Scan barcode
A review by the_novel_approach
Good Luck by K.M. Mahoney
4.0
Good Luck is a revised and re-released novel by K.M. Mahoney—the first in her Putnam County series, and it is a hot mess in many ways! First off I mean that with utter kindness—this is a good story and the two main characters, Alli and Michael, are just so endearing. I defy anyone not to like the two men just on personality alone. Here is where this author really shines in her ability to create fantastical people who immediately make you smile and truly want to see succeed. The problem is there just isn’t enough of how these two got to this point in their lives to make this story feel more complete. This novel feels unfinished—I realize it is the setup to a series, and it has its fair share of secondary characters that piqued my interest; however, this little book tried to be too many things—a paranormal love story, a mystery and a fantasy world builder. By the time it was done trying to take on so many roles, it struggled to fulfill any one of its initial goals. Still, it was sweet, at times clever, and most assuredly a good start to what I hope the author will one day expand beyond the two story set currently available.
The story opens with us meeting the poor Fayte, Allegro, whose earthbound magic tends to erupt into nightmare situations every Friday. It’s as if all the magic this fairy has stays bottled up, and what he cannot pour off into the greenhouse he so lovingly maintains in his shop, comes bursting out in the direst of ways. Accidents don’t just happen to Alli, they hunt him down and nearly kill him every Friday, like clockwork. Anything from inadvertently unleashing a demon to an unsuspecting local coven to nearly killing a neighbor’s dog, if it can go wrong, it does for our poor Alli. On this particular day, it is a new bear shifter in town, Michael, who comes to Alli’s aid and saves him from being run down in the street. And the rest…is magic.
These two swiftly become inseparable, and Michael throws everything he has into seducing the standoffish Alli who, in turn, is a master at erecting barriers to keep his heart intact. All that might be struggle enough for our two men, if there was not someone trying to send Alli a very important and dangerous message—to get out of town, or else. With the help of the local police, Michael and Alli try to discover who is threatening to do Alli harm. The answer is shocking and nearly ends the tenuous relationship Alli and Michael have started.
There were many things that readers will find delightful about this story. The chemistry between Michael and Alli is palpable and slow burning even though a mere two weeks pass before they are professing love to each other. That may seem fast, but I actually felt it really worked in this case. The author sets us up in a fantasy world—a town where many paranormals interact with humans—and makes the setting fairly believable. I think that was helped by the policeman, Chris, who is one of Alli’s fiercest protectors and friends. His character and the way in which it is written adds a real sense of normalcy to an otherwise crazy setting. However, it’s not just the local law enforcement that gives this story charm; our two MCs have that in spades. Alli may seem rather prickly at first, but it is a defense mechanism to hide a very wounded fairy. The way in which he was banished from the fayte world to Putnam was devastating for him, and he misses it terribly. It takes someone as steady and open as Michael to show him how to trust again, and even that he does with great reluctance.
Michael is simply magical. He is, by far, my favorite character in this novel, and his extended family is hilarious. They are everything Alli’s family was not. His interaction with his brothers is perhaps the most endearing and funniest of passages in the book. However, it is when he first sees Alli with his wings that I think we get the real breadth of his character—that passage is so well done. I loved Michael and his tenacity in pursuing his recalcitrant fairy and, thankfully, that stubbornness of his pays off or this novel would have had a very different ending.
The real problem in Good Luck is the mystery element that hit big and then fizzled. I kept waiting for this huge confrontation, for real danger and potential bodily harm to be levied against Alli, but that never materialized. Instead, we got this rather lame reason for all the chaos that happened and the threatening message left in Alli’s destroyed shop. It was anti-climactic, to say the least, and simply did not deliver the punch it should have in order to make this a satisfying thriller. Instead, I felt the mystery element was just a failed attempt and really took precious page time away from unpacking both Michael and Alli’s past—something I would have happily read more about.
In the end, Good Luck is a sweet paranormal romance that attempted to be something it wasn’t and, in doing so, left the evolving relationship between the two main characters a bit unfinished. Even so, I would happily read the second installment in this series, which has not yet been re-published but I hope is still available under the original release format.
Reviewed by Sammy for The Novel Approach Reviews
The story opens with us meeting the poor Fayte, Allegro, whose earthbound magic tends to erupt into nightmare situations every Friday. It’s as if all the magic this fairy has stays bottled up, and what he cannot pour off into the greenhouse he so lovingly maintains in his shop, comes bursting out in the direst of ways. Accidents don’t just happen to Alli, they hunt him down and nearly kill him every Friday, like clockwork. Anything from inadvertently unleashing a demon to an unsuspecting local coven to nearly killing a neighbor’s dog, if it can go wrong, it does for our poor Alli. On this particular day, it is a new bear shifter in town, Michael, who comes to Alli’s aid and saves him from being run down in the street. And the rest…is magic.
These two swiftly become inseparable, and Michael throws everything he has into seducing the standoffish Alli who, in turn, is a master at erecting barriers to keep his heart intact. All that might be struggle enough for our two men, if there was not someone trying to send Alli a very important and dangerous message—to get out of town, or else. With the help of the local police, Michael and Alli try to discover who is threatening to do Alli harm. The answer is shocking and nearly ends the tenuous relationship Alli and Michael have started.
There were many things that readers will find delightful about this story. The chemistry between Michael and Alli is palpable and slow burning even though a mere two weeks pass before they are professing love to each other. That may seem fast, but I actually felt it really worked in this case. The author sets us up in a fantasy world—a town where many paranormals interact with humans—and makes the setting fairly believable. I think that was helped by the policeman, Chris, who is one of Alli’s fiercest protectors and friends. His character and the way in which it is written adds a real sense of normalcy to an otherwise crazy setting. However, it’s not just the local law enforcement that gives this story charm; our two MCs have that in spades. Alli may seem rather prickly at first, but it is a defense mechanism to hide a very wounded fairy. The way in which he was banished from the fayte world to Putnam was devastating for him, and he misses it terribly. It takes someone as steady and open as Michael to show him how to trust again, and even that he does with great reluctance.
Michael is simply magical. He is, by far, my favorite character in this novel, and his extended family is hilarious. They are everything Alli’s family was not. His interaction with his brothers is perhaps the most endearing and funniest of passages in the book. However, it is when he first sees Alli with his wings that I think we get the real breadth of his character—that passage is so well done. I loved Michael and his tenacity in pursuing his recalcitrant fairy and, thankfully, that stubbornness of his pays off or this novel would have had a very different ending.
The real problem in Good Luck is the mystery element that hit big and then fizzled. I kept waiting for this huge confrontation, for real danger and potential bodily harm to be levied against Alli, but that never materialized. Instead, we got this rather lame reason for all the chaos that happened and the threatening message left in Alli’s destroyed shop. It was anti-climactic, to say the least, and simply did not deliver the punch it should have in order to make this a satisfying thriller. Instead, I felt the mystery element was just a failed attempt and really took precious page time away from unpacking both Michael and Alli’s past—something I would have happily read more about.
In the end, Good Luck is a sweet paranormal romance that attempted to be something it wasn’t and, in doing so, left the evolving relationship between the two main characters a bit unfinished. Even so, I would happily read the second installment in this series, which has not yet been re-published but I hope is still available under the original release format.
Reviewed by Sammy for The Novel Approach Reviews