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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
that was a solid 4, definitely more enjoyable than Serious Moonlight, right until around 90% of the book. then once again we got this for some reason that annoyed me to the core. so now it's a 3.
still, I like Jenn Bennett. I like that her characters always have some extravagant hobby that is used for communication and plot development. I like that her stories never cease to amaze me.
maybe for me the first one (Night Owls) was golden, and all the following were just more of the same. maybe I just need to really connect with the characters and their art to fall in love with the author's book once again (e.g. anatomical drawing in Night Owls :))
Spoiler
omnipresent dumb fightstill, I like Jenn Bennett. I like that her characters always have some extravagant hobby that is used for communication and plot development. I like that her stories never cease to amaze me.
maybe for me the first one (Night Owls) was golden, and all the following were just more of the same. maybe I just need to really connect with the characters and their art to fall in love with the author's book once again (e.g. anatomical drawing in Night Owls :))
"Even little trees cast big shadows when the sun is setting."
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
4.75 stars
JENN!! I cannot even tell you how much I adore this book. It was seriously everything. I always want more story when I get to the end of your books, because I don't want to leave that world.
Also can we talk about Lucky Karras?!
JENN!! I cannot even tell you how much I adore this book. It was seriously everything. I always want more story when I get to the end of your books, because I don't want to leave that world.
Also can we talk about Lucky Karras?!
Chasing Lucky is pretty much everything I like best about YA romance (and about Jenn Bennett's books). A messy (but not annoying) heroine, a damaged love interest with a heart of gold, a quirky, memorable setting. It's swoony and complicated and messy in the way that most things involving seventeen year olds are.
One of the things I appreciated most about Chasing Lucky is that the characters managed to be messy and blinded by their own beliefs/issues/etc without being annoying. It's a fine line to walk, but the characters in Chasing Lucky, particularly Josie, manage it really well. It never felt like Josie was being willfully ignorant as to why the people around her behaved as they did, which I really appreciated. It also made the moments when their motivations came untangled much more satisfying for me as a reader, because I was figuring it out alongside Josie instead of wondering why it had taken her so long.
Lucky is also such an adorable love interest. I will admit that, in the beginning, he drifted a bit far over the line between bad boy with a heart of gold and actual ass, but he fully redeemed himself by the end of the book. Plus, his whole loud, boisterous, loving family was such a joy to see in the book - and a nice counterbalance to Josie's family. (I would have liked to know what his...fascination, I guess, with things that are traditionally bad luck was about, though.)
4.5/5
One of the things I appreciated most about Chasing Lucky is that the characters managed to be messy and blinded by their own beliefs/issues/etc without being annoying. It's a fine line to walk, but the characters in Chasing Lucky, particularly Josie, manage it really well. It never felt like Josie was being willfully ignorant as to why the people around her behaved as they did, which I really appreciated. It also made the moments when their motivations came untangled much more satisfying for me as a reader, because I was figuring it out alongside Josie instead of wondering why it had taken her so long.
Lucky is also such an adorable love interest. I will admit that, in the beginning, he drifted a bit far over the line between bad boy with a heart of gold and actual ass, but he fully redeemed himself by the end of the book. Plus, his whole loud, boisterous, loving family was such a joy to see in the book - and a nice counterbalance to Josie's family. (I would have liked to know what his...fascination, I guess, with things that are traditionally bad luck was about, though.)
4.5/5
It was ok. I mean don’t get me wrong, Lucky was a pretty great character, but I felt the plot was a bit dry and the relationship between Lucky and (I actually can’t think of the girl’s name right now...) it just wasn’t that swoon worthy. I wasn’t attached. I guess I’ve read better stuff, but I shouldn’t have to say, oh yeah I didn’t enjoy it because I’ve read better writing. And personally, I felt her other story “Alex, Approximately” was so much better than this. The characters felt pure and real. So I recommend that book. Have a nice day :) and happy reading.
wow i really liked this book. lucky is so sweet and such a fake bad-boy. its adorable. now pray for me because I'm going to be running on 6 hours of sleep tomorrow and I do not work well with little sleep.
Thank you to the publisher, Razorbill and Netgalley for the e-ARC. All opinions are my own!
I’D CHASE LUCKY TOO.
BLOG || INSTAGRAM
This was a more mature YA book. That’s what I kept thinking every time I was reading this. The main character was a high school senior and I kept picturing her as a college girl home for the summer. Take that for what you will, I still enjoyed the book.
There’s a lot of depth to this novel. It isn’t a super fluffy YA rom-com. The further I read, the more of the inner story unfurled in front of me. And I really like what I got from it. That communication is critically important to maintaining the bonds we value.
And usually, I hate when communication is clearly an issue and a brief conversation would solve all the problems. Bennett does a great job of not making me feel this way. While yes, I got frustrated with them (mostly Josie’s mother), I also understood the pain and heartache that each of the Saint-Martin women were struggling with. Another highlight, the fact that this was also heavily about a group of women in a family learning how to be together and not let differences tear them down. I liked the way reveals and emotions came out towards the end as the real picture of everyone’s past came to light. Josie took in a lot of information in a small amount of time. Did she make some mistakes? YES. Did she also learn from them? YES. And that’s what really sold this book for me.
The trope of choice for Chasing Lucky was childhood friends. Lucky and Josie knew each other back when she still lived in town, but after moving away, lost touch. Enter Josie coming back, enter cute Lucky 2.0. I, for once, dare say, I liked the way this trope was written. There was good banter, a little bit of angst as they figured each other out again and I felt the connection between them. I WILL ALSO SAY, I have rolled my eyes at love scenes in Bennett’s previous books, this was not the case this time. Oh it was so much better, and so much more realistic. I definitely adored this story a lot more because of it.
I constantly found myself wanting to pick this book up to read it. It was a solid YA book and I love the journey this story took me on. I appreciate the sentiments that were expressed and thought the conclusion was everything it should be.
Overall audience notes:
- YA Contemporary Romance
- Language: some strong
- Romance: kisses; one little detailed fade to black scene
- Trigger warnings: someone being arrested for destruction of property; a secondary character posting and showing off a nude photo of Josie’s mother and using it for revenge; car wreck (no one is critically injured)
I’D CHASE LUCKY TOO.
BLOG || INSTAGRAM
This was a more mature YA book. That’s what I kept thinking every time I was reading this. The main character was a high school senior and I kept picturing her as a college girl home for the summer. Take that for what you will, I still enjoyed the book.
There’s a lot of depth to this novel. It isn’t a super fluffy YA rom-com. The further I read, the more of the inner story unfurled in front of me. And I really like what I got from it. That communication is critically important to maintaining the bonds we value.
And usually, I hate when communication is clearly an issue and a brief conversation would solve all the problems. Bennett does a great job of not making me feel this way. While yes, I got frustrated with them (mostly Josie’s mother), I also understood the pain and heartache that each of the Saint-Martin women were struggling with. Another highlight, the fact that this was also heavily about a group of women in a family learning how to be together and not let differences tear them down. I liked the way reveals and emotions came out towards the end as the real picture of everyone’s past came to light. Josie took in a lot of information in a small amount of time. Did she make some mistakes? YES. Did she also learn from them? YES. And that’s what really sold this book for me.
The trope of choice for Chasing Lucky was childhood friends. Lucky and Josie knew each other back when she still lived in town, but after moving away, lost touch. Enter Josie coming back, enter cute Lucky 2.0. I, for once, dare say, I liked the way this trope was written. There was good banter, a little bit of angst as they figured each other out again and I felt the connection between them. I WILL ALSO SAY, I have rolled my eyes at love scenes in Bennett’s previous books, this was not the case this time. Oh it was so much better, and so much more realistic. I definitely adored this story a lot more because of it.
I constantly found myself wanting to pick this book up to read it. It was a solid YA book and I love the journey this story took me on. I appreciate the sentiments that were expressed and thought the conclusion was everything it should be.
Overall audience notes:
- YA Contemporary Romance
- Language: some strong
- Romance: kisses; one little detailed fade to black scene
- Trigger warnings: someone being arrested for destruction of property; a secondary character posting and showing off a nude photo of Josie’s mother and using it for revenge; car wreck (no one is critically injured)