How would your life change if you won $10 million? This book reminded me of the Aussie TV series ‘Winners and Losers’. A nice, light read, with great characters and a storyline that made you want to read on. I will definitely be reading more of Louise Guy!

I enjoyed this gentle book. Tips on what not to do if you win the lottery. 2 women drawn together building a strong friendship and helping through the Life change. Money brings challenges,

A compelling story about how one lucky day can change your life for better or for worse. Quick easy read that held my attention from start to finish.

What a great read. I couldn’t put it down. I was sure the writer had first hand knowledge of winning the lottery and the pitfalls that befall all winners. Highly recommended and yes I will still keep playing the lotto when stakes are high and now have a good idea of what to do if (and when) I win!!!

What would you do if you won $10 million?

Frankie and Shauna’s lives are changed forever when they each win $10 million on the Lotto. A Winning Betrayal details the aftermath of their wins, how it impacts their families, relationships, and jobs. Frugal Frankie is reluctant to accept her winnings, insisting the money will ruin her life, and Shauna’s troubled relationship with her mother is tested even further once the money comes between them.

This book seemingly has everything: a returning ex, an estranged father, a love triangle, an illness, a secret between wife and brother-in-law, the list goes on. It plays out much like a soap opera with no real plot, just things happening to people, all wrapped up with a ribbon at the end in the form of a happily ever after.

Guy’s writing style is easy to follow but a little simple at times. The characters are bland and the author tries to flesh them out with tragic backstories but ultimately, they wind up being annoying to read about.

A Winning Betrayal is nothing groundbreaking but it would be good for anyone looking for a (very) easy, fluffy read.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t really what I enjoy reading anymore, but I think I would have gained much more enjoyment out of this about five years ago.

I really enjoyed this story about Frankie and Shauna, two women who meet and form a close friendship after they both win the lottery. The women couldn’t be any more different and yet the positives and negatives that come from such a windfall binds them in a way neither expects. A very emotional and touching book!

How would your life change if you were to win the lottery? Would you give money to your brother desperate for another handout, give a past lover the money he needs to travel the world (the same way he left you a year earlier), or free yourself from the dragging, day-in-day-out drudgery of not enough in material things although you're rich in love or enrich your own life with the connections you crave? How and what do you change -- and how are you yourself changed? In Louise Guy's A WINNING BETRAYAL, the impact of a sudden windfall on two very different women is explored with Guy's unique compassion, intelligence, and clear-eyed insight into hearts and minds. I so enjoyed this well-written story -- and look forward to more from this exceptionally talented storyteller. I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my unbiased review.

Love, betrayal, family drama, new friends and lottery wins.
A fascinating novel about just how much a lottery win can change both the winners and the people around them.
I really loved both the female lead characters and was invested in both their stories. Watching their friendship develop was lovely. I was glad they both got their happy ending despite the heartache and trouble along the way.
The alternating chapters between the two stories is easy to keep up with and the writing style is easy to read and draws you in.
My only “but” is I would have liked the story to move along a little quicker sometimes.

Another nice light and easy read from Louise Guy. The story of two women from completely different backgrounds becoming unlikely friends, after a lottery win brings them both together we see the good and bad that it brings to their lives and how they help and support each other through all of these changes.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

The title says it all. The parallel between the main protagonists, Frankie & Shauna made this contemporary an intriguing read. Watching these two women, with such different lives, be intertwined by fate and their own personal struggles, was a realistic and a right nod to the yin and yang of life, especially with new wealth and the mountain of emotion that follows along with it.

Loved this book. I empathized and was able to really get into the lives and thoughts of the characters. Highly enjoyable read and I recommend this book.

Frankie and Tom were happy but poor. Their two children, Hope and Fern were used to secondhand clothing, no spare money for treats and they were good kids, benefitting from the closeness and love in the household. Shauna had recently started a new job and loved it. She’d spent the past twelve months getting over her ex, Simon, who she had thought was ‘the one’, until he gave her an ultimatum. Happily single, Shauna was doing alright.

The day both Shauna and Frankie discovered their windfall, the two women didn’t know each other. Complete strangers, they met at the lottery headquarters for the meeting about their winnings. Shauna was ecstatic about her win and was determined to do it her way. While Frankie was terrified what the money would do to the family. Too many bad things happened when a lot of money was involved; people came out of the woodwork wanting a handout, families were split, greed caused rifts.

What would be the future for both Frankie and Shauna? Their views were different, but would their lives change inherently?

A Winning Betrayal (first published as Fortunate Friends) by Aussie author Louise Guy is a fascinating look at families, betrayal, lies, love and friendship. The two women were like chalk and cheese, but both were kind hearted and sincere, genuine to a fault. I thoroughly enjoyed A Winning Betrayal and have no hesitation in recommending it highly.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

Is winning a lottery a good thing or a bad thing? Actually it is both as you will find out while reading this book. Two ladies win 10 million dollars each and they become friends while attending a support group for lottery winners. Both are good people with very different lifestyles who become close and support each other through some of the negatives that come with sudden wealth.. I enjoyed reading this book although I found it a bit predictable. The characters are great and completely likable and the writing is light and easy to read. I definitely recommend.
Thanks Net Galley for allowing me to read this arc for my honest review.

Is winning a big amount of money at the lottery a good or bad thing? This is what this book makes you reflect on.
It is about two very different women, Shauna and Frankie, who have to split a 10 million dollars win. Shauna is a single, successful young woman and Frankie is married, mother of two and struggles to make ends meet.
The win could change their life, but this is not an unrealistic story of becoming rich and being happy ever after.
It's about real people, real struggles, real consequences, real life.
Very relatable and enjoyable!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Frankie and Shauna would never have met had they not both won the lottery. Frankie and her husband Tom work hard but they live week to week; this money can be their salvation. Shauna is single and the money will make a difference in her life. They meet at a support group for lottery winners and slowly but surely become friends. Guy has adroitly used some of the pitfalls of a windfall (all the people who contact Shauna when her name comes out) and what happens between Frankie and Tom. This is a re-write of a book originally published in 2017; I'm curious why one character was removed but know that this works well as a tale of female friendship. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC, A cautionary tale on some levels and uplifting on others. A good read.

The Lottery is a fantastic idea for so many, and there are so many out there who have daydreams about winning it and what they would spend it on. But what is the reality behind all of it? Is it really a blessing or a curse? For both characters, Shauna and Frankie their big wins are life-changing, but this doesn't negate the fact that some things don't always appear as it seems. Even though they no longer have the stress of worrying about day-to-day expenses, not everything is stress-free. Rather, it has added more stresses of various quantities to the pot.

Compared to other books that I have read in the past, this is simply one which is able to delve a little bit into a fantasy that most of us would never get, in the most easy and light-weighted writing possible. However, I have found that in some ways, this comes at a price. From the beginning of the story, the foreshadowing was very strong, too strong. In fact, if I was able to pinpoint what might happen before I read it, I think that it would have been eerily similar to what actually did happen. But in my opinion, it seems like nothing can really trump the ending. How quickly it seemed on a timescale from going from point A to point B. Plus, why choose an ending like that? I don't know, it kind of felt a little forced and maybe overdone.

However, this does not mean that everything was completely alike to what I thought would happen. There was one particular twist that I did not see coming at all and I was very glad of it, because I do believe that it gave one of the characters a lot more heart. It was nice to see an expansion of what good winning money could do to your overall happiness, rather than just the security of not worrying about bills anymore.

Even though I thought that there were some disadvantages to this book, or certain topics that I feel were glossed over, which should have been more of a conversation, I did enjoy it. I actually put all my other TBR reads to the side just to finish it. If that is not a testament to Guy's writing, then I don't know what is.

Louise Guy writes a beautiful story about two women whose lives are about to change after winning and splitting a $20 million jackpot 50/50. From the very beginning, I was drawn into the two stories of strong and resilient women. The characters are beautifully written, and I came to adore them within the first few pages. I could not put the book down because I wanted more. The trials, tribulations and goodness that can come from winning the lotto after hearing about each of the women’s journey prior to their win. This is a story of real people even though the characters and story is fictional.

Good Or Bad Luck...?
Will a huge windfall rewrite lives? Unexpected good luck brings together strangers but will the luck actually prove to be a dose of bad luck in disguise? Will the money take over and ultimately take control? Enjoyable, interesting and engaging read and some entertaining escapism. Note that this was previously published as ‘Fortunate Friends’.

A Winning Betrayal is a contemporary Australian novel about the effects of a large lottery win on two women in their thirties. It was previously published a few years ago under the title Fortunate Friends, but has been rewritten and one major character removed.
I needed a break from Crime and thrillers, and am not into chick-lit or romance, but this is more of a light drama with some serious themes, exploring everyone’s favourite daydream - what would happen if I won the lottery?

Shauna is a successful Melbourne recruitment consultant dealing with a difficult mother, a cheeky new colleague, and the reappearance of the Ex who broke her heart. Frankie and her husband Tom have a great relationship and two well-adjusted teenage daughters, but they struggle for money and with Tom’s obnoxious brother Dash. When the women discover they are to share a $20 million win, their families are delighted, but each is fearful of how the windfall will change their lives - with good reason...

This was enjoyable and well-written with a distinct Aussie flavour. There’s a good range of characters - including some you just want to slap - and I enjoyed the evolving friendship between Shauna and Frankie. Yes there’s a romance sub-plot but it’s not the point of the book.
The author has clearly researched the common pitfalls of winning big, some predictable, others less so, and weaves them into the story. I don’t buy lotto tickets, but my husband does occasionally, and I’ve always suspected that the strain of not telling anyone would be almost as bad as the stresses that arise when you do. I’ve always thought it would be better for more people to win more modest prizes - a million dollars would solve most people’s problems without ruining their lives, but most people still dream of the big draws.
I would’ve liked some aspects to be developed more - like the effects on the daughters, and there were few surprises with the outcome, but overall I would recommend this if you’re after a comfortably easy read that still makes you think.

Thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union publishing for the ARC which allowed me to give an honest review. A Winning Betrayal is published on March 16th.

An interesting idea, having two very different women win a lottery by chance. These two women Shauna and Frankie have to deal with a 10 Million Australian Dollar win and all the problems it brings. They both learn that having a lot of money does not solve their relationship or life issues and having more money makes things only more complicated.
It is a fast-paced, easy, and entertaining read.