The Good Luck Charm

by Helena Hunting

"Lilah isn't sure what hurt worse: the day Ethan left her to focus on his hockey career or the day he came back eight years later. He might think they can pick up just where they left off, but she's no longer that same girl and never wants to be again. Ethan wants his glory days back. And that includes having Lilah by his side. With her, he was magic. They were magic. All he has to do is make her see that. Just when Lilah might finally be ready to let Ethan in, though, she finds out their reunion might have nothing to do with love and everything to do with improving his game. But Ethan's already lost her once, and even if it costs him his career, he'll do anything to keep from losing her again"--

• ISBN13: 9781538760147
• Publish Date: 7 August 2018
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Forever
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 352
• Language: English

Reviews

[leelu92]

The Good Luck Charm struck all the right notes for me. Also, the angst and drama were minimal and I really appreciated that as well.

Ethan and Delilah were a great combination of sweet and sexy all wrapped in a second chance romance package.

There are other characters that I'd LOVE to read about, so I hope that HH returns to this world. Also, the angst and drama were minimal and I really appreciated that as well.

[bookperson]

I'm not a huge fan of this HEA ending, but that's just me.

UPD. Jan 4th 2019. I don't remember anything about this book even though I have read it just two month ago.

[Lynn]

If you like second chance romances, The Good Luck Charm is a first-class read.

Everything happens in threes and it isn't positive news for Lilah as she discovers a new patient at the hospital she works as a nurse is a father figure to her and he's suffered a stroke. This news after receiving her divorce papers from her ex is a lot to take in and difficult to handle until the guy who broke her heart appears...he is the son of the patient after all. Could her day get any worse?

Ethan Kase is back in Minnesota after being traded. The upcoming hockey season will be a make or break for his career. He has barely had a chance to settle back in his home city when news of his father's stroke sends him straight to the hospital and back to the woman he left eight years ago...an action he has regretted every day since.

I've never picked up a Helena Hunting novel before so I began reading this book with no expectations as to what to expect. In this situation, I really enjoy and appreciate when the words flow effortlessly and the narrative drags you into the protagonist's story. The Good Luck Charm definitely had me invested in within the plot after only a few pages and with the characters very quickly.

The title gives away a huge clue about a major plot thread...the behaviour of pro sports people and their rituals before major events. Ethan is no exception. Until this topic is broached, I adored the hero. However, his neediness triggered by his rekindled romance with Lilah turned my stomach. Ms Hunting's writing allows her readers to feel all the emotions felt by the protagonists...the good and the not so good. However, there's no doubt, Ethan and Lilah are meant to be together, once all their issues have been dealt with and filed away.

Despite my hiccup over my views of Ethan, I adored both him and Lilah together. They complement and respect for one another gives a satisfying happy ending. As for me, I've found a new author to follow...win-win!

***arc generously received courtesy of Forever via NetGalley***

[girlinthepages]

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.You know when you never knew you needed something in your life, and then once you've experienced it you don't know how you managed to live without it? Well that's pretty much where I'm at with hockey player centered romances, thanks to The Good Luck Charm by Helena Hunting. Two days after finishing and I still can't stop thinking about it, despite not knowing a single thing about hockey or having ever really read this genre of romance novel before.

The Good Luck Charm has a second chance romance at its center, following Lilah, a nurse in her mid twenties who is confronted with the return of a very significant ex several years after their traumatic break up. I love the drama and tension that comes with a hate to love and second chance romance, and it's not one that I'm exposed to often reading so much YA, where most of the characters are in their mid to late teens and haven't had time to cultivate super meaningful exes yet. I loved seeing the ice slowly thaw between Ethan and Lilah, and seeing how they both gravitated back toward each other and how threads from their teenage romance were woven into their adult relationship.

Another positive point for me as a reader in The Good Luck Charm is that there isn't the stereotypical drama you'd expect from a romance novel (jealousy, infidelity, miscommunication, etc.) The conflict lies more around setting defined boundaries in a relationship and maintaining a healthy sense of self, which isn't something I've really seen dealt with in a romance novel before. Though toward the end I was getting frustrated with some of the characters' actions and non-actions, it approached the idea of conflict in a relationship in a different way. I also enjoyed that while Ethan is a professional hockey player so obviously his profession is exciting and glamorous, there was still a lot of focus on Lilah's day job as a nurse and what her day to day looked like as well as her future career aspirations of become a nurse practitioner. I liked the balance of the surreal profession with a more normal (though important) one, and liked that there wasn't a lot of drama involved in Ethan sort of being a celebrity and Lilah being more of a normal person.

While I immensely enjoyed my reading experience, there were a few things that weren't my favorite. I think Lilah and Ethan getting together could have taken a bit longer, as they were pretty solidly together by the halfway mark of the book. There was also some added drama and family revelations for Lilah toward the end that felt a little too hasty, and I think there wasn't enough time to really explore her family's back story to make the reveal super significant.

Overall: I really enjoyed my foray into the sports/contemporary/romance novel world, and am definitely planning on reading Hunting's Pucked series (I believe some of the characters in that series are briefly mentioned here!)This review was originally posted on Girl in the Pages

[Cocktails and Books]

Cute. Full review to come