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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
3 stars for lack of enjoyment and not because it’s a bad book. Really, it seems like a perfectly fine book, it just really was *not* what I was looking for atm. I pushed through on the hopes it would draw me in eventually, but it didn’t. I think I would have liked it more if it was alt history and/or had more POVs, but oh well. If you liked this (or wished you did), I’d recommend trying Dread Nation or Vengeance Road (more than anything this made me want to finally pick up the DN sequel lol)
Excellent Worldbuilding
This book makes me excited to read more set in this world. A fantasy western is already unusual, and I absolutely want to know more about how this unusual magic system works.
This book makes me excited to read more set in this world. A fantasy western is already unusual, and I absolutely want to know more about how this unusual magic system works.
This book came SO highly recommended to me, but I was sluggish to get around to reading it because I'm not usually into Westerns. This, though? This book is perfect. It mixes fast paced action, a ragtag band of characters, and a world just close enough to our own to weave my imagination in easily and creates a completely engrossing story. This is fantasy and history bound together in a way that shows the best of both. Every detail is perfectly comprehensible yet delightfully unique. I can't wait for whatever comes next!
It’s been awhile since I’ve had a proper book hangover. You know the feeling when you’ve read a book that you loved and, you can’t possibly fathom reading anything else now that it’s over? That was the Good Luck Girls for me. I started reading it immediately when I opened its package, and couldn’t seem to put it down once I did.
The Good Luck Girls follows sisters Aster and Clementine, teenage girls in the harsh country of Arketta. Sold into a “welcome house” as children, and branded with elaborate tattoos known as favors, they only have each other to rely on. After Clementine accidentally kills a man on her “lucky night”, the two escape the welcome house with their two best friends Mallow and Tansy, and enemy Violet. Now on the run from the law, and with no one to trust but themselves, the five of them form an unlikely alliance. They set out to find the mysterious Lady Ghost, a woman believed to have the power to remove their favors and free them from life as Good Luck Girls once and for all.
To put it simply, I loved this book. I immediately identified with the character of Aster. Though the story is told in third person, it is told from Aster’s perspective. Aster is incredibly brazen, yet pragmatic. She’s fully aware of the peril involved in the girls escape from the welcome house and even more in their travels to find Lady Ghost in Northrock.
Davis does an excellent job of world-building, all the while tackling the heavy topics of slavery, sex-trafficking, and poverty. She slowly adds on more features of the country of Arketta as they arise in the story, and reinforces them as necessary. I found it very easy to imagine the cruel country of Arketta, although at times I wish I had a map to go back to.
One of my favorite aspects of this book was that it is not a romance. It’s not a story of freedom where the main character finds herself…but also finds a boy. It is a story about a girl who discovers her purpose in life, and validates what’s important to her without finding a man. I loved that.
It was hard for me to read that final chapter and say goodbye to the characters I had come to care about so much. One thing is clear to me…I really hope there’s a sequel!
The Good Luck Girls follows sisters Aster and Clementine, teenage girls in the harsh country of Arketta. Sold into a “welcome house” as children, and branded with elaborate tattoos known as favors, they only have each other to rely on. After Clementine accidentally kills a man on her “lucky night”, the two escape the welcome house with their two best friends Mallow and Tansy, and enemy Violet. Now on the run from the law, and with no one to trust but themselves, the five of them form an unlikely alliance. They set out to find the mysterious Lady Ghost, a woman believed to have the power to remove their favors and free them from life as Good Luck Girls once and for all.
To put it simply, I loved this book. I immediately identified with the character of Aster. Though the story is told in third person, it is told from Aster’s perspective. Aster is incredibly brazen, yet pragmatic. She’s fully aware of the peril involved in the girls escape from the welcome house and even more in their travels to find Lady Ghost in Northrock.
Davis does an excellent job of world-building, all the while tackling the heavy topics of slavery, sex-trafficking, and poverty. She slowly adds on more features of the country of Arketta as they arise in the story, and reinforces them as necessary. I found it very easy to imagine the cruel country of Arketta, although at times I wish I had a map to go back to.
One of my favorite aspects of this book was that it is not a romance. It’s not a story of freedom where the main character finds herself…but also finds a boy. It is a story about a girl who discovers her purpose in life, and validates what’s important to her without finding a man. I loved that.
It was hard for me to read that final chapter and say goodbye to the characters I had come to care about so much. One thing is clear to me…I really hope there’s a sequel!
A surprisingly dark YA fantasy western where the main teenage girls are sold into sex slavery and try to escape it. The fantasy aspect of this is very light, but I still enjoyed it. My favorite and strongest aspect of the book was the girls that we get to know and their friendship, love and loyalty for each other throughout the book. I really liked the writing and how Davis really made me invested and care about these girls. I felt the pacing was a bit off as there was a lot of filler throughout the middle and the ending felt really rushed. This is the first of a duology, but this ended in a satisfying enough way for me that I don't feel the need to read the sequel. A pretty stunning debut and one I would recommend for teen readers.
Great unique novel. I love the mix of historical fiction, western, and fantasy. Love the kick-ass female protagonists.
I didn't quite know what this book was about when I picked it up, I pretty much went in completely blind. And while I didn't hate it, I didn't really love it, either. The idea behind this started off very strong and intriguing, but after a while it felt like it wasn't going anywhere. It felt pretty stagnant after a while, and it also felt repetitive after the first quarter. None of the characters jumped off the page at me, and the relationships between each character felt pretty flat. It also felt there were things that dragged on for too long or felt too rushed, and the things that were rushed were the very important plot points. I didn't know going in this was the start of a duology and the sequel isn't out yet, so some of the threads that were still left untied make sense now. But unfortunately I don't know if I enjoyed the book enough to pick up the sequel to see how it all ends. The overall experience was just pretty meh for me.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This has a lot of amazing things going for it.
This story follows five girls who escape the welcome house they were imprisoned to (a place they're branded to and are purchased to please brags, male customers), when Clementine accidentally kills someone on her Lucky Night, the night of her 16th birthday when she's first purchased by a brag. This happens right at the start, so we're thrown right into the action that follows.
And the action didn't stop.
This story is adventure-driven and character-driven and introduces us to this whole new interesting world. I have many many questions left about this world, and I wish some more questions were answered in this book, but overall I had enough information to enjoy the story.
The characters were overall likeable and had unique qualities to them. Although, I would've loved to know Tansy and Mallow more, as the two sort of blended into one character in my mind. But we still have a few characters who stand out on their own.
The writing was easy to follow and enjoyable, there was just something that kept me from being totally invested in this book. At times, I just wasn't impressed with Aster, or was annoyed with her which dimmed my enjoying of the book. But overall, it was good. I just wasn't blown away.
What is really amazing about this book though is that we get some amazing black girls thrown into this western-esque adventure story, and it's totally a non-issue. It's nice to see diversity of race in books where it isn't always about the adversity or oppression of them. It's important to see black girls kicking ass in this fantasy world, no questions asked.
I'd recommend this to anyone looking for a fun adventure and action story, about girls overcoming hardship, coming together, and fighting the rich and powerful.
*ARC provided by the publisher for an honest review*
This story follows five girls who escape the welcome house they were imprisoned to (a place they're branded to and are purchased to please brags, male customers), when Clementine accidentally kills someone on her Lucky Night, the night of her 16th birthday when she's first purchased by a brag. This happens right at the start, so we're thrown right into the action that follows.
And the action didn't stop.
This story is adventure-driven and character-driven and introduces us to this whole new interesting world. I have many many questions left about this world, and I wish some more questions were answered in this book, but overall I had enough information to enjoy the story.
The characters were overall likeable and had unique qualities to them. Although, I would've loved to know Tansy and Mallow more, as the two sort of blended into one character in my mind. But we still have a few characters who stand out on their own.
The writing was easy to follow and enjoyable, there was just something that kept me from being totally invested in this book. At times, I just wasn't impressed with Aster, or was annoyed with her which dimmed my enjoying of the book. But overall, it was good. I just wasn't blown away.
What is really amazing about this book though is that we get some amazing black girls thrown into this western-esque adventure story, and it's totally a non-issue. It's nice to see diversity of race in books where it isn't always about the adversity or oppression of them. It's important to see black girls kicking ass in this fantasy world, no questions asked.
I'd recommend this to anyone looking for a fun adventure and action story, about girls overcoming hardship, coming together, and fighting the rich and powerful.
*ARC provided by the publisher for an honest review*
TW: rape, sex slavery
I was hesitant to read this book cuz I knew it was about teenage girls sold to a brothel house but I’m glad I did! What a story, what an adventure! I couldn’t have asked for a better western story! I loved the characters and their personal arcs, especially Violets. Her story from beginning to end was just *chefs kiss
I was hesitant to read this book cuz I knew it was about teenage girls sold to a brothel house but I’m glad I did! What a story, what an adventure! I couldn’t have asked for a better western story! I loved the characters and their personal arcs, especially Violets. Her story from beginning to end was just *chefs kiss