Reviewed by Quirky Cat on
The Good Luck Girls is the first novel in a series of the same name by Charlotte Nicole Davis. This series will be perfect for fans of the Handmaid's Tale or Westworld – or ideally, both. It combines a fantasy world with a heavily character driven plot, and is not afraid to show us the darker sides of a world such as this.
The Good Luck Girls have earned their name because of the good luck and comfort they bring to the people who pay for them. They've been sold to their welcome house, and it's not an ideal life. And it's one that they can never be truly free of.
Expect for five Good Luck Girls, who manage to escape and go on the run. Granted, they didn't have much choice but to try and earn their freedom, thanks to a series of intense and disturbing events. But they're going to make the best of it.
Aster hates being a Good Luck Girl. She might have taken a drastic step to get away from it all, if not for her younger sister. She's determined to protect her little sister, Clemintime, no matter what. Even if that means telling her to ignore a rule or two of the welcome house.
Clementine is the newest girl to age into the Good Luck Girl program. And it's nothing like what the other girls have promised. Thankfully, she's got her friends and her sister to keep her safe. And she's not afraid to sacrifice to keep them safe either.
Tansy is a sweet girl, one who hasn't yet turned sixteen and been forced into the nightlife of the Good Luck Girls. Before she was sold into the house, she was training to be a nurse. It's all she wanted in life, before things went poorly for her family.
Mallow is the other girl in this group of runaways who never had to enter the night side of being a Good Luck Girl. And we're ever so thankful for it. She's a fighter though, one who's a pretty decent shot, even with her lack of training.
Finally, there's Violet. She was born and raised in a welcome home, and that came with some benefits. But it also cost her more than most people would realize. Not that she was afraid of taking advantage of the perks granted to her, naturally.
“Good Luck Girls never went hungry, always had a roof over their heads, saw the doctor and the dentist twice a year. Entertaining the brags meant they got to wear the kind of clothes other girls could only dream of, too, and enjoy an endless supply of Sweet Thistle.”
Warnings: The Good Luck Girls covers a lot of heavy and disturbing elements. Basically, all of the elements that are dark and disturbing in The Handmaid's Tale are also in this book. But for those that haven't read it: There's slavery, sexual assault, and abuse (mentioned), abuse, and assault.
The Good Luck Girls was an consuming yet brilliant read, showcasing a character driven plot full of dynamic girls and their determination to live. As you can imagine, it gets quite intense at times, but it's also enchanting and will leave the reader wanting to get their hands on the next novel as soon as possible.
There was so much to love about this novel and everything in it. The world, the characters, the plot itself, and many of the points and tension that Charlotte Nicole Davis created within these pages.
The world in Good Luck Girls seems so expansive, and while we got to see a good amount of it, I still am finding myself hoping that we'll see more in later novels. More specifically, I find myself hoping to see the changes that can be brought to a world such as this one.
Then there are the characters, who are, naturally, quite amazing. They are the main focus of the story. And as such, each girl had their own backstory and reason to want to be free – though I'm sure we can all agree with the basic desire for freedom. I imagine we'll all find our own favorites during the read, though I personally adored both Aster and Tansy, though for very different reasons each.
I'll confess that at first, I was a little bit nervous about some of the subject matter; simply because of the way the novel started. But my fears were quickly assuaged, and instead, I found myself eager to see how our girls would handle the situation. So for those that are hesitant, I would say that it is absolutely worth giving a try.
I'm honestly already looking forward to the next novel in this series, which I don't even think has a name just yet. But I'm looking forward to any and all news on it! So if you hear anything, please do let me know.
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Reading updates
- Started reading
- 29 September, 2019: Finished reading
- 29 September, 2019: Reviewed