I really enjoyed  this story, I thought Josie and Lucky were wonderful characters, so likeable and relatable. . I loved the entire set up, the family drama,  relationships .and romance of course. It felt a bit too long but with a story this good, I can forgive that. Fantastic YA read.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

I ripped through this book, the coastal setting was great and I appreciated the escapism during quarantine. The storyline was a little predictable but I still really enjoyed it, a fun, easy summer read!

This book is full of teen issues; there’s a fragile mother-daughter relationship, who are also on the run, a dysfunctional wider family, bad relationship choices, a love-curse, many bad decisions and a few really good ones. It should be messy but it reads like real life, because life is kinda messy and navigating through all that is our teen heroine Josie. I liked Josie Saint-Martin, she has dreams of getting away from her exhausting mother to study photography and a great plan of how to achieve that. Falling in love is NOT on the plan, her family believe themselves to be love-cursed, it’s going to be a disaster! I appreciated not having all my questions answered, I want to wonder a little at the choices Josie and her family make, although there are times when you want to give them a little shake and scream 'what are you doing?' 
The writing has great pace and plenty of goings on that will keep you turning the pages. A really enjoyable read.

I ADORE Jenn Bennett's contemporary books. I know going into to everyone there will be great friendships, yearning and twists I don't see coming. I also find that no matter what the subject matter I have an interest in the story regardless, it never takes over and makes it inaccessible. Josie is an avid photographer, I personally have no interest in photography but the book doesn't focus on it and it is used to move the plot forward in a way that made me care.
My favourite thing about this book is how realistic it felt. When the characters make mistakes you can feel their guilt, when they are happy you get excited with them. I could genuinely see everything in this book happening for real and I truly felt fully immersed in the story because of that.
The only reason I didn't give this 5 Stars is because the ending was wrapped up a little too nicely and quickly for me personally. I don't mind it all being solved I just wish i hadn't been done within a chapter or two.
Another superb book from Jenn and I expected nothing less!
Highly recommend to anyone looking for a cute friends to lovers romance with family drama and a happy ending.


A brilliant 4.5 stars!

Jenn Bennett has an unmatched talent for writing engaging and contemporary books. Chasing Lucky is only the latest in a long line of brilliant, relatable stories and it does not disappoint! 

Josie Saint-Martin has spent her life being dragged from town to town, but this latest move to back to her childhood home in Beauty is supposed to be the final one before she graduates high school and pursues her dream of becoming a photographer. 

I really love Josie and getting an insight into her. Lucky was surprisingly sweet and both their friendship and relationship were really beautiful to read about! 

The book was a little bit long, but overall I did completely love it! 

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. 

This review has been posted to Goodreads and will be submitted to Amazon after release.

I cannot tell you how delighted I was to be approved for an ARC of this book. I have been counting down the days to read Chasing Lucky ever since I heard of its existence because, let's face it, I am there for any book Jenn Bennett writes. Chasing Lucky is another fantastic book of hers. I read it in a day and would be happy to rewind time and read it over again for the first time.

One of the things that always grabs me most in Jenn Bennett's books is her main characters. They are always unique, relatable and immediately likeable. Josie is a great main character, because she's struggling with things we all go through: figuring out her future, what she loves to do, who she wants to be, where home is and, of course, what family, love and friendship really means to her. I also loved her take on photography and how that developed in the story. I instantly liked Lucky, for there was always something more under his brooding, snarky surface and I enjoyed seeing the mystery of his character unfold and seeing him open up. Both Josie and Lucky have complicated backgrounds and I just loved how in depth their characters were, how the years they spent as best friends and the five years they've been apart has changed them and made them into who they are. Of course, the best thing about this book is the relationship between these two. From the sarcastic banter to the complete honesty that develops between them as they begin to know each other again. I loved how their romance story developed, it kept me on my toes and had me turning pages like no tomorrow. How I love them, they are everything!

The overall plot of this book is well balanced with romance, comedy, heartache, small town politics and family drama. It's not all about Josie and Lucky. Josie's family, especially her Mum and what really happened in the past with Josie's father, are a big part of the plot. I enjoyed the family aspects and the whole thing with the so-called curse, which led the plot in many directions whenever something went wrong. Josie's moment of revenge, the messy mistake that Lucky ends up taking the fall for, was an entertaining part of the story, leading to many twists and turns that tested Josie's character, her ability to communicate and to trust both herself and others, especially Lucky and her Mum.

I feel like this book is just the perfect book to run away with to the bedroom or the couch with a cup of tea or coffee. I enjoyed reading it so much because it had all the thrills and the adorable moments I want in a YA contemporary. It also carries an important message: to find happiness, you have to break down your walls and let people in.

I loved this book. Josie is brilliant and Lucky is just utterly gorgeous. The romantic hero of my teenage dreams. I loved the setting, the complicated family drama and seeing the relationship between Lucky and Josie develop. Awesome YA read.

I invariably enjoy Jenn Bennett’s contemporary YA novels. And this latest release might be my favourite of them because this story really captured my heart. 

The book follows the character of seventeen year old Josie Saint-Martin who returns to her childhood hometown of Beauty after a number of years living from place to place with her mum Winona. 

But the reasons for their hasty departure years ago haven’t gone away and somehow Josie has to figure out how to get through these next few months in Beauty before she can once and for all leave her family troubles behind and escape to LA to be with her father. 

However, no matter how hard Josie tries to keep a low profile her family name (and the associated familial curse) follows her around and lands Josie in hot water... and very hot water it is indeed as it comes in the form of town bad boy Lucky Karras who also just happens to be Josie’s childhood best friend...

This book was sooooo good! A perfect summery read complete with small harbour town with a wealthy elite versus the rest of us mere mortals, childhood besties becoming more, mysterious family drama and strained family dynamics... just a perfect recipe for a really entertaining and engrossing contemporary read!

I really liked the character of Josie. She was so interesting to read about. I loved how she could be really smart and sassy, but then really awkward and clueless. Her character arc was truly compelling as it was fascinating to see how a lifetime of familial secrets had influenced her life choices and I really found the story surrounding the invisible protective wall that Josie put up around herself to be quite moving. I think the personal journey that she undertakes in this novel is one that will resonate with a lot of readers who feel similarly without stable family ties.

And I absolutely adored the character of Lucky. He had just the right amount of edge and bravado but then this sweet core that just gave the love story between Josie and Lucky all the swoony feels. Although Lucky had a backstory of getting injured in a fire as a child that I feel was a bit too underdeveloped. I would like to have been given a bit more insight into his feelings... But then conversely I understand why so much of Lucky was closed off from the reader because this is a book about breaking down the invisible walls we put up around ourselves and it was vital to the climax of the story that there still be mystery surrounding all of the characters that aren’t Josie. 

Evie was a fantastic side character in this book that again I would have loved to have  had more page time with. In fact I want so much more of this character that I would love a companion novel from her perspective. Evie is Josie’s nineteen year old cousin who is in a very on again/off again style toxic relationship with one of the town’s rich elite. What I loved about her is that she was this super smart character but yet she kept going back to her jerk boyfriend. It added an interesting counterpoint to the romantic relationship that was blossoming between Josie and Lucky but oh, I just wanted more! Her story was so heart wrenching and I think an important one to tell because it shows how easy it can be to become ensnared by a toxic relationship. So I wanted to get things from Evie’s perspective. Wanted to know more about the beginning of that toxic relationship. And I want to know more about the direction that her life goes in during the epilogue. 

And while we are at it I would happily read a book from Winona’s (Josie’s mum) perspective too. Honestly the female characters in this book are fascinating. We don’t get to hear much about Winona’s backstory until the latter part of the book... but oooof... when we get to it it’s really interesting. There’s a whole lot of drama that went down when Winona was Josie’s age and I would love to have seen that expanded upon a little bit more. Especially the relationship dynamics between Winona and her mother (Josie’s grandmother) because it would have been better to understand a bit more about why these two characters were at loggerheads for so many years. 

Overall this was a super enjoyable read. I laughed, I cried, I swooned. There were a few moments towards the end of the novel that felt a little too melodramatic and stretched out the story a tad too much for my personal taste, but this is a minor quibble as I didn’t feel that my enjoyment was any way tempered due to such. 

“Chasing Lucky” was a pretty perfect summery romance and I would love to see Bennett return to these characters again in a companion novel from someone else’s perspective (preferably Evie). 

Recommended to all fans of YA contemporary.

*An e-copy of this book was kindly provided to me by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Chasing Lucky is full of Romance, family and fair bit of angst. It's extremely engaging with vibrant characters that you feel like they become your friends. One to add to your summer reading list.

Chasing Lucky is a perfect summer read for fans of contemporary YA who want something angsty but not too complicated. Maybe it was because I'd just finished Practical Magic when I picked up Chasing Lucky, but I would have liked it to lean into the whole 'family curse, small-town New England, cool old bookshop' themes more.

Jenn Bennett is the queen on quirky teen rom-coms. Chasing Lucky is filled with her signature with and heart-warming romance and  characters who leap off the page.

What Jenn Bennett does to my reading soul is simply the best, I can rely on her that her books will hit the spot, make me happy and smile. CHASING LUCKY was no exception and this story of old friends getting to know one another as teens was gorgeous. There was an eclectic story that had Bennett’s characteristic uniqueness and whit; I got wholly wrapped up in all of it.

Lucky was Josie’s best friend until she left town with her mom, age 12. Returning at age 17 was a different experience with Lucky 2.0, family issues, a mom who frankly was hard to fathom and the grandmother matriarch from hell. Lucky 2.0 though, was the kind of puzzle worth fathoming.

“Whoa,” Evie says, leaning over the counter to peer out the window with me. “Got to admit. Phantom cleans up real nice. He’s the male Medusa. Don’t look into his eyes. Might get your pregnant.”

If you’re familiar with Jenn Bennett’s male characters, you’ll be pleased to know that Lucky was one of her most excellent beta male creations. I loved him in every way; he was genuine, with personality in bucket loads. Josie’s journey to friendship and more with Lucky was worth every page turn.

Josie’s family relationships made for avid reading. The family was truly dysfunctional but not beyond help in most cases. Josie’s relationship with her mother was probably the most frustrating but I felt pretty annoyed with Evie too at moments. The family was able to make me laugh though.

“Be careful” is all Mom warns me very seriously. I’ve got this. It’s only grandmother. Not an actual weapon of war.

I read this book with a smile on my face some of the time. That’s all the recommendation that you need. Go forth and enjoy.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster for the early review copy.