I'm really not sure where to start this review. I have read nothing but positive reviews for this book, and the synopsis sounded good...but something didn't quite work for me.

Let me start with the positives. I absolutely loved the beginning of the story. I really liked Aster and Clementine, and how the story unfolds. Several girls, all named after flowers, live in a kind of brothel. There are the daybreak girls who perform chores, and the sundown girls who entertain the male guests who frequent their home. Each girl has their namesake flower tattooed on their neck - a tattoo that unfurls as the girls age, blooming entirely when they are sixteen, when they become sundown girls. The story picks up with Clem's first day as a sundown girl.

Honestly, I loved the idea of magic tattoos that grow with the person. I really loved the vibe and atmosphere, and I was so excited to see where it would go. The prologue was excellent, setting up great conflict and problems for the main girls. I was excited for female friendships and fights against their oppressors.

What I got...wasn't really that. I don't want to spoil what happens, but I got through 40% and I felt a bit let down. I think the girls' characterizations and dynamics were too weak, and the pacing too slow. Unfortunately, it just didn't work for me.

I received a digital advanced reader copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I’m not even going to try and lie.. I was totally into this WAY before I got my arc. Even when I requested this title, I was rereading the synopsis several times and crossing my fingers that I would get a copy. Those first few chapters were absolutely the most brutal beginning of any book I have ever read (and I have read a LOT of books). This is one of those stories that just hits hard emotionally. It really makes you think about how being sold into sex slavery is totally a reality for some young girls.

Despite the basic plot of this novel being about sexual slavery, the female characters are incredibly strong and easy to look up to. I loved the general feel of female confidence and friendship. The ending was completely unexpected and I cannot wait for the next installment. Davis has a wonderful writing style that just flows throughout the pages.

I feel Charlotte has set us up for an interesting read for her next book,and I cannot wait to get my hands on it.

**Review will be posted on Sept. 23, 2019, closer to publication date, on my blog http://pastmidnight.home.blog**

Thank you to Tor Teen and NetGalley for giving me a chance to read this eARC.

In this dystopian/fantasy western world of Arketta, we have a group of females who are living in a “welcome house”, basically it’s a brothel. They are raised to be sex slaves in The Scab, a mining town in what seems like the worst part of Arketta. But when Clementine, one of the girls, accidentally kills her brag (customer), she, her sister and friends make a run for it. This story then follows these girls on the run from the law, supernatural monster called vengeants, raveners who mess with their minds and other powerful men. What a wild ride this story took me on!

I was so impressed with the world building. I’m not a big fan of westerns so I went into this book just mildly interested. But as I kept reading, I realized this world kept drawing me in deeper. Families in The Scab sell their girls for shine (money) and girls then sell their bodies. ☹️ It’s a tough world for women in Arketta and for the other dustbloods. Dustbloods, are a group of people who had their shadows torn from them because of a debt to be paid. Their children are born with no shadows, and these people are oppressed in a land where landmasters rule. Subject matter wise, it’s a tough one. I got angry about the welcome houses and how the girls are drugged to do their “job”. I was angry at the men and raveners. 😠

But landmasters and raveners are not the only evils out there. Arketta is teeming with vengeants, supernatural like monsters that prowl in the dark. We follow Aster, Clementine, Tansy, Mallow and Violet (yes all named after flowers), as they escape the welcome house. They travel to different towns on horses, navigating dirt trails, camping out at abandoned mines and even catching a ride on a train. Along the way they come across many dangers, meet new people, they plan heists and robberies to survive! All they want is real freedom! 😔 The cast of characters is diverse with people of color and with LGBT+ representation.

I loved Aster, who is the main character and takes a roll as leader of this runaway crew. She’s never been a leader and she makes mistakes along the way but she admits her wrongdoings and tries to fix things. I love how her character leaps off the page. And another thing I enjoyed was finding out the original names of the girls as their journey continues. It was empowering to see them shed their personas from the welcome house and reclaim the names they were born with!

This story is a strong debut from author Charlotte Nicole Davis. It is engaging, exciting and empowering. I look forward to the sequel!

Clementine and Aster are sisters who were sold into the brothel - here called a welcome house. As always, I am a sucker for strong sibling relationships and these two are great. Aster is the older sister and is trying to protect Clem in anyway she can in the horrible situation they are in. I liked Clem fine, but it was Aster's story, really. After the are on the run Aster evolves into a knife-wielding, angry, fantastic leader; and I loved every second of it. I also really appreciate the way the author portrayed Aster's anxiety and anger. It felt incredibly real and I hurt for her.
My other favorite character is Violet. The mean girl who turned out to be the most helpful addition to their escape. I cannot wait to see what is waiting for Violet in book two!!

Also, there is a f/f relationship! I won't say more to avoid any spoilers, but hopefully by the time this series is done there will be at least one more too!

The plot moved fairly quickly and kept me on edge for most of the book. Everything in their world is so dangerous, especially for them, and I was always engaged just waiting for the next danger. There were a few times I think the story wandered a bit for no real reason, but I am really hoping some of the little side scares are going to have a purpose in book two.

The world was very fleshed out without any info dumps. The author did such a great job explaining how the world worked, the people, the prejudices, the past horrors all without overwhelming me at any time. My only negative was some of the aspects were so dark and interesting (the girls' marks, all the ghosts, the raveners) and I wished there was more emphasis on them. While we did learn about why they all are - I wished I could understand how they all came to be.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It's dark and scary at times, but it is deep. I am ready for book two, please!!

**Disclaimer: I was provided with a free e-ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**

I couldn't put this book down. I was in awe of what I read. These five girls were brave, courageous, intelligent, and witty in trying to escape a life they never chose for themselves. Each of their families sold them into the welcome house for money and the promise that their daughters would have a better life. That was a complete LIE. How the story unfolds with so much action, and the added elements of power-hungry humans and inhuman beings was breathtaking. I differently enjoyed the book. I believe the characters were well thought out and relatable.

Five girls try to escape their brothel in this magic-infused Western.

This is a great adventure story. I didn't want to put it down once I'd started it, I wanted to find out what would happen next. There was no sense of padding, things progressed nicely and the characters mostly grew with their experiences.Although it finished very nicely, there's definitely room for more titles set in this universe, and I'd be first in line to read them.

This is going to do very well.

Sadly, I wasn't able to finish this book. After getting about halfway though, I found myself looking to be more connected to the characters and the world. I think that if I was in high school, this book would have resonated with me more.

Together, all 5 girls join together on a fantasy action-packed adventure for freedom, when Clementine accidentally kills a well-connected client. Pursued by Arketta's most vicious and powerful forces, both human and inhuman, their hope is to escape a life they didn't choose for themselves.
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This story had me hooked. I enjoyed every single page of it. So, happy that there will be a sequel to it. I liked how the author allowed us to see all the girl's backstories, explained how their lives turned out this way. The girls seemed to be constantly in trouble and escaping danger.
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Most importantly, the book sheds a light on human trafficking. Their families were often promised money, jobs or that their girls would have a better life with the brag (client) that chose them. These promises are not kept, and a violent reality is often prevalent.

Leider hat mir "The Good Luck Girls" nicht gefallen. Eine dystopische Welt, in der fünf junge Frauen aus der Zwangsprostitution flüchten, das klingt durchaus spannend, leider bleiben die Figuren platt und die Handlung wird durch Zufälle vorangetrieben, der Deus ex Machina winkt von jeder Seite, das kann ich als Leserin einfach nicht leiden.
Nicht nur die Charaktere und die Handlung bleiben leider schematisch, die Dialoge sind zumeist hölzern und gestelzt.

The Good Luck Girls is an Adventure seeking revenge type of story. It is said that it reminds people of the Handmaids Tale set in the Wild wild west. Well it's more wild wild West then it is Handmaids Tale. With that being said I still enjoyed this story written by debut author Charlotte Nicole Davis. You have Clementine who 'accidentally' kills a brag (male customer) so her and her sister Aster decide to go on the run with other Good Luck Girls Violet, Tallow and Mansy. On the way they meet Zee a Rangeman who will help them get to Lady Ghost to get their tattoos remove that let everyone know they are Good Luck Girls so they can live normal lives.
I want to thank Netgalley and Macmillan- Tom Doherty Associate Tor Teen for a copy of this book for an honest review.

I was hooked from the time I read the extended excerpt. Those first few chapters are haunting. Especially when you think about how this is some young girl's actual reality.

And in the spirit of Old Town Road being the song of the summer it was nice to have a little western fantasy featuring a black girl as the lead. Arketta is more a post-apocalyptic dystopian western world.

Aster is a very well developed character. Even when I disagreed with her decisions and wanted to smack her upside the head for them I understand her motives. When you read what Aster went through you understand her desire to protect other girls from suffering her same fate.

Clementine was the catalyst to them leaving the Welcome House but she surprisingly didn't get much development after that. Despite the traumatic incident that causes them to flee Green Creek she remains her pure trusting self.

I don't feel like Mallow and Tansy added much beyond being friends who helped Clem escape. Though Tansy's information about herbs and medicines did help while on the road.

Violet was a great person for Aster to play off since they had often butted heads both at the Welcome House and on the road.

I did like Zee. He was a much needed ally for them who could go into places that they couldn't. And he did help bring out a different side of Aster.

There was this romance that I felt came out of left field. Luckily it wasn't a main focus and didn't take up a huge portion of the story nor did it go into great detail. It still made no sense though and the chemistry and interactions just weren't there to justify it.

Parts of this story felt very episodic like a tv series which was an interesting approach.

The ending was unexpected and definitely let us know there will be a book 2 and I'm interested in seeing where this concept takes us.

New author Charlotte Nicole Davis does a wonderful job creating a vivid fantasy western world! This has a strong message and addresses societal issues of the present though in an alternate world! It shows what happens in desperate times and how we survive.

We start off with Clementine and Aster who live in a "welcome house", and Clementine has just turned 16 and is about to start working servicing the men who frequent the house. Aster doesn't want this for Clementine but there isn't anything she can do about it. But when Clem's anxiety gets the better of her, she accidentally kills the man who had the winning bid for her and they find they would rather risk leaving than staying for certain death.

I wasn't exactly sure what to expect with this, but once I started it, it was hard to put down. It had a bit of an old west feel to the storyline in that they were running from the law and they needed money, or as they called it, "shine" to survive and did what they needed to, to make it through each day. I think the book would have worked with or without the paranormal elements, but Davis created this alternate, post-apocalyptic-esque world that was really fun. The girls each had their own unique personalities and strengths, and I'm looking forward to future books down the line so we can see more of them.

The good luck girls are anything but lucky. Sold into prostitution as children they grow up in a brothel, first servants (daybreak girls) and then when they cross their fateful sixteenth birthday they become sundown girls. It's Clementine's 'lucky night', her virginity sold to the highest bidder. Aster, her sister has already undergone the transformation from skivvy to prostitute and she fears for Clem. So when it all goes wrong and Clem defends herself, killing her customer, the girls decide to escape, and end up taking some of the other girls with them. Chased by raveners and aided by one lone sympathetic tracker, who, as it turns out, is looking for his sister, sold to another lucky house by their parents. There's plenty of peril as the girls make their way across hostile country, trying any way they can to stay ahead of their pursuers.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I was able to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
***
The Good Luck Girls is a debut novel from Charlotte Nicole Davis.
Clementine just turned 16 and is being inducted as a sundown girl now at the welcome house she’s lived at for awhile now. On her lucky night she accidentally kills her brag, and Aster, her older sister, in a desperate bid to keep Clementine alive decides they need to escape. With them come 3 other Good Luck Girls and thus begins their adventure to escape the danger that closely tracks them and the danger that haunt the scab ahead of them as they chase down a ghost story to find safety.
Sometimes you pick up a book because the cover catches your eye. Others it’s because the summary tweaks your interests. Sometimes it’s both. The Good Luck Girls was certainly both for me. I didn’t think I’d get access to it from Netgalley but I’m thankful I did. I started it this morning before leaving for work, and it was such a bad decision. I couldn’t stop thinking of this book the whole time I was at work. I needed to know what was happening to Aster, Clementine, Violet, Tansy, Mallow, and Zee. I needed to follow them on their journey.
This book is such an interesting world and has a history that unfolds the more you get into it and seeing as this is the first I’m hoping to discover more about Arketta and their neighbors. The story had such a wild west feeling to it: vast unexplored areas, ghost towns, chases, guns, and horses. There is also a supernatural element to further make lives difficult for the Good Luck Girls. There are ghosts and people with eerie abilities that I wish was explored a bit more but maybe that’s the best way to keep it feeling as it was, by keeping it vague. Either way, creepy.
I loved the personalities of the girls. As the older of them Violet and Aster are a great contrast and it reflects in how they’ve handled what they’ve gone through. Clementine, Tansy and Mallow are a bit softer, they still haven’t seen the worst, but they’re definitely not bleeding hearts. I’m not usually one for romance but the romance was so far from the importance of the story that I enjoyed it even more for that. One is barely fledging and the other was so soft and cute I actually cooed at it, and again, so not important to the story and such a background to it that it was amazing.
I suggest a pre-order of this for everyone looking for women kicking butt, having each other’s backs, and just an adventure that will keep you going until the end.

Tw: drug use, addiction, prostitution, violence, injury

This book was received as an ARC from Macmillan-Tom Doherty Associates - Tor Teen in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

I was very intrigued by the book at first because it reminded me of my favorite YFantasy series and one of my favorite movies combined into one (House of Night and The Covenant) so I was ecstatic to read this book at first. I must say, I was not disappointed. The girls from Aster, Violet, Tansy, Mallow, and Clementine all were granted with special powers from their markings despite being kidnapped at young ages and chosen for this "society." Every chapter was a different point of view of each sister and all of the chapters correlated well to the storyline as a whole. I am awaiting very patiently for the release of this book and fighting the urge and desire to share it with my teen book club because I know they will go crazy for it.

We will consider adding this title to our YFiction collection at the library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

The Good Luck Girls had me hooked from start to finish. Now, I'm an avid fantasy reader but the premise of a wild-west meets fantasy novel had me hesitant. I'm happy to say that it works out wonderfully. This novel is a very strong debut from Charlotte Nicole Davis, and I'm eager to see what else they have in store for us.

Now, first things first. I really liked the world that is portrayed in GLG. At first I was a little confused on how to picture it in my head, but it came to me. The world building could have been improved a bit, but it's a pretty good start.

I adored all of the main girls, I especially had a soft spot for Aster and Violet. However, at times I did find myself a little annoyed with Clementine and I think that she was a tad catered to at times.

The GLG was nice and fast paced- never leaving me skipping ahead in boredom. If you want to take a slow ride this might not be the book for you. But if you want to get hooked right away, I would 100% recommend it.

Just a final note: some of the beginning scenes felt very uncomfortable due to the sexual nature of it. While necessary for the plot and character development, I think those who are triggered easily by sexual assault / exploitation should be aware that these themes are present.

Excellent debut. This will be a welcome addition to my adventure YA shelf! I like the depth of the main character and the interesting magic system.

The Good Luck Girls is the girl gang, ghost infested old west type world, found family adventure I wanted. Clementine and Aster are sisters who are sold to the Welcome House by their parents. The welcome house is a brothel with virtually no escape for the girls who have been sold there.

A murder in self defense sends five girls fleeing into the dangerous wilds of Arketta, where dementor style ghosts will rip the flesh from your bones. Their quest is to find freedom.

I was sold on this world when I learned that the dustbloods (essentially indentured servants) had their shadows ripped away generations ago. How cool is that? The world is familiar enough in its outlines, but novel in its specifics. I was a little confused about some of the history and geography, but it did not impair my enjoyment.

The five main girls are each distinct. Aster, who lives to protect her sister, is my favorite. She's broken down and walled off, and only lets her guard down a little. I appreciated the stories of the other girls, and wish I could have had more of Tansy and Mallow.

The author builds in a few points that I assume are jumping off places for other stories set in this world, and I look forward to exploring it more.

I really enjoyed the journey of the novel, but I felt it came to an end so quickly. I wanted to see more of the next steps for the characters in an epilogue, so I could feel that they were settled. But overall, it was a great ride. Girl gang does crimes, fights ghosts, and survives to find freedom. <3

This is a another good YA fantasy novel, and I really like the themes of female friendship and strong female characters. In addition, the novel has some good areas to discuss substance abuse and exploitation. There is some magical elements as well.

The good luck girls are really anything but lucky. Essentially forced into working in a brothel to survive, their luck changes when one of the girls accidentally kills a client. Left with no other choice, they risk everything to flee their circumstances and make a new life elsewhere. I am sure there will be other novels as the main character works to overthrow the system, and I look forward to reading more of them.