Chasing Lucky

by Jenn Bennett

[Sam@WLABB]

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Josie is ready to stop living the vagabond life, and ready to start putting her plan for the future into action. One part of that plan is returning to her hometown, but therein lies the biggest challenge. It requires Josie to put up with vicious gossip about her family, and also hope, that her grandmother doesn't return home before the end of the school year, and drive her mother out of town...again. Her homecoming seems to be off to a disastrous start, until she commits a crime, and her former best friend takes the fall. Maybe she would be able to evade the Saint-Martin curse after all.

I don't think I will ever stop looking forward to a Jenn Bennett book. The story and setting might change, but she never fails to gift her readers with wonderfully flawed characters and an adorable romance.

CHASING LUCKY features a heroine, who comes from a long line of strong women, who may not be the best communicators. Her family had plenty of love, but it sometimes got lost in the secrets, half truths, and discussions they avoided having. Not only did Josie yearn for her mother to step up and be more of a parent, she also wanted to experience a "normal" family. She wanted to stay in one place, and put down roots. My heart ached for this young woman, but I also knew she could have exactly what she wanted without ever leaving Beauty.

I actually loved all the Saint-Matin women, and I appreciated the way Bennett worked in the ideas about rumors, secrets, lies, and mistakes, but what I really adored, was the relationship between Lucky and Josie.

Lucky on his own was so lovable. He was slightly wounded and very misunderstood. He was often the topic of the local rumor mill, but he never pushed back. As the story unfolded, and I learned more and more about him, my love for him grew.

I needed him and Josie to rekindle their friendship, because the bond they shared had been something special. Hearing about their past ties put a smile on my face. Their parting and growing apart was a difficult thing, for both Josie and Lucky. I was really rooting for these two to find each other again, and now that they were older, they were seeing each other as way more than friends. Some of my favorite moments in the book were the ones shared between these two. Their excursions and interactions were wonderful, and marked with the fantastic banter I have grown to expect from Bennett. She never fails to make me ship her couples, and it was a pleasure watching these two reconnect, as well as connect on a different level.

Once again, Bennett has delivered a stupendous story featuring family, friendship, and first love, which made me feel a wealth of emotions, and ultimately, left me with a huge smile on my face.


*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

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