DNF Review: Chasing Lucky

Chasing Lucky by Jenn Bennett
Grade: DNF
Release date: November 2020
An e-galley was provided by Simon & Schuster via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Summary: 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…


When did I stop reading?: 23% into my e-galley

Why did I DNF this book?: Jenn's books have been hit-or-miss for me, and this was a miss. But I've always finished her past titles. The difference here is that I felt like nothing about Chasing Lucky was original. I've read so many stories lately where women in a family feel like they're cursed in love, or the daughter is more mature than the mom, or the single mom and daughter have to go back to their hometown. The love interest is both the best friend and bad boy tropes rolled into one. With Jenn's other lead characters, often there's a quirky hobby or job that helps me connect with them; Josie didn't have that.

This might be a case of "it's not you, it's me," or it could've been that I tried to read this book during COVID lockdowns and so had zero focus. But either way, it was not an enjoyable read, and I didn't want to force myself to finish it.