"Just Our Luck" by Denise Williams is a fun, heartwarming rom-com that blends love, chance, and the messy journey to finding what truly matters. Sybil Sweet has always been the lucky one—until recently. Despite her bright personality, she finds herself stuck in a cycle of unsatisfying jobs and relationships, feeling like a disappointment to her family. One fateful night, she buys a lottery ticket on a whim, and what follows is a series of events that will change her life forever.

Kieran Anderson, a man whose dreams of becoming a doctor are on hold while he struggles to keep his family’s bakery afloat, is the last person Sybil expects to meet at the donut shop where she buys the ticket. Their night together is a whirlwind of chemistry and energy, but the next morning, Sybil is gone—leaving behind the winning lottery ticket.

Kieran’s attempt to return the ticket inadvertently sparks a viral sensation, propelling him and Sybil into the public eye and saving the bakery. The two agree to fake a relationship for three months to boost business and convince Sybil’s family she’s made the right choices. But as the fake romance grows, it’s clear that their connection is far deeper than either expected.

Williams creates a delightful, charming narrative full of chemistry, humor, and sweetness. The fake relationship trope is done to perfection here, with witty banter and heartfelt moments that make Sybil and Kieran impossible not to root for. Their evolving relationship and the journey of self-discovery they both undergo is relatable and endearing.

With a perfect balance of humor and heartfelt moments, "Just Our Luck" is a charming, feel-good read that will leave readers smiling. A big thank you to the author and publisher Berkley for delivering this refreshing and romantic story!

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for the free ARC!

3.5 stars!

What a cute read! Sybil and Kieran are the definition of “opposites attract” and while sparks fly in their first meeting, as soon as they find out their fundamental differences, those sparks are a bit more difficult to handle when they appear.

While Kieran is organized, put together, introverted and certain about his future in returning to medical school, Sybil is chaotic, lively, super friendly, extroverted, and unemployed.

Both of their situations change greatly when a winning lottery ticket gets involved. Think: fake dating, “we have to practice our intimacy to make it look real”, and a whole lot of shenanigans. The slow burn is fun, the ongoing banter is endearing, and Sybil makes me facepalm as much as she makes me laugh through the book. Oh, and there’s donuts— and who doesn’t like donuts?!

The conflict at the end really had me shook, questioning the believability of it… I just can’t imagine even the main character doing something of that nature??? I kind of wish I could just remove that part and let it be about the other things going on at the end.

I really hate to do it, but I’m dnf’ing at 50%. The FMC was too immature for my liking. I thought the story was interesting enough in the beginning to keep my attention, but by halfway through it’s not something I care to keep reading. I have read and enjoyed this author in the past, but this one wasn’t for me.

I’ve generally really liked Denise Williams’ books, but this one didn’t hook me as much as her others. The set up is very cute but I felt a little whiplash when the characters start off with great chemistry and then act icy toward each other once they start “fake dating”. I also wanted to see more growth and development from both characters. I found myself forcing myself to keep reading.

I voluntarily read a gifted copy of this book. All opinions are mine.

Thank you for the free book, Berkley Romance! #berkleypartner #berkley #berkleybookstagram

Sybil hasn’t found herself to be very lucky in life, but a late night encounter with a handsome baker named Kiran and tasty donuts is just what she needed. She leaves behind her lottery ticket, which might be lucky for her in more than one way. Kiran creates a viral video to find Sybil, and they concoct a fake dating scheme to benefit them both.

What I liked:
- Kiran’s grandpa
- Body neutrality and plus size representation
- Mixed race couple representation
-Fake dating

What didn’t work for me:
- the conflict (it changed my perception of both characters)
- Sybil’s lack of awareness of money and terrible choices (multiple times)

Sybil cannot hold down a job and is unlucky in love to the point of not wanting to try anymore. Kieran had dreams of becoming a doctor but had to take a deferral to assist his granddad in running the family donut shop. Their paths cross and they have a bit of an romp in the back office of the donut shop before getting interrupted by Kieran's sister. Sybil bolts but not before leaving behind what ends up being a winning lottery ticket ($250 mil to be exact) for Kieran for their little tryst. Kieran cannot take her money and after some insistence from his sister, goes on the news to try and find Sybil to return it. The story continues from there and includes fake dating, lots of donuts and angst, and a good bit of family from both sides.

I have read 2 of Denise's other books and really liked both of them. This one wasn't bad per se, but I didn't really like Kieran from any one else's perspective but his own. He was so mean but in his head, he was just trying to not give in to his urges. I think that may be one of my least favorite tropes of all time. The plot with the lottery bit was a little all over the place and I hated the big conflict so much. I was leaning toward 3.5 stars even with not really liking Kieran, but that conflict was ROUGH. I really loved the donut shop, Kieran's family, and Sybil's sister and friend group. I hope that perhaps we'll get to see more of these characters in the future. And the spicy bits were perfect!

The concept was great. The execution was not enjoyable.

The female main character in this book, Sybil, is absolutely infuriating. She is one of those people who is constantly late to everything, doesn't have her life together, and generally is more preoccupied with herself than how her actions affect other people. You would think her character growth would be her learning from her mistakes and trying to be more reliable and think ahead before she impulsively takes crazy actions, and yet! She actually never learns and makes increasingly worse mistakes throughout the course of the book. The reasoning for why she is this way is a laughably shoehorned-in reference to how women are underdiagnosed with ADHD at the 95% mark. At literally the last possible second, she is exposed to this idea. I would have loved if this had been added to the book much earlier and we got to see Sybil start to implement strategies to use her strengths, but because this idea was introduced at the tail-end of the book, we didn't actually get to see that character growth at all and she remained frustrating for the entire book.

Kieran, the male main character, is honestly just boring. He is super into her at the beginning of the book, then cools off and is awkward and cold. He is an aspiring doctor who had to take a year off to care for his ailing grandfather and his donut shop. His "growth" arc is determining if he really does want to be a doctor, but this is not explored well at all. Similarly to Sybil's ADHD revelation, the idea of exploring other career paths is not clearly laid out until the very end of the book. He drags his feet on reenrolling but never stops to think to himself, "Is this really what I want?" He does get brownie points for seeing Sybil's strengths and encouraging her to take advantage of them rather than doing things the way other people say she should, but that's about it.

I really hate that I was so disappointed by this. Clearly, these two characters did nothing for me and I was definitely skimming by the end of this book. I could see glimmers of potential, so I think I will try Denise Williams again to see if a different romance dynamic from her will be more enjoyable.

Denise Williams the woman that you are.

Just Our Luck follows hot mess Sybil and medical school dropout/current baker Kieran and their plan to fake date about a news story about Kieran saving a winning lottery ticket for Sybil goes viral.

To be honest, the book had kind of a rocky start to me. The chemistry between the two characters were good but it still felt like a little too much too soon. And then the sudden switch to them being barely platonic fake dating partners was strange.

It did grow on me though. I loved the affection Kieran had for Sybil. He was truly down bad, just how I like my male leads to be. Sybil was a whirlwind and I loved seeing her journey of loving and accepting herself despite the mistakes she has made. I also appreciated seeing Sybil's mom learn to accept these parts as well.

A strange factor of this book was that the lottery didn't seem to change Sybil's life that much? I mean, it was over 300 MILLION DOLLARS. Maybe it's just me, but I would be planning what to do with that money and Sybil's life just kind of went on as normal. Which I understand why that decision was made, but it made me scream TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN.

Overall, this book had the signature Denise Williams humor and heart and it warmed me up to read this adorable love story. I hope we get books about some of the side characters in this book as well!

I am so grateful to Berkley Romance and Denise Williams for the opportunity to read this ARC! Just Our Luck features Sybil and Kieran, two polar opposites who have an *almost* one night stand at his donut shop-until a winning lottery ticket left behind forces them together to help with each of their mounting struggles. I was so excited to read a book with a plus size, neurodivergent FMC, especially one where her body is celebrated and never seen as a struggle or something to “get over”. It was even more exciting to see Sybil’s journey through acceptance of her neurodivergence and how her friends and Kieran appreciated her for it-a super power instead of a hindrance. Late-in-life ADHD diagnosis is a path I identify deeply with and Denise Williams honors Sybil’s character while not shying away from the challenges she faces because of it. This is also a romcom where the side characters shine brightly, and I found myself wishing I had more book to explore further scenes in Kieran and Sybil’s relationship but also to learn more about the complex characters surrounding them. I hope to read about them in other books! This is a quick read, and it’s funny, poignant and sexy all at once. A solid 4⭐️read!

2.5*

I don't really have many thoughts on this book.

It was fine, I didn't love it or hate it.. my feelings are fairly neutral for the most part.

I wish Sybil's character could have gone through a bit more personal growth? I'm annoyed at how things resolved. It did not feel realistic in the least how it all essentially just got swept under the rug. her behaviour is just way too irresponsible to be justified (as the story attempt to do in the end).

I feel like the romance was missing something, and that there wasn't enough there to make me get invested. I needed more from the characters.

There were definitely a few great moments, but not quite enough to leave a long lasting impression.

It was a quick, ease read that didn't quite hook me.

This was a cute “sweet” love story. This book tells the story of Sybil who seems to think she has all the luck in the world, so in true fashion she buys a lottery ticket because, why not?!
The night Sybil buys the lottery ticket she met Kieran, the guy who doesn’t Believe in luck, and that same night both their luck changes when Sybil thinks she lost her WINNING lottery ticket.

I know I said this was a sweet story, which it is, but it also tells the story of what it can be like when your brain is a little different than others!

Overall I really enjoyed this book, I will definitely be reading more books by Denise Williams!

3.25-3.5✨

An adorable and mildly spicy romance with grumpy/sunshine vibes and fake dating makes for a quick and enjoyable read.

I enjoyed this book, but if I'm honest, the best part about this book to me was the side characters. Kieran's grandpa Joe is my absolute favorite character in the entire story; he's hilarious. I loved Sybil's friends and how easily they support her at the drop of a hat no matter what. Her family is amazing, especially her sister Grace and her fiancé Warren, who also support Sybil without question. While her mom came around in the end, I was skeptical of her tough love in the beginning.

As for Kieran and Sybil, as much as I enjoyed their romance, I do think they have several issues that hindered their relationship. They started off with decent chemistry and a bit of jokey banter, but as the fake dating came into play, Kieran was kind of mean at the beginning in order to avoid his attraction to Sybil. Sybil realizing she has ADHD and it being why she thinks and acts so differently from others was eye-opening for her character, but I fear it came too far into the story considering she spends about 75% of it being a hot mess and making rash decisions before considering the outcomes. I will say as well that the ending felt rushed considering the 3rd act breakup, if you can even call it that, happens around the 90% mark. Even with all of their flaws, I still found myself rooting for them to end up together

If you're into the fake dating trope, this is a story worth checking out, but it might not be for everyone. I am also excited to read other books written by Williams and will be looking forward to any future works she puts out.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳, 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯 𝘦-𝘈𝘙𝘊 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺.

I will always devour fake dating and s p i c y food innuendos—idc, idc, idc.

Kieran and Sybil are EVERYTHING to me. They are my new definition of grumpy/sunshine and will be the yardstick by which I measure e v e r y o n e else moving forward.

Sybil: The Quirky, Hopeful Chaos We All Need
Sybil is the kind of quirky that feels real—the "find a penny, pick it up" type, the "believes in luck despite all odds" type, the "if everyone is laughing, they won’t look too close at the sad parts" type. She’s endlessly hopeful, even when life keeps knocking her down. No matter what, she truly believes things will work out in the end. As someone with AuDHD, I know that not all rep is good rep, but Denise Williams absolutely nails it with Sybil’s character. It’s rare to see female characters accurately represented with neurodivergence, especially when it comes to late diagnosis. Williams handles it with such care and authenticity that I found myself deeply relating to Sybil with every page flip.

Kieran: The Structured, Steady Counterbalance
Kieran is Sybil’s complete opposite—practical, neat, and careful. He believes in logic over luck, numbers over wishes. Raised by his grandparents alongside his sister, he’s had to watch his dreams slip away in the face of real-life responsibilities: his mother’s instability, his granddad’s medical issues, his grandmother’s passing. He left medical school to help run Joe’s Donut Shop and has been stuck in survival mode ever since. He thinks his life can’t be upended any further—until Sybil walks in with a winning lottery ticket and a fake dating scheme that could give them both exactly what they need.

Why I Love Them So Much I Could Scream
She teaches him to dream, to hope, to believe in something bigger than logic. She disrupts his need for order just by existing and being hot, and honestly? I love that for her. She pushes him to fight for his dreams—even when she (massively) oversteps—forcing him to reevaluate what he actually wants and why. And Kieran? He -s e e s- her. When her family picks at her, when she starts retreating into herself, he stands up for her (bare minimum behavior, sure, but I’m soft for it, and I will not apologize). He helps her feel certain of herself in ways she never has before.

The small observations they make about each other? The way they t r u l y understand one another? The way they help each other believe in themselves? The way they grow together?? Oh my god. Oh. my. g o d.

This is the perfect book for you if:
You’re obsessed with the grumpy/sunshine trope
Fake dating makes you feral
You love books with incredible neurodivergent rep
Soft but emotionally devastating romances are your thing
You want characters who challenge each other and grow together
If any (or all) of these speak to your soul, Just Our Luck needs to be on your TBR immediately.



***Thank you Berkley for the arc in exchange for an honest review

This book grabbed my attention immediately with its unconventional premise, and I devoured it quickly. While the third-act plot wasn't my favorite, the writing itself was strong. I appreciated seeing an interracial couple, particularly one that defied typical beauty standards, take center stage. The story focuses on two individuals, both likely in their early twenties, whose paths cross by chance.

Their initial meeting felt believable, but I was less thrilled with how the central plot point was sidelined for much of the story. The male lead, a baker with aspirations for medical school, was often unkind to the female protagonist, a young woman navigating life and learning to assert herself. Their personalities clashed significantly, but in a way that felt realistic to me, as were the reactions of those around the female lead.

The male lead's immediate obsession with the female lead after a brief encounter at his bakery felt contrived. Their banter, while cheesy, did provide some humor. Overall, I had high hopes for this book, but as the story progressed, I felt it fell short of its potential. I didn't see the character growth I expected, and I struggled to understand why the male lead would have pursued a relationship with the female lead in the first place.

I received a free copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group; all opinions expressed are exclusively my own.

Again, I'm coming back after a long review hiatus, so it's been quite some time since I read this book. However, I remember it being a sweet and spicy romance that I enjoyed a good deal.

Unfortunately, no warnings as I can't rely on my memory to be accurate.

I’m not even sure where to begin with my unfortunate disappointment in this book but I will say, this third act conflict was the first ever where I actually didn’t want the couple back together.

I immediately didn’t connect with Sybil’s prescribed “messiness” despite being sorta into Kieran at first (but then immediately after the first few chapters, his characterization kinda devolves into something flat and one-dimensional) but the events of the third act conflict made me actually laugh aloud (that and the scam)

I think the only reason I didn’t DNF this was because by the point I realized it wasn’t going to improve, I was already too far along to conscientiously DNF….

This was my first book by Denise Williams so I feel like the extra star is for the fact that it wasn’t horribly written, I just really felt disconnected from the characters so it was hard to get aboard with their motivations and ultimately their decisions.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Berkeley Publishing for this arc to review.

Sybil Sweet and Kieran Anderson team up in a fake relationship after she accidentally leaves behind a winning lottery ticket at his struggling bakery. As their partnership grows, financial struggles and personal dreams collide, leading to unexpected romance and a chance at true happiness.

Just Our Luck sounded like it had a promising premise. The romance incorporates classic tropes like sunshine x grumpy and fake dating. I particularly loved the supporting characters especially Sybil’s friend group. They were so encouraging and supportive. I appreciated how they welcomed Kieran as one of their own. However, I struggled to see the chemistry between Sybil and Kieran. Sybil was a mess, which I’m sure was intentional on the author’s part, but I found it hard to sympathize with her. She avoided owning up to her mistakes and seemed to expect to be coddled despite being an adult. While her mother was undeniably toxic, I could unfortunately understand where her behavior stemmed from even if it didn’t justify it. As for Kieran, I appreciated the deeper look into his backstory, but his initial treatment of Sybil, acting annoyed and dismissive, was rude especially considering what she was already dealing with. Their dynamic felt off and their relationship never fully clicked for me. The third-act breakup was particularly frustrating. Sybil made a huge mistake and I couldn’t understand how Kieran was expected to forgive her so easily, let alone perform a grand gesture to fix things. It felt like a moment that should have ended their relationship not redeemed it. Overall, while I enjoyed the author’s writing style and found the story entertaining at times, this book just wasn’t for me. I’m giving it three stars, mostly for the side characters and the promise of the premise, but the main relationship left me disappointed.

Denise Williams is a one click author for me and I have to admit I was a little disappointed in this one.

I love that the FMC is plus sized and has ADHD. Sybil at times messes up and struggles to understand why she is impulsive. Others in her life also sometimes are harsh on her and other times they infantilize her which I found frustrating as she needed to be held accountable to her actions at times. The MMC is opposite and he is very together and goal oriented. I struggled with some of his inner thoughts about the FMC it almost was downright mean. I also think that what she did at the end that caused the major conflict was horrible and honestly I didn’t think really worked out or flushed out given how much it affected the MMC. I just do not see these two together at all and their chemistry just wasn’t here.

Do you ever feel like you’re not reaching the goals set by those you love? Do you ever feel like you’re not where you want to be in life? If you said yes to either of these questions then you need to come meet my girl, Sybil. Not only is the queen battling an attention deficit disorder but nearly everyone but her besties take it into consideration. Her life is not “put together” aka she can’t hold a job for longer than three months, drowning in bills and lives at home. After getting fired from her previous job and basically getting ghosted on a first date, Marcus and Emi (2/3 said besties) take her to a store to buy a lottery ticket and donut shop for some sobering worthy donuts. Cue hot and sexy donut man- Kieran. He should actually be in med school at the moment but our fine looking man came home to help run his Grandfather’s shop after suffering a stroke. After having a life changing orgasm in the back office (thanks sis for the interruption), Sybil runs out of the shop leaving behind said lotto ticket. The very next day, Kieran comes down to the donut shop to see that they were robbed while simultaneously finding out the ticket left behind was IN FACT a winning one. But yet the ethical guilt of the situation left Kieran uninterested of cashing in. After some convincing and connections, Kieran is interviewed for social media requesting the help of finding Sybil so she can have her lottery ticket back (or he just really really wanted to see her again;) Sybil sees the video and returns to the shop. A thought strikes her… CUE THE FAKE DATING SCHEME… (you’ll need to find out why on your own;) Anyways if you can’t tell i’m actually eating this UP. i love the dual pov because it gives the characters depth and truly showcases opposites attract. The author portrays how ADHD is represented through women which isn’t discussed enough! With other bigger themes such as food insecurity and homelessness, seeing the change you can be in the world whether you won the lottery or not.

Thanks so much to @berkleypub and @berkleyromance for the this eARC.

I ended up DNF'ing the book at 40%.

I found the female main character to be whiney, unrelateable, and found myself angry with her the entire time. I didn't feel like she was going to have a chance at a redemption arc - and I couldn't force myself to finish that.