Jaclyn Westlake is going to become an autobuy author. I fell in love with Dear Dotty, and this one was another exceptional one. Westlake has this way of perfectly capturing real life emotions and things that people go through in their lives. Her books pack a punch, and I don't fully know how I feel about them until I'm crying at the end. I read Dear Dotty last year at the perfect time, and I truly think I read this at the perfect time. I related to Eliza so much and I fell in love with her small Minnesota town. She has to have her whole life planned out, and I felt that so hard. She's also learning how to go with the flow, and again, something I am learning right now. Her and Joel were so good together, and truly needed each other in different ways,

LUCKY BREAK
-Friends to lovers
-mystery vibes
-fresh start

Everything about this book was a delight! A few years ago, I left the only life I ever knew in Ohio and moved to Georgia to start over. Best choice I have EVER made. After Elizas perfect relationship with her token italian fiance implodes, while trying to gather the pieces, she applies to a program for Juneberry Lake, Minnesota, where they stipend 10k toward your purchase of a home if you meet certain requirements. Eliza finds her place quickly in the small town and makes friends with her neighbors but things arent always what they seem. Along with another Juneberry transplant, Eliza sets out to discover the secrets hidden in her little circle, while coming to terms with the Infertility diagnosis that ended her engagement and finding new love in the process. I adored her relationship with her brother, Enzo, who has Aspergers and copes with his sister moving away in his own quirky and perfect Enzo ways, and her family desperately wishes she would move home (its been 3 years and my family still does!)
Thank you so much to Jaclyn Westlake, Netgalley and the Publisher for allowing me to review ahead of time!

I loved Dear Dotty and knew I would feel the same way about Lucky Break, there is something about Jaclyn’s writing that makes me feel like home. Her stories, her characters, and her towns bring me a comfort that I thought only Gilmore Girls could. She brings flawed characters, low-stakes drama, and addresses one of my fatal flaws - feeling like you’re less than if you don’t follow the status quo and flips it on its head in a refreshing way. Reminding the reader you don’t need to follow one path to be considered accomplished, successful or crushing life and you certainly shouldn’t make yourself smaller, push yourself into a mold for love. And most importantly, she reminds us that adopting rescue dogs is a way of life and a love language.

I adore Jaclyn’s writing style, it tackles tough conversations and issues like infertility, infidelity, the choice of whether or not to be a mom, and grief in a beautiful way. And as someone who has experienced many of these topics I can say with firsthand experience that Jaclyn’s storytelling and addressing of them is done with the utmost love, care, and respect.

I felt tears coming to my bears, lurching in my chest, and overall laughs and uncontrollable smiles while reading my way through Frisco’s journey. I appreciate that Jaclyn’s happy endings aren’t contingent on love interests being married and having kids - her happy endings aren’t realistic, and ones you don’t often see in romances, or coming of age tales. Her take on life, which shines through in both her novels, is unique and is a big reason why both her books hold such a huge space in my heart.

I loved the premise of this book, but the actual story line fell a little flat. I felt the twists and turns to be a little unbelievable, even for a fun romantic comedy.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

After a bad breakup, Eliza decides to start over in a whole new state, the idyllic town of Juneberry Lake. After leaving her family and friends behind, Eliza is excited to start fresh and make new friends but it isn’t easy at first. Will Eliza become part of the town? This was a light and easy read which kept me smiling the whole time. I want to move to Juneberry Lake myself!

Not my normal type of story, for some reason I was expecting more of a msytery. I did enjoy the characters and the small town type atmosphere. If you're looking for an easy to read, vaction type book, this is it.

I found myself at Juneberry Lake. I found myself so connected to the MFC. I found one of my new favorites for the summer.

Lucky Break is a charming, heartwarming story about second chances and unexpted paths that lead us to where we belong. After being dumped by her fiance, Eliza takes a big, out of the box for her leap from the big city to a small lake town in Minnesota. What starts as a desperate escape from her life, turns out to be a journey of self-discovery and healing.

This book balances friendship, love interest, and a touch of cozy mystery. I would not say that this is a romance book, but the love interest builds naturally and beliveably. What truly makes this books shine, is the locals that open their hearts to embrace this newcomer. The sweet frienships that are formed throughout the story are what made me give this book 4 stars.

A wonderful read!
This novel drew me in from the very first page and kept me hooked until the end. The characters were vibrant and relatable, the writing was engaging, and the story had just the right balance of heart and humor. Highly recommend!
Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

I struggled a bit to connect with this story but may need to return to it another time! Thank you NetGalley for the advanced reader copy.

well-written book that i felt would be a fun cozy romance and that had some surprisingly pretty good mystery chunks. 4 stars. tysm for the arc.

This sweet romance was also a super fun one! I related so much to Eliza, and I adored her. Juneberry Lake sounds sooo dreamy. And Joel!!!! Sigh. I also thought that the mystery aspects were so much fun. I live a little side plot in my romances. Very well done!

Cute, but a little underwhelming. You'd think with everything going on (fresh new start, cozy small town life, mysterious neighbors, and handsome and interesting man), it would have held my interest a little more. But maybe there was just too much going on, and the story was spread too thin without enough meat to any part of it.

Recommended for women who are looking for a quick, light read.

So this book started out strong and then got to predictable for me ! The writing was great the story was meh !thank you net galley for allowing me to read this

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Lucky Break by Jaclyn Westlake

If you like found family, cute dogs, a little mystery, and small towns, do I have the book for you! Last year I read Dear Dotty, and found it to be a very endearing book, and I was mad I had put it off. When I received an ARC for this one, I vowed to read it before the day it came out because I wanted to let the people know about it.

There are so many things about this book that I love. I love the concept of going to a small town and becoming part of the groups. Befriending neighbors. Finding your people! There are so many great neighbors and representation. The romance is just enough. It’s there, but it isn’t the entire story.

There is infertility in this book and unlike some romance authors who I will not name, Jaclyn writes a book that makes it okay to not have a child. Not everyone’s HEA involves magically getting pregnant. Honestly, if you think that’s a spoiler, I’m not sorry. I think it’s important to point that out because again, some authors put a lot of effort into writing infertility issues only to have it resolved in the epilogue.

And I cannot emphasize enough there is a three legged dog named Potato. There’s other dogs too because one of the neighbors rescues dogs.

This book is expected to release July 15th and I’m going to remind you about it because I bet a lot of you would love it too. It’s like a hug.

Thank you NetGalley and Avon for the ARC!

Lucky Break was a confusing read for me I took a very long time to get immersed into the characters and world that Jaclyn Westlake created. There was a bustle of city life in the beginning and suddenly slowed down once our character makes the sudden move to Minnesota. It meanders way too long and while it aims to be charming, I'm sorry to share it's extremely boring and fails to capture a reader's attention. I had to DNF this book and I really tried my best to hold on.

There was an attempt at a mystery but I just really didn't care for it. While it could've been a stronger plot devise it hampered the pace of the overall book. It felt unnecessary and I'm not entirely sure what the author wanted to accomplish by including it and I didn't feel invested enough to continue reading. Overall, Lucky Break isn't memorable (I really couldn't even bring myself to remember the title while I was discussing it with a friend) and just a really plain book. I guess give this book a read if you're hanging out by a lake this summer.

Thank you Avon Books for the ARC.

Eliza is so relatable! I too love having a plan and imagining milestones. I also like to do drastic things when said plans and milestones don’t happen. What a fun journey of an unexpected plan! It shows you that life can look different than expected but somehow that’s how it’s meant to be! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC.

2.5 ⭐️

I enjoyed the small town lake setting and journey of self-discovery for Eliza, our FMC. I felt the plot here had a lot of potential and did shine through at certain points in the book, however it did fall flat for me. I didn’t buy into the romance in this book because it almost became a sub plot. Joel and Eliza had some cute coffee meets and conversations but it didn’t feel like more to me. I also wanted a bit more from the mystery to keep me engaged. I almost think this book should have focused on romance or mystery- it became too much. However, this was a quick and light read that may be very enjoyable for others! It just wasn’t the best book for me.

Wrapped up,with a giant red bow is the best summer suspenseful cozy action
you will read this year. It starts out with a lot going on, and each chapter is a
step towards some amazing, frightening, exciting circumstances. There may’
be other novels with a small similarity, but nothing with straight up excitement
in each chapter. You will NOT miss a page because you won’t want to miss a
harrowing event or that kiss, or critical plot lines that are just so well crafted.
This is THE 2025 Summer Suspense and Lovers Event~ a not to be missed
series in a single book!
My thanks to Avon Publishing via. NetGalley for the download copy
of this book for review purposes.

I thought this book was an okay read, but it didn’t quite meet my expectations. I felt like the premise was promising—the idea of Eliza reinventing her life in a picturesque small town after her engagement fell apart seemed like it could be full of romance and intrigue. I admired Eliza’s bravery in making such a big change and buying a house sight unseen, but the story itself didn’t captivate me as much as I had hoped. I felt like the romance between Eliza and Joel didn’t have the depth or spark I was looking for. While I enjoyed their moments in the coffee shop and appreciated Joel’s role in the story, I found myself wishing there was more chemistry and emotional connection between them. I was hoping for a romance that would sweep me off my feet, but it felt underwhelming. I felt the mystery surrounding the Midwestern neighbors and their secret could have been explored in a more compelling way. I wanted more suspense or twists to keep me engaged, but the reveal didn’t have the impact I was expecting. I found parts of the story to be slow, and I struggled to stay invested in Eliza’s journey.

Overall, I thought the book had potential but didn’t deliver on the elements that would have made it more exciting. I felt like it lacked the romantic and mysterious flair I was hoping for, and it ended up feeling a bit dull. It was fine for a light read, but it didn’t leave a lasting impression.