I especially enjoyed the dialog amongst the senior citizen residents, which at times, was humorous. The internal dialog of Connor, Alyssa, and Bethany reveal their backstories. I appreciated her use of a dual plot line. The over arching plot line is the suspense mystery involving Bethany and her need of revenge concerning Connor. The subplot is the second-chance romance between Connor and Alyssa. Well done, Ms. Ivan.
Profile Image for Virginia Boylan.
427 reviews11 followers
December 28, 2017
Despite the title, I enjoyed the book. I never could figure out what gamble Connor was making. Connor’s grandmother was great, his ex-wife less so. Alyssa was entirely too easily convinced of Connor’s misconduct and the villain’s motives were on the absurd side. Nevertheless, I had fun with this book and won’t mind reading more by this excellent author.
Profile Image for Suzie.
238 reviews1 follower
December 15, 2021
Connor'sGamble

The least favorite of this series. I had to skip several pages because I found the story just terrifying. If you like a story that leaves you scared to death then this is the one for you. There's some romance and some likeable characters Just a truly scary and graphic story.
723 reviews2 followers
March 12, 2024
Ghost and Madness

A group of senior citizens on a bus trip from Boco Raton to New Orleans. Sounds pretty innocent, right? Well not necessarily when you throw in a disastrous bus accident, a death, capture of a serial arsonist/killer, a friendly ghost and that is just the beginning of this deadly dangerous journey.
263 reviews4 followers
August 4, 2017
The storyline is good. I love books that take place in New Orleans.
A couple gets divorced but still have strong feelings for each other. The other part of the story is a mystery. There is an attempted murder, a kidnapping, gambling and an accidental death.
938 reviews
August 5, 2017
Great book! It wore me out....in a good way!!! So much action and hold your breath moments! And a great love story right in the middle of all the action. I highly recommend both this book and the author!
1,834 reviews3 followers
May 29, 2018
Really good

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. There were a lot of twists and turns in the plot. Mixed in with a few humorous and endearing senior ladies. It's a good mixture of romance, suspense, humor and intrigue.
148 reviews
July 6, 2019
Winner's Gamble got me this time!

I can install the who done it early in the book, but I always read on. I have to admit although I was right about who did it, the end GAME surprised me. I say it's a must rrad
675 reviews2 followers
May 26, 2020
I found this one a bit of fun to read ... love Gladys and her pink slippers. Connors grandma is a wonderful character too.... some of it was predictable however not all storys have psychotic killers in them. Recommend reading Desperate Choices first to get a feel of the series.
31 reviews1 follower
June 5, 2018
Fun book

I couldn't put this book down. It was a great love story with a lot humorer and intrigue.great job on this book
Profile Image for Jacqueline Rodriguez.
107 reviews1 follower
January 11, 2020
Love It

I really recommend this book at first I thought it will be a romantic novel but them what a twist got me wanting more. Really interesting.
11 reviews
January 11, 2020
I read it so fast I'm going to have to read it again because I don't remember
Profile Image for Crystal Connor.
602 reviews3 followers
September 7, 2020
The story was nice enough. The thing that drove me crazy is how slow it started. The book was more than half over before all the good stuff started.
Profile Image for Doina Condrea.
384 reviews27 followers
September 25, 2021
It was really hard to explain this book as it is a contemporary romance but also with a mystery/crime edge. Really liked reading it. It was lots of fun and kept me interested until the very end.
449 reviews1 follower
October 18, 2022
Awesome story in the New Orleans connection
Profile Image for Mary.
312 reviews
December 11, 2022
Great read

Connor and Alyssa story. I found this book riveting . A page turner that kept me hooked. I recommend this bpok
Profile Image for Diane Roberts.
362 reviews3 followers
July 8, 2024
Not a bad romantic mystery.

This book was probably a 3 1/2 star but not a 4. It wasn't bad it just wasn't great. It might have been better if I had read the first.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews

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