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Vegas is a series of novels written by Fern Michaels. The Vegas series introduced the Thornton dynasty to the Fern Michaels landscape. Fans of the Kentucky books know that that series basically explored the lives of the Colemans and the Thorntons in modern times.
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Order of Vegas Series
| # | Read | Title | Published | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vegas Rich | 1996 | Description / Buy | |
| 2 | Vegas Heat | 1997 | Description / Buy | |
| 3 | Vegas Sunrise | 1997 | Description / Buy |
While the Texas trilogy introduced the Coleman family, it is in the Vegas trilogy that the Thornton family came into being. In other words, you have two trilogies that eventually come together to form a third trilogy.
The Vegas series, interestingly enough, begins with a Coleman. Sallie Coleman is just a singer and a prostitute in 1923. However, her luck changes when a millionaire leaves her all his money.
Determined to change her life and build a new, more polished legacy from the ground up, Sallie not only changes houses, moving into a large mansion, but she also hires a handsome tutor.
Philip Thornton and Sallie Coleman eventually get married, this leading to an explosive tale that spans decades. Sallie might have left Texas behind, but she brings all her baggage along with her when she moves to Vegas.
The Vegas series paints the Thornton family as an equally dysfunctional group of people, or at least just as dysfunctional as the Coleman clan. They feud and clash on numerous occasions over the course of the series, driven by elements like greed and jealousy.
Fern Michaels was born Mary Ruth Kuczkir. When her last born started school, Fern was encouraged to go out and get a job. She chose to stay home and write, and that decision has paid off handsomely since then.
The author has written numerous romance and thriller novels over the years, with dozens of them making it to the New York Times Bestseller list. And her popularity has only grown, with fans flocking to her books because they are so entertaining and difficult to put down.
Best Vegas Books
The Vegas series is often compared to the Texas series, seeing as the two are very loosely connected; though, it is difficult to find a consensus on that particular debate, with the best Vegas series books including:
Vegas Rich: When Sallie Coleman left Texas for Vegas, she didn’t think she would become the richest woman in the state. But that is exactly what happens. Sallie soon plants the seeds for a family whose renown will go down in the Vegas history books.
This book rarely survives comparisons with the Texas books primarily because it has an overabundance of time skips. The frequent jumps make it very difficult to get attached to any of the characters or to understand their personalities.
As a result, the tragedies that happen to the characters do not register the way they should because Fern doesn’t allow you to get to know the people in her story. It is difficult to figure out whether Fern Michaels intentionally chose to gloss over so many events with her time jumps or if she simply didn’t have the time to properly pace this book.
It is also worth noting that the Colemans get a lot of screen time in this book. In fact, too much time is spent talking about them, which is unnecessarily seeing as they already have their own series.
Vegas Heat: When Ash falls ill, Fanny Thornton, his wife, must step up and take over the family’s Las Vegas Casino.
While this book initially looks like it might be about Fanny struggling to manage the family casino, it gives a lot of focus to Fanny’s relationship with her husband’s brother. The book, like its predecessor, keeps skipping time. And it is also quite vague, never really explaining what happened to Ash and whether or not he is dying.
Fern Michaels definitely doesn’t do her best work with these books. And the fact that the transitions in time seem to persist in this book suggests that they are intentional on the part of Fern Michaels, though they obviously do not deliver the results she probably had in mind.
Other Book Series you May Like
The “Texas” series by Fern Michaels introduces the Coleman clan. When a young girl marries a dashing young man, she doesn’t realize the baggage his family brings to the table, and is soon embroiled in seemingly endless family feuds.
The “Kentucky” series, also by Fern Michaels, brings back the Colemans and the Thorntons, though the focus is placed on the next generation. A young girl who was forced to flee from her home with her illegitimate daughter returns to take over the family horse-racing business.
What Is The Next Book in The Vegas Series?
There doesn't seem to be an upcoming book in The Vegas Series. The newest book is Vegas Sunrise and was released on September, 1st 1997.