This was by far my favorite Jenn Bennett book. I loved the Lucky character, the story development, and the writing in general.

I am so conflicted about this book. Parts of it had me all in, but others it felt like the book version of a scratched DVD, experiencing the story in fits and starts and filling in the details I missed. We kick off with Josie and her mom arriving in Beauty, where almost immediately Josie runs into her childhood best friend, Lucky - now Lucky 2.0, Tall, Dark, and Brooding.

I am here for this - hooked and prepared for their first real confrontation! Except after revealing that Lucky and his family now own a boat repair shop across the street from the Saint-Martin bookstore, we fast-forward four months. We're told that Josie's welcome to Beauty was less than warm, and while she has dodged rumors and kept her distance from her classmates at school, Lucky has been her mysterious shadow, constantly popping up on the outskirts wherever she goes, watching her with those dark, bad-boy eyes but never saying a word.

Intriguing behavior to be sure...I only wish we had been able to watch this unfold. Instead, we get a couple of chapters telling us Lucky is ruggedly handsome but surly and mysterious, and then we get Lucky taking the fall for Josie accidentally committing an act of vandalism. I need more character building! And speaking of character building, given what a huge part she plays with basically everything that happens, I wish Josie's mom had been fleshed out a little more. Don't just tell me your mom is horrible...paint me a word picture. Again, we get story in fits and starts - Winona immediately forbids Josie (based on...what, exactly?) from seeing Lucky, then is reliably absent from the story except to pop up and remind us that Josie is Not Allowed to see him. Until (fits and starts!) with zero discussion, suddenly it's fine. Sigh. I just...don't teleport me from A to Z, take me all the way through!

My desire to see more of the story play out aside, Chasing Lucky did pull me in, and Jenn Bennett continues to do what she does best, which is capturing the longing and uncertainty of a budding possible relationship. Honestly, it says a lot about her ability as a writer that my complaint essentially boils down to "why didn't you make this book longer?" I felt every tug of the heart and flutter of butterflies (or in Josie's case, bats?), and with one glaring exception, I was swooning. (For the record, that glaring exception was the most awkward euphemism I've ever read - "I'm achingly aware of the hard outline pressing against the place in my jeans where my seams converge" - but we don't need to talk about that.) I want to go to all of the Karras family dinners, be best friends with Evie, and punch Adrian Summers in the face. Possibly more than once. Chasing Lucky isn't going to dethrone Starry Eyes or Alex, Approximately on my mental list of best heart-eye emoji books, but it's still a good read, and I will still eagerly read any YA that Jenn Bennett writes.

First, thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC of one of my favorite YA author's books.

Second, I thoroughly enjoyed this. I read it over the course of the day (it's 4th of July in a global pandemic, leaving the house isn't an option and is an excellent excuse to stay in bed and read!) and the story kept me reading and wanting more. I really liked Josie as the main character and, in typical Jenn Bennett fashion, enjoy that she's a badass girl who knows what she wants and is willing to go after it. Lucky, as with all JB love interests, is swoony, a bit mysterious, and a genuinely good dude.

Some spoilery thoughts...[Evie is the worst. I don't understand how Josie deals with her and her a) willingness to put up with a shitty dude, b) inability to defend Josie from said shitty dude, and c) completely bratty behavior. Yeah, she's in a toxic relationship, but Josie just lets it go, doesn't press Evie to change or clean up her absolutely shitty treatment of her cousin. I just really disliked her. (hide spoiler)]

Overall, this was a swoony, delightful read and I'm so excited for everyone to enjoy it with me in November! (less)

Sadly, I think I have reached the point in my life where I am too old to enjoy Jenn Bennett books. This one sounded so good, but it just wasn't for me. Don't get me wrong, I love a good YA contemporary, but this one was just way to angsty for me. The teenagers were way to over dramatic for my liking.

From a stand point of an educator, I think this would be a wonderful book for my students to read. I would love to get it for my classroom one day.

“Sometimes doing the wrong thing can point you in the right direction.”

How true that statement is and what a great lesson to be learned. This book is all about friendship, family, honesty, and the bonds that make relationships worthwhile. I’ve read a few of Bennett’s books and they don’t disappoint. Strong characters, driving plot, and usually some sort of “lesson” thrown in that isn’t in your face but may percolate with some teens and get them thinking.

Thank you so much for granting my request for this title. Unfortunately, I have chosen to not finish this title. I read almost half of it before putting it down, and I have decided not to finish it at this time. I struggled with my interest in the plot and characters. I will not be posting a review for this, unless I decide to finish it in the future. I wish this book all the success.

Kind regards,

Brittney

Full review will be up on my blog closer to the release date. I loved this book! I am a huge Jenn Bennett fan, so when I got approved for this I was so excited. Chasing Lucky has amazing writing and I devoured it. The characters and the world are relatable and they stuck with me even after i finished it.

Another great book by Jenn Bennett. She has a way of bringing to life the feelings of her characters in a way that is truly relatable. Josie and her mother return to the small Rhode Island town that she grew up in and Josie hopes it is a place that she can stay for awhile. Josie reconnects with her best friend from childhood and realizes what she left behind. Small town drama, unfortunate events, and family secrets all come together to make this a book that I had a hard time putting down. A must read for those who like real life situations and a little romance. It will definitely be a book I will purchase for the library. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This ARC expired before I could read it. BUT I have read three or four of Jenn Bennett's books and enjoyed them so I do think I would have enjoyed it

This was another charming contemporary romance by Jenn Bennett. Our heroine, Josie, is an aspiring photographer who has returned to her childhood home of Beauty, Rhode Island. She is confronting some family tension between herself and her mother, her grandmother, and some confusing feelings about her childhood best friend Lucky. This book felt a little less cohesive than other Jenn Bennett books, but still had all of the things I've come to love about her work - heroines pursuing their interests and passions, healthy relationships, and really well-imagined places.

Jenn Bennett does it again! She creates a world that I didn't want to leave, characters that I grew to love. I don't know that I can go wrong with a book of hers. In a world (the real one) that is rife with issues, she allows me a place to escape that, while it's realistic, it's also a comfort at the same time. I'm not sure what witchy formula she's using, but it's working and I don't want her to stop. Ever.

Jenn Bennett writes such sweet fluff. Most of her books, including this one, have some serious topics as the conflict, but it’s always relatively low-stakes and her characters have such developed relationships.

Chasing Lucky deals with a girl who grew up on a shaky foundation with her mother and grandmother, and dreams of going to live with her famous father. It deals with exploiting someone’s nude photos. It deals with being in a toxic relationship. But even so, it’s mostly a book about a girl falling in love with her childhood best friend. And all the while reconnecting with him and forming a really strong friendship.

This book isn’t super memorable or groundbreaking. But it’s sweet, sex-positive, and has really awesome coastal tourist town summer vibes. Definitely worth picking up when it comes out, especially because it’s releasing on both hardcover and paperback the same day, so you’ll even be able to get it a bit cheaper!

This book is exactly what I wanted it to be and the some! You follow Josie as she moves back to their hometown after a fall out with her grandmother. She runs into her best friend that she didn’t leave on good terms with five years ago. As that relationship rekindles, you learn more and more about Josie and her family’s past along with her.

The thing I loved most about this book was how believable everything was. The relationships developed in a great way. The twists that came were something I could truly feel happening. Not to mention, the characters had great banter and the wittiness was so enjoyable. Jenn Bennett did a fantastic job on this book and I will definitely be reading more of her books.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers, and Jenn Bennett for giving me this opportunity to read an ARC copy.

I will be posting a more detailed review on my blog when the release date is closer.

First time reader of books by Jenn Bennett. A super cute YA contemporary romance.

Josie has spent the last five years moving from city to city with her single mother. But now they are returning to her hometown to help run her grandma’s bookstore. Where she happens to run into her former childhood best friend Lucky. The same best friend she never got to say goodbye to before she moved away. Yet he wants absolutely nothing to do with her. That once good boy she once knew is no more. Now turned into a loner bad boy. Leaves one wondering what happened to him to make him change.

Though all Josie wants is to get through her time there and head out to west coast to become an apprentice and patch things up with her absentee father who is a famous photographer. Yet things don’t always turn out as one wants them to now do, they? A house party and another run in with Lucky just to start of her horrible night. Only that Lucky does something that no one would’ve thought he would do. Leaving Josie owing him big.

Will these two be able to reconnect? Will Josie follow through with her dreams?

Josie being a photographer I connected with her since I’m also a photographer myself. I really enjoyed this book. Being about honesty and finding one’s self. Can’t wait to read more of Jenn Bennett’s work.


*Received this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion and review*

Another winning title from Jenn Bennett! I always look forward to her summer time YA releases (I know this one is coming out in November, but her books always feel like summer to me). I loved Josie and my heart ached for her as she made her way through the story, figuring out that the things she thought she knew about herself and her family might be totally different than she could have ever imagined. I liked the friendship/romance between Josie and Lucky - Jenn writes that sparkly, heady first-love feeling so well - but I especially enjoyed untangling the relationships between Josie and other Saint-Martin women. I laughed, I cried, and I wanted to go home and hug my own mom. I can't wait to get this in the hands of the teens at my library.

I am pretty sure I wrote this in my last review of Jenn Bennett’s novel Serious Moonlight but really, this woman must have sold her soul to the devil. I just don’t understand how she could consistently write these charming, remarkable novels that keep me entertained but also make me question certain things I’ve always taken for granted. Honestly, Jenn, just tell us your secret. Please!

Anyways, let’s talk about the actual book.

This time around, we dive into the world of budding photographer Josie Saint-Martin, who has spent most of her life fleeing from one city to the next with her single mother. The Saint-Martin women are said to have been cursed when it comes to love and so far, Josie can’t help but agree. Everywhere they go, her mother leaves behind a trail of distraught men, forcing the both to up and leave. When the both of them return to their hometown, Beauty in Rhode Island, to run the family bookstore, Josie knows that it’s only a matter of time until her mother will make them relocate again and Josie is counting down the days.

For the first time ever, though, it’s not because of her mother. Josie has her own plans that will take her far away from this place – becoming an apprentice to her father, the famous photographer, to be exact. Cue the run-in with the resident bad boy, Lucky Karras, who used to be Josie’s childhood best friend and is now considered the outsider and most definitely not willing to let her go again. When fate puts the both of them together all these years later, sparks begin to fly and Josie has to ask herself whether fleeing town at the end of her senior year really is the right decision.

Chasing Lucky, like all of Bennett’s books, has the magical trifecta: atmospheric writing, a tension-filled will-they-won’t-they-storyline, and banter that will make you crack up.

To no one’s surprise, this book drew me in from the very first page when Josie talks about the Saint-Martin’s curse. Josie has her own plans on how to get out of this town and out of her mother’s difficult trysts with love and I was rooting for Josie all the way, from getting the internship with a magazine to develop her photography skills to getting out of Beauty where she was only seen as her mother’s daughter (read problematic) instead of the young, fierce woman she actually is. Her love for photography was also mirrored in the little excerpts at every chapter describing what she had photographed around Beauty and added a lot of nostalgia and whimsicalness to the story (I don’t know if there will be actual photos in the finished copies but that would be amazing!).

The love interest, Lucky, is mysterious and snarky but also kind and selfless. Taking the fall for Josie, he doesn’t care what the town thinks about him as long as Josie knows he is one of the good ones. There is a lot of back and forth between him and Josie (and I wouldn’t expect anything different from this author) but even though we all know these two lovebirds will get together, Bennett still manages to infuse the “chase” with tons of tension and anticipation. With uncanny and eccentric side characters, not to mention the fact that I am waiting for a spin-off on Josie’s mother’s wild years because that would be so interesting to read, this cast of characters just up and stole my heart.

Still, what I love most about this book is the atmospheric writing. It felt like I was right there with Josie in Beauty, watching tourists window-shop and sit in between the stacks of the St. Martin’s bookshop. Can you be homesick for a place you’ve never visited? Because that’s what I’m feeling when I think about Beauty, Rhode Island.

Charming as ever, Bennett dives into universal topics such as falling in love and trying to reconcile your family’s expectations with your own dreams for the future. With a deft hand for storytelling, Bennett proves once more why she is one of the most sought-out YA contemporary authors out there. A wonderful and emphatic YA romance perfect for long-time fans and those new to this author alike!

Thank you net galley for the advance reader copy of this novel. This was a contemporary YA novel that was about a girl moving back to her hometown and falling in love with the "badboy". Except he wasn't really bad. A sweet but predicable read! Great for a lighter summer novel.

This is a very solid 4 star book. The characters were awesome. I struggled with the ending because I felt there were a few loose ends that were focused on during the book, but did not get addressed at the end. Still a great summer read.

I requested Chasing Lucky from NetGalley (Thanks for the approval!) because Jenn Bennett has become one of my go-to romance authors lately. While I did really enjoy Josie and Lucky's story, I wasn't in a "can't put it down" zone until about halfway through the book. However, I did like the growth of the characters through the story, and I know that there will be older teens who will love this one!

This is classic Jenn Bennett, an author I’ve always enjoyed. This book follows the story of Josie and Lucky; two teenagers reunited who begin to realize there’s more than just friendship between them. It’s delightful story of first love and all the mistakes and twists that come along with it!