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3.31 AVERAGE
3.31 AVERAGE
Normally I like this author but this was incredibly boring and I just didn’t care for any of the characters.
Kasie West has definitely got to be one of the most prolific YA contemporary romance authors out there, especially since I believe she has THREE books being published this year. Luckily, I enjoyed Lucky in Love a lot more than her earlier offering [b:By Your Side|32979558|By Your Side|Kasie West|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1510058427s/32979558.jpg|45813875]. I think readers who enjoyed [b:The Distance Between Us|15283043|The Distance Between Us|Kasie West|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1358144875s/15283043.jpg|20938637] could like Lucky in Love as well, because there are some similar themes involved: about money and how wealth can change the way we think about people. However, as compared to West's earlier books, I have to say that the characters here are a little more thinly sketched out.
Lucky in Love is about soon-to-be eighteen year old Maddie, who buys a lottery ticket on a whim, on the night of her eighteenth birthday. Surprisingly enough, she wins the lottery and ends up as a millionaire, with about thirty million dollars in her bank account after taxes. Maddie's life has typically been about school work, dreaming of college (somewhere not too far) and hoping that her family would remain intact despite their recent financial difficulties. But the money that she wins has the potential to change everything for her family, to smooth over the recent disputes that her parents find themselves in, to help out her depressed brother and to give her an opportunity to go to a college that's out of state.
However, her financial windfall also means that navigating high school becomes considerably more difficult. Her social circle isn't just her two best friends anymore. Instead, once everyone finds out about her big lottery win, it seems like more and more people want to know her. The only person who doesn't seem to realise that Maddie has become rich is her cute co-worker Seth Nguyen, who works with Maddie at the zoo. Seth and Maddie have always been friendly and the two of them just seem to click together. She doesn't want anything to change between them, finding it difficult to tell him about her big win.
I have to admit that the (1) characters in the story are pretty flat and that (2) the plot is pretty straightforward. In my opinion, Kasie West has written some of the best YA contemporary romance fiction so I really was expecting a little bit more from her. The book isn't as bad as her earlier misfire with By Your Side but our main character Maddie was a little naive with the way that she spent her money at first. Not to mention, I'm not sure what her parents were thinking after Maddie strikes it big. Furthermore, Maddie is pretty unaware of herself and how she does have a need to be liked and to be popular. This also leads to some really unwise financial decisions.
However, there are some redeeming factors with this book. Firstly, some of the more obvious cliches are avoided.
Secondly, and this is a big bonus in my books, I liked that the love interest was Asian American and issues about race weren't skirted. It's really, incredibly rare to see an Asian American love interest in YA lit. In fact, Asian American representation is lacking in general. So it was really cool to read about Seth, a sweet co-worker who is nothing but nice towards Maddie and her friends. The subtle racism that he experiences (such as zoo visitors asking him where his family is really from) and his issues about growing up as a second-generation American are also addressed.
Lucky in Love is about soon-to-be eighteen year old Maddie, who buys a lottery ticket on a whim, on the night of her eighteenth birthday. Surprisingly enough, she wins the lottery and ends up as a millionaire, with about thirty million dollars in her bank account after taxes. Maddie's life has typically been about school work, dreaming of college (somewhere not too far) and hoping that her family would remain intact despite their recent financial difficulties. But the money that she wins has the potential to change everything for her family, to smooth over the recent disputes that her parents find themselves in, to help out her depressed brother and to give her an opportunity to go to a college that's out of state.
However, her financial windfall also means that navigating high school becomes considerably more difficult. Her social circle isn't just her two best friends anymore. Instead, once everyone finds out about her big lottery win, it seems like more and more people want to know her. The only person who doesn't seem to realise that Maddie has become rich is her cute co-worker Seth Nguyen, who works with Maddie at the zoo. Seth and Maddie have always been friendly and the two of them just seem to click together. She doesn't want anything to change between them, finding it difficult to tell him about her big win.
I have to admit that the (1) characters in the story are pretty flat and that (2) the plot is pretty straightforward. In my opinion, Kasie West has written some of the best YA contemporary romance fiction so I really was expecting a little bit more from her. The book isn't as bad as her earlier misfire with By Your Side but our main character Maddie was a little naive with the way that she spent her money at first. Not to mention, I'm not sure what her parents were thinking after Maddie strikes it big.
Spoiler
Maddie never goes to see a financial advisor like her parents suggests, at least not until the very end. Surely one of them should've pushed harder on the financial advisor issue? I mean, she's only eighteen after all.However, there are some redeeming factors with this book. Firstly, some of the more obvious cliches are avoided.
Spoiler
I liked that Trina, the popular girl, isn't a typical mean girl but genuinely enjoyed Maddie's company. I mean, sure, Trina may have pushed Maddie to spend more recklessly, but I liked that we avoided the trope that the popular girl must necessarily be a malicious/sinister person. Blaire, Maddie's best friend, has an obvious bias against Trina and I also liked that her assumptions about Trina are proven wrong.Secondly, and this is a big bonus in my books, I liked that the love interest was Asian American and issues about race weren't skirted. It's really, incredibly rare to see an Asian American love interest in YA lit. In fact, Asian American representation is lacking in general. So it was really cool to read about Seth, a sweet co-worker who is nothing but nice towards Maddie and her friends. The subtle racism that he experiences (such as zoo visitors asking him where his family is really from) and his issues about growing up as a second-generation American are also addressed.
Exactly what you'd expect from a Kasie West book a lighthearted teen romance I couldn't put down
4.5 🌟
Has to be my favorite from Kasie West so far! I feel like I relate to Maddie soooo much 💖 Except the winning the lottery part 😂 A very cute and fast read. Her writing is just so easy going and funny I can't deal 😍 ALSO!!! A great diverse read! The main interest is Asian and perfect ✨✨✨ I want a Seth, where can I buy them 😂
SPOILERS
Can we talk about the cuteness!!! When is Seth going to appear in my life?! I love how Maddie is a rule preacher 😂 Not a solid 5 🌟 because I wanted to know what happened with the article! Who wrote it and of that 🤷♀️
Has to be my favorite from Kasie West so far! I feel like I relate to Maddie soooo much 💖 Except the winning the lottery part 😂 A very cute and fast read. Her writing is just so easy going and funny I can't deal 😍 ALSO!!! A great diverse read! The main interest is Asian and perfect ✨✨✨ I want a Seth, where can I buy them 😂
SPOILERS
Can we talk about the cuteness!!! When is Seth going to appear in my life?! I love how Maddie is a rule preacher 😂 Not a solid 5 🌟 because I wanted to know what happened with the article! Who wrote it and of that 🤷♀️
This was Kasie West’s 8th published book. She has really been pumping them out over the last five years; she even has another coming out this year at the end of December. Lucky in Love was cute – not one of her best works, but it is just what you need from a contemporary YA novel. Maddie is finishing her senior year of high school, and while she has most of her next moves planned, there are still a few things that are worrying her, like her brother’s depression over not being able to afford school, her parents constantly fighting and having money problems, and how she needs to keep her grades up so that she can attend college on a scholarship. But, everything changes when the minimart cashier convinces her to purchase a Powerball ticket on her birthday. The next day, Maddie learns that she has won and so many of the problems that were out of her control can now be fixed with a few easy payments. However, over time Maddie learns that money really isn’t the answer to many of her problems and that maybe the money is making a few of them worse. As more issues arise and Maddie’s trust in others is tested, there is one person she holds on to: Seth, her coworker at the town’s small zoo. Seth doesn’t know that Maddie is a millionaire, and he treats her just how she wants to be treated, like a normal person. Seth is where this story wins so many points in the cute category. Almost everything he says and does is just “cute”; there is really no other way to describe it. From his happy-go-lucky personality to his supportive responses, the kid is just the cutest. I was surprised to find that some of the issues that the lottery winning brought into Maddie’s life were not solved by the end of the story. There were some big issues that were kind of left for the reader to decide what would happen next, which reminded me of The Fill-In Boyfriend’s ending (as in it was not neat and tidy).
4.5 Seth might be my favorite love interest out of all the kasie west books and folks money can't buy you everything.
“Maybe I was emotional or grateful or too tired to suppress feelings that I'd been smashing down for weeks, but all I could think was: you. I need you.”
This book was the perfect remedy for the mediocrity in my reading life. I really loved how sweet and heartwarming this was, but also how realistic it was. Seth and Maddie were just the absolute cutest!!! Every single one of their interactions was so funny and sweet. I also really liked Maddie's best friend Blaire; in a lot of stories like this, the friends can be really terrible or annoying, and I didn't really feel this way at all with their relationship, which is such a nice change of pace. I 100% recommend this!!!
This book was the perfect remedy for the mediocrity in my reading life. I really loved how sweet and heartwarming this was, but also how realistic it was. Seth and Maddie were just the absolute cutest!!! Every single one of their interactions was so funny and sweet. I also really liked Maddie's best friend Blaire; in a lot of stories like this, the friends can be really terrible or annoying, and I didn't really feel this way at all with their relationship, which is such a nice change of pace. I 100% recommend this!!!
Of the Kasie West books I've read, Lucky In Love is probably my least favorite. I've read several of her books this year, so I don't know if my feelings about this one are because it's legitimately not one of my favorites or if it's because I've gotten a little burnt out on her books. Now that I see it written out, it's probably a little bit of both.
Maddie...what can I say about Maddie? She is pretty naive, and it was really hard to see her get wrapped up in winning the lotto. Who hasn't thought about it, and what they'd do with the money? Still, in her case, it was hard to see how much things change, and part of me wishes her parents had been more insistent she see a financial adviser. She does, in the end, but it takes some growing pains in order for her to actual go.
She does mean well, and she really does have good intentions. I think that, plus her age, plus the fact that her parents didn't do more is what made it so hard to read. And maybe part of it is that maybe, just maybe, I'm too old for a book like this. I usually don't think that with YA, and it is one of my favorite things to read. I've spent years talking about the YA I read. But this particular book? It was hard to read as a 32 year-old woman, and I just really wish her parents did more to get her to see a financial adviser. It seems like they were caught up in it too, which I can understand...but still. I just had a hard time with it.
I'm starting to think that I'm a little burnt out on her books, because I was tired and not really into the romance. Also, I just couldn't trust Seth. It seems like he genuinely cares about Maddie but the fact that it doesn't happen until after her lottery win...I just couldn't believe it, and while her books usually have some sort of cute romance in it, this was one I just couldn't get behind.
I don't actively dislike this book, because I honestly don't even care enough to dislike it. It's obviously not for me, but if other people like it (or even love it) that is cool. I wanted to like it more but I just really couldn't.
My Rating: 2 stars. Lucky In Love was just okay, and Maddie was just really frustrating. Lucky In Love is definitely not the book for me.
Maddie...what can I say about Maddie? She is pretty naive, and it was really hard to see her get wrapped up in winning the lotto. Who hasn't thought about it, and what they'd do with the money? Still, in her case, it was hard to see how much things change, and part of me wishes her parents had been more insistent she see a financial adviser. She does, in the end, but it takes some growing pains in order for her to actual go.
She does mean well, and she really does have good intentions. I think that, plus her age, plus the fact that her parents didn't do more is what made it so hard to read. And maybe part of it is that maybe, just maybe, I'm too old for a book like this. I usually don't think that with YA, and it is one of my favorite things to read. I've spent years talking about the YA I read. But this particular book? It was hard to read as a 32 year-old woman, and I just really wish her parents did more to get her to see a financial adviser. It seems like they were caught up in it too, which I can understand...but still. I just had a hard time with it.
I'm starting to think that I'm a little burnt out on her books, because I was tired and not really into the romance. Also, I just couldn't trust Seth. It seems like he genuinely cares about Maddie but the fact that it doesn't happen until after her lottery win...I just couldn't believe it, and while her books usually have some sort of cute romance in it, this was one I just couldn't get behind.
I don't actively dislike this book, because I honestly don't even care enough to dislike it. It's obviously not for me, but if other people like it (or even love it) that is cool. I wanted to like it more but I just really couldn't.
My Rating: 2 stars. Lucky In Love was just okay, and Maddie was just really frustrating. Lucky In Love is definitely not the book for me.
Pleasant but predictable and not as inventive as Jennifer E. Smith's "Windfall," a YA release earlier this year that also takes the premise of teens winning the lottery.
This book was cute but the ending was too abrupt. Sure it was predictable but these kinds of books usually are. Sweet love interest, interesting premise.