I love a thrilling heist story and Lucky did not disappoint! A story of confronting your past, making amends, and forging ahead with life. A strong female lead dealing with the fallout of a heist gone wrong and holding a million dollar ticket that could change her life but cost her freedom. A solid read for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, Marissa Stapley and Simon & Schuster Canada for the free e-book in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed the main character of this novel and the chapters that go back into her past so that you can see why she ended up with the life that she did. The beginning was a bit too slow for me, but otherwise I really enjoyed her trying to put her life together while trying to find someway to cash her winning ticket.

This almost felt like it was was written by two different authors ... or the author just gave up on the last 1/3 of the book. The first 2/3 weren't bad -- the pace was good and I wanted to find out what was going to happen. Then it was like the main characters forgot all their previous traits and everything was wrapped up in a not good bow. Very disappointing ending. Hope you have more luck!

Lucky comes out next month on December 7, 2021, and you can purchase HERE.

Someone had a left a baby outside the nunnery. And it was Margaret Jean's night to listen for the door. The rest of the sisters had their earplugs in and couldn't hear the wails that pierced the air. But still, she stayed motionless in her bed, hoping someone else would wake and relieve her of the drama. Sister Francine, for example, who loved to be busy. Sister Danielle, who had a solution for everything The baby's cries grew louder, and still no one else woke.

I took a chance Lucky because I needed something different and it was a nice escape. The novel switches between the current day narrative of Lucky and that of her past and upbringing. You quickly learn that Lucky isn't really a grifter at heart--she was a victim of her upbringing and really only used crime as a last resort. Poor Lucky. It seemed that all she wanted was to live in one place, grow roots, have a normal life, and find out more about her mother. At every turn, though, she was thwarted. At first her father denied her the normalcy she desired. Later it was her slimy significant other.

As her story unfurls and the past and the present meet in her narrative, everything about who she is, where she is, and why she is becomes glaringly clear and you just can't help but hope she'll find a way to make it out unscathed.

While I was ultimately happy with how it all ended, I was a little bemused at the almost deus ex machina type of ending. All in all, though, a good read.

Canadian author Melissa Stapley has given readers a brilliant, fast-paced, entertaining, and captivating novel. Once I started Lucky there was no looking back, and I was held well within its grips from start to finish, compelled to read the entire book in one sitting.

I really liked the glimpses back in time that took us back to when Lucky was a young girl on the run with her con artist father. I felt devastated for her in those moments, and it gave some insight into what prepared her for her own future as a grifter.

Lucky is both a strong and likeable character, and I was rooting for her throughout. The storyline and thrilling plot is well crafted and original, and the book is beautifully written by Stapley.

This was the perfect easy-to-read novel to get swept away with on a rainy afternoon. I actually liked the e-book so much I went out and purchased a hard copy for my shelf.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the copy, I was delighted with this one.

What if you had the winning ticket that would change your life forever, but you couldn’t cash it in?

Lucky Armstrong is a tough, talented grifter who has just pulled off a million-dollar heist with her boyfriend, Cary. She’s ready to start a brand-new life, with a new identity—when things go sideways. Lucky finds herself alone for the first time, navigating the world without the help of either her father or her boyfriend, the two figures from whom she’s learned the art of the scam.

When she discovers that a lottery ticket she bought on a whim is worth millions, her elation is tempered by one big problem: cashing in the winning ticket means she’ll be arrested for her crimes. She’ll go to prison, with no chance to redeem her fortune.

As Lucky tries to avoid capture and make a future for herself, she must confront her past by reconciling with her father; finding her mother, who abandoned her when she was just a baby; and coming to terms with the man she thought she loved—whose dark past is catching up with her, too.

This is a novel about truth, personal redemption, and the complexity of being good. It introduces a singularly gifted, multilayered character who must learn what it means to be independent and honest...before her luck runs out.

I really liked the format of this book, it is told via two timelines. We get Lucinda's (Lucky) childhood chapters, starting in 1995 and they lead up to her adult chapters in 2008. Even though Lucky, the adult, is what I'd call a deplorable person it seemed to me she had such a good heart and I felt so bad for her at times. I think it was because her childhood self was a good person and only wanted a "normal" life and to have her father love her and put her first. It takes talent for an author to make a reader cheer on an unlikeable character. The plot was very fast paced and I think the fact that the book is short helped with that, Stapley managed to get a lot into such few pages.

This is my third book by this author and never seems to disappoint, I loved them all. Both Mating for Life and The Last Resort were four stars reads for me as well. It makes me really happy to support Canadian writers and Ms. Stapley from my hometown of Toronto, Ontario. I recommend everything she has written.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for providing the arc of Lucky by Marissa Stapley in exchange for my honest review.

Lucky is the story of Lucky, a young woman who is raised by her father in the world of con artists and grifters. We follow Lucky as she tries to avoid the police, find her boyfriend Cary, and cash in a large winning lottery ticket while running across the country to uncover one of the biggest secrets of her life, who is her mother and why did she leave her as a baby.
The story is described to be about truth, personal redemption, and the complexity of being good and I 100% agree with that. Lucky struggles with being a con artist, even though it’s all she knows. Her single father teaches her everything he knows and they spend most of her young life running from con to con and place to place. We are “lucky” to enjoy the story in dual timeline narrative from the 80s into the 2000s witnessing Lucky’s struggles with guilt, with not being able to stay in one place long enough to start a life, with not being able to have real friends, and with not having a mother.
We learn that Lucky met Cary, who is also a con artist and who might have pulled off the ultimate con when he disappears with all the money they had saved up to run away and start fresh. With the past starting to catch up with Lucky, we follow as she races from the west coast where her father is to the east coast where her mother is, and along the way we learn a lot of truths about Lucky’s world.
One of the major plot twists wasn’t exactly shocking to me, but my guessing it ahead of time did not ruin the story at all. I still enjoyed the read. Stapley created some wonderful characters, good and bad, who were fun and interesting to meet. I was left with a few questions I hoped would be answered, but overall the ending wrapped up nicely.
I’m a sucker for con artist, grifter, spy types stories, so this one had a few extra points going in, but overall it was a good one. I would highly recommend it to anyone who might be looking for a little redemption in their life.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle by Simon and Schuster Canada and #NetGalley for my honest opinion. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Fast-paced novel of suspense and contemporary fiction. You’ll feel for Lucky and understand her trauma.

I had been looking forward to this novel and was excited to get an early copy before release.
The synopsis really gives an accurate overview of the story: a modern Bonnie and Clyde meets Robin Hood of sorts. This story goes smoothly back and forth between past and present (well, interestingly “present” in this case is 2008). I would’ve loved to see an Epilogue with an update on a few things, but the ending was satisfying in a sense, and for 5he most part came full circle.
Could DEFINITELY see this being a movie or mini-series, I think Lucky’s story has great potential.
Definitely pick this one up if you like well-paced, action/thrillers.
Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for this ARC!
3.5/5

If you’ve got an afternoon to curl up with a good book, Lucky is the perfect choice. Marissa Stanley has written a fast paced, easy afternoon read. You’ll find yourself wanting to check all your investments and your financial advisor’s track record.
Thank You to Simon & Schuster Canada, author Marissa Stanley, and NetGalley for the opportunity to enjoy this ARC.

This book was suspenseful and fast paced, and I could absolutely see it as a movie. Lucky was raised a grifter, assuming false identities alongside her father and hopping around from scam to scam. Things unravel in her late teens when her father gets entangled in a dicey situation and Lucky is left on her own to figure things out. Told in different time frames - Lucky’s childhood, and also present day - this is a story about a good girl who does bad things, who’s trying to figure out how to get herself out of a sticky situation. Is there anyone she can trust? Where can she go from here? And most anxiously, will she be able to cash in her multi million dollar winning lottery ticket?

This book kept me on my toes and was fast and fun. Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this wild ride of a story. I liked the use of flashbacks from Lucky's childhood to the current time. I thought the author did a great job of linking them together in the end. I thought the characters were likeable (except for the villains) and the author did a good job of making me care about what happened to them. I was invested in the story from the very first page.

I was pleased with the way the story ended. This won't be my last novel by Marissa Stapley.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

This should not have been my kind of book. There are flashbacks and feels and all sorts of things that tug at heartstrings.

There are no monsters eating faces, no edginess, and no things going boom.

And I really, really liked it!

I felt so much for Lucky. I was dying to know how she would handle all of her troubles and hoped against hope that everything would turn out okay in the end.

While I have admit that I really didn’t buy into the ending too much (it’s a little too…easy?), I still liked it and ended up very satisfied with everything.

Happy I read this one!

*ARC via Publisher

"Lucky" was a fast-paced, exciting read with an atypical main character. Lucky is a girl who's grown up only knowing deception and cheating. She has made her way through life as a child into adulthood, using deceit to make her way through. Throughout the book, we realize that she may have some regret and feelings that maybe what she's doing isn't right. I like that the main character is extremely flawed and damaged, but even so, you can see that she's trying to be a better person. I enjoyed how the story moved back and forth through time from when she was a child to her life now as adult. It really showed that how she was raised and how what happened in her childhood, really affected her adult life. I would definitely read more from this author!

Lucky by Marissa Stapley is my first book by this author.

The story has an interesting premise - a young grifter (Lucky) who wins the lottery and thinks she can finally turn her life around but can’t claim the money as she is the run, wanted for embezzlement. Add to that a missing boyfriend, a mother she is trying to find, and an ailing father in jail, and you have an interesting adventure story.

Overall, I really enjoyed this. It was a nice change of pace from what I have been reading. I look forward to reading more from this author.

I liked the premise and that Lucky wasn't a perfect character. The ending seemed to go really fast and felt highly unlikely, but it was a mostly entertaining ride.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Told from the perspective of Lucky's past and present, this book tells the story of how Lucky (Luciana) came to be the criminal she is today.

This was a fun and quick read! Kind of a modern day Bonnie and Clyde without the bank robberies and with a new twist. I loved the dual perspectives and the happy ending!

What a fun book!
This book was fast paced, entertaining and just plain fun. I was sucked in right from the beginning and couldn't turn the pages fast enough.

If you won a multi million dollar lottery ticket, but you would go to jail if you turned it in (there is a warrant for your arrest) would you do it? Do you have anyone you can really trust that could cash it in for you? I was thinking about the people in my life while reading this, and wondering - who would I TRULY trust with that much money? I actually have a few people - but poor Lucky doesn't - so what is she to do?

This book had to many twists and turns it was crazy.

I read this in one night - it's a quick, fast paced read. and I really enjoyed it. So why 4 stars and not 5? After recently reading a 5 star book that tore my guts out, I am reserving 5 stars for those books that give me that wonderful/horrible book hangover. But this was a really good, enjoyable book.

Thank you to the author #MarrisaStapley to the publisher and to #netgalley for the ARC which did not impact my review.

This book was faced paced and brilliantly executed, I found myself unable to look away even for a moment as the web of lies and deception grew deeper and deeper. My only wish is that the ending of the book had been a bit longer and less abrupt, I felt like we had been building to a great peak, and instead we reached a mole hill. But I highly suggest everyone grab this book when it comes out!