Synopsis
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.
2/5 stars
Release date: 7th May 2013
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My Review
*Thanks to Edelweiss and the publishers for approving me for a EArc copy of Levitating Las Vegas in return for an honest opinion*
What if you had been lied to for seven years? Told you had a mental illness, forced to take tablets everyday and told never to tell anyone? That is exactly what Molly and Elijah were told to do at just 14 years old.
At 21, Holly Starr is fed up of assisting her dad, a celebrity magician at his casino show. She wants to break free and be the stay of her own show, if only he would spill his tricks to her. For years she had taken medication to keep the crazy hallucinations away that she can levitate objects but what happens when she thinks shes ready to make a life and career for herself? And what happens when shes taken off her medication and finds out shes been lied to about her illness for seven years.
Elijah Brown is also on the same medication as Holly. Suffering from a similar delusion – he can read minds and when he runs out of medicine, he believes he’s going crazy. Finding out that his old flame Holly has MAD too, and shes about to run out of medicine, he believes the only way to save them both, is to kidnap her and take her to where they make the medicine. But on the way, what they find out and discover is that they may very well have powers that have been hidden from them for seven years…and that their feelings for one another had never gone away.
But having these powers leads them into dangerous territories and as they plan to stick together and confront everyone who kept them from their powers and each other for so long can only lead them into the hands of the people who want them; want to pit them against each other in a dangerous world where dominance, sex and falling in love can lead to disastrous consequences.
I was so excited when I got approved to read Levitating Las Vegas. Ever since I had read the synopsis, I added it to my TBR list and willed the days until it was released. When I found it on Edelwiess, I took a chance, requested it and got approved.
But, and this is a big but, because I LOVE Jennifer Echols books, I was disappointed in it. I loved the concept of two teenagers having powers, only to be told they didn’t and had to take this tablet every day and tell no one about their illness, until they are taken off it and realize everything they had been told was a lie and they did have powers.
I just felt that it dragged all the way up until the last 20% where my attention spiked because there was a ‘battle’ and secrets came out from some of the characters, where I was uhming and ahhing about them. I willed myself to want to like it, I wanted to, desperately and I powered through. But books normally take me 1-2 days to read, this took me nearly a week. (add in the fact I was ill too, but I still read a couple of pages) – I just suppose it wasn’t the book for me in the end.
I had a love/hate relationship with Holly and Elijah. You can pretty much tell they are the done deal for one another, even in their teens as the book begins seven years in the past when they are 14. But once their parents find out they are going on a date to their school prom, they stop them immediately and tell them to never see each other again. That is where everything starts for them and that is when they ‘discover’ their power, only to have their parents tell them they have MAD.
Fast forward seven years and they haven’t seen each other, even though they both work at the casino. As ive mentioned, Eljiah finds out Holly has MAD too and after running out of pills, he asks Holly for one. This starts the back and forth relationship these two didn’t have in high school, thus starting it now. To me, there wasn’t really any romance linked with these two, although to them, they are the real deal. They are just dangerous to one another as they could and most probably at some point manipulate each other with their powers, but they don’t want to. They want to just be normal, as they can be, together, but of course, it’s going to be hard, as Elijah can hear her thoughts and she can strangle, push him away, and move him etc with her mind.
The two of them really did have a turbulent relationship and the powers did not help that at all. One minute they were fine together, the next they were fighting and storming off (well, Holly was). They were all over the place and i suppose can you really blame them? They really liked each other in school but were forced to stay away, then they get together 7 years later, only for her parents to want her to stay away again, add in their powers and you do get a messed up relationship, where their love is powerful but their powers are dangerous. Its a lot to handle I’d expect for both of them, seeing as neither had been in a relationship, nor less, intimate with anyone else in that time span. But one thing that I do know about these two, was that they would go to hell and earth to save one another.
The Rez is mentioned throughout the book, but its not until the last 20% that you finally get to see exactly what it is. You do get brief outlines as to what goes on there and why you should never want to be a part of that ‘crowd’ as they use your powers against you and your loved one, as you get to see in the final parts of the book. It’s not a good or nice place to end up.
I did enjoy all the powers, that being said. The mind readers, the mind changers and the levitators. I liked how all the characters involved at something different and how they used them, even if some used it for the wrong reasons, Holly and Elijah wanted to use theirs for the good, not to be sucked in by the danger of the Rez, who will do anything to have they both and pit their powers against one another. They know they have to stand strong but what happens when one of them is taken?
Although I wasn’t a big fan of Elijah (Or Holly), the one thing is did do near the end proved just how much he loved Holly that he was willing to sacrifice something so big for her, so she would be let go and they couldn’t manipulate his mind-reading power and hers. Although it wasn’t her fault she was acting that way, she was being controlled, I really did feel for him doing what he did, just to save her.
So yeah, I’m going to say that what Elijah did was my favourite part of the book. Although I cant tell you what he did, as it will be a big spoiler, but if you want to find out, read the book when it comes out on May 7th.
I’m giving it a 2. I winced as I wrote that. A two because the last 20% I liked and because the concept of the story was a good one, but it just needed more for me. I’m sure other people may very well love this book, but it took every inch to try and keep my attention, plus, I’m not sure if there is a second book, but there needs to be because there are a few things that were left unsaid and need to be rectified, such as WHAT was going to happen right at the end. It seemed to just be left hanging.
I DO love Jennifer Echols books, Just a Rush is one of my favourites, but Levitating Las Vegas, I’m sorry, but it’s not for me. I’m not saying this to put you off, because this is my opinion of the book, and as we all know, we all have very different tastes, so if you are looking forward to this book, don’t beat it down and never read it because of me, because you may very well love it.
Z. Elizabeth 