Why’d I Pick This Book To Read:
I actually really like Jennifer Echols’s books aimed at older teens and adults, so when Levitating Las Vegas came to my attention I thought it would be just the thing for me. After all, I love the idea of magic, Las Vegas, romance, and more. I also recently had great luck reading Dirty Little Secret and so, I figured Levitating Las Vegas could give me my fix when it came to my need of a light romance. Also, because the setting was SO WELL DONE in Dirty Little Secret, I thought this book would also make me want to jet set to Las Vegas just as DLS made me want to buy a ticket to Nashville.
What’s The Story Here:
“Nothing up her sleeves…or so she’s been led to believe.
Showgirl Holly Starr is sick and tired of assisting her dad, a celebrity magician, in his Las Vegas casino magic show. As soon as he keeps his promise to her and shares the secrets to his tricks, she can break out on her own. But can she really make it? For years Holly has taken medication to stave off crazy hallucinations that she can levitate objects. Just when she thinks she’s ready to make a career and a life for herself, her medicine—and her luck—run out.
Elijah Brown suffers from a similar delusion—that he can read minds—and he’s out of medicine too. Determined to save himself and his old flame Holly, he kidnaps her and takes her straight to the source, a town high in the Rockies where their medicine is made. What they discover there leads them to suspect their powers are not imaginary after all…and neither is the intense attraction they feel for each other.
They make a pact to stick together as they return to Vegas to confront the people who kept them in the dark so long. But soon they’re pitting their powers against each other in a dangerous world where the nightlife is seductive, domination is addictive, the sex is beyond belief…and falling in love is murder.”
via Goodreads
How Long Did I Last:
7% or… 21 pages.
Why Did I DNF:
It was honestly a struggle for me to get through those 21 pages of Levitating Las Vegas. They are basically all set up and infodumping and not a ton of action. I consistently felt bored and just not into the book like I was into Dirty Little Secret or Forget You. I would set the book down and dread coming back to it. Instead, I would start reading other books instead of keeping a focus on this one. After looking at the average goodreads rating which is under 3 stars, which I think is abysmal for a Jennifer Echols book, I gave up. I also had a lovely friend tell me it’s okay to DNF, and this friend is a fan of Echols. Also, I truly did DNF because there’s so many books in my TBR that when something is taking me an outrageous amount of time to read and not because it’s over 900 pages, to me that is a signal that it is time to move on to the next book.
Is There Anyone This Book Would Appeal To:
Honestly, I think that maybe if you love Las Vegas as a setting, can get past a whole lot of description and infodumping upfront and are a diehard Jennifer Echols fan, you might really like this book. It might also appeal to people who like a bit of magical realism with their romance.
Sum It Up With A GIF:
Disclosure: Review copy provided by publisher.
Other reviews of Levitating Las Vegas:
Clear Eyes, Full Shelves – “largely failed to to deliver.”
Katie’s Book Blog – “The writing was mediocre at best”
Rather Be Reading – “the plot felt a bit discombobulated”
Books by Jennifer Echols:
Endless Summer
Forget You
Dirty Little Secret
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Great GIF! Sounds like this one is really not a winner in the Echols oeuvre. I’ve been upset about a lot of character choices in her earlier books so I’ve kind of stopped reading her work. Guess I won’t dive back in with this one but maybe DLS!
Sadly, I’ve seen a lot of reviews saying the same thing about this one. I don’t think I’ll be reading this Echols book, which is weird for me to say b/c I’ve read every single one of hers! But.. seeing these kinds of reviews of her work, and how it didn’t work for a majority of readers, doesn’t detour me from picking up another one of her novels. She’s the type of writer that can blow you away, but also just be OK with it, too. She’s very well rounded and I think that’s a testament to her talent.
If you’re wanting a book set in Vegas, may I suggest Star Crossed? It’s the first in her adult series & takes place in Vegas. I really liked that one!
It’s so disappointing to DNF, and especially so early in the book! But your friend is absolutely right that you should have given up here. I’m in a huge reading slump at the moment, and I think it’s due to not being willing to give up on book. What’s killing me is some of these are books from series/authors I love! But if you can DNF a Jennifer Echols book, I think I need to take a cue from you and just throw in the towel.
I’ve heard that Levitating Las Vegas was a bit disappointing. I haven’t read it because I’m not really a huge Jennifer Echols fan. I loved Major Crush, but really disliked Love Story.
Sometimes you just know from the get go that a book isn’t for you.
I also DNF ‘d this one. Which I felt bad for. I always feel bad when I Dnf a net galley but I just couldn’t get into it. Kinda glad I didn’t waste money on it though.
Sorry this one turned out to be such a dude, form all accounts I hear this one was sort of a debacle.
Better luck with your next book.
I’ve never had the best luck with Jennifer Echols’ work so I tend to approach it with caution now. After being thoroughly underwhelmed by Such A Rush and entirely turned off by Dirty Little Secret because of what an insufferable character Sam sounded like, it’s safe to say that I haven’t been bitten by the Echols bug like so many of my fellow bloggers have. Truth be told, I would love to read one of her truly ‘great’ novels to understand what all the fuss is about, because unfortunately right now, I’m just not able to see it. 🙁
I’m really sorry to hear that you didn’t enjoy Levitating Las Vegas! From the sound of things it isn’t the sort of novel for me either. If there’s one thing I have a distinct lack of patience for, it’s extensive world-building, which might explain why I tend to avoid the high fantasy genre at all costs, too. On the bright side, at least you were able to quickly identify that it wasn’t right for you, rather than wasting your time reading something you didn’t like. Life is too short to slog through books that you aren’t enjoying, right? 🙂
Haven’t read any of her writing. She seems to have become the new popular author, so I probably should read something of hers eventually. Not this, obviously.