Shades of Pink (Lola Pink Mysteries Book 1)

Very formulaic. No steam. No spark. No sizzle. Definitely no laughing out loud. I'm not a big fan of the romance genre, but this one was duller than most. Just very bland. Didn't even make an attempt to seem believable. A number of ideas rather baldly lifted from Stephanie Plum, but without the results.

Sometimes a book can draw you in with one sentence. When that rarity occurs, I just enjoy. I don't pay attention to grammar, run on sentences, or a mack truck. I just immerse myself in the picture. To me, I don't read words......I see a movie. I know, that may sound weird but a truly great author creates more than just words to me. They allow you to feel and that to me is a sign of a great book. I read from the first word to the last, in one sitting and then I closed the book with regret already missing my new found friends. Pick up a copy and enjoy...you will laugh out loud and sigh at the end but you will enjoy the journey.

Since she lived with her grandmother from age six on, Lola Pink was devastated when Dotty Pink died and left her with their dreams and no way for Lola to follow them. The expansion to include a coffee bar and sunglass shop, the overdue structural repairs, and the empty physic table overwhelm Lola who is broke and has no idea what to do first. When handyman contractor Luke offers to work something out, Lola knows in her heart that isn't the answer. Before she can think about it, the rich and elusive Dane Clarke walks into her house and life with a job offer that will solve her problems. He needs her to find something and will pay her the money she needs. (FYI Dane is rich beyond belief, a recluse, lives in a nearby castle, runs an extremely successful techno company that is shrouded in mystery and security in a nearby forest, is handsome, a genius, and socially awkward.)

Although Lola is obviously a smart cookie, one of her best friends is a very smart lawyer. Lola asks her to read the contract, then goes ahead and follows her heart, signs the contract without reading it and before lawyer Babs has a chance to make her recommendations. And thus begins Lola Pink's employment as a "Nancy Drew" type PI. What follows is part mystery, part romance, and all fun.
If you have had the pleasure of reading anything by Gina LaManna before, you know her characters force you to read practically non-stop to the end of the book. They con you into falling in love with them, and forgiving them when they disappoint you. This was definitely a book that made you read as quickly as possible and then sigh and whine because the book was over too soon!

I can't recommend the author and this book enough! I loved the book so much that as soon as I finished the book, I started over and read it again. It was just as wonderful the second time around! So many great characters and good ideas. You won't want to miss this book!

What was not to love about this book? Every character was written with perfection, and the story's rhythm was sublime.

I cannot say which character I adored more? Dane? Annalise? Lola? Babs? Semi? Mrs. Dulcet? Ugh. So hard to choose.

Lola and Dane's story was both touching and humorous. Mrs. Dulcet, Semi, Babs and Annalise were all portrayed beautifully in that they are just the kind of people you would want to have your back in this game called life.

So good. On to book 2!

LaManna set the bar high with her Magic & Mixology and Lacey Luzzi, so I was worried about a new series. However, I had nothing to worry about. I love this series! Lola is sweet and sassy, and like all of LaManna's heroines, she has a couple of sassy best friends. She also has a mysterious, sexy love interest. Dane Clark is a dark haired, hot specimen of a man, but he's more complex than previous love interests. He has a more innocent quality, and some of his quirks give rise to speculation from readers as to whether he has ASD. As an ASD mom and advocate, I love the positive want that it may show someone with ASD. If Dane isn't meant to have ASD, then it shows how those with ASD are not too dissimilar from neurotypical individuals.

I love Gina LaManna's style of writing. She writes with humor and I find myself laughing out loud while reading her books. This is a good read that moves along rather quickly and I find myself immersed with any of Gina's characters. I enjoy Gina's stories (this is the 3rd series of her books that I've read. LOVED the Lacey Luzzi cozy mystery series and can't wait for the newest story, as well as the Lily Locke from the Magic & Mixology Series). I know any book or series I read will always make me smile and inevitably laugh - THANK YOU GINA!

A good book by Gina LaManna. This story focuses on Lola Pink whose grandmother and owner Psychic in Pink recently passed away, and shortly after is offered a job she can't refuse from hunky billionaire Dane Clark. There is an instant chemistry between these too, but Lola's focus is her new business. Lola is obsessed with sun glasses, any color, and want to start a coffee shop/sun glass business/psychic shop. Her two best friends remind me of Meg from the Lacey Luzzi series, always watching her back. There were some surprises in this book, but it seemed to be more romance with a little mystery tossed in. Although I must say the end was a surprise.

Gina LaMana has done it again, another great book. Lola pink has just lost her grandmother who had taken her in at a young age and raised her. Lola want to uphold her grandma's physic place as well as fix it up and add a coffee and sunglasses but. Unfortunately she wasn't left much money and a disappearing entries from her grandma's journal. That all changes when she meets the mysterious computer billionaire Dane Clare who hires her with a very specific contract and any amount Lola ask for. The twist of mystery, discovery and romance I could not put the.book down. I read it in one night. Really a great read.

Dane Clark is rude, ruthless and hard to get along with. When he comes to hire Lola as a last resort to help him find a mysterious something that was stolen from his company, Lola really doesn't want to take the job. Unfortunately, she needs the money if she is ever going to open the business she and her grandmother always dreamed of having. Can she learn to put up with Dane's unusual behavior long enough to earn the money she needs? What about the good looking handyman Luke? Will she be able to have an uninterrupted date with him? Join Lola and her besties as they eat ice cream, meet new people, and help introduce a billionaire to the real world .
I loved this book. I stayed up too late to finish it ? I hope to read another one soon that might center on Babs.

Yes! Gina LaManna does it again. Once again us lucky writers get to read an amazing, funny and exciting book by Gina. Even though this book can be read as a stand alone, I am so excited about this series! As with all of Gina's books, when reading Shades of pink I felt part of the story, there were times I was a tad teary eyed and there were times I was cracking up, oh and there were definitely times where I was laughing to myself saying - yup I totally would say that... Agent Pink lol Thanks Gina for another hit!

I too am mystified by all the positive reviews--I think many of these reviews are fake because this book was mediocre at best. The story liine was thin and made no sense. Lola is the granddaughter of a psychic and for some reason she is hired by a reclusive billionaire to find blueprints that were lost from his high security, high tech company. What!?? It goes downhill from there. The characters are not particularly interesting and the parts that are supposed to be funny are not particularly funny. I won't be trusting 4.5 star reviews on the store any more.

The only reason for four instead of five stars is the unreal idea of a reclusive billionaire hiring a nobody to be his assistant because she worked in a psychic shop. And she isn't psychic either. But Lola has a practical view of people and the billionaire boss who may be autistic has trouble understanding human relationships. As the reader might guess, Lola is able to break through the boss' robotic like personality and at the same time solve a problem for his business. I enjoyed the characters.

I was so excited when this popped up this morning. I love this brand of humor mixed with sass and mystery. Lola is an awesome character, she's in a tough spot after her grandma dies but she doesn't shy away from her problems. Dane omg I just love him! I can't wait to read more about these to. The characters are quirky and lovable. I was surprised by the mystery as well. Its a sweet story that will make your hearts flutter and leave you with a smile on your face!