Charlotte Nicole Davis

An Indie Next Pick A Silver 2019 Nautilus Book Award Winner A Kirkus Reviews 2019 Best of the Year Selection 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 kills 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

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 kills 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.

Sarah Sammis

Ultimately the novel is a quest for freedom. It's a path that brings to mind the Underground Railroad or its equivalent as described in Crosshairs by Catherine Hernandez (2020). Here, though, there is no help along the way. There are the stories but one has to get to the goal unaided.

The ambiguous ending also brings to mind a middle grade novel I read a two years ago, Mañanaland by Pam Muñoz Ryan. Here too is a land ravaged by corruption with a fairytale that promises a better life to those who can decipher the stories.

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Aster. Violet. Tansy. Mallow. Clementine. Sold as children. Branded by cursed markings. Trapped in a life they never would have chosen. When Aster's sister 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 the land's most vicious and powerful forces - both living and dead - their only hope lies in a bedtime story passed from one 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.

Shannon Thomas

I found this really difficult to get into. I really wanted to enjoy it as the synopsis sounds so good but I got 69 pages in and I’m just not feeling it. I think the story (up to this point) has travelled a lot faster than I anticipated and I perhaps would have liked a bit more time focussed on the part of their lives prior to page 69... I feel like everything from the synopsis has more or less happened? I am really intrigued still about what will happen to them and whether or not they’ll find who they’re looking for, but those first 69 pages just didn’t intrigue me enough to keep going and find out. 
I still love the idea of the story and the cover is absolutely stunning, I love the foiled detail on the title. 
Maybe sometime in the future I’ll try again and get a bit further than page 69 but for now I’m slightly disappointed!

Paige Green

Disclaimer: I received an arc of this book from the publisher and then I bought my own copy for the pre-order swag and to support the author! Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: The Good Luck Girls

Author: Charlotte Nicole Davis

Book Series: The Good Luck Girls Book 1

Rating: 3/5

Diversity: A diverse cast of black girls and there is a bit of LGBTQA+, but not a lot. 

Publication Date: October 1, 2019

Genre: YA Fantasy

Recommended Age: 16+ (TW rape mention, TW attempted rape, TW drug use and withdrawal, some small language, gore, and violence)

Publisher: TorTeen

Pages: 352

Amazon Link

Synopsis: 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.

Review: For the most part I really liked this book. I felt that the book was unique and I loved the west-world feel of it. The world building was very interesting and the writing was well done. The book was also very fast paced.

However, I did feel like the book had some faults. The book starts in Clementine’s POV and that lasts for one chapter. After that it’s strictly in Aster’s POV. I think the book could have benefitted from a POV switch between Aster and Clementine or between some of the other girls, as I also felt that the characters weren’t very well developed. They went from these victims to these badasses who knew how to knock people out, shoot people, tie them up, ride horses, etc. It felt weird and I didn’t feel connected with any of them. There was also the problem with the love interest. The synopsis is very pro-female power but in the book the girls heavily rely on the love interest of the book. That didn’t sit well with me, because it felt like the pro-female book I wanted to read was not all that it seemed. I wanted to see the girls make it on their own without the help of others. Lastly, the synopsis is almost written to imply that there is some magic to this book, which there is, but not about the girls themselves which is disappointing.

Verdict: It’s a great book but I had different expectations which ruined it for me.

Becky Clark

It is different from the type of books I normally read.

So to begin with, this type of book isn't one that I usually read but it is so captivation I couldn't put it down.

Seeing Clementine's struggle with the hand of life she has been given in the first few chapters was really interesting to see, as well as the clear indication of the fear and dread she felt. A the plot continues on you begin to see more into the situation Clementine is in and this is where you really start to see the real nature under her act that she puts on.

The storyline is so interesting that I couldn't put it down. Although I have only read the first few tester chapters I couldn't put it down. The way it was so beautifully written had captured my attention within the first couple of chapters.
 So to begin with, this type of book isn't one that I usually read but it is so captivation I couldn't put it down. 

Seeing Clementine's struggle with the hand of life she has been given in the first few chapters was really interesting to see, as well as the clear indication of the fear and dread she felt. A the plot continues on you begin to see more into the situation Clementine is in and this is where you really start to see the real nature under her act that she puts on.

The storyline is so interesting that I couldn't put it down. Although I have only read the first few tester chapters I couldn't put it down. The way it was so beautifully written had captured my attention within the first couple of chapters. 
 
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Kate

This was truly fantastic. 

It had everything I could have possibly hoped for and more after having read the summary. It’s got sisterhood, found family, heists, murder, an adorable f/f budding romance, monsters (both human and inhuman), nuanced discussions on inequality and the differences in rights between men and women, strong women in every sense of the term and a desperate fight for freedom, all with a sprinkle of dark magic. 

This book somehow sucked me in from page one and despite it being a little slow in places, it still managed to pull me in more and more throughout and the fact that I now have to wait who knows how long until book three is an incredibly painful thought. 

TW: sexual assault, discussion of suicide and rape.