Wishes really do come true! I was so happy when the publishers granted my wish and provided me with a copy of So Lucky via NetGalley before it's release date. Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to read it until now, but I'm still so thankful I was given the opportunity.

So Lucky focuses on three female characters, who from the outside all appear to have a perfect life, but are all struggling with certain problems of their own, whether that be marriage, physical conditions or doing anything to gain followers on social media.

Dawn O'Porter is spot on with the way society is judgemental and toxic. How many of us believe we need to live up to certain standards surrounding us. I loved how true to life the characters were, I think every woman can relate to them.

This book is brutally honest, frank and gritty. A range of emotions ebbs and flows over the reader whilst you progress through the chapters. The empowerment towards of the end of the book is just brilliant.

Honestly, if you haven't yet picked up this book, just buy it. I don't think you will be disappointed.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest, independent review.

Beth has it all...or so it seems. She hasn't had sex for a year. Ruby lives life by her own rules...but she feels like she's failing. Lauren is living the dream...but her happiness is fake news. Is anyone's life as perfect as it looks?

'So Lucky' was a great read about sisterhood and body image with laugh-out-loud moments, and shows what all women face in the world of social media. It shows how we are all so obsessed with portraying ourselves as perfect...but no one truly is. We are all hiding something. All of the characters had something to hide, and I loved how it wasn't just thrown out on the table straightaway, but teased out gently. I really felt I understood each of the characters and felt I got to know each of them.

I have never read anything by Dawn O'Porter before. However, I loved the way she wrote and developed each character. She is not afraid to tackle issues such as sex and body positivity, while still managing to create a novel that had uplifting messages at the same time as being funny.

This was such a great read, filled with plenty of moments that made me laugh out loud, moments that were raw and emotional, and plenty of filthy frank and blunt moments too!. It has a bit of everything and it flows brilliantly too, I loved the different characters having their own focused chapters so we really got to know each one properly and see what they were dealing with. The character progression for each of them was brilliant too, the writing and building for each one done so well!. They were all people you felt you knew, could relate to on some level.

Just a little word of warning...it isn't for the prudish! ha. Dawn doesn't shy away from the bluntness of sexual discussions and terminology, which is kinda great to see, to be honest!

'So Lucky' describes how I feel about reading the newest novel from one of the UK's most dynamic and fearless women writers-it also describes the throwaway remark that most of us unwittingly use to dismiss the success of others.

Especially women.

We do this to ourselves all the time, men rarely underplay their achievements but a woman going 'hell yes I have worked hard for this home/promotion/personal goal' is nearly always framed by 'being in the right place at the right time,'or good fortune. It is almost always given away to outside forces rather than our own sheer hard work.

And by the same token, whether in work or out of it, our female centric standards are always holding us to be better, more beautiful, thinner, faster, smarter, just more until we disappear into the perception of what we should be,and are forever yellow stickered and abandoned on the reduced shelf, living a half life.

This is what the characters in 'So Lucky' deal with daily-Ruby, the single parent whose style everyone has opinion on, Beth the mother who finds that being one is so much harder when the 'perfect' mother in  law is breathing down her neck, and Lauren whose very lifestyle exists as a yardstick by which other women are measured.

I suspect every reader will relate to all of these women depending on where they are in their life at the time, but one of them more than the other two. For me, it was Ruby, as a single parent the weight of other people's expectations of failure was suffocating. Being on your own signified to the world that you were unable to hold down a relationship, there must have been something about you that was 'unlovable'. Give her a wide berth, you could see it in other people's eyes.

The women's journies to learning to accept themselves, and casting off expectations is truly brilliant and I defy anyone reading this not to punch the air in recognition of the following-

bad sex
awesome sex
so-so sex
hating your kids
loving them so hard you cannot breathe
wondering who you are and where you are going(and will you ever get there?how will you know?)
acknowledging that no-one has it all together, no matter what image they project
I cannot think of enough superlatives for this book and could easily bang on for another thousand words about the cover design which is dynamic and brilliant as well as appearing effortlessly cool.

The black and white of what life expects of you and as well as you expect of yourself straddled with the glistening pink doughnut of being a woman in the 21st Century.
The hole in the middle, the constant feeling of missing some vital part of yourself, versus the carby delight of scoffing the whole thing.
But I digress! AGAAIN!

There is genuinely only one thing this book review can be boiled down to-Dawn is an incredible writer who nails each and every single thing in this book. Humour, sexiness (as well as the lack thereof), the brutal reality of parenthood, social media 'standard' setting and bullshit detecting .

The whole package is a stunning and emotive portrait of modern womanhood that sticks two fingers up to the world, unbuttons your jeans and reaches out for an extra biscuit.

Because life is too short to live by impossible standards.

All you can do is live in the moment,try to learn to love yourself and find it in you to let go of what is pulling you down. And on days when things seem unsurmountable, just remind yourself we are all doing the best we can. But most importantly, the hardest people on our backs are usually ourselves.

So let's stop, redefine our boundaries and start over again. And if we don't manage it today, let's give it a go again tomorrow. We are women, we are sisters , let's try and be a littler kind to ourselves and each other, what do you say?

Liberating, fearless and contemporary, Dawn O'Porter's 'So Lucky' is a book to be read, treasured and re-read.And bought as a present. And borrowed from libraries. And generally shouted about as purely excellent craftsmanship and story telling.

I’ve loved all of Dawn O’Porter’s novels to date, especially The Cows, and So Lucky is another brilliant read!

So Lucky follows three women: Beth who has a new baby but is very unhappy in her marriage, Ruby who feels she needs to keep her entire body covered at all times, and Lauren who we mainly see through her Instagram posts and seems to have a perfect sparkly life.

I read So Lucky in one sitting as once I started reading it I just didn’t want to put it down. Dawn O’Porter is so good at capturing what it is to be a woman in the modern age and the pressure we all feel to conform to society’s norms. There is a sense that women should be perfect – we should remove all of our body hair and be smiley and happy at all times. Life just isn’t like that!

Beth is besotted with her young baby but she also loves her career so she’s back at working planning Lauren’s wedding but she’s also pumping breast milk and trying to be a good wife. Her husband has had no interest in sex ever since she got pregnant and Beth just wants to feel desired. She’s also having to deal with her interfering mother-in-law who her husband seems to always defer to. I felt really sorry for Beth, it’s so difficult to be in a relationship where your partner won’t discuss issues. My ex was awful for sweeping everything under the carpet and pretending nothing was wrong, it makes for such stress in the home.

Ruby is separated from her husband but she’s cordial with him because they have a three year old daughter, Bonnie. I really felt for Ruby, she had a difficult time as a child and she can’t seem to relate to her own child now. She also has a secret that means she feels she has to keep her body covered at all times. Her attempting to get a wax with her child in the room was so tense and I wanted to climb through the pages and help Ruby.

It was brilliant to read a novel like this where the women are close to my own age. I still have so many insecurities as a 40 year old but it’s not always represented in novels as much as it is for younger women. It felt like Beth represented the not being allowed to be who you are and to talk openly about what you want in life, and Ruby represented all the body issues that women have. They were both such real women to me though and I could see myself, and women I know, in both of them.

Lauren is a younger woman on the verge of marrying the man of her dreams. We get to know her through her instagram posts that are full of inspirational hashtags and often sponsored. She seems to have a perfect life. As the novel progresses we find out that Beth is Lauren’s wedding planner, and Ruby is going to work on the wedding photos so through them we get to meet Lauren in real life, and it seems all is not quite as glossy as it seems on her Instagram. She has an over-bearing mother and fears that her fiance might be attracted to other women. It really showed how social media allows us to give the impression that our lives are so perfect but the reality is that everyone has their insecurities and their problems but we forget that sometimes and think we’re the only one.

I love how real all three women felt in this novel, and how we gradually get to know why they are the way they are and we see how they try to accommodate for what they see as their inadequacies. There are some utterly mortifying moments in the novel, which were toe-curling in the embarrassment factor but I loved that because life is like this. Things often aren’t as we might imagine them to be!

Ultimately, I found this a really relatable, moving novel that also saw the funny side of things too. I very much enjoyed this book and I already can’t wait to read Dawn O’Porter’s next book! I highly recommend this one!

I started this book yesterday evening, intending to read for 30 minutes before bed. 2 hours later and I had to force myself to put my Kindle down!

The story flicks between the POVs of Ruby and Beth.
Beth appears to have the perfect marriage but is struggling with her husband’s lack of interest in sex.
Ruby is finding it difficult to manage her 3-year-old daughter Bonnie (alongside a physical condition which leaves her feeling ashamed and isolated).
Meanwhile, social media 'influencer' Lauren is about to marry a wealthy millionaire and appears to have the 'perfect' life, at least according to her Instagram feed.

The characters are complex and well-developed. Their individual stories weave together well, and I found myself racing through to find out more. I guessed parts of the ending long before it happened, but that didn't take away from how much I enjoyed this book.

Beth, Ruby and Lauren have it all. They're living life by their own rules. They are, to everyone outside, so lucky. But Beth is in a marriage where her husband won't have sex with her and disparages her body post-pregnancy; Ruby feels like she's failing and is becoming overwhelmed in a spiral that sees her take it out on her young daughter; Lauren is an influencer who can't let the cracks of her life show publicly.

Truthfully, I wanted to read the book as I had seen this cover everywhere and kept thinking - I really can't seem to escape this. Sometimes books just pop up a lot. I didn't expect to demolish it in one sitting, following three well drawn women - and Risky, the MVP of the supporting cast - as they explore their ambitions, flaws and connections in all their messy glory. It's an easy read, funny and considers what lurks behind the outsider notion of being so lucky.

I'm not sure I would know how to categorise this book. I raced through it - it's very funny but with some serious issues of the modern world. Lauren - social media starlet about to marry millionaire Gavin Riley amidst rumours of him sleeping around. Beth - wedding planner, new mum working full time on Lauren's wedding while still breast feeding and wishing she was on maternity leave which has been left to her husband Michael. His lack of interest in sex and strange relationship with his mother is a huge issue. Risky (by name and nature) is Beth's assistant - outspoken, feminist (when it suits), she shocks Beth constantly with her openness about sex. Ruby - touches up photos for a living to remove imperfections despite struggling with her own huge body issue that takes over her life and is ruining her relationship with her three year old daughter, Bonnie. We join these women's lives - we experience what they do, we feel for them and we wonder how their stories will join - there are coincidences, elements of farce and some laugh out loud comedy as well as some very poignant moments. I loved this very current read. #netgalley #solucky

I started reading this book at about 1 this afternoon and it's now 2.04 am and I just finished it. I honestly did not want to put it down.
The story follows 3 very different women and deals with very real and very different issues for each of them.
I can't recommend this book enough, it was superb.

I LOVE Dawn O’Porter. She creates such relatable characters who are often dealing with taboo issues. I really enjoyed cows but this book was even better. With massive thanks to netgalley for the ARC, my absolute favourite to date. I would love to follow the three women (and Risky) in the next phase of their personal growth.

Well this was different! Quite dark and depressing truth be told and not at all what I was expecting. However, I found myself being sucked in by the characters and the way their differences brought them together. Very clever how they were all linked together in the end. It did make me laugh a few times but I had expected it to be more comedic. Thanks to the author, Netgalley and HarperCollins for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

So good. Sex, marriage, friendships, work, photoshopping and Instagram, what could go wrong?
The characters are so believable, as is the world they inhabit.
I want to give this book to women, and some men, of all ages and make them read it in a day, like I did.

Despite knowing who Dawn O’Porter is and having heard amazing things about The Cows, I’ve never read any of her books. Admittedly I think the cover of So Lucky is what enticed me (doughnut, yes please) but it probably ended up being the best impulse request I’ve ever made.

The story is told via the dual perspectives of Ruby, a single mum to three-year-old Bonnie and Beth, a wedding planner and new mum to four-month-old Tommy. Ruby juggles spending time with Bonnie, living with Polycystic Ovaries Syndrome and her job as a photo retoucher for celebrities and social media stars who simply have to look better than perfect. Beth has recently gone back to work, been reunited with her sassy sex-positive assistant Risky and been tasked with throwing a lavish wedding for social media star Lauren Pearce and her multi-millionnaire fiance Gavin. When their two worlds collide, both women realise that nothing is ever quite as it seems.

Ruby is very spiky at the beginning of the book and I was worried I wouldn’t be able to warm to her. She seemed to hate spending so much time with her daughter and this actually got me intrigued. I never had any doubt that she loved Bonnie deeply but I could tell she was struggling. I don’t think I’ve read too many mothers in contemporary women’s fiction of Ruby’s ilk even though I’m sure they exist in reality. There was an air that Bonnie was often something of an inconvenience to Ruby’s desired day-to-day life and this is something that mothers are often encouraged to hide.

I knew almost straightaway that Ruby must have had a tough life. The details of her past don’t begin to unravel until quite close to the end of the book but her character gradually starts to make sense. I learnt a lot about Polycystic Ovaries Syndrome through Ruby’s story. I knew quite a bit about it before but I had no idea that it could affect someone to the extent it affects her. My heart ached for her every time she talked about the cycle of trying to rid herself of her excess hair every few weeks. I wanted to scream at her that she didn’t have to do this to herself but I also understood the pressure she felt to adhere to our society’s standards of beauty.

It’s through conversations with a man she meets in her local park that Ruby begins her journey of self-acceptance and her change in focus of what’s really important. The man often talks about a daughter who he lost years ago and how he wished he had had more time with her. I loved seeing this insecure, terrified woman realise that she has the inner strength to not only own her body and her past but also to impart wisdom, which she does in an incredibly inspirational way to Instagram darling Lauren, when she desperately needs it.

At the beginning of the book, Beth is the sexually repressed wife to Michael and she is starting to believe it’s her fault that he won’t have sex with her anymore. Her self-esteem is at rock bottom and she seems to be using her work as a distraction. I kept trying to figure out why Michael had really lost interest in her and I think I went through all of the possibilities -he’s just shallow and doesn’t like her post-baby body, he was getting sex elsewhere, he’d realised he was gay. I feel like I invested so much mental energy into these characters and that’s testament to O’Porter’s writing style -these people became real to me.

Through some rather hilarious conversations with her sexy millennial assistant Risky and a mortifying stumble upon an exhibitionist couple, Beth’s sexuality is unleashed and it definitely won’t go back in! I laughed out loud lots of times during Beth’s narrative and her realisation that she doesn’t have to accept her lot in life was deeply satisfying.

Most of the book focuses on the artificiality of social media and how that damages self-esteem and perpetuates mental health issues. However, there is a scene where Ruby seeks refuge online. She feels very alone at this point and she finds comfort in knowing that there are other women out there who are feeling the same way. I loved this little nod to the fact that the internet isn’t all bad and that many people can find acceptance and their ‘tribe’ online. Her vision of the future seems almost blissful to anyone who struggles to fit into the exacting standards of today’s world.

The idea of luck plays an integral role in the book, as the title may suggest. Despite the fact they all experience deep dissatisfaction with their lives, all of the characters are often told how lucky they are to have what they do. Ruby is told how lucky she is to be able to spend so much time with Bonnie. Risky tells Beth how lucky she is to have a husband who is happy to stay at home with the baby. Lauren has streams of fans and followers who are constantly telling her how much they wish they had her life. All of these comments come from places of not knowing the realities of these lives that are envied.

However, at the end of the book, all of the characters realise how lucky they truly are. Ruby has a beautiful daughter, an ex-husband who is a good man and the knowledge that she can be a better mother than her own. Beth has a son, a job she loves and a newfound love of herself. Lauren has her father, good friends and a bright future. Even Risky realises that her current boyfriend may not be in the same vein as the terrible men she has previously encountered.

So Lucky is a funny, moving and inspirational read that celebrates female friendship, self-love and the little things that we hold dear. It seemed to speak directly to me as a young woman and I felt included in the group. It’s the perfect light antidote to all of the dark spooky books around this season!

I struggled with this story at the beginning but kept on reading and suddenly started to feel involved. A sad story in many ways but was also uplifting. The characters were very believable and there was a great conclusion.

Having been a fan of Dawn O'Porter for a long while, though not yet having tried any of her novels, I was excited to get approved for an ARC of this one!

I absolutely flew through this book - it was engaging and oscillated between humour and sadness very easily. Focusing on three women, who appear to enjoy seemingly perfect (but very different!) lives from the outside, I found my heart breaking for all of them at different points as their perfect lives were unveiled to be not-so.

I enjoyed this look at the complexities and insecurities that are often present in women's lives and their desires to 'have it all' - and what 'having it all' can mean to different people.

Would recommend for a fun, honest, and easy read.

Before reading this, I think it is necessary to know this book is quite sexually explicit in places. If the thought of reading about anal sex, dogging or masturbation makes you blush, this might not be the book for you. However, the book is really about the judgements women make about the beauty of other women and of themselves.
I really enjoyed this book. The characters are not like any people I have ever met, but were likeable and all had flaws, mostly as a result of their own lack of self-esteem. Definitely worth a read.

Laugh out loud funny. I really enjoyed this book. 3 woman all with different issues learn a lot about life and change their own lives. Really well written and very entertaining.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

What a book, what a cast of amazing women. So Lucky is a triumph. Smart, sassy and sophisticated, I enjoyed every second of this wonderful book.

Ruby is a single Mum who lives with polycystic ovary syndrome - she lets it define her and it makes her live a life that is small and safe. She is successful in her work, but her self-hatred means she shuts everyone else out, including her young daughter Bonnie, who she feels, hates her. Her body is covered in hair and she dresses to cover every inch of herself. She cannot bear to look at herself, let alone let anyone else see her. Her husband Liam made a clumsy joke on their wedding day and she cannot forgive him.

Beth, married to Michael and with a young baby, Tommy, hasn't had sex for so long that it is all she can think about. Her husband is seemingly repulsed by her post-baby body and shuns any form of intimacy with her. He whittles away her confidence and makes her feel like she should be ashamed for wanting physical intimacy. Everyone tells her she's so lucky to have the perfect marriage, but little do they know the truth. She runs a successful wedding events business, and her assistant Risky, is my true heroine. She bigs Beth up and tells her she's amazing, she isn't afraid to ask for what she wants from a partner, and makes no apologies for being a young woman who enjoys sex.

Then there is Lauren. An Instagram influencer, engaged to a rich and successful businessman. Her social media posts suggests she has the perfect life, but they are a facade, and hide a deep sadness and an inner self-loathing. When her wedding of the year turns to the disaster of the year, she is literally saved by a sisterhood of women who show that 'when women come together, the world gets better'.

As the story brings all these women together, So Lucky shows us that when women work together and support one another, they can achieve anything. Having courage, and friendship and understanding can mean the difference between living and just existing. These women learn that uncomfortable truths can lead to more fulfilling lives, better relationships and a greater understanding of their own needs. And when you learn to leave shame behind, the journey to love yourself becomes a clear path leading to a brighter future.

At first I did have some reservations about this read. However once I got into it I totally loved it. 3 women who appear to have everything in life however behind the masks things are very different. Dawn O’Porters writing style is so great and has such fluidity to it. Both the plot and characters are strong and throughly well written with substance.
I’m certainly glad I have it another go,
Thank you to both NetGalley and HarperCollins for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest unbiased review

I really enjoyed this book from the very first page.


To the outside world, Ruby, Beth and Lauren have it all but no-ones life is perfect and these three women's lives are about to collide and almost implode.


Ruby is hiding a condition that makes her hide her body, her dysfunctional relationship with her mother has caused lasting damage and she’s struggling to connect to her own three year old daughter.

Beth is a new mother, running a successful wedding planning business but her seemingly perfect marriage is not so perfect after all and she's feeling neglected and sexually depraved!


Lauren is an Instagram influencer, with millions of followers and companies begging her to advertise their products but behind all of the filters she's hiding more than just some body hangups.

I really liked that Dawn doesn't give everything away, she teases us throughout the book, dropping breadcrumbs so that you just have to keep reading on to piece everything together.


What's Ruby's condition? What happened at her own wedding?


Will Beth cheat on her husband? Will her marriage survive?

Is Gavin cheating on Lauren? Will Lauren's big day go ahead without a hitch?


Don't worry there's no spoilers from me.


I love Dawn O’Porter’s writing. It's the first time I've read anything by her and I don't think it will be the last.


Dawn isn't afraid to tell it how it is.
I felt a deep sympathy and connection to the three women in this book.

I'm a mum and my body has changed so much since having my little girl, I'm also impacted by social media and the constant pressure to be perfect!


The reality is we all have imperfections we hide, we all want to show the world our best selves and we all suffer from the judgements people make.

I think this book will resonate with so many people - social media is all about showing the best bits and this is distorted reality at best.


I could see a bit of myself in all three women and by the end of the book they sort of felt like friends. I felt a bit sad to finish it to be honest!


There are some truly laugh out loud parts in So Lucky and cringe-worthy scenes that made my toes curl.


This book is a celebration of unlikely friendships, women supporting women and accepting who you are - flaws and all.
It's relevant in this social media filter obsessed world we live in, it's very funny and moving. I loved it.