A review by adamskiboy528491
Lucky by Rachel Edwards

4.0

A gambler's heaven is a gambler's hell. Lucky by Rachel Edwards has stakes that are raised with every chapter, & just as you think you’ve got a grasp on what’s happening, the rug is pulled from under you in the most gut-wrenching ways. On that note, what I’ve described barely scratches the surface of what is really going on here. This book has to be read to understand the whole picture.

The protagonist of this tale is Etta; she wants more; a better life, marriage & happiness. She has a job plus a boring & soul-destroying fiancé. He promises much but never delivers. She wants to kickstart things for a better future. Easy, peasy solution; online gambling. Just a big win or two would make dreams come true, & how difficult could that be? So it’s no surprise that this turns out to be a slippery slope. She plays in secret - she wins, loses, & is lucky one day & not the next. The more she loses, the more she convinces herself that she’ll win it back & hit the jackpot in the next round.

Edward’s prose is very lyrical & alliterative. It’s just so well written; I was swept from one page to the next, desperate in my hope that things would work out for Etta. It’s been a while since I’ve read such a roller-coaster novel. It considers the issue of a woman seeking to attain her goals & mixes in some comedy with its drama, has elements of suspense & is subtly hard-hitting in terms of the various social issues it considers.