Westworld meets The Handmaid’s Tale in this stunning fantasy adventure from debut author Charlotte Nicole Davis.

Aster, the protector
Violet, the favorite
Tansy, the medic
Mallow, the fighter
Clementine, the catalyst

THE GOOD LUCK GIRLS

The country of Arketta calls them Good Luck Girls–they know their luck is anything but. Sold to a “welcome house” as children and branded with cursed markings. Trapped in a life they would never have chosen.

When Clementine accidentally murders a man, the girls risk a dangerous escape and harrowing journey to find freedom, justice, and revenge in a country that wants them to have none of those things. Pursued by Arketta’s most vicious and powerful forces, both human and inhuman, their only hope lies in a bedtime story passed from one Good Luck Girl to another, a story that only the youngest or most desperate would ever believe.

It’s going to take more than luck for them all to survive.

The Good Luck Girls is so incredibly unique and thrilling that I enjoyed reading every last bit of it. It was that lip-biting, nerve-wracking, gritty western with just a hint of magic that ticked off every box of mine. The writing was amazing and I couldn’t stop reading it.

There were a few things that needled me though. Some descriptors felt lacking, and I wanted more so that I could better picture everything. We start in Clementine’s perspective (which is, of course, a great place to start) but we never go back to her point of view. We go to Aster in the next chapter, and I ended up assuming we’d be switching between all the girls. But we stayed with Aster.

It was just jarring and never let me settle since I was always expecting a switch to another girl’s perspective. It never happened and I felt a little letdown. Mostly because that would have really solidified each character and given them a unique voice and perspective whereas they start to get muddled in the middle. There are a lot of characters traveling all at once and it’s too much to get to know everyone. I started to get lost.

But the story kept me going, at the very least, though I would have loved a deeper dive towards the end. It felt rushed on the back end, and I can see that it was an attempt to sell it as a standalone, despite there being a second book in the works.

I just hope we get the answers and the deep dive I wanted in The Good Luck Girls in its sequel.

My Rating: ★★★★☆