Lucky Starflowers

A Steel City Story, Book 5

De: Kate Pavelle

Narrado por: Kevin Chandler

Theodore and his cousin Rickey inherited their aunt's flower shop, Starflowers. They decide to run and improve it with their families' financial support. Starflowers gives Theodore's life meaning after a depressing breakup. Focusing on work is easy when he's absolutely sure there's no space for a man in his life. If he did allow for a boyfriend, it would be someone boring and everyday. Someone unlike the exotic Attila. He'd have a cubicle job, wear a cheap suit, and drive a Kia.

Sam Grey is a professional gambler who got caught counting cards one too many times, and consequences can be severe. He got beaten up, robbed, injured, and ends up homeless in Pittsburgh, living out of his Porsche. His temporary job helping with the Valentine's Day craze makes him yearn not only for the perky florist, but for a slower, friendlier way of life. When the shop runs into financial trouble, Sam's dangerous and exotic skills might be just the thing to help Theodore and show him he's not just a deadbeat moocher who's "just passing through."

©2016 Kate Pavelle (P)2016 Kate Pavelle

Great story

I loved Theodore and Sam. Characters are well developed. Theo and Rickey inherited the flower shop from their aunt. Sam is a professional gambler. Theo and Sam meet when Sam answers the job posting on the window of the shop and as soon as Theo and Rickey realize that Sam is sleeping in his car they also offer him a place to stay. Sam doesn't really have a home as he travels from state to state gambling as himself as well as in drag. Theo and Sam end up falling in love and Sam finally makes the choice to put down roots. Great read enjoy.

Loved the performance

Would you consider the audio edition of Lucky Starflowers to be better than the print version?

MUCH better. The performer raised an average story to a much higher level of enjoyment through his narration.

If you’ve listened to books by Kate Pavelle before, how does this one compare?

This was my first experience with this author.

What does Kevin Chandler bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

It sounds like I'm listening to a full cast presentation. He has a gift for voices. Even those minor characters are given unique voices, which he then returns to when they pop in later on. It's like he has compiled a list of every character in the book, and developed a vocal pattern for each one individually. I don't know if that's how it happened, but that's how it came across. He should be doing voice over work for cartoons (maybe he already is?).

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Oh, yes. One scene in particular. I'm going to be vague, so I don't spoil things here. There is a house that has been converted into several apartments. One of those apartments has been unused since the lady who lived there passed away. Someone comes by for an unexpected visit and ends up staying in that vacant room. He just about gets to sleep when he hears squeeking, and something crawls over his feet. I was cringing/laughing so hard I had to pull over.

Any additional comments?

I didn't enjoy the story. I enjoyed the telling of the story, the performance. I'm sure it has to do with the two main characters, neither of whom I cared for or about. As a reader, I was never given the slightest reason as to why I should care for them. Side characters were much more interesting, and I kept wanting to hear more about them.

Theo needs his Lucky

Would you listen to Lucky Starflowers again? Why?

Yes, the story is very well written. I enjoyed listening about Theo and Sam's journey to love.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I really enjoyed Sam. He is a very complex character.

Which character – as performed by Kevin Chandler – was your favorite?

Sam. Again because he is very complex. He is Sam and Samantha and sometimes both.

Any additional comments?

I really enjoyed this story and will look into getting the others in the series. This can be read as a stand alone, but will enjoy getting to know the others in the series.

Slow Moving, but good narration

I have to confess, I found the story a bit boring, especially at the beginning. It only really seemed to pick up some for me after Theo and Sam got intimate. I also didn't really feel any connection or empathy with Sam. I liked Theo much more, and wasn't really sure what he saw in Sam. I thought Braedon would have been a better choice and more like what Theo said/thought he was looking for: stable and settled down. While I did find the family brawl entertaining, I thought it was crass and thoughtless that Sam participated in trying to fool everyone just for fun. I didn't think it was a very nice "joke" to play on Theo's mother, especially as a guest!

Regardless of the story-line, though, I really liked the narrator. Kevin Chandler did an excellent job voicing the characters, making each one sound different and unique.

Fun and well worth listening to

What did you love best about Lucky Starflowers?

Sam is a semi-professional gambler who cross-dresses as Samantha to try to keep ahead of casino security, but has been accused of counting cards a few too many times for the local casinos to allow him (and her) through their doors. When he gets mugged and robbed after his latest escort off of a casino premises, he decides to travel to warmer climes. That decision gets him as far as Pittsburgh where circumstances lead him to meet up with floral shop owners Theo and his cousin Ricky.

Theo and Ricky open their arms to help Sam out and Sam & Theo feel an almost instant connection. This connection is strained from the beginning by Theo's history which has jaded him against all relationships, but most especially those with guys who are exciting. Added to that, Sam has no interest in spending any length of time more than necessary to heal & get out to a more "civilized" place. Then, on top of everything else, Theo doesn't quite know how he feels about the cross-dressing and comes up with some truly funny things to worry about because of it.

But, in the two weeks that lead to Valentine's Day, Theo and Sam come to rely on one another more and more, and they realize that what they thought they wanted at the beginning of the story isn't what they need.

I thought that this book was very well written and plotted. My one pet peeve is that I wanted to smack both Sam and Theo upside the head throughout most of the book (along with pretty much everyone in Theo's family) just out of sheer frustration that the two of them refused to actually talk to one another. There were a couple of times that I felt that this was more plot device than actual, realistic reactions to circumstances.

What does Kevin Chandler bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Kevin Chandler did an excellent job narrating the characters in this book. Each one had a distinct voice without having distracting, fake, accents. He created a light, sarcastic Theo; a terse, somewhat guarded Sam; a sultry Samantha; and a jocular Ricky - along with all of the sundry supporting characters.