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3.31 AVERAGE
3.31 AVERAGE
The plot was all right. The characters were all right. The romance was all right. Everything was just that- all right. I was irritated by how Maddie spent her money and how naive she was, though she changed by the end of the book.
The writing was fine and the story was simple, but the premise was that this 18 year old girl wins 30 million dollars in the lottery. The problem was that to make the conflict with that story, the 18 year old has to be completely stupid with how she spends her money, and have absolutely no parental supervision in all aspects of her life. She also acts like the parent to her brother and her parents as well. That whole stupidity aspect got really annoying, but otherwise I liked the idea of the story. Who wouldn't want to win the lottery?
I really loved Seth and Maddie and Blaire, but I didn't enjoy the plot as much. I felt anxious when she had all those people taking advantage of her because of her new money. I also wasn't too impressed with her parents, when they were more of a problem than people she could count on. Yes, parents are people too and can make mistakes, but I felt like they weren't even trying to give her good advice.
The zoo part of the plot was really the only part that I liked. I almost just wish it was a story about the two of them falling in love at the zoo.
The zoo part of the plot was really the only part that I liked. I almost just wish it was a story about the two of them falling in love at the zoo.
I like it. Kasie West is really good with light romance. I also like that this book also focused on friendship and family.
Winning the lottery is no joke. I love how it presented the shitty reality of it. Also, the pros and cons. This book reminded me so much of Smith's Windfall. Only that I like this book a lot better.
One more thing I love about this is that Seth Nguyen, the male lead, is Asian!!! More reasons to love this book.
Winning the lottery is no joke. I love how it presented the shitty reality of it. Also, the pros and cons. This book reminded me so much of Smith's Windfall. Only that I like this book a lot better.
One more thing I love about this is that Seth Nguyen, the male lead, is Asian!!! More reasons to love this book.
After having less than enthusiastic reactions to West's previous two books, I was relieved to enjoy this one so much. Yes, it is the second of two YA novels about 18 year olds winning the lottery and learning about life and love we got this year. I'm not sure why this was a thing, but I like this one better than the other. This was a sweet and fun romance with cute banter, but it was also a great family and friendship story. It was a perfect rainy afternoon read to lighten my mood.
I am a big fan of Kasie West's books but this was not one of my favorites.
*Many thanks to Scholastic for providing a review copy of this book!*
Lucky In Love was a book I wasn't planning on picking up at YallWest, having had mediocre experiences with West's other works (The Fill-In Boyfriend, The Distance Between Us). However, when I heard Kasie was signing the copies and got a look at the GORGEOUS ARC (seriously, the cover AND the back are too cute!) I knew I had to give her books another shot. While Lucky In Love won't be topping my list of all time favorite books anytime soon, it was a very cute, very easy read that tackles the age old question everyone like to ask themselves for fun: What Would You Do If You Won The Lottery?
Maddie, the protagonist, buys a lotto ticket on a whim on her 18th birthday and, surprise! wins $30 million dollars. Literally just has it dumped into her bank account after all of the claiming paperwork/taxes. etc. are done. What ensues is a story of Maddie learning to manage that money in ways that protect both her and her interests. She's not inherently irresponsible, but she lets far too many people take advantage of her true nature, and learns the hard way, multiple times, that being that rich suddenly changes everything.
Running parallel to the lottery narrative is her job at her local zoo and her slow burn romance with her coworker Seth. Seth is friendly, charming, hilarious, and Asian (diversity! I love it!) and his budding relationship with Maddie just feels so sweet and real and full of mutual respect for one another (in a way I haven't really felt a contemporary YA novel do since My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick). While the relationship is a super slow burn, I loved that Seth also served as a strong friend and coworker for Maddie, proving that friendships with crushes can be genuine and real and not just based on ~teenage hormones~ and a desire to date someone. In fact, I think I may have a best-friend crush on Seth more than anything.
West also brought some more complex family dynamics to this narrative than I'm used to in her novels. Maddie's parents' marriage is constantly on the rocks and coupled with her brother's irresponsible behavior, she has a lot of misplaced guilt on herself about having to stay local for college and always having to think about her future in conjunction with what will keep things the smoothest for her family emotionally. I think this is a struggle a lot of teens face, especially when they have the grades and drive to leave to go to a top tier school yet feel a gravitational pull back into their troublesome family cycles and situations. I'm glad that Maddie had problems before she won the lottery that added to her character's obstacles and growth (although she certainly DID have problems after she won the lottery too).
Adding to the fun of the reading experience of Lucky in Love was the fact that it's set in California (which always bumps a book up on my TBR, to be honest). I had no idea going in that Lucky in Love takes place in Orange County, but I loved the local references and the SoCal feel, especially when it came to the shenanigans Maddie got up to with her money (yacht cruise, anyone?)
Overall: Lucky in Love was a fun, wish-fulfillment read as there's few things as fun as fantasizing about what you would do if you won the lottery. It's cover is as cute as its content, and I loved the diverse love interest, the somewhat heavier family problems the protagonist has to struggle with and overcome, and the overall charming feel to the narrative. While it's still ultimately a pretty fluffy read that doesn't have quite as much substance as I'd like in my contemporaries, this novel is a solid 3 star read that is perfect to indulge in this summer.This review was originally posted on Girl in the Pages
Lucky In Love was a book I wasn't planning on picking up at YallWest, having had mediocre experiences with West's other works (The Fill-In Boyfriend, The Distance Between Us). However, when I heard Kasie was signing the copies and got a look at the GORGEOUS ARC (seriously, the cover AND the back are too cute!) I knew I had to give her books another shot. While Lucky In Love won't be topping my list of all time favorite books anytime soon, it was a very cute, very easy read that tackles the age old question everyone like to ask themselves for fun: What Would You Do If You Won The Lottery?
Maddie, the protagonist, buys a lotto ticket on a whim on her 18th birthday and, surprise! wins $30 million dollars. Literally just has it dumped into her bank account after all of the claiming paperwork/taxes. etc. are done. What ensues is a story of Maddie learning to manage that money in ways that protect both her and her interests. She's not inherently irresponsible, but she lets far too many people take advantage of her true nature, and learns the hard way, multiple times, that being that rich suddenly changes everything.
Running parallel to the lottery narrative is her job at her local zoo and her slow burn romance with her coworker Seth. Seth is friendly, charming, hilarious, and Asian (diversity! I love it!) and his budding relationship with Maddie just feels so sweet and real and full of mutual respect for one another (in a way I haven't really felt a contemporary YA novel do since My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick). While the relationship is a super slow burn, I loved that Seth also served as a strong friend and coworker for Maddie, proving that friendships with crushes can be genuine and real and not just based on ~teenage hormones~ and a desire to date someone. In fact, I think I may have a best-friend crush on Seth more than anything.
West also brought some more complex family dynamics to this narrative than I'm used to in her novels. Maddie's parents' marriage is constantly on the rocks and coupled with her brother's irresponsible behavior, she has a lot of misplaced guilt on herself about having to stay local for college and always having to think about her future in conjunction with what will keep things the smoothest for her family emotionally. I think this is a struggle a lot of teens face, especially when they have the grades and drive to leave to go to a top tier school yet feel a gravitational pull back into their troublesome family cycles and situations. I'm glad that Maddie had problems before she won the lottery that added to her character's obstacles and growth (although she certainly DID have problems after she won the lottery too).
Adding to the fun of the reading experience of Lucky in Love was the fact that it's set in California (which always bumps a book up on my TBR, to be honest). I had no idea going in that Lucky in Love takes place in Orange County, but I loved the local references and the SoCal feel, especially when it came to the shenanigans Maddie got up to with her money (yacht cruise, anyone?)
Overall: Lucky in Love was a fun, wish-fulfillment read as there's few things as fun as fantasizing about what you would do if you won the lottery. It's cover is as cute as its content, and I loved the diverse love interest, the somewhat heavier family problems the protagonist has to struggle with and overcome, and the overall charming feel to the narrative. While it's still ultimately a pretty fluffy read that doesn't have quite as much substance as I'd like in my contemporaries, this novel is a solid 3 star read that is perfect to indulge in this summer.This review was originally posted on Girl in the Pages
[3.5 stars] The romance in this one was actually super cute! i loved that part of the book the most, which is weird for me since i've said a million times i'm over het romances.
Characters: i liked Maddie well enough, she was just really naive, but hey, so was I at that age. Though i do like to think that i would've been smart enough to at least talk to an adultier adult before writing some rando a check for $500k. i loved the love interest whose name has left my brain. he was super sweet. her friends were pretty good too. i like that Kasie didn't make the new friend a catty user like so many authors would have done. i'm so over the mean girl trope!
Plot: i thought it was a decent background for this romance, and for Maddie to grow a lot.
diversity? the love interest is Asian. that's the only POC i noticed, but i also listened to the book and sometimes i miss details like race. sorry!
Characters: i liked Maddie well enough, she was just really naive, but hey, so was I at that age. Though i do like to think that i would've been smart enough to at least talk to an adultier adult before writing some rando a check for $500k. i loved the love interest whose name has left my brain. he was super sweet. her friends were pretty good too. i like that Kasie didn't make the new friend a catty user like so many authors would have done. i'm so over the mean girl trope!
Plot: i thought it was a decent background for this romance, and for Maddie to grow a lot.
diversity? the love interest is Asian. that's the only POC i noticed, but i also listened to the book and sometimes i miss details like race. sorry!