Chasing Lucky by Jenn Bennett
I received this book for free from in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Budding photographer Josie Saint-Martin has spent half her life with her single mother, moving from city to city. When they return to her historical New England hometown years later to run the family bookstore, Josie knows it’s not forever. Her dreams are on the opposite coast, and she has a plan to get there.
What she doesn’t plan for is a run-in with the town bad boy, Lucky Karras. Outsider, rebel…and her former childhood best friend. Lucky makes it clear he wants nothing to do with the newly returned Josie. But everything changes after a disastrous pool party, and a poorly executed act of revenge lands Josie in some big-time trouble—with Lucky unexpectedly taking the blame.
Determined to understand why Lucky was so quick to cover for her, Josie discovers that both of them have changed, and that the good boy she once knew now has a dark sense of humor and a smile that makes her heart race. And maybe, just maybe, he’s not quite the brooding bad boy everyone thinks he is…
Review
The Saint-Martins are cursed in love and relationships. Their town Beauty is built on half-truths and digging up dirt on others, then spreading it like wildfire. Josie, an amateur photographer, daughter of a famous professional photographer, has moved back with her mother after many years away. Sucked into the vortex of their past and their messy history, Josie wants to get away. The St. Martin girls live in and run the family business– Siren’s Book Nook. Who lurks in first day back, but Lucky Karras, bad boy and former crush?
There’s so much more to this contemporary YA than the dreamy seascape atmosphere. It’s about learning to break down invisible walls and navigating communication….second chances and keeping promises. Nothing is as it seems at first glance. Family is complicated, but loyal.
Love, Love, Loved Chasing Lucky! Thank you Simon and Schuster for the review copy.
Quote: “But Beauty is an insanely finger-wagging, gossipy town that has made an art of shunning outcasts since it was a colonial village, and people are publicly judged, facts or no facts.” (p.45)
Content and trigger warnings: mention of pornography, predatory relationship, homelessness, stalking, moderate swearing, abortion, sneaking out, lying, misuse of personal images, talk of sex, parental neglect.
About the Author
Jenn Bennett is the author of over a dozen books, including the young adult titles: ALEX, APPROXIMATELY; STARRY EYES; SERIOUS MOONLIGHT; and THE LADY ROGUE. She also writes romance and fantasy for adults. Her books have earned multiple starred reviews, been Goodreads Choice Award nominees, and have been included on annual Best Book lists for both Kirkus and Publishers Weekly. She lives near Atlanta with one husband and two dogs. Visit her at www.jennbennett.net.
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