Lucky by Marissa Stapley Book Review

Reasons For Reading This Book:

I had just finished Meant to Be by Emily Griffin and was waiting on The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon to be ready at the library when I was leaving for Spring Break so I was in desperate need of a book. Lucky (pun intended) for me I stayed with family before flying out so I was able to choose a book from my sister-in-law’s collection. She mostly reads books from Reese’s Book Club. I chose Lucky by Marissa Stapley because the description was intriguing and it was short so I knew that I would most likely finish it by the time I got back from vacation. I should also mention the description gave me Run, Rose, Run by James Patterson vibes. I did not love that book but I was willing to give a similar book a try.

Content of This Book:

Since childhood Lucky has been told by her dad that her mother left her because her post-pardom depression prevented her from being a fit mother. Raised by her con-artist dad, Lucky has been playing different characters so they can get by financially. This act continued into adulthood as a result of her dad becoming intertwined with a powerful con-artist and not being able to free themselves. Always on the run, Lucky is in search of purpose, love, stability, and family.

What I Liked About This Book:

One of the first comments I made to my sister-in-law when I was returning the book was that I loved the descriptions of the con-artist actions. It reminded me of the Oceans’ movies. With it being a short book I anticipated that it would be fast paced and attention grabbing from the start. I was not wrong in thinking this. Because I was on vacation I did not always get long stretches of time to read, but this did not matter because each time I did read, it was entertaining. This is not always the case, but I did prefer Lucky’s narration more than the other narrators. I believe this is because she is the main character, but also because the most action and plot progression occurred during her chapters. Bringing back the comparison of this book to the Oceans’ movies, this book read like an action movie and I could clearly see it being made into a movie/series that I would watch. Something that I look for in a book is that the book is easily digestible meaning that the descriptions, wording, vocabulary, and tone flow together effortlessly. This book had that. While on two plane rides I was able to finish the last half of the book without any difficulty. I also feel like the pace was perfect for a vacation read because there was limited fluff.

What I Disliked About This Book:

This is more of a personal dislike but the author held her cards close to her in that I was unable to predict what was going to happen next and even how the book was going to end. I also found parts of it to be more memorable than others. For example, the ending is not as memorable as I would have liked it to be. With that being said I did appreciate how the story was concluded. As a trigger I will also mention that there are some descriptions of violence in this book. I am not a fan of violence and hate reading it but I know it was important to the plot so I can accept that it was included.

Would I Recommend This Book?

This would not be the first book that would come to mind if someone asked me for a recommendation, but if someone was new to reading or looking for a vacation read then I would recommend this book. Since I mentioned it before, I did prefer this book over Run, Rose, Run by James Patterson.

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