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Lucky in Love
Maddie's not impulsive. She's all about hard work and planning ahead. But one night, on a whim, she buys a lottery ticket. And then, to her astonishment —
She wins!
In a flash, Maddie's life is unrecognizable. No more stressing about college scholarships. Suddenly, she's talking about renting a yacht. And being in the spotlight at school is fun... until rumors start flying, and random people ask her for loans. Now, Maddie isn't sure who she can trust.
Except for Seth Nguyen, her funny, charming coworker at the local zoo. Seth doesn't seem aware of Maddie's big news. And, for some reason, she doesn't want to tell him. But what will happen if he learns her secret?
With tons of humor and heart, Kasie West delivers a million-dollar tale of winning, losing, and falling in love.
337 pages, Hardcover
First published July 25, 2017
About the author
Kasie West
24 books17.4k followersI write YA. I eat Junior Mints. Sometimes I go crazy and do both at the same time. My novels are: PIVOT POINT and its sequel SPLIT SECOND. And my contemporary novels: THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US, ON THE FENCE, THE FILL-IN BOYFRIEND, PS I LIKE YOU, BY YOUR SIDE, LUCKY IN LOVE, LOVE LIFE and the LIST, LISTEN TO YOUR HEART, FAME FATE and the FIRST KISS, MAYBE THIS TIME, and MOMENT OF TRUTH. My agent is the talented and funny Michelle Wolfson.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,517 reviews
July 25, 2017
I generally don't read YA contemporary romances, particularly one with kind of a silly lottery-winner premise. But then I saw in the blurb that the love interest's name is Seth Nguyen.
SETH NGUYEN. OH. MY. GOD. AN ASIAN GUY AS A LOVE INTEREST. This has almost literally never happened before in an YA novel.
Plus, the book takes place in Santa Ana/Tustin, California. I LIVE LIKE LITERALLY 5 MINUTES AWAY.
I get excited by little things, ok?
Before I start, let me say that though I don't typically read these types of books, I am not averse to them. I love romance. I read HR extensively, but like in every genre, this has to be well-written and enjoyable to read. For me, this book was just ok.
Here is why: the premise is about a poor girl who wins the lottery. Now, granted, she is very, very young. Practically an infant (I'm in my 30s now and trust me, when you're as ancient as I am, everyone under 20 are babies). She makes very poor decisions regarding her newfound money, and while her age and inexperience can be attributed to her reckless spending, it doesn't exactly make her likable either, and I found myself groaning at her sometimes idiotic naiveté. She means well. She wants to make everyone happy. She thinks money can solve everything. I get it, but it doesn't mean I don't get extremely frustrated reading about one poor decision after another.
I was poor. My family were Vietnamese immigrants. We came to the US as refugees, with nothing. If anything, growing up poor made the young me frugal. That is why I found it so hard to relate with her throwing away her newfound money on useless things. In the beginning, I liked her. Maddie had her head on straight.
Seth was also a really one-dimensional character, too. Their interactions were cute, but there really wasn't much more to Seth, or on that note, any of her friends. The entire book felt like it was mostly inane teenager dialogue with not much complexity or plot.
SETH NGUYEN. OH. MY. GOD. AN ASIAN GUY AS A LOVE INTEREST. This has almost literally never happened before in an YA novel.
Plus, the book takes place in Santa Ana/Tustin, California. I LIVE LIKE LITERALLY 5 MINUTES AWAY.
Tustin wasn’t a huge city, but in Southern California, cities bled together. Tustin ran into Santa Ana, which ran into Westminster, which ran into Anaheim and then Los Angeles. Sometimes it all felt like one big city.
I get excited by little things, ok?
Before I start, let me say that though I don't typically read these types of books, I am not averse to them. I love romance. I read HR extensively, but like in every genre, this has to be well-written and enjoyable to read. For me, this book was just ok.
Here is why: the premise is about a poor girl who wins the lottery. Now, granted, she is very, very young. Practically an infant (I'm in my 30s now and trust me, when you're as ancient as I am, everyone under 20 are babies). She makes very poor decisions regarding her newfound money, and while her age and inexperience can be attributed to her reckless spending, it doesn't exactly make her likable either, and I found myself groaning at her sometimes idiotic naiveté. She means well. She wants to make everyone happy. She thinks money can solve everything. I get it, but it doesn't mean I don't get extremely frustrated reading about one poor decision after another.
I was poor. My family were Vietnamese immigrants. We came to the US as refugees, with nothing. If anything, growing up poor made the young me frugal. That is why I found it so hard to relate with her throwing away her newfound money on useless things. In the beginning, I liked her. Maddie had her head on straight.
School, and college, were the most important things in my life at the moment. Nothing—I looked at Seth—or no one would change that.Interestingly enough, she changed - not for the better - throughout the book.
Seth was also a really one-dimensional character, too. Their interactions were cute, but there really wasn't much more to Seth, or on that note, any of her friends. The entire book felt like it was mostly inane teenager dialogue with not much complexity or plot.
July 30, 2017
dis·ap·point·ment
ˌdisəˈpointmənt/
noun
noun: disappointment
the feeling of sadness or displeasure caused when ones favourite contemporary author cannot fulfill readers hopes or expectations.
Oh, look, I relate.
Lately, I’ve been feeling like I’ve outgrown Kasie West’s books, like theyre all cute and predictable and ish but I’ve just been so royally pissed at how terrible they are that I cant even enjoy the cuteness of them.
My face throughout the ENITRE book:
~none of these are spoilers as they are revealed in the synopsis, just sayin~
Let’s dish these complaints. . .
- first off we got Maddie, a 4 year old stuck in an 18 year olds body
- Maddie is the human embodiment of the annoying kid in class who reminds the teacher there was a quiz
- this girl thing shes SUCH a genius with her offhand facts and her high GPA
- but what Maddie doesn’t realize is that she’s an overcooked carrot, bland, limp, and disappointing
- now plain jane Maddie is having a terrible birthday and goes to buy some candy, ends up buying a lotto ticket for 50 MILLION DOLLARS
- and since shes 18, shes like lets live a little and she buys it
- and guESS WHO WINS THE 50 MILLION DOLLAR LOTTERY
- ya girl, yep that’s who
- okay so predictability is SKY rocketing here, shes practically a special snowflake at this point
- but no
- we’re not done
- Maddie goes on to tell her fam and theyre so happy for her !!
- But what do perfect parent #1 and perfect parent #2 say
- ‘oh honey its your money spend it how you like’
- REALLY BINCH
- REALLY
- 50 MILLION DOLLARS
- AND YOURE GONNA LEAVE A TEENAGER TO DECIDE HOW TO SPEND IT
- They tell her to hire a financial advisor
- But what does ya girl do? :) yep you guessed right
- Im sorry like I understand independence but this is ridiculous
- anyways the book is basically about how Maddie thinks she can mend her problems with money but she spends the money like a literal 3 year old at a candy shop and its really cringey at the same time
- now why is it cringey you may ask
- well
- the characters have the IQ of a cucumber
- I tried to love Seth but he’s so boring and one dimensional
- 90% of the entire book is dialogue
- Just straight up dialogue
- Nothing happens at all
- There’s no point to the book
- The writing level is like that of a 6 year old
- Like honestly middle school kids are too advanced for this kind of writing
- ALSO PSA:
- STOP 👏 USING 👏BREAKUPS 👏 AS 👏A 👏PLOT DEVICE 👏
- Yeah that’s all I got
1 star!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Buddy read with my annoying big sister, جيانّا
I'VE SEEN SO MANY MIXED REVIEW AND IF KASIE WEST DISAPPOINTS ME AGAIN IM GOING TO CRY MYSELF TO SLEEP ALL OVER AGAIN
ˌdisəˈpointmənt/
noun
noun: disappointment
the feeling of sadness or displeasure caused when ones favourite contemporary author cannot fulfill readers hopes or expectations.
Oh, look, I relate.
Lately, I’ve been feeling like I’ve outgrown Kasie West’s books, like theyre all cute and predictable and ish but I’ve just been so royally pissed at how terrible they are that I cant even enjoy the cuteness of them.
My face throughout the ENITRE book:
~none of these are spoilers as they are revealed in the synopsis, just sayin~
Let’s dish these complaints. . .
- first off we got Maddie, a 4 year old stuck in an 18 year olds body
- Maddie is the human embodiment of the annoying kid in class who reminds the teacher there was a quiz
- this girl thing shes SUCH a genius with her offhand facts and her high GPA
- but what Maddie doesn’t realize is that she’s an overcooked carrot, bland, limp, and disappointing
- now plain jane Maddie is having a terrible birthday and goes to buy some candy, ends up buying a lotto ticket for 50 MILLION DOLLARS
- and since shes 18, shes like lets live a little and she buys it
- and guESS WHO WINS THE 50 MILLION DOLLAR LOTTERY
- ya girl, yep that’s who
- okay so predictability is SKY rocketing here, shes practically a special snowflake at this point
- but no
- we’re not done
- Maddie goes on to tell her fam and theyre so happy for her !!
- But what do perfect parent #1 and perfect parent #2 say
- ‘oh honey its your money spend it how you like’
- REALLY BINCH
- REALLY
- 50 MILLION DOLLARS
- AND YOURE GONNA LEAVE A TEENAGER TO DECIDE HOW TO SPEND IT
- They tell her to hire a financial advisor
- But what does ya girl do? :) yep you guessed right
- Im sorry like I understand independence but this is ridiculous
- anyways the book is basically about how Maddie thinks she can mend her problems with money but she spends the money like a literal 3 year old at a candy shop and its really cringey at the same time
- now why is it cringey you may ask
- well
- the characters have the IQ of a cucumber
- I tried to love Seth but he’s so boring and one dimensional
- 90% of the entire book is dialogue
- Just straight up dialogue
- Nothing happens at all
- There’s no point to the book
- The writing level is like that of a 6 year old
- Like honestly middle school kids are too advanced for this kind of writing
- ALSO PSA:
- STOP 👏 USING 👏BREAKUPS 👏 AS 👏A 👏PLOT DEVICE 👏
- Yeah that’s all I got
1 star!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Buddy read with my annoying big sister, جيانّا
I'VE SEEN SO MANY MIXED REVIEW AND IF KASIE WEST DISAPPOINTS ME AGAIN IM GOING TO CRY MYSELF TO SLEEP ALL OVER AGAIN
August 12, 2017
And that book, my friends, is the definition of trash.
This review is almost 2 weeks late, but oh well. So... disappointment strikes once again. And it sucks because it's a Kasie West book. That author is my go-to author for when I want cute, light reads. However, I can't believe that the author who wrote P.S. I Like You and The Distance Between Us is the same author who wrote this disaster.
Sad, sad, sad.
Let's start with the annoying MC, Maddie. Maddie comes from a poor family, they can barely meet ends and so Maddie is a very studious student, hoping she'd get a scholarship to her dream university. She also works in a zoo. Those two points are the only good points Maddie possesses. Anyway, when she hits 18, she signs up for the lottery, and as the blurb states, she wins. She gives some money to her father, mother and brother, which is also very nice of her. But really here's where it all stops.
When she wins the money (50 million dollars), her parents are all like "oh honey you're 18, it's your money. You figure out how to spend it and save it!!!!" HOLD THE HELL UP. See, I understand independence once you hit 18 and all the talk, but pahlease, spare me. You don't leave your 18 year old child with this humongous sum of money without guiding her through it. All her father said was "hey you can talk to a financial adviser" and BAM never speaks of it again. YOU!! DON'T!! DO!! THAT!! You guide your child and you help her!!
Look I understand when someone's not very well off and then suddenly has a huge sum of money, naturally they'd buy the things they couldn't before. However, Maddie took it to extremes and it made me beyond uncomfortable. Throughout the book, all she does is spend her money on ridiculous stuff (overly expensive clothes, overly expensive car, SHE EVEN THROWS A PARTY ON A DAMN YACHT... now tell me, was the yacht necessary?). There's so much more things one can do with a huge sum of money instead of spending it left, right and central!!!!
Also, all she does is speak of her money and how money is the solution to her problems (her parents will stop fighting and his brother's financial issues will be fixed and she won't have to work for a scholarship anymore yada yada). Maddie also starts changing as a person and starts to blend in with the "popular kids". Again, I'll be practical here, yes money can be a solution to a few problems, but come onnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn since when does money solve everything?????
So yes, Maddie is annoying and naive and stupid and I couldn't stand her. As for the plot... nothing important happened. It was all just dialogue, Maddie spending her money ridiculously, and how things went downhill for Maddie. I started purposely avoiding this book because I was just so. bored. and so. annoyed.
Now, as for the romance part, I've always loved the male MCs Kasie creates, and usually, romance takes a bigger portion of her books. However, in this book, the romance was such a minor part of the book and I was ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ the whole time at it and at Seth, who by the way, I wanted to like but was so MEH.
OH WELLLLLLLLLL. Not every book is a winner I guess.
••• Buddy read with the bane of my existence, my little sister May.
This review is almost 2 weeks late, but oh well. So... disappointment strikes once again. And it sucks because it's a Kasie West book. That author is my go-to author for when I want cute, light reads. However, I can't believe that the author who wrote P.S. I Like You and The Distance Between Us is the same author who wrote this disaster.
Sad, sad, sad.
Let's start with the annoying MC, Maddie. Maddie comes from a poor family, they can barely meet ends and so Maddie is a very studious student, hoping she'd get a scholarship to her dream university. She also works in a zoo. Those two points are the only good points Maddie possesses. Anyway, when she hits 18, she signs up for the lottery, and as the blurb states, she wins. She gives some money to her father, mother and brother, which is also very nice of her. But really here's where it all stops.
When she wins the money (50 million dollars), her parents are all like "oh honey you're 18, it's your money. You figure out how to spend it and save it!!!!" HOLD THE HELL UP. See, I understand independence once you hit 18 and all the talk, but pahlease, spare me. You don't leave your 18 year old child with this humongous sum of money without guiding her through it. All her father said was "hey you can talk to a financial adviser" and BAM never speaks of it again. YOU!! DON'T!! DO!! THAT!! You guide your child and you help her!!
Look I understand when someone's not very well off and then suddenly has a huge sum of money, naturally they'd buy the things they couldn't before. However, Maddie took it to extremes and it made me beyond uncomfortable. Throughout the book, all she does is spend her money on ridiculous stuff (overly expensive clothes, overly expensive car, SHE EVEN THROWS A PARTY ON A DAMN YACHT... now tell me, was the yacht necessary?). There's so much more things one can do with a huge sum of money instead of spending it left, right and central!!!!
Also, all she does is speak of her money and how money is the solution to her problems (her parents will stop fighting and his brother's financial issues will be fixed and she won't have to work for a scholarship anymore yada yada). Maddie also starts changing as a person and starts to blend in with the "popular kids". Again, I'll be practical here, yes money can be a solution to a few problems, but come onnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn since when does money solve everything?????
So yes, Maddie is annoying and naive and stupid and I couldn't stand her. As for the plot... nothing important happened. It was all just dialogue, Maddie spending her money ridiculously, and how things went downhill for Maddie. I started purposely avoiding this book because I was just so. bored. and so. annoyed.
Now, as for the romance part, I've always loved the male MCs Kasie creates, and usually, romance takes a bigger portion of her books. However, in this book, the romance was such a minor part of the book and I was ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ the whole time at it and at Seth, who by the way, I wanted to like but was so MEH.
OH WELLLLLLLLLL. Not every book is a winner I guess.
••• Buddy read with the bane of my existence, my little sister May.
May 27, 2021
1.5/5 stars
Okay, so imagine you are me. Not the lame, tries-to-be-funny-but-fails me, but the awesome me who likes to read and thinks she's as cool as Inej Ghafa. Now imagine how devestating it is to you that in the past six months, you’ve only read five books because you are stuck 50 lightyears deep in a pit you have dubbed The Great Reading Slump of 2017™. But it's New Years Eve and you are waiting for the year to change over,which is a lie. I actually fell asleep at 9pm NYE becasue I'm a lame nut but I need to set the scene here, when all of a sudden a light turns on inside of you as you realize that this is your year. There's nothing around to stop you from rocking that Goodreads Reading Challenge. So, to prove this to yourself, you pick up the book that your friend wants to buddy read with you and set out on the path towards 150 books in 12 months.
But the book you happen to pick up is this book.
Yes, this is how devestating my life is.
And it's not like the fact that this book sucks is brand new information to me. I still frequent Goodreads. I've seen the reviews. But I knew it was going to be such an easy read that I decided to ignore everyone on here.
#Confirmed: Emi is the worst and she refuses to listen to any of you.
Before I start complaining, just a heads up that on my profile it mentions that my reviews are all a mess and that 100% applies to this one as well. I'm sorry.
Let's just jump right into why I had problems with this book, shall we? But, since I imagine that the next 1,000 words of this review is just me ranting about the characters, let's just l start with the problems with the book I had that I will definetly forget to mention
•Stiff, unrealistic dialogue
•Unrelateable, bland characters
•Underdeveloped romantic plotline
•"You should like this character because Maddie does, just ignore everything they are doing to make you hate them" and then times that by 7
Now the biggest problem of them all: Madelaine (pronounced the French way) aka Maddie aka just let me spontaneously combust right now please, I want her out of my life forever.
So Maddie is this recently 18-year-old girl who doesn't know that student loans exist who life is so hard. Her parents fight because her dad is unmotivated and her mom doesn't seem to stand up for herself. Her brother's a major douchebag. She doesn't know how she's going to pay for already amazing dream school of UCLA. Except her friends don't want her to go to UCLA, they want her to go to the even more amazing Stanford. But how could she afford that? And be 6 hours away from her bickering assturds of a family? She has the possibility to be accepted to two really amazing schools and this is the biggest problem in her life. She's practically Troy Bolton in HSM3 but without all the basketball and singing.
But anyways, I'm getting off topic. And none of that probably made any sense. *Shrugs*
So it's Maddie's birthday and things suck. So, to make it up to herself, Maddie goes to the local gas station and buys a lottery ticket on a whim. And surprise! surprise!, because this is a YA contemporary novel, Maddie finds herself $30 million dollars richer.
I think, if I won the lottery, I would hire someone to go tell Maddie that money doesn't buy happiness. I don't think she's heard of this before. As she seems to throw money at anyone who moves just because.
Actually, no, I think I would do something a little more reasonable if I won. Buy myself a nice townhouse that I can spend a few years in and put a lot of books into, a bigger cage for my guinea pig, pay off my student loans, and then put the rest of that into a trust account set up for me by a nice, trusting financial advisor so I can make sure that money lasts the rest of my life.
But wait! What does Maddy do with that money? Well, my friend, let me list it out for you.
just urgh
And, the one thing EVERY FUCKIGN PERSON HAS BEEN TELLING HER TO DO THE ENTIRE BOOK, , DOESN'T EVEN HAPPEN UNTIL THE LAST CHAPTER.
SHe's so stupid. Urgh.
Also, Maddie's best friends are assholes but I don't want to talk about them right now. Let's talk about love interest, shall we?
So Maddie works at this zoo, and seems to work super closely with the animals which is just something I ignored the entire book bc I'm pretty sure you need a zoology degree just to be able to walk into their cages like she does but idk what do I know about zoology? and she works with this guy named Seth who is very obviously madly in love with her. But she doesn't notice because she's too madly in love with this anteater that Kasie West does a really good job at not getting the reader emotionally invested in.
The first time we met Seth, he was like, "I got grounded for playign golf at midnight" so I automatically knew he was going to be lame. Which I was right about. But he was also the most reasonable character in the entire book. ALso, he never mentions golf again in the book so obviously golf issuper important to him.
Well anyways, Maddie really likes Seth too, but she's 18 so of course she never admits that to herself. Instead, she spents the entirety of the book lying to him about how she won the lottery.
And that's about all I remember about Seth, tbh. He was kinda forgettable.
THere's so much more that I want to go on about, but my blood pressure is through the roof right now. It's been a very, very long time since a book has pissed me off this badly.
Until next time peeps.
I'm gonna go read Six of Crows or something
Buddy read w/ Scrill whom I abondened and finished this book days before her. Sorry.
"Sometimes regardless of what we want, reality takes over."
Okay, so imagine you are me. Not the lame, tries-to-be-funny-but-fails me, but the awesome me who likes to read and thinks she's as cool as Inej Ghafa. Now imagine how devestating it is to you that in the past six months, you’ve only read five books because you are stuck 50 lightyears deep in a pit you have dubbed The Great Reading Slump of 2017™. But it's New Years Eve and you are waiting for the year to change over,
But the book you happen to pick up is this book.
Yes, this is how devestating my life is.
And it's not like the fact that this book sucks is brand new information to me. I still frequent Goodreads. I've seen the reviews. But I knew it was going to be such an easy read that I decided to ignore everyone on here.
#Confirmed: Emi is the worst and she refuses to listen to any of you.
Before I start complaining, just a heads up that on my profile it mentions that my reviews are all a mess and that 100% applies to this one as well. I'm sorry.
Let's just jump right into why I had problems with this book, shall we? But, since I imagine that the next 1,000 words of this review is just me ranting about the characters, let's just l start with the problems with the book I had that I will definetly forget to mention
•Stiff, unrealistic dialogue
•Unrelateable, bland characters
•Underdeveloped romantic plotline
•"You should like this character because Maddie does, just ignore everything they are doing to make you hate them" and then times that by 7
Now the biggest problem of them all: Madelaine (pronounced the French way) aka Maddie aka just let me spontaneously combust right now please, I want her out of my life forever.
So Maddie is this recently 18-year-old girl who doesn't know that student loans exist who life is so hard. Her parents fight because her dad is unmotivated and her mom doesn't seem to stand up for herself. Her brother's a major douchebag. She doesn't know how she's going to pay for already amazing dream school of UCLA. Except her friends don't want her to go to UCLA, they want her to go to the even more amazing Stanford. But how could she afford that? And be 6 hours away from her bickering assturds of a family? She has the possibility to be accepted to two really amazing schools and this is the biggest problem in her life. She's practically Troy Bolton in HSM3 but without all the basketball and singing.
But anyways, I'm getting off topic. And none of that probably made any sense. *Shrugs*
So it's Maddie's birthday and things suck. So, to make it up to herself, Maddie goes to the local gas station and buys a lottery ticket on a whim. And surprise! surprise!, because this is a YA contemporary novel, Maddie finds herself $30 million dollars richer.
I think, if I won the lottery, I would hire someone to go tell Maddie that money doesn't buy happiness. I don't think she's heard of this before. As she seems to throw money at anyone who moves just because.
Actually, no, I think I would do something a little more reasonable if I won. Buy myself a nice townhouse that I can spend a few years in and put a lot of books into, a bigger cage for my guinea pig, pay off my student loans, and then put the rest of that into a trust account set up for me by a nice, trusting financial advisor so I can make sure that money lasts the rest of my life.
But wait! What does Maddy do with that money? Well, my friend, let me list it out for you.
just urgh
And, the one thing EVERY FUCKIGN PERSON HAS BEEN TELLING HER TO DO THE ENTIRE BOOK, , DOESN'T EVEN HAPPEN UNTIL THE LAST CHAPTER.
SHe's so stupid. Urgh.
Also, Maddie's best friends are assholes but I don't want to talk about them right now. Let's talk about love interest, shall we?
So Maddie works at this zoo,
The first time we met Seth, he was like, "I got grounded for playign golf at midnight" so I automatically knew he was going to be lame. Which I was right about. But he was also the most reasonable character in the entire book. ALso, he never mentions golf again in the book so obviously golf is
Well anyways, Maddie really likes Seth too, but she's 18 so of course she never admits that to herself. Instead, she spents the entirety of the book lying to him about how she won the lottery.
And that's about all I remember about Seth, tbh. He was kinda forgettable.
THere's so much more that I want to go on about, but my blood pressure is through the roof right now. It's been a very, very long time since a book has pissed me off this badly.
Until next time peeps.
I'm gonna go read Six of Crows or something
Buddy read w/ Scrill whom I abondened and finished this book days before her. Sorry.
June 23, 2018
a girl wins a lot of money and starts buying stuff. the end.
February 7, 2017
Cuteness!
November 6, 2019
As usual, I breezed through it. It’s always so easy and chill with Kasie West’s books. Like your favorite ice cream on a sugar cone. But what I liked more about Lucky in Love is that it’s so much more than your guilty pleasure YA romance. I love that the main character,Maddie and her friends are a bunch of nerds. Their nerd talks are too cute.
“Starving is an overused word that diminishes the importance of those in the world that actually are starving.”
Their dedication to their studies is almost funny but still very admirable. I’m kind of envious because I never had friends in high school or college who would even consider a group study. It would have been so much fun but probably just for me. Lol.
I especially appreciate the message of the story-how too much money especially one that wasn’t hard earned could change people but mainly in the story, how it could change the way other people look at you and somehow confuse the way you see both yourself and other people. That’s exactly what Maddie went through after winning the lottery.
The story also shows how easily a person becomes impulsive when she has something to spend but somehow, I could not blame Maddie for wanting to spend a portion of her money on things she never had or experienced. If there’s someone who deserves to win the lottery, it would be someone like her because she’s smart, hardworking and very thoughtful of other people.
It’s still your standard Kasie West novel. It’s very lightheartedly written and the romance is too adorable. Maddie and Seth’s water/manure fight at the zoo is so hilarious. It reminded me so much of the mud fight at the graveyard in The Distance Between Us. My complaint is the usual. It ended too soon.
“Starving is an overused word that diminishes the importance of those in the world that actually are starving.”
Their dedication to their studies is almost funny but still very admirable. I’m kind of envious because I never had friends in high school or college who would even consider a group study. It would have been so much fun but probably just for me. Lol.
I especially appreciate the message of the story-how too much money especially one that wasn’t hard earned could change people but mainly in the story, how it could change the way other people look at you and somehow confuse the way you see both yourself and other people. That’s exactly what Maddie went through after winning the lottery.
The story also shows how easily a person becomes impulsive when she has something to spend but somehow, I could not blame Maddie for wanting to spend a portion of her money on things she never had or experienced. If there’s someone who deserves to win the lottery, it would be someone like her because she’s smart, hardworking and very thoughtful of other people.
It’s still your standard Kasie West novel. It’s very lightheartedly written and the romance is too adorable. Maddie and Seth’s water/manure fight at the zoo is so hilarious. It reminded me so much of the mud fight at the graveyard in The Distance Between Us. My complaint is the usual. It ended too soon.
October 5, 2017
I liked this book but didn't love it. Unfortunately the romance seemed flat to me. Seth was like a cardboard cutout or something. :/
***Review posted on The Eater of Books! blog***
Lucky in Love by Kasie West
Publisher: Scholastic
Publication Date: July 25, 2017
Rating: 3 stars
Source: ARC sent by the publisher
Summary (from Goodreads):
In this new contemporary from YA star Kasie West, a girl who wins the lottery learns that money can cause more problems than it solves, especially when love comes into the picture.
Maddie doesn't believe in luck. She's all about hard work and planning ahead. But one night, on a whim, she buys a lottery ticket. And then, to her astonishment --
She wins!
In a flash, Maddie's life is unrecognizable. No more stressing about college scholarships. Suddenly, she's talking about renting a yacht. And being in the spotlight at school is fun... until rumors start flying, and random people ask her for loans. Now, Maddie isn't sure who she can trust.
Except for Seth Nguyen, her funny, charming coworker at the local zoo. Seth doesn't seem aware of Maddie's big news. And, for some reason, she doesn't want to tell him. But what will happen if he learns her secret?
With tons of humor and heart, Kasie West delivers a million-dollar tale of winning, losing, and falling in love.
What I Liked:
Well, it finally happened. I rated a Kasie West book below four stars. I've read all of her books - Pivot Point, Split Second, The Distance Between Us, On the Fence, The Fill-In Boyfriend, P.S. I Like You, By Your Side, and now this book - and sadly this has been my least favorite. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed the book. I just didn't love or really like it. Some aspects were great, and other aspects were a little disappointing, given my expectations.
Maddie has just turned eighteen and she is having a terrible birthday. On an impulse - rare of her - she buys a lottery ticket for the $50-million-dollar lottery. And she wins! Suddenly she has enough money to pay off her family's home debt, her brother's college debt, to give her parents and brother each one million dollars, to throw massive parties, to buy really expensive clothing, to buy herself a sports car... but money doesn't buy happiness and it certainly doesn't fix every problem. She doesn't know who actually likes her for her, and she doesn't know who to trust. Only Seth Nguyen, co-volunteer-worker at the zoo and fellow senior at a difference high school, doesn't treat her differently - he has no idea that she is a multi-millionaire. Maddie doesn't want to tell him because she doesn't want him to act like everyone else around her. But she doesn't want to be dishonest with him either. What happens when he finds out? What happens when someone betrays her - someone close to her?
This book had many strong points. For one, I adored Maddie's work ethic. I was Maddie in high school - top five student, brainy, known for being smart and dedicated and constantly studying. Maddie has her choice of colleges and with her windfall, she can pay for whichever college she wants. In the beginning, Maddie is reserved and a little timid - she thinks things through and doesn't act spontaneously. But after she wins the lottery, she starts hanging out with the "popular" crowd and changes. She doesn't become snobby, but she becomes more assertive and confident. Maddie is a likable heroine, and I felt for her, with all of the drama that came with winning the lottery. It felt very real to me - I wonder if the author interviewed past winners of multi-million-dollar jackpots.
Which leads me to another really well-written aspect of the book - all of the drama that goes with winning the lottery. Maddie begins spending money in chunks, without any thought. She doesn't see a financial adviser and probably should have, from the start. Everyone finds out that she won (despite her discretion), and suddenly everyone wants to be her friend. Maddie gets sucked into an expensive lifestyle that catches up with her when record of her expensive lifestyle gets caught and spun into a very negative light. Maddie kept making questionable choices and I wanted to scream at her to stop but I loved that she made these choices, because it made the story feel more real and authentic.
There are a lot of positive relationships in this book. Maddie has a good relationship with her parents, despite her parents having a terrible relationship with each other. She and her brother have a fun camaraderie, despite her brother being terrible with responsibility and money. Maddie's two best friends are supportive and fun. I like how the girls went through a lot of obstacles throughout the book, and didn't simply have a perfect friendship throughout the story. Maddie makes some new friends too, some positive, some negative. And then there is Zoo Seth (just Seth, but that's a reference!), who is an easygoing, kind guy who likes everyone and is liked by everyone. Seth and Maddie are friends, but Maddie has a crush on Seth that has been growing and growing.
I'll talk about the romance in the next section.
The story is entertaining, though filled with drama in the second half of the story. While this felt authentic, it could be tiring at times. I liked the ending a lot though - it was a great ending that didn't involve a ton of drama, though the story definitely did overall. No one does a HEA better than Kasie West!
What I Did Not Like:
I'm so sad that I didn't enjoy the romance. I expected the romance to be sweeping and exciting, especially given the title and cover of the book. And because Kasie West writes such good contemporary romance novels. The romance in this book? Was boring.
I feel like Seth and Maddie would have worked better as "just friends". I just wasn't getting a romantic vibe from either of them, or a sexual vibe ("dang his arms in that shirt", "omg his hair looks extra floppy today", "mmmm those cheekbones" - you know what I mean). Their relationship was very friendly in a friend sense, and they got along really well, but I wasn't getting a "relationship" vibe from them. Yes, your romantic partner should be your best friend, but I wasn't getting any romance or sparks flying or that sort of thing.
Does that make sense? The romance seemed dry and boring. Maybe too subtle? I don't know. I just wasn't sold. When Seth proclaimed his feelings, that felt too surprising to me, because I wasn't getting any romantic vibes from him. We read from Maddie's first-person POV and even from her, I wasn't feeling the romance.
Seth was so one-dimensional! He felt like a cardboard cutout or something - too perfect and sweet and friendly, with no depth. There were small parts to him that West shined a light on - how he isn't good at math, how he hates when people ask him where he is "really" from, etc. But overall, Seth didn't seem like a real person to me, let alone a protagonist in this book, let alone a love interest (the love interest).
And then there was the drama. Yes, I felt like the post-lottery drama was authentic. But it was a lot of drama! It took away from the light and fun and humorous and romantic mood that the book was supposed to be portraying. Instead the story felt bogged down and tense.
I feel like the trademark Kasie West humor and snark was missing in this story. Which is sad, because the snark was always so fun to read, in her previous books.
Anyway, like I said, I enjoyed the book for the most part. But it disappointed me a little.
Would I Recommend It:
I recommend this book because I'm on the fence with it (a true three-star rating) and all of my "complaints" could very well just be me (I don't think so though). This book wasn't West's best, and it isn't a new favorite of mine. I enjoyed it overall, but I can't see myself rereading it. I didn't swoon nearly as much as I'd hoped! I shared a swoony excerpt on my Swoon Thursday post but in general, this book needed more swoon in the romance. The romance was disappointing. So, I do recommend the book especially if you're a huge West fan like me, but I don't recommend it if you've never read any of West's books. Start with one of the others!
Rating:
3.5 stars -> rounded down to 3 stars. I enjoyed the book, but I didn't love it. Sadly this won't be my new favorite book of West's. But I am still very much looking forward to reading new stories by her - especially her upcoming companion series with HarperCollins!
Eeeeeeee! Need need need need!!!! LOOK AT THAT COVER!!!!
This is going to be wonderful, just like West's other six books books (I have not read By Your Side yet). :D SO EXCITED!
***Review posted on The Eater of Books! blog***
Lucky in Love by Kasie West
Publisher: Scholastic
Publication Date: July 25, 2017
Rating: 3 stars
Source: ARC sent by the publisher
Summary (from Goodreads):
In this new contemporary from YA star Kasie West, a girl who wins the lottery learns that money can cause more problems than it solves, especially when love comes into the picture.
Maddie doesn't believe in luck. She's all about hard work and planning ahead. But one night, on a whim, she buys a lottery ticket. And then, to her astonishment --
She wins!
In a flash, Maddie's life is unrecognizable. No more stressing about college scholarships. Suddenly, she's talking about renting a yacht. And being in the spotlight at school is fun... until rumors start flying, and random people ask her for loans. Now, Maddie isn't sure who she can trust.
Except for Seth Nguyen, her funny, charming coworker at the local zoo. Seth doesn't seem aware of Maddie's big news. And, for some reason, she doesn't want to tell him. But what will happen if he learns her secret?
With tons of humor and heart, Kasie West delivers a million-dollar tale of winning, losing, and falling in love.
What I Liked:
Well, it finally happened. I rated a Kasie West book below four stars. I've read all of her books - Pivot Point, Split Second, The Distance Between Us, On the Fence, The Fill-In Boyfriend, P.S. I Like You, By Your Side, and now this book - and sadly this has been my least favorite. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed the book. I just didn't love or really like it. Some aspects were great, and other aspects were a little disappointing, given my expectations.
Maddie has just turned eighteen and she is having a terrible birthday. On an impulse - rare of her - she buys a lottery ticket for the $50-million-dollar lottery. And she wins! Suddenly she has enough money to pay off her family's home debt, her brother's college debt, to give her parents and brother each one million dollars, to throw massive parties, to buy really expensive clothing, to buy herself a sports car... but money doesn't buy happiness and it certainly doesn't fix every problem. She doesn't know who actually likes her for her, and she doesn't know who to trust. Only Seth Nguyen, co-volunteer-worker at the zoo and fellow senior at a difference high school, doesn't treat her differently - he has no idea that she is a multi-millionaire. Maddie doesn't want to tell him because she doesn't want him to act like everyone else around her. But she doesn't want to be dishonest with him either. What happens when he finds out? What happens when someone betrays her - someone close to her?
This book had many strong points. For one, I adored Maddie's work ethic. I was Maddie in high school - top five student, brainy, known for being smart and dedicated and constantly studying. Maddie has her choice of colleges and with her windfall, she can pay for whichever college she wants. In the beginning, Maddie is reserved and a little timid - she thinks things through and doesn't act spontaneously. But after she wins the lottery, she starts hanging out with the "popular" crowd and changes. She doesn't become snobby, but she becomes more assertive and confident. Maddie is a likable heroine, and I felt for her, with all of the drama that came with winning the lottery. It felt very real to me - I wonder if the author interviewed past winners of multi-million-dollar jackpots.
Which leads me to another really well-written aspect of the book - all of the drama that goes with winning the lottery. Maddie begins spending money in chunks, without any thought. She doesn't see a financial adviser and probably should have, from the start. Everyone finds out that she won (despite her discretion), and suddenly everyone wants to be her friend. Maddie gets sucked into an expensive lifestyle that catches up with her when record of her expensive lifestyle gets caught and spun into a very negative light. Maddie kept making questionable choices and I wanted to scream at her to stop but I loved that she made these choices, because it made the story feel more real and authentic.
There are a lot of positive relationships in this book. Maddie has a good relationship with her parents, despite her parents having a terrible relationship with each other. She and her brother have a fun camaraderie, despite her brother being terrible with responsibility and money. Maddie's two best friends are supportive and fun. I like how the girls went through a lot of obstacles throughout the book, and didn't simply have a perfect friendship throughout the story. Maddie makes some new friends too, some positive, some negative. And then there is Zoo Seth (just Seth, but that's a reference!), who is an easygoing, kind guy who likes everyone and is liked by everyone. Seth and Maddie are friends, but Maddie has a crush on Seth that has been growing and growing.
I'll talk about the romance in the next section.
The story is entertaining, though filled with drama in the second half of the story. While this felt authentic, it could be tiring at times. I liked the ending a lot though - it was a great ending that didn't involve a ton of drama, though the story definitely did overall. No one does a HEA better than Kasie West!
What I Did Not Like:
I'm so sad that I didn't enjoy the romance. I expected the romance to be sweeping and exciting, especially given the title and cover of the book. And because Kasie West writes such good contemporary romance novels. The romance in this book? Was boring.
I feel like Seth and Maddie would have worked better as "just friends". I just wasn't getting a romantic vibe from either of them, or a sexual vibe ("dang his arms in that shirt", "omg his hair looks extra floppy today", "mmmm those cheekbones" - you know what I mean). Their relationship was very friendly in a friend sense, and they got along really well, but I wasn't getting a "relationship" vibe from them. Yes, your romantic partner should be your best friend, but I wasn't getting any romance or sparks flying or that sort of thing.
Does that make sense? The romance seemed dry and boring. Maybe too subtle? I don't know. I just wasn't sold. When Seth proclaimed his feelings, that felt too surprising to me, because I wasn't getting any romantic vibes from him. We read from Maddie's first-person POV and even from her, I wasn't feeling the romance.
Seth was so one-dimensional! He felt like a cardboard cutout or something - too perfect and sweet and friendly, with no depth. There were small parts to him that West shined a light on - how he isn't good at math, how he hates when people ask him where he is "really" from, etc. But overall, Seth didn't seem like a real person to me, let alone a protagonist in this book, let alone a love interest (the love interest).
And then there was the drama. Yes, I felt like the post-lottery drama was authentic. But it was a lot of drama! It took away from the light and fun and humorous and romantic mood that the book was supposed to be portraying. Instead the story felt bogged down and tense.
I feel like the trademark Kasie West humor and snark was missing in this story. Which is sad, because the snark was always so fun to read, in her previous books.
Anyway, like I said, I enjoyed the book for the most part. But it disappointed me a little.
Would I Recommend It:
I recommend this book because I'm on the fence with it (a true three-star rating) and all of my "complaints" could very well just be me (I don't think so though). This book wasn't West's best, and it isn't a new favorite of mine. I enjoyed it overall, but I can't see myself rereading it. I didn't swoon nearly as much as I'd hoped! I shared a swoony excerpt on my Swoon Thursday post but in general, this book needed more swoon in the romance. The romance was disappointing. So, I do recommend the book especially if you're a huge West fan like me, but I don't recommend it if you've never read any of West's books. Start with one of the others!
Rating:
3.5 stars -> rounded down to 3 stars. I enjoyed the book, but I didn't love it. Sadly this won't be my new favorite book of West's. But I am still very much looking forward to reading new stories by her - especially her upcoming companion series with HarperCollins!
Eeeeeeee! Need need need need!!!! LOOK AT THAT COVER!!!!
This is going to be wonderful, just like West's other six books books (I have not read By Your Side yet). :D SO EXCITED!
September 3, 2020
THIS BOOK. IS SO CUTE. MY EMOTIONS ARE EVERYWHERE AND I JUST *FLAIL FLAIL FLAIL* there were so many things i loved about this book and i can't stop smiling. full review to come!
May 31, 2017
About: Lucky in Love is a young adult fiction novel written by Kasie West. It will be published on 7/25/17 by Point, an imprint of Scholastic, paperback, 352 pages. The genres are young adult, fiction, contemporary, and romance. This book is intended for readers ages 12 and up, grades 7 and up.
My Experience: I started reading Lucky in Love on 5/25/17 and finished it on 5/30/17 at midnight. This book is an excellent read! I love to read books with characters who are flawed and then when given time or lessons, the characters overcome the flaws. This book is light hearted and easy to read. The romance is light and perfect for modest teen readers. The main character works part-time at the zoo; therefore, this book is an ideal read for readers who loves animals. I like how positive this book is and I think it will make a good impact on young adult readers. The main character can definitely be a role model.
A recipe on how to relax: “You need to empty your mind, and relax each muscle group until you feel like you are going to melt into the floor. Then you just let it all go. All the expectations, all the unneeded worry, all the things other people want for you but you don’t want for yourself.” p218
In this book, readers will follow the point of view of Madeleine or Maddie, a high school senior who has goals and total control of herself. She makes a friend pact with two of her best friends to stay focused in school and not let a boy get in the way. Her curfew is only use for study group with her friends. She believes success comes from hard work. She’s the glue that keeps her family together. She worries for her brother and parent’s happiness. Since her dad lost his job and her mom works two jobs to cover the bills, her family has been in a constant conflict. One night, an impulse decision changed her life. A distraction that could solve her family’s problems or could change her life for the worse.
“I shouldn’t have hugged him. He was warm and I fit perfectly against him, like he was made to hug just me forever.” p280
I love a perfect ending and this book has it. I have a big grin on my face at midnight last night and it was so hard to go to sleep after that. I enjoyed following Maddie’s train of thoughts. I like that she wants her brother to succeed and her parents to be happy. I like that she’s motivated to succeed through hard work. I love her spitting out random facts. I love Seth Nguyen and his humor. He has so much humor. I love his retort to people who makes racist comments because he looks Asian, such as how he doesn’t have an accent or asking where his parents were born from a stranger. I love the story surrounding the pennies. I enjoyed the lessons learned for Maddie. I like how Maddie doesn’t take anyone’s words but demand hard proofs. I highly recommend everyone to read this book!
Pro: light romance, friendship, family, humor, fast paced, easy to read, light hearted, social issues, diversity, lessons learned
Con: none
I rate it 5 stars!
***Disclaimer: Many thanks to Scholastic for the opportunity to read and review. Please assured that my opinions are honest.
xoxo,
Jasmine at www.howusefulitis.wordpress.com for a detailed review.
My Experience: I started reading Lucky in Love on 5/25/17 and finished it on 5/30/17 at midnight. This book is an excellent read! I love to read books with characters who are flawed and then when given time or lessons, the characters overcome the flaws. This book is light hearted and easy to read. The romance is light and perfect for modest teen readers. The main character works part-time at the zoo; therefore, this book is an ideal read for readers who loves animals. I like how positive this book is and I think it will make a good impact on young adult readers. The main character can definitely be a role model.
A recipe on how to relax: “You need to empty your mind, and relax each muscle group until you feel like you are going to melt into the floor. Then you just let it all go. All the expectations, all the unneeded worry, all the things other people want for you but you don’t want for yourself.” p218
In this book, readers will follow the point of view of Madeleine or Maddie, a high school senior who has goals and total control of herself. She makes a friend pact with two of her best friends to stay focused in school and not let a boy get in the way. Her curfew is only use for study group with her friends. She believes success comes from hard work. She’s the glue that keeps her family together. She worries for her brother and parent’s happiness. Since her dad lost his job and her mom works two jobs to cover the bills, her family has been in a constant conflict. One night, an impulse decision changed her life. A distraction that could solve her family’s problems or could change her life for the worse.
“I shouldn’t have hugged him. He was warm and I fit perfectly against him, like he was made to hug just me forever.” p280
I love a perfect ending and this book has it. I have a big grin on my face at midnight last night and it was so hard to go to sleep after that. I enjoyed following Maddie’s train of thoughts. I like that she wants her brother to succeed and her parents to be happy. I like that she’s motivated to succeed through hard work. I love her spitting out random facts. I love Seth Nguyen and his humor. He has so much humor. I love his retort to people who makes racist comments because he looks Asian, such as how he doesn’t have an accent or asking where his parents were born from a stranger. I love the story surrounding the pennies. I enjoyed the lessons learned for Maddie. I like how Maddie doesn’t take anyone’s words but demand hard proofs. I highly recommend everyone to read this book!
Pro: light romance, friendship, family, humor, fast paced, easy to read, light hearted, social issues, diversity, lessons learned
Con: none
I rate it 5 stars!
***Disclaimer: Many thanks to Scholastic for the opportunity to read and review. Please assured that my opinions are honest.
xoxo,
Jasmine at www.howusefulitis.wordpress.com for a detailed review.
May 15, 2021
*1.5/5 even-Seth-couldn't-save-this-book stars*
I was really annoyed with the naive, unintelligent (though the story will try to tell you just how clever she is), whiny MC with no backbone making one stupid decision after another. And it didn't seem realistic at all, since her family had some money problems before she won the lottery. She wouldn't have acted like this, spending so much money on yacht parties to impress others, expensive muscle car, famous and expensive brand of clothes, diamond jewelry and whatnot. She would save them, invest, let someone else who know how to handel them adise her. Unless she was really dumb that is. She has just gone so overboard and it really annoyed me how stupid she acted, how she let other people talk her into things and the issue of some people using her wasn't really adressed at all, nor the overall message this book seemed to give.
“Her eyes were just as shiny as mine felt. “We just don’t want to see Trina take advantage of you. Your new financial status and need to be popular are going to end up hurting you.”
“My need to be popular?” I asked, shocked. “I don’t have that need.”
Oh, but you do, you so do. And you're makind the dumbest decisions because of it.
I was annoyed with her one dimensional friends and tropey family who were all like 'it's your money and you can do whatever you want with it', which is nice and all, but she's a teenager so maybe some responsible adult shoul've helped her with it, as she seemed to lose all brain cells once she won them. But seeing as there were no respoinsible adults...
“You mean winning the lottery didn’t ruin my life? I sound like such a baby when I put it that way.”
yeah... it didn't fucking ruin your life, winning a lottery can't ruin your life it can improve it. your DUMB actions are doing that. stop being a moron.
The only aspect of this book that was redeemable and actually really nice was Seth. I think he's the first KW love interest who isn't white. He was so cute and adorable and precious! And he made the most amazing first date! He was by far the biggest plus of this book!
The other pro for me was also the ZOO setting, I love ZOO settings and need them more in YA contemporaries!!
But that'a about it: I liked only two points of this book. The male lead Seth and the ZOO setting - though there really wasn't nearly enough of the Zoo and the animals and her job, I wanted so much more of the actual job, not the MC being a moron and spending money all the time!
This book as a whole was just about money and how the MC is so dumb with it. After that, the MC whines that everyone is just using her and whatnot, then rainbow resolution and quick ending.
It was a fast read, and I did like Seth quite a bit. But I was just so endlessly mad at the MC and the whole plot that I can't give it even the 2 it was ok stars. Not even the goodness that is Seth can save this mess.
I was really annoyed with the naive, unintelligent (though the story will try to tell you just how clever she is), whiny MC with no backbone making one stupid decision after another. And it didn't seem realistic at all, since her family had some money problems before she won the lottery. She wouldn't have acted like this, spending so much money on yacht parties to impress others, expensive muscle car, famous and expensive brand of clothes, diamond jewelry and whatnot. She would save them, invest, let someone else who know how to handel them adise her. Unless she was really dumb that is. She has just gone so overboard and it really annoyed me how stupid she acted, how she let other people talk her into things and the issue of some people using her wasn't really adressed at all, nor the overall message this book seemed to give.
“Her eyes were just as shiny as mine felt. “We just don’t want to see Trina take advantage of you. Your new financial status and need to be popular are going to end up hurting you.”
“My need to be popular?” I asked, shocked. “I don’t have that need.”
Oh, but you do, you so do. And you're makind the dumbest decisions because of it.
I was annoyed with her one dimensional friends and tropey family who were all like 'it's your money and you can do whatever you want with it', which is nice and all, but she's a teenager so maybe some responsible adult shoul've helped her with it, as she seemed to lose all brain cells once she won them. But seeing as there were no respoinsible adults...
“You mean winning the lottery didn’t ruin my life? I sound like such a baby when I put it that way.”
yeah... it didn't fucking ruin your life, winning a lottery can't ruin your life it can improve it. your DUMB actions are doing that. stop being a moron.
The only aspect of this book that was redeemable and actually really nice was Seth. I think he's the first KW love interest who isn't white. He was so cute and adorable and precious! And he made the most amazing first date! He was by far the biggest plus of this book!
The other pro for me was also the ZOO setting, I love ZOO settings and need them more in YA contemporaries!!
But that'a about it: I liked only two points of this book. The male lead Seth and the ZOO setting - though there really wasn't nearly enough of the Zoo and the animals and her job, I wanted so much more of the actual job, not the MC being a moron and spending money all the time!
This book as a whole was just about money and how the MC is so dumb with it. After that, the MC whines that everyone is just using her and whatnot, then rainbow resolution and quick ending.
It was a fast read, and I did like Seth quite a bit. But I was just so endlessly mad at the MC and the whole plot that I can't give it even the 2 it was ok stars. Not even the goodness that is Seth can save this mess.
March 2, 2018
*3 LUCKY STARS*
“Sometimes regardless of what we want, reality takes over.”
Besides the fact that Maddie, the main character here, had me wanting to repeatedly and aggressively bash my head against a wall most of the time, this was kinda cute. Nothing special though.
Definitely not my favorite Kasie West book! I seem to like her older books better than the recent ones...
I just couldn't handle the way Maddie spent her money and how naive she was. I couldn't relate to or sympathize with her at all! I loved Seth though, he saved this entire book in my opinion.
“Sometimes regardless of what we want, reality takes over.”
Besides the fact that Maddie, the main character here, had me wanting to repeatedly and aggressively bash my head against a wall most of the time, this was kinda cute. Nothing special though.
Definitely not my favorite Kasie West book! I seem to like her older books better than the recent ones...
I just couldn't handle the way Maddie spent her money and how naive she was. I couldn't relate to or sympathize with her at all! I loved Seth though, he saved this entire book in my opinion.
March 11, 2020
Full Review on The Candid Cover
I am still fairly new to Kasie West’s books, but I seem to enjoy every single one I read. Lucky in Love is no exception with its creative concept about a girl who wins the lottery. I really enjoyed the main character and her wisdom about money, and the theme of family is so sweet. As usual, this book is so adorable and the perfect book to relax with this summer.
Lucky in Love is such an original story! It tells the story of a girl who is struggling economically, but ends up winning the lottery with a ticket that she bought on her 18th birthday. Maddie quickly becomes popular as her classmates learn about her win, and she must decide how to react and who to trust. I loved reading about her efforts to keep her coworker, Seth, from learning about the news, and the zoo setting has got to be one of my favourites. This book is so cute, as always in a Kasie West book, making it the perfect read for the summer.
I loved Maddie’s character. Despite winning the lottery, she is able to remain level-headed. I really admired the fact that she is careful about how she spends her money, although she does make a few slips here and there. Maddie is also a good student, and attends regular study groups with her friends. I found her to be relatable, since she is hard-working and supportive of her family. Maddie’s character is so realistic, and she really behaves like someone her age would.
Another great aspect of this story is the big theme of family. The first thing Maddie does with her lottery money is give some of it to her parents and brother to help them get back on their feet. Her parents are fighting, and she tries her hardest to keep them together. Maddie is also so caring towards her brother and is able to give him the funds to go back to college. Family is one of my favourite topics in YA, and I always appreciate reading about a realistic and caring family.
Lucky in Love is a unique story about a girl who wins the lottery. The main character is so logical, even after her big win, and relatable. I especially loved the theme of family and Maddie’s support for her parents and brother. This is classic Katie West, and I’m sure that longtime fans of her books won’t be disappointed.
I am still fairly new to Kasie West’s books, but I seem to enjoy every single one I read. Lucky in Love is no exception with its creative concept about a girl who wins the lottery. I really enjoyed the main character and her wisdom about money, and the theme of family is so sweet. As usual, this book is so adorable and the perfect book to relax with this summer.
Lucky in Love is such an original story! It tells the story of a girl who is struggling economically, but ends up winning the lottery with a ticket that she bought on her 18th birthday. Maddie quickly becomes popular as her classmates learn about her win, and she must decide how to react and who to trust. I loved reading about her efforts to keep her coworker, Seth, from learning about the news, and the zoo setting has got to be one of my favourites. This book is so cute, as always in a Kasie West book, making it the perfect read for the summer.
I loved Maddie’s character. Despite winning the lottery, she is able to remain level-headed. I really admired the fact that she is careful about how she spends her money, although she does make a few slips here and there. Maddie is also a good student, and attends regular study groups with her friends. I found her to be relatable, since she is hard-working and supportive of her family. Maddie’s character is so realistic, and she really behaves like someone her age would.
Another great aspect of this story is the big theme of family. The first thing Maddie does with her lottery money is give some of it to her parents and brother to help them get back on their feet. Her parents are fighting, and she tries her hardest to keep them together. Maddie is also so caring towards her brother and is able to give him the funds to go back to college. Family is one of my favourite topics in YA, and I always appreciate reading about a realistic and caring family.
Lucky in Love is a unique story about a girl who wins the lottery. The main character is so logical, even after her big win, and relatable. I especially loved the theme of family and Maddie’s support for her parents and brother. This is classic Katie West, and I’m sure that longtime fans of her books won’t be disappointed.
September 5, 2017
This is nothing particularly special, but it's just the easy-to-read contemporary story I needed.
First things first: wow, this needed editing. A lot of the sentences are pretty awkward. This might be an unpopular opinion or something editors do, but can ya authors use contractions? When you don't use contractions, your dialog doesn't sound more sophisticated. It just sounds fake and ridiculous. Hear me out. If someone came up to me in casual conversation and said "I am going to the park," I would think they were a pretentious asshole. Or possibly high. If you say "I'm going to the park" I wouldn't think anything beyond "oh, you're going to the park." Do you see what I'm saying? It's fake and it's stupid.
Anyway, beyond the writing, it's fine. The characters aren't terrible, the romance is sweet, there are well-written family dynamics and all that. There's a significant lack of girl hate and slutshaming!! I have to admit that I was kind of expecting girl hate?? But no. There's actually a rich girl who becomes a true friend to Maddie. Also, there are a couple of good comments made by Maddie's love interest, the adorable Seth, about racism. I liked that!! It was a minor thing but I really liked it. And there's a popular reviewer on this page who I finally unfollowed because she made a lowkey racist comment in her review about this, so... yay, I guess?
Two things bothered me here. First of all, it's cliche. Obviously. But I really feel like this was cliche in a bad way. When I think of a good cliche story, I think of bed sharing and fake dating. Those are cliches, but they're fun cliches. This story is just... so cliche that everyone felt like a plot device.
The other issue is Maddie's whole character-regression thing. I know this is a story meant to be about ambition and how wealth can corrupt you. I get that. I just don't really like how the whole plot was done. I get that she's rich now, but if you saved money your whole life, I feel like you'd think about it a little more. Fine, people are different. All I can say is Maddie's throwing-around-money started pissing me off quickly. Kasie West wrote it in a fairly realistic and sympathetic way, but I felt like the person yelling at the horror movie characters to not be idiots. Fancy dinner is one thing, but it was so obvious the car and the yacht was all going to go wrong.
But I can't even really complain about this, because this book was so clearly not for me to analyze!! It's not meant to be serious or high-quality. It's a fun YA contemporary story. She churns out three per year. Hopeless romantics will enjoy it maybe more than me. If you've liked Kasie West before, I'm sure you'll enjoy this too.
(also, a note: this cover makes me so happy every time I look at it I feel my pores clean out)
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First things first: wow, this needed editing. A lot of the sentences are pretty awkward. This might be an unpopular opinion or something editors do, but can ya authors use contractions? When you don't use contractions, your dialog doesn't sound more sophisticated. It just sounds fake and ridiculous. Hear me out. If someone came up to me in casual conversation and said "I am going to the park," I would think they were a pretentious asshole. Or possibly high. If you say "I'm going to the park" I wouldn't think anything beyond "oh, you're going to the park." Do you see what I'm saying? It's fake and it's stupid.
Anyway, beyond the writing, it's fine. The characters aren't terrible, the romance is sweet, there are well-written family dynamics and all that. There's a significant lack of girl hate and slutshaming!! I have to admit that I was kind of expecting girl hate?? But no. There's actually a rich girl who becomes a true friend to Maddie. Also, there are a couple of good comments made by Maddie's love interest, the adorable Seth, about racism. I liked that!! It was a minor thing but I really liked it. And there's a popular reviewer on this page who I finally unfollowed because she made a lowkey racist comment in her review about this, so... yay, I guess?
Two things bothered me here. First of all, it's cliche. Obviously. But I really feel like this was cliche in a bad way. When I think of a good cliche story, I think of bed sharing and fake dating. Those are cliches, but they're fun cliches. This story is just... so cliche that everyone felt like a plot device.
The other issue is Maddie's whole character-regression thing. I know this is a story meant to be about ambition and how wealth can corrupt you. I get that. I just don't really like how the whole plot was done. I get that she's rich now, but if you saved money your whole life, I feel like you'd think about it a little more. Fine, people are different. All I can say is Maddie's throwing-around-money started pissing me off quickly. Kasie West wrote it in a fairly realistic and sympathetic way, but I felt like the person yelling at the horror movie characters to not be idiots. Fancy dinner is one thing, but it was so obvious the car and the yacht was all going to go wrong.
But I can't even really complain about this, because this book was so clearly not for me to analyze!! It's not meant to be serious or high-quality. It's a fun YA contemporary story. She churns out three per year. Hopeless romantics will enjoy it maybe more than me. If you've liked Kasie West before, I'm sure you'll enjoy this too.
(also, a note: this cover makes me so happy every time I look at it I feel my pores clean out)
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January 13, 2018
This book was low-key giving me stress talking about money, college, and parents problems. Especially because I also live in California, like the protagonist. Too close for comfort.
Here are some of my thoughts in no particular order:
• Aw, I really like Seth. He is pretty much the only thing going right with this book. Also, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a love interest that is Vietnamese before (for that matter, I seldom even see Vietnamese side characters or main characters).
• It somewhat reminded me of the movie, Sixteen Candles. Or some other movies where the main characters become rich, famous, and get everything they want, and it turns out that it’s not all what it cracks up to be.
• I like the lesson that Maddie can’t control everything, even when she is rich.
• The family and friends part are kinda blah and not enjoyable (which is odd for me because I usually love books that show a big emphasis on family and friends)
• Debatably my least favorite West book (tied with P.S. I Like You)
• Hasty ending.
So overall, 2 stars.
Things that you might want to know (WARNING: Spoilers below)
Happy/satisfying ending?
Love triangle? Cheating? Angst level? Other things to note?
Tears-worthy?
Humor?
Favorite scenes?
What age level would be appropriate?
--------
How does Kasie West always manage to have the CUTEST covers ever???
Here are some of my thoughts in no particular order:
• Aw, I really like Seth. He is pretty much the only thing going right with this book. Also, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a love interest that is Vietnamese before (for that matter, I seldom even see Vietnamese side characters or main characters).
• It somewhat reminded me of the movie, Sixteen Candles. Or some other movies where the main characters become rich, famous, and get everything they want, and it turns out that it’s not all what it cracks up to be.
• I like the lesson that Maddie can’t control everything, even when she is rich.
• The family and friends part are kinda blah and not enjoyable (which is odd for me because I usually love books that show a big emphasis on family and friends)
• Debatably my least favorite West book (tied with P.S. I Like You)
• Hasty ending.
So overall, 2 stars.
Things that you might want to know (WARNING: Spoilers below)
Happy/satisfying ending?
Love triangle? Cheating? Angst level? Other things to note?
Tears-worthy?
Humor?
Favorite scenes?
What age level would be appropriate?
--------
How does Kasie West always manage to have the CUTEST covers ever???
August 18, 2018
Lucky in Love? More like: Lucky I'm very glad I didn't buy this book.
1 I don't know how I got through the entire book star!
It’s official. This is the stupidest book I’ve read in my entire existence
Anyway, how would I describe this book in GIF?
How would I describe this book in words?
Terrible, horrible, awful, not good, very bad.
And here I am thinking I've read stupid books, but no this book should get an award for being the stupidest, most lamest book in the history of YA contemporary books.
The plot? Terrible
The idea of the book? Horrible
The characters? Awful
Main character? The worst
What it tried to teach the readers? Not to win lottery.
So, if this book is that bad, then why did I read it?
The cover looked very cute and the synopsis was interesting (I've never read a book where the MC wins the lottery) and most importantly it's by Kasie West (my favorite YA contemprorary author who writes the cutest most fluffiest books). Honestly, what was the author thinking while she wrote this book?
And when I started reading 'Lucky in Love' I needed patience lots and lots of patience and the urge not to throw it. It was a miracle I didn't dnf this book.
The story:
It's about an 18 year teenager called Maddie, after winning the lottery she starts spending it on the most nonsense stuff, everybody started ''liking her'' because now she's a multi millionaire. Her parents started using her, her brother, her best friends, people at her school who didn't even notice her before her big win and now everybody started thinking that she's always been a ''cool girl'', yeah right, Oh, and also even her great uncle whom she had never spoken to. Ridiculous!
Maddie was so trusting, so naive and so very stupid, like how is she the top in her class when she can't even tell who's using her for her money and who's not.
There were zero characters that I cared about, not even 'Seth' who's supposed to be Maddie's love interest. But at least he was somewhat tolerable than the rest of them.
It's very weird, because I adore Kasie's books but this was a huge disappointment. However, I won't give up on her book just because this was bad. :)
In conclusion:
1 I don't know how I got through the entire book star!
It’s official. This is the stupidest book I’ve read in my entire existence
Anyway, how would I describe this book in GIF?
How would I describe this book in words?
Terrible, horrible, awful, not good, very bad.
And here I am thinking I've read stupid books, but no this book should get an award for being the stupidest, most lamest book in the history of YA contemporary books.
The plot? Terrible
The idea of the book? Horrible
The characters? Awful
Main character? The worst
What it tried to teach the readers? Not to win lottery.
So, if this book is that bad, then why did I read it?
The cover looked very cute and the synopsis was interesting (I've never read a book where the MC wins the lottery) and most importantly it's by Kasie West (my favorite YA contemprorary author who writes the cutest most fluffiest books). Honestly, what was the author thinking while she wrote this book?
And when I started reading 'Lucky in Love' I needed patience lots and lots of patience and the urge not to throw it. It was a miracle I didn't dnf this book.
The story:
It's about an 18 year teenager called Maddie, after winning the lottery she starts spending it on the most nonsense stuff, everybody started ''liking her'' because now she's a multi millionaire. Her parents started using her, her brother, her best friends, people at her school who didn't even notice her before her big win and now everybody started thinking that she's always been a ''cool girl'', yeah right, Oh, and also even her great uncle whom she had never spoken to. Ridiculous!
Maddie was so trusting, so naive and so very stupid, like how is she the top in her class when she can't even tell who's using her for her money and who's not.
There were zero characters that I cared about, not even 'Seth' who's supposed to be Maddie's love interest. But at least he was somewhat tolerable than the rest of them.
It's very weird, because I adore Kasie's books but this was a huge disappointment. However, I won't give up on her book just because this was bad. :)
In conclusion:
February 21, 2022
Ow! Super cute. I am surprise that I like Lucky in Love more than I expected. Miss West delivers a sweet, age appropriate and romantic story.
Maddie won a once in a lifetime lottery. Woth money, her social status changed. People viewed her differently. The only person who sti sees her as the way she is, is Seth. Now Seth is super cute. I like him being dorky.
The flow of the story is easy to follow. Refreshing and fun.
4 stars
Maddie won a once in a lifetime lottery. Woth money, her social status changed. People viewed her differently. The only person who sti sees her as the way she is, is Seth. Now Seth is super cute. I like him being dorky.
The flow of the story is easy to follow. Refreshing and fun.
4 stars
March 1, 2018
1.5 Stars
Well, This was not what I wanted. I don't know if it's just me, but I started with a few really good books from Kasie West, they normally tend to be fun, quick reads and I usually like the characters. Sadly this just wasn't for me.
10 Things I Hate about This Book... brought to you by Beth!
1. I legit could not stand Maddie, she's very woe is me. I don't give a shit the money changed her.
2. Her parents are just shit, yep your 18 year old daughter wins the lottery and you're like yep cool it's your money do what you want, maybe mentions once about a financial advisor and that is it.
3. Her brother is also not the best, and to me it was shown he may have issues with gambling and it wasn't addressed at all, and it was just like "maybe you should stop" not get help or anything like that.
4. It shows so many people to be awful people and it's like come on.
5. We did not get enough of the love interest, it was lacklustre and Seth was an okay character but yeah.
6. I hate it when girls are bounced off of each other... solidarity plz.
7. She spends her money on absolute garbage.
8. Money doesn't buy you or your family happiness.
9. I'm over the anteater. Like GURL.
10. I really really disliked Maddie. I can't say it enough.
I think it's time for me to hop off the Kasie West train, I have one more book left: By Your Side, and then I'm done. It's been quite hit or miss for me lately. I wish I'd of enjoyed this so much more than what I did, but sadly, it's a nope from me.
Well, This was not what I wanted. I don't know if it's just me, but I started with a few really good books from Kasie West, they normally tend to be fun, quick reads and I usually like the characters. Sadly this just wasn't for me.
10 Things I Hate about This Book... brought to you by Beth!
1. I legit could not stand Maddie, she's very woe is me. I don't give a shit the money changed her.
2. Her parents are just shit, yep your 18 year old daughter wins the lottery and you're like yep cool it's your money do what you want, maybe mentions once about a financial advisor and that is it.
3. Her brother is also not the best, and to me it was shown he may have issues with gambling and it wasn't addressed at all, and it was just like "maybe you should stop" not get help or anything like that.
4. It shows so many people to be awful people and it's like come on.
5. We did not get enough of the love interest, it was lacklustre and Seth was an okay character but yeah.
6. I hate it when girls are bounced off of each other... solidarity plz.
7. She spends her money on absolute garbage.
8. Money doesn't buy you or your family happiness.
9. I'm over the anteater. Like GURL.
10. I really really disliked Maddie. I can't say it enough.
I think it's time for me to hop off the Kasie West train, I have one more book left: By Your Side, and then I'm done. It's been quite hit or miss for me lately. I wish I'd of enjoyed this so much more than what I did, but sadly, it's a nope from me.
February 6, 2017
Ohh this is a cute one! With such a likeable love interest. <33
February 21, 2019
I hate writing negative reviews, especially for an author I am an avid reader of, but this was an obnoxious book. Maddie, who we are led to believe in the beginning of the book, spends so much of her money stupidly. She also did not have a backbone with people she really did not care about. A yacht party for people she did not know or barely knew, and a ridiculous shopping spree for the party. There were moments where I thought it was turning around, around 60% but then that stupid necklace purchase...seriously a necklace to mend her parents fighting?! Ridiculous! Also, why didn’t they make her go to a financial advisor right away. I know it is a book and she is 18 but seriously.
This was not that great of a book by West, an author I make a point to read because I really enjoy her fun and cute books. The only saving grace in this book was Maddie’s romance with Seth. That was the adorable Kasie West romance we expect.
My quick and simple overall: I started off liking Maddie but for most of the book I ended up finding her niave, stupid with her money, and mostly spineless for a good amount of the book.
This was not that great of a book by West, an author I make a point to read because I really enjoy her fun and cute books. The only saving grace in this book was Maddie’s romance with Seth. That was the adorable Kasie West romance we expect.
My quick and simple overall: I started off liking Maddie but for most of the book I ended up finding her niave, stupid with her money, and mostly spineless for a good amount of the book.
June 5, 2018
2.5/3 STARS??? IDK
I basically just screamed "MAKE GOOD CHOICES DAMMIT" at Maddie throughout the first half because holy financial irresponsibility, Batman!
Was it realistic? Yeah, I thought so. Did it still stress me tf out? Most definitely.
Also, I wanted more fluff. The tradeoff just wasn't there for all of the anxiety this gave me. I demand more cute moments between Seth and Maddie because they're adorable together dammit!
I basically just screamed "MAKE GOOD CHOICES DAMMIT" at Maddie throughout the first half because holy financial irresponsibility, Batman!
Was it realistic? Yeah, I thought so. Did it still stress me tf out? Most definitely.
Also, I wanted more fluff. The tradeoff just wasn't there for all of the anxiety this gave me. I demand more cute moments between Seth and Maddie because they're adorable together dammit!
Want to read
May 10, 2017what the...???
does all these books come out of her bum bum or something? Holy mother of water bottles like OKAY THANKS FOR GIVING ME MORE CUTENESS IN MY LIFE!!
does all these books come out of her bum bum or something? Holy mother of water bottles like OKAY THANKS FOR GIVING ME MORE CUTENESS IN MY LIFE!!
January 4, 2023
“Magic cannot be explained. It can only be experienced.”
|4 Stars| CAWPILE 89% B+| Ages 12+|
Spotify Playlist Here
Huh. I don't really know what I thought this, this time around. I still enjoyed it, but I'm not totally in love with it like I was the first time I read it. It's still a super fun, super quick read, but I'm not obsessed, you know what I mean?
I found this to be a little bit harder to get into this time! Don't get me wrong, this book is very enjoyable, and bubbly and just fluffy (Is that even the right word? 🤣) but I just wasn't feelin' it this time!
Characters: 8.5/10
Maddie: “We make our own luck. I believed that, too. We chose our own fate. We controlled our own future. I knew what I wanted. I needed to go get it.”
I really like Maddie! (And, no, it's not just because we have the same name. 😂😝 Unfortunately though, my full name isn't spelled the french way. 😮💨 I know, it's such a bummer.) I loved that she was so HUMAN! (I have a theory on book characters and being more human, but I ain't sharin' it in this review... 😏) She splurged on stupid things, fought with her friends, stressed about college, and had family issues. Those things all being said, Maddie made some really stupid choices. After she wins the lottery, she's told to go talk to a financial adviser. What does she do? The exact opposite of that-which is a splurge. Some of the things she did, I would've done too! Get highlights? ✔️ Go buy new clothes? ✔️ Get a new car? ✔️ Everything else? Probably not. (I put all the things she buys in spoilers)
Seth- “Good. But don’t lie down and let your mind replay every unsolvable problem in your life. You need to empty your mind, and relax each muscle group until you feel like you are going to melt into the floor. Then you just let it all go. All the expectations, all the unneeded worry, all the things other people want for you but you don’t want for yourself.”
I really liked Seth too! I feel so bad about his whole college situation because things like that really suck. Even if you come from a family that has money! I've said this every time I've read this, but we don't really know a whole lot about him, other than...
-He has a strange thing for E.T
-He loves Lord of The Rings (As do I for that matter. 🤩)
-He doesn't think anteaters are cute (I gotta agree with him on that one. 🤢)
******************************
I know there are more characters, like her 3 BFFS, but I A) Remember none of their names and B) Don't like them at all. Soooooo, we're now moving on.
******************************
Book Content:
“Starving is an overused word that diminishes the importance of those in the world that actually are starving.”
Plot- Maddie's not impulsive. She's all about hard work and planning ahead. But one night, on a whim, she buys a lottery ticket. And then, to her astonishment —
She wins!
In a flash, Maddie's life is unrecognizable. No more stressing about college scholarships. Suddenly, she's talking about renting a yacht. And being in the spotlight at school is fun... until rumors start flying, and random people ask her for loans. Now, Maddie isn't sure who she can trust.
Except for Seth Nguyen, her funny, charming coworker at the local zoo. Seth doesn't seem aware of Maddie's big news. And, for some reason, she doesn't want to tell him. But what will happen if he learns her secret?
Violence-0/5
Sexual Content- .1/5 Some kissing
Trigger Warnings: Toxic Friendships, Family Money Issues, Parents fighting and yelling constantly throughout the book, poor spending choices.
“Weird is the new cool.” (Facts though. 🤣)
*******************************
All in all, I will probably always default to Kasie West when I'm in a reading slump, and since I own this one, it'll still be read!
Great for: Early teens, late tweens, clean romance readers, and a quick, lighthearted read.
Characters- 8.5/10
Atmosphere- 8.8/10
Writing- 9.3/10
Plot-8/10
Intrigue- 9/10
Logic-10/10
Enjoyment-8.7/10
“I believe in making our own luck. But a talisman now and again can help motivate us.”
********************************
Original Review:
|4 Stars| Rating to come| Ages 12+|
My feelings are so mixed! I don't know what to think! I was a little more irritated with Maddie this time around, but I also loved her more this time around???
Spotify Playlist Here
January 5, 2018
"This is your new reality Maddie. I guess you can call it the price you'll have to pay for the huge blessing you received."
Maddie is a focused student, who on a whim buys a lottery ticket. Lo and behold, she wins! And now that money is no longer a factor all her worries should magically disappear right?
The Story- I should have listened to Emi when she skeptically asked me if this should really be our first book of 2018. I refuse to let this set the mood of 2018. I don’t know what happened to Kasie West, but it’s sort of like, now that she has all these readers that will read anything she writes her publisher will put anything out, no matter how bland the book is…What I mean to say is, Kasie West, I think we’re dunzo.
So that story? Well, without spoiling anything, let’s just say that after winning the lottery she does what most people do when they have more money than they are used to handling. They blow it. There are so many things about this book that really irked me, but who am I to judge what she spends her millions on. Let’s just face the fact that having the problem in a book that someone has too much money that it causes minor problems in their somewhat simple life doesn’t make a great book, but you know what?
The Hallmark channel might scoop it up for a nice daytime movie, so long as they add a little bit more drama, and hey a little more actual romance? So what else bothered me besides the fact that this was a glorified receipt. You know fluffing up a story that just lists a bunch of things Maddie spends money on? Like a yacht?
-Yet again, a YA contemporary makes a big deal about not going to a college because their parents can’t afford it and they seem to rely solely on student loans. GIRL this is AMERICA, land of student loans, get one so you can do what you actually want to do.
-Our main character’s personality changes mid book. Suddenly we don’t have a research driven, level headed kid who studies. All of their natural habits are completely gone.
-The climax of the book was so anticlimactic it could hardly pass as a speedbump if it was on a road.
-
- I guess, our main character somehow managed to get a job before her dad did in three years. No joke, she’s 18 and he has been out of work for 3 years. Let’s look at the logistics here…if she started when she was 16 (the legal working age) she got a job while he sat on his butt the whole time. Why wasn’t HE working at the freaking zoo?
The Characters- I think if the characters were a little more complex it might have saved it a little bit more. Maddie wasn’t even a snowflake, she was an avid student, like really, and had zero other interests besides ant eaters.
I had high expectations for Seth. Like wow! A Vietnamese character! Maybe this YA contemporary will get a little culture. The most culture it had was that he lived in a multigenerational home. Thank you for pointing out that little factoid. Also for adding in the “where were you born” bit and how ridiculous it is to ask that. If fact, watch this short video, it’s so much better than this book.
The Soundtrack- Miley Cyrus – We Can’t Stop
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Maddie is a focused student, who on a whim buys a lottery ticket. Lo and behold, she wins! And now that money is no longer a factor all her worries should magically disappear right?
The Story- I should have listened to Emi when she skeptically asked me if this should really be our first book of 2018. I refuse to let this set the mood of 2018. I don’t know what happened to Kasie West, but it’s sort of like, now that she has all these readers that will read anything she writes her publisher will put anything out, no matter how bland the book is…What I mean to say is, Kasie West, I think we’re dunzo.
So that story? Well, without spoiling anything, let’s just say that after winning the lottery she does what most people do when they have more money than they are used to handling. They blow it. There are so many things about this book that really irked me, but who am I to judge what she spends her millions on. Let’s just face the fact that having the problem in a book that someone has too much money that it causes minor problems in their somewhat simple life doesn’t make a great book, but you know what?
The Hallmark channel might scoop it up for a nice daytime movie, so long as they add a little bit more drama, and hey a little more actual romance? So what else bothered me besides the fact that this was a glorified receipt. You know fluffing up a story that just lists a bunch of things Maddie spends money on? Like a yacht?
-Yet again, a YA contemporary makes a big deal about not going to a college because their parents can’t afford it and they seem to rely solely on student loans. GIRL this is AMERICA, land of student loans, get one so you can do what you actually want to do.
-Our main character’s personality changes mid book. Suddenly we don’t have a research driven, level headed kid who studies. All of their natural habits are completely gone.
-The climax of the book was so anticlimactic it could hardly pass as a speedbump if it was on a road.
-
- I guess, our main character somehow managed to get a job before her dad did in three years. No joke, she’s 18 and he has been out of work for 3 years. Let’s look at the logistics here…if she started when she was 16 (the legal working age) she got a job while he sat on his butt the whole time. Why wasn’t HE working at the freaking zoo?
The Characters- I think if the characters were a little more complex it might have saved it a little bit more. Maddie wasn’t even a snowflake, she was an avid student, like really, and had zero other interests besides ant eaters.
I had high expectations for Seth. Like wow! A Vietnamese character! Maybe this YA contemporary will get a little culture. The most culture it had was that he lived in a multigenerational home. Thank you for pointing out that little factoid. Also for adding in the “where were you born” bit and how ridiculous it is to ask that. If fact, watch this short video, it’s so much better than this book.
The Soundtrack- Miley Cyrus – We Can’t Stop
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July 23, 2017
Original Post: Lucky in Love at FLYLēF (www.flylef.com)
I’VE HEARD MANY wonderful things about Kasie West. Perhaps for this reason, I may have set a higher expectation for Lucky in Love–my very first book by Ms. West. While I did enjoy this contemporary romance, I wasn’t swept away.
The story starts off quite well, actually. Ms. West introduces a vibrant cast full of humor and charm. Madeleine is a senior in high school with a bright future ahead of her. Senior year is demanding, but she still makes time to work at a local zoo, where she spends time with Seth, her cute and charismatic co-worker. Seth’s character was such a pleasant surprise and a joy to read. I’m honestly quite flattered that Ms. West included a lead character from my culture. That makes me so happy.
The turning point of the story began when Maddie won the lottery (see summary). The mix of conflict threaded throughout the story shifted from family and friends, to focus heavily on finances. For the better part of the story, I felt like I was reading about the woes of becoming a lottery winner. Maddie went from invisible to the popular girl at school and everything seemed to become quite financially irresponsible. I understand that Ms. West presented these pitfalls for Maddie to err, learn, and grow. However, the journey to maturity was unrelatable, and therefore uncompelling.
On a more positive note, I really enjoyed Ms. West’s writing style, focusing generously on dialogues to drive the story forward. The story moves with ease, unhindered by heavy descriptions, and gives readers direct windows to each of the character’s soul through their easy bantering and clever quips. I also enjoyed the zoo setting, where Seth and Maddie got to know each other in an unpretentious fashion, unlike her high school setting. Those moments were infrequent but I relish each romantic trysts.
Even though it's likely my own doing, expectations et al, that I could not enjoy my first book by Kasie West as much as I’d hope. Still, I would recommend it to anyone who’s already a fan. Lucky in Love is an earnest perspective on an ordinary teenager who comes into an extraordinary future. Yet through all the extravagance, she remains true to the light of who she is, and uses that to guide her to true friendship and love.
{Thank you to the author and publisher for kindly giving me this book free of charge, which does not influence my review.}
September 20, 2020
Unfortunately this wasn't as good as the other books I have read from this author. The premise was actually engaging and it was a fairly realistic portrayal of what I imagine would happen if a teenager won 50 million bucks. I thought the increasing pressure from her 'friends' and her developing trust issues was done well. The main issue I had was with the main character's voice. She read more like a 13 or 14 year old not an 18 year old. It was quite off putting. An okay book.
January 22, 2019
Was this good? Naw.
Am I gonna binge all of Kasie West’s other books? Yep.
Seth really saved the character day on this one – he was the only thing I could enjoy and everything else was blah. I hate it when 18 year olds are written like 13 year olds.
Am I gonna binge all of Kasie West’s other books? Yep.
Seth really saved the character day on this one – he was the only thing I could enjoy and everything else was blah. I hate it when 18 year olds are written like 13 year olds.
December 9, 2017
Adjectives that describe Kasie West books – delightful, cheery, fun, flirty, playful, happy. They all apply to this one as well. 4.5 stars.
July 28, 2017
Basically as soon as I finished this book I forgot everything that happened. It was cheesy, the dialogue was strange and didn't flow, and a lot of the scenes made me cringe.
Its good if you want something light but otherwise, hard pass.
Its good if you want something light but otherwise, hard pass.
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