Book Review: Lucky

It feels like I'm just falling off the blogging wagon, am I right?? I'm really struggling with depression right now and though I have medication for it, I feel like I'm on one end of the spectrum today, but tomorrow I will be flung clear across to the other side. If we could find me some consistency in the middle, that would be greeeeeaaaaat. 

Lucky - Rachel Edwards 

Someone is watching Etta. Footsteps in the night, the security light coming on at strange hours … is it all just her curtain-twitching neighbours, who seem to monitor her every move? Or is her little online problem making her paranoid?

Because Etta needs to win big. She joined a gambling website to get a bit of cash, hoping to convince her boyfriend Ola that they can afford to get married. And she was so good at it … until she wasn’t. Luckily, she’s made a friend who hit the jackpot and if she plays her cards right, he could lend her the money to win everything back. Easy. So why does she feel so afraid? 

This was an absolute shit show Etta has managed to get herself into. It felt like that show Bridezilla, but before they get engaged, and she's just super desperate to get married, so she's like, I need a plan! Responsible partner Ola is like, "slow down girl, we need money for a house so we can be financially responsible" and she's like, "ugh, FINE".  (Don't get me started on Ola because Ola is a loser she needs to kick to the curb as it is, and I'm over here thinking there isn't a dang thing in this world that would convince me he's a good mate for anyone. I understand wanting to settle and do the wedding and baby thing, clocking ticking, blah blah blah, but a loser? Really? Is this what we're coming to?! I digress.) What does a normal person do? Get a job and save? 

If you're a loser! 

Etta isn't a loser (though I started to really doubt my opinion there for a bit), she's smart and smart people do what they do, turn to onling gambling because that NEVER fails, am I right?? Except, as it turns out, it goes bad fairly quickly. Once she gets WAY in over her head, and she spirals into gambling addiction. Honestly, I don't think I've ever read a book that focused on gambling addiction, so this was pretty wild. I could feel the panic Etta feels onces she realizes how royally screwed she is, and she starts making even worse decisions that she thinks will get her out of the hole she's dug, except that goes to hell as well, because now she's in debt but with some really awful people after her. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this one, and even though I was getting so annoyed and literally yelling at my book because Etta is an absolute moron who makes ridiculously terrible decisions, it is an absolute ride. Twists come at you out of nowhere, and through it all, the author makes you as a reader feel the panic and fear, just as Etta does. It puts a glaring spotlight that no matter what situation you get yourself in, there is no such way as the easy way out, there are no shortcuts, the only way out is hard work and making sacrifices, but also putting your wants aside until the end goal is reached. (Also, don't gamble, y'all. I know people have a good time, which seems like insanity to me, but you're flushing money down the toilet. If you really hate having money, let me just give you my email and you can just send it to me because I currently have a whole stack of bills here...)

Even though she got on my nerves with her terrible choices, this book was a wild ride and I enjoyed it. I loved all of the emotions the author got me feeling, I loved watching this trainwreck run completely off the rails, and it was a book I binged in a day. Loved this one. A huge thank you to Harper360 for sending me this for review, I can't wait to see what Rachel Edwards does next!

(Side note, I read Rachel's first book, Darling, and one of my comments was that there was room for growth in the writing.... I'm not saying I influenced that, but she nailed it! She definitely grew and I am so impressed, she is definitely an author to watch and quickly becoming an instant buy for me.)

This post contains affiliate links. Help a girl out, because I am not a good gambler. 

Book Review: Darling

It is time for our third review of the day! This is the last one for today unless I finish another book and decide to come back and post it but don't hold your breath. I haven't been feeling super great and I have my physical later this afternoon so I need to try to stay awake for that. I've been napping a lot lately and I just feel blah. 

Darling - Rachel Edwards

A white teenage girl clashes with her new black stepmother in this debut reading group thriller.

Lola doesn’t particularly want a new stepmother. Especially not one who has come out of nowhere and only been with her dad for three months. And – she’s not racist or anything – but since when did her dad fancy black women anyway?

Darling didn’t particularly want a new stepdaughter. Especially not one as spiteful and spoilt as Lola. She does want Lola’s dad though. And he wants her, so that’s that: Darling and Lola will just have to get used to each other.

Unless Lola can find a way to get rid of Darling. 

As soon as I read the synopsis for this one, I knew that I HAD to read it. I love the white daughter vs. black stepmother storyline but also, I love a good debut and that is exactly what this one was. I really enjoyed it and I am definitely looking for the next book by Rachel Edwards because this was twisty and interesting throughout. I will tell you that I did not see that ending coming at all. Frankly, the ending was straight bananas and I found myself going back to re-read a few key sections just so I knew I read it correctly the first time. 

I have to be real, though, you know how I roll. The writing isn't amazing, there is definitely room for growth here. The story is interesting and weird and enough to keep you wondering what the heck could possibly happen next, but the writing itself isn't great. Secondly, the book alternates between Darling and Lola, which is fine, but Lola's chapters are just.. probably written the worst. I am raising a teenager and I can tell you right now that no teenager speaks this way. Never, ever. 

You do need to know that the book does have racism, abuse, and mental health issues throughout so if those are triggers for you, maybe avoid this one. You know right from the get go either Darling or Lola would be killed because the tension between the two is at an all-time high, but the race to that is what keeps you turning these pages. If it is a bizarre and outrageous plot twist, it is probably in here. I'm not kidding. The story is bananas and that kept me reading this. 

Thank you to Harper 360 for having me on this tour and sending me a copy for review! I am all about these thrillers lately and I think I have a few more lined up in the next month or two, so stay tuned for that. Head over to my Instagram because I have a giveaway happening today, make sure you enter. 

This post contains affiliate links.