Chasing Lucky by. Jenn Bennett | Book Review

My Rating: 3/5 Stars

Title: Chasing Lucky

Author: Jenn Bennett

Format: Hardcover (borrowed)

Pages: 416

Publication Date: 11/10/20

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Categories: Contemporary, Young Adult, Romance

Budding photographer Josie Saint-Martin has spent half her life with her single mother, moving from city to city. When they return to her historical New England hometown years later to run the family bookstore, Josie knows it’s not forever. Her dreams are on the opposite coast, and she has a plan to get there.

What she doesn’t plan for is a run-in with the town bad boy, Lucky Karras. Outsider, rebel…and her former childhood best friend. Lucky makes it clear he wants nothing to do with the newly returned Josie. But everything changes after a disastrous pool party, and a poorly executed act of revenge lands Josie in some big-time trouble—with Lucky unexpectedly taking the blame.

Determined to understand why Lucky was so quick to cover for her, Josie discovers that both of them have changed, and that the good boy she once knew now has a dark sense of humor and a smile that makes her heart race. And maybe, just maybe, he’s not quite the brooding bad boy everyone thinks he is…

It’s been awhile since I read a Jenn Bennett book so I was happy to find this one at my library!

Josie and her mother return back to their hometown after leaving years ago. Her mom and grandma doesn’t have the best relationship and Josie’s dad is a famous photographer who she hardly sees but Josie has a plan to one day leave and go be with him.

Coming back to Beauty, Josie runs into her old best friend, Lucky. He is the town’s bad boy now mostly due to some rumors and the way he dresses (leather jacket) and he rides a motorcycle (these boys always get the bad rep). From the first staring contest between them you can feel the sparks flying. But something happens and Lucky takes the fall for her and Josie doesn’t know why.

There’s a lot of family drama in Josie’s life. Her mom has a bad woman reputation in the town, her grandma and mom have a tense relationship, and she has a dad who is basically non-existent in her life but she wants a relationship with him. This whole story was about communication or the lack there of – Josie and her mom doesn’t communicate, her mom usually flees a town and dates a lot to avoid problems. Josie hasn’t really had close relationships since bouncing from town to town – so the closest friend she has is her cousin Evie. Josie’s lying to her mom about a lot of things too. And of course, the communication between Lucky and her is sometimes good, sometimes bad when there are walls between them. But Josie learns to get better at communication and that’s the main thing.

The thing I loved about Lucky and Josie was that they stuck it out and talked – even when it was difficult to get a conversation started. They got angry with one another and even would push so much that one person would shut down (usually Lucky)…but they also cared about one another so much that they couldn’t stay away from one another and wanted to make it work.

Triggers: Bullying, Slut-Shaming

Why was Evie with Adrian? He was such a jerk yet she kept going back to him but he really had no redeeming qualities. He played the villain I suppose but honestly Josie already had enough issues to deal with her mom and dad situation that even without Adrian it would have been enough drama for her to sort through.

Some of the family drama felt unnecessary like the mystery of who Drew was – did Josie and Lucky really have to fight about that?

There is a sex scene but it is not detailed and really it’s like a paragraph long.

Josie has a lot on her plate with high school coming to a close and her plans of leaving her mom is stalled by some events. But these events and Lucky teach her that running away isn’t the only way to deal with a situation. I liked Josie, and I loved Lucky. The drama might have been a tad bit too much for me at times but I still enjoyed the story. It’s not my favorite of Jenn Bennett’s but she definitely has a way of making me want to read a book to the end just to watch two characters fall in love.

📚 ~ Yolanda