Title: JUST MY LUCK
Expected publication: out now
My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟
Book Description:
For fifteen years, Lexi and Jake have played the same six
numbers with their friends, the Pearsons and the Heathcotes. Over dinner
parties, fish & chip suppers and summer barbecues, they’ve discussed the
important stuff – the kids, marriages, jobs and houses – and they’ve laughed
off their disappointment when they failed to win anything more than a tenner.
But then, one Saturday night, the unthinkable happens.
There’s a rift in the group. Someone doesn’t tell the truth. And soon after,
six numbers come up which change everything forever.
Lexi and Jake have a ticket worth £18 million. And
their friends are determined to claim a share of it.
What attracted me to this book:
Who hasn’t ever fantasized at least once about winning the lottery? Giving up work, buying a big house, a nice car, travel, luxuries you have never even dreamed of. What intrigues me most of all is the fact that so many lottery winners go broke despite their huge winnings, and that their win turns more into a curse than a blessing. What a perfect premise for a cracking good story!
My musings:
After decades of trying for the big lotto win as part of a
syndicate with two other couples, Lexi and Jake find that they have finally hit
the jackpot and won over 13 million pounds. They claim that their friends have
dropped out of the syndicate after a falling-out the previous week, which now
means that they don’t have to share their good fortune. Or do they? Their
friends argue that they never stopped paying into the lotto kitty, and should
be entitled to their fair share. So who is lying?
I admit that as soon as the story of Lexi and Jake’s win
unfolded, I spent the majority of my reading time in a heightened state of
anxiety. If you think that winning 13 million pound should solve all your
problems, think again. It doesn’t help that Jake is a bit of a dickhead, who
immediately rushes out to buy a jaguar and brags about his win to all the
neighbourhood, before the money has even landed in their account. And even
after the lottery people advise caution, he will not be deterred from flaunting
his wealth, with consequences that are immediately obvious to the reader, but
not poor sweet Lexi, who makes one excuse after another for her stupid spouse’s
behaviour. You can see that I was not a fan of dear Jake, and could have
throttled him with my bare hands multiple times throughout the story.
This is my first book by Parks, and I appreciated the way
she is not afraid to paint a less than flattering picture of her characters and
expose some of the darker corners of their minds. Even sweet Lexi has some
things to hide. To be honest, except for Lexi, I found none of the friends
particularly endearing, which still did not settle my nerves as they all
stumbled into the mess of their own making. If the author wanted to make a
point that money is not the ticket to happiness, she did a good job! Saying
that, I personally know two lottery winners, who did just fine with their
(admittedly a bit more modest) wins. I was trying to pinpoint exactly why I
didn’t enjoy this story as much as I had hoped, but could only put it down to
character development. Whilst I really enjoyed Lexi’s portrayal as she is
coming to term with her newfound wealth, Jake and some of the peripheral
characters came across as a bit clichéd and black-or-white rather than shades
of grey I could have related to a bit better. The second character who redeemed
the story for me was Toma, who is not only one of the only decent human beings
featured there, but also has a fascinating backstory.
Summary:
JUST MY LUCK is the
sort of book that will appeal to readers who enjoy stories of extraordinary
things happening to everyday, ordinary people, and like the heart pounding
adrenaline rush of watching your characters stumble headlong into a disaster of
their own making. It’s a fast romp of a read and certainly entertaining, in a
stressful sort of way. I can’t say that I was particularly emotionally involved
in any of the characters, but enjoyed the story nonetheless. This would make a
great beach or holiday read when you don’t want anything you need to think
about too deeply.
Thank
you to HQ Fiction for the free copy of this novel and
for giving me the opportunity to provide an honest review.
If the theme of a lotto win interested you, you may also like:
The Winner, by David Baldacci
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