Review: CHASING LUCKY by Jenn Bennett

Chasing Lucky by Jenn Bennett
Also by this author: Starry Eyes, Serious Moonlight

Published by Simon Pulse on November 10, 2020
Genres: Young Adult Fiction, Contemporary Fiction
Pages: 416
Source: Netgalley
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FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chasing Lucky has everything I’ve come to love and expect from a Jenn Bennett novel. It has an engaging story with a wonderful romance, moving family moments, and most importantly, it is filled with unforgettable and ultra-relatable characters.

There’s a lot to love about this story, and main characters Josie Saint-Martin and Lucky Karras are at the top of my list.  Josie and her mom moved away from their New England hometown several years ago and have only now returned to help out in Josie’s grandmother’s book shop while she is out of the country.  Josie is not excited about being home and only views this as a temporary pitstop. Josie is a budding photographer and plans to save up enough money to move across the country to L.A. where her famous photographer dad is.  Josie is torn because she doesn’t want to break her mother’s heart and leave her alone, but she is also determined to follow her dreams.  That is, until she crosses paths with Lucky, resident bad boy and also Josie’s former best friend from when she lived there before.  After an initial awkward reacquaintance because Lucky isn’t at all like Josie remembered him to be, Josie and Lucky renew their friendship.  It is this developing relationship and its many possibilities that really drew me into the story and I especially wanted to know what had happened to Lucky to change him so much in the years that Josie was away.

In addition to these two characters and their journeys, I also really loved the New England small town setting.  Lucky’s family business is a shipyard of sorts and there are lots of scenes set on or near boats and the ocean and Bennett describes these scenes so vividly that I felt like I was there.  I also adored the Saint-Martin family’s book shop, which is just so quaint.

Chasing Lucky hooked me from the opening scene and captivated me until the very end because I was so invested in Josie and Lucky, both individually and as a pair. I needed happy endings for them both and I also needed a happy ending for Josie’s mom, who in a very intriguing side plot, has some things from her past that come back to haunt her as soon as she returns home. If you’re a Jenn Bennett fan and/or a fan of small-town romances and bad boys who may not really be bad boys after all, be sure to check out Chasing Lucky.