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House Always Wins: Vegas Ghost Story by Brian Rouff- On Tour + Giveaway! [Ends 11/30/18]

10/19/2018

3 Comments

 
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House Always Wins: Vegas Ghost Story by Brian Rouff
Publisher:  Huntington Press (Oct 3, 2017) | ISBN: 978-1944877064
Category: Paranormal Romance, Ghosts, Crime Thriller, Las Vegas Mystery
Tour dates:Oct-Nov, 2018 | Available in Print and ebook, 324 pages

Anna Christiansen’s small-town life is about to go haywire. A young reporter stuck in a dead-end job, Anna falls head over heels for an interview subject, the bass player in an up-and-coming alt band. In short order, she pulls up stakes, moves to Las Vegas, gets married and pregnant, and buys a big fixer-upper haunted by the ghost of a Sin City racketeer.
That’s when Anna gets notice from a corrupt casino owner that he’s buying up all the properties on her street to make way for a parking lot. But Anna has poured her heart and soul into the house and digs in hard to fight the system — not the easiest of tasks in a city where bribery, mayhem, and murder are standard operating procedures.
Can Anna’s tough-guy ghost provide the help she needs to prevail in this dangerous cat-and-mouse game? Will Anna’s life be left in ruins? Or worse?
Buy House Always Wins: Vegas Ghost Story by Brian Rouff
Amazon | BarnesandNoble  |  BookDepository

MY REVIEW: (LAWonder10)
This was an eerily fun "ghost story"!
Upcoming, small town Michigan journalist, Anna Christiansen, finally got her break!
She was assigned an interview with the lead singer of the Dickweeds, an ascending popular band. The only problem, when she arrived, her ticket wasn't their. Using her Journalist "savvy", she was able to get into the concert. Her next feat would be getting close enough to the band before they left at the end of the show... miraculously, her plan worked!
Sadly, even after all her "pleadings" the lead singer refused to speak with her. Her tears and trembling lip began. The bass player, Aaron, took pity on her and agreed to an Interview.
The interview went far better than Anna had planned. After an evening spent like she had never spent before, they decided to go to Vegas together, where Aaron lived and where it was "home" for the band.
Aaron had to go "on the road" for a tour. Anna was stuck in Vegas in a cramped apartment, with a "socially challenged" roommate. When Aaron was able to escape his Tour, midway through it, Anna had new which changed all plans.
After purchasing a "fixer-upper", Anna was faced with an unexpected house guest. There is no way she would share this experience with anyone!
This is a fast-paced romance/mystery, with a touch of humor and paranormal.
Ideally, it included a house the author's family actually once lived in!
The characters are endearing - and some infuriating -, and the scenes are portrayed, in word, well. The Book Title and Image are both a clever "fit".
^*Reader beware: There is some profanity throughout the book and a sexual situation.

I offer a Four and a Half Stars rating.
*Although this book was gifted me, there was no requirement for a positive review. This is my honest review.

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Praise House Always Wins: Vegas Ghost Story by Brian Rouff, Finalist, American Fiction Awards, Romance: Paranormal category
“It’s pure Vegas, told from an insider’s perspective.”- Anthony Curtis, Huntington Press

“A whirlwind romance leads an unlikely pair of newlyweds to Las Vegas, home of every dream and nightmare they can imagine―from predatory developers to a friendly ghost. Rouff spins a guilelessly winsome fable whose charming heroine needs to have everything from her ghost’s personal history to the ritual significance of her newborn’s bris explained to her―which means that the reader gets treated to all these explanations too.”-Kirkus Reviews

“Paragraphs are replete with uproariously sarcastic similes, metaphors, and tongue-in-cheek comments. Narrative hooks, drama, unexpected openings, and cliffhanging chapter endings keep the story flowing. Complicated situations, including confrontations with neighbors and pressure from the casino, build to a significant and unanticipated climax. A fun read from beginning to end, The House Always Wins is an attractive romance with a unique ghostly touch.”-Clarion Foreword Reviews, 5 stars

“Author Brian Rouff has dreamed up a fun little tale, which he describes in a release as “part coming-of-age saga, part mystery and part ghost story.” When it comes to Nevada stories, Rouff knows his stuff. He has lived in Las Vegas for more than 35 years and has also written the Las Vegas-based novels Dice Angel and Money Shot.”- C. Moon Reed, Las Vegas Weekly
​
“Brian Rouff’s writing of The House Always Wins: A Vegas Ghost Story is impressive. It’s a charming, fast-paced story beautifully narrated by the main character, Anna. It contains wit, mystery, and a bit of nostalgia. Meyer reminisces about his racketeering life and how developed Las Vegas has become. Anna is a strong-minded person who possesses a sense of humour, even when her problems are serious. I thought the road trip was interesting, also the descriptions of the communities that had seen changes, for better or for worse. The author has shown the other side of Las Vegas in this must-read novel.”- Michelle Stanley, Readers’ Favorite
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​About Brian Rouff:
Award winning author, Brian Rouff was born in Detroit, raised in Southern California, and has lived in Las Vegas since 1981, which makes him a long-timer by local standards. When he’s not writing articles, screenplays and Las Vegas-based novels such as “Dice Angel,” “Money Shot,” and “The House Always Wins,” he runs Imagine Communications, a marketing and public relations firm. He is also a regular contributor to Living-Las-Vegas.com.
On a personal note, Brian is married with two grown daughters and five grandchildren. In his spare time he enjoys movies, playing guitar and the occasional trip to the casino buffet line.

Website | Twitter | Facebook |

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Giveaway House Always Wins: Vegas Ghost Story by Brian Rouff
       This giveaway is for one print copy or ebook copy of the book.  Print is available to the U.S. only but ebook is available worldwide. This giveaway ends on November 30, 2018 at midnight pacific time.  Entries are accepted via Rafflecopter only.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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3 Comments
Teddy Rose
10/23/2018 12:21:16 pm

I'm so glad you enjoyed 'The House Always Wins'!

Reply
Lu Ann link
10/24/2018 01:09:11 am

It had enough twists that it was not predictable. It was something out of the ordinary.
PLUS, we raised our family in Las Vegas for 32 years so I could relate to much of it.

Reply
Brian Rouff link
10/24/2018 06:38:12 am

Thanks so much for the nice review. I'm really glad you enjoyed it. I always try to include a lot of Vegas "inside stuff."




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