I quick read when our FMC moves to a small Midwestern town. And while this one is marketed as Romance, I would say romance lite, more women’s fiction. While there is a romance aspect and sub plot it is more finding herself and place. All and all great summer read.

Lucky Break takes place in a situation during which the main character struggles in her person life, and decides to make a big change by moving to a different part of the country. Did she make the right decision? Life is so different here. Thank you to Netgalley for this free ebook in exchange for an honest review.

This was a well written book about self discovery in a world of dangers and changes. I honestly went in anticipating this to be a romance, so I was slightly disappointed that it wasn’t just romance lol. Eliza is a very interesting but likable character. I wish her relationship with Hannah was talked about more, at least outside of her head. I loved her neighbors, except for <spolier> the cheating plot between two of them <spoiler>. That addition was really complicated, but I do think it was handled in a very human manner. Jaclyn covers infertility in a very respectful way and it felt very real and researched. I really do love Eliza and Potato, and I think that the epilogue was the sweetest thing. I absolutely recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon, and Harper Voyager for the digital ARC! All opinions are my own.

Thanks to Netgalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for giving me an ARC of this book (ebook version).

Small town, cozy cabin by a lake, quirky and wholly individual side characters, representation of all kinds of people (and animals), found family, a thoroughly lovable MC in Eliza, a budding romance, etc, etc. I loved this book!

“𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙖 𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖 𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙮. 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙣’𝙩 𝙖𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙡 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙘𝙞𝙧𝙘𝙪𝙢𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙨, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙡 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝. 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚.”

𝗣𝘂𝗯 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗲: 7/15/25

𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆:Type A meticulous planner Eliza is reeling from her broken engagement. With no place to move to after her ex fiance sublets their lease, Eliza comes across an advertisement looking for people to relocate to a small lakeside town across the country in Minnesota. She feels she has nothing to loose with the generous relocation stipend and an affordable home that just came available. With a curmudgeon next door, neighbors with secrets, and a strange man lurking around, could she find her place in this town?

𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀:
🚤 Small town
🌲 Lake setting
🚤 Found family
🌲 Cozy romance/mystery
🚤 Self discovery
🌲 Dogs 🐕

𝗠𝘆 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀: Cover, stunning. Synopsis, exciting. I enjoyed reading about Eliza’s journey in self discovery and letting the need for control go. This low stakes story involves a light romance and a mystery subplot (which I was not expecting, but enjoyed it). I did expect more romance as the major plot, instead it’s more about Eliza learning who she is, making new friends, establishing new relationships, learning and growing from her past. The writing flows well and is easy to follow, I LOVE stories with dogs 🐶 and we get a whole slew of them in this one! The author incorporates disabilities (physical and psychological) beautifully as well as LGBQT characters. This is a great summer light read!

𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: 3.5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

TW: Infertility/IVF, alcoholism/recovery, infidelity

*Thank you @NetGalley and @AvonBooks for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

#LuckyBreak

Lucky Break was such a cute book. It’s a cozy mystery with a slow burn romance and the FMC finding herself. I just loved it. Definitely recommending this to my friends.

Lucky Break by Jaclyn Westlake is a lovely gem of a book.
Westlake delivers another charming story that blends humor and heart in all the best ways.
A phenomenal women’s fiction story that held me captive.
Jaclyn Westlake’s writing is warm and thoughtful, drawing you in and making you care about every twist and turn.
I adored it.

I think the biggest problem I had with this story is that it looks like a romance and is tagged as a romance, but overall the romance plays a very small part. It’s more of a subplot than the main plot, and it caught me off guard. The whole Erica thing still felt a little confusing, with the lottery and the being missing thing and the PI. There just seemed to be a lot going on.

I requested this ARC some time ago based on the cover and setting in a Midwestern lake town. It is so outside the norm of what I usually read, I a was truly surprised that I enjoyed it as much as I did. It was a nice change of pace to some of the heavier and darker books I gravitate toward.

With that being said, I think anyone who loves small town, friends to lovers romances full of cute banter and a diverse cast of characters you will love this one. The added bit of cozy mystery made it a little more exciting. Overall a really enjoyable lighthearted story full of characters you will adore.

After reading Dear Dotty by Jaclyn Westlake, I knew I HAD to read Lucky Break too - both proved to be FIVE STAR reads!

With Lucky Break, I absolutely flew through this delightful romcom! It was heartfelt, funny, and full of charm. Eliza’s story felt so real and relatable, and I loved watching her rebuild her life in the most unexpected way!

After her partner breaks up with her and asks her to move out, Eliza needs a serious change. She packs up her things and leaves San Francisco and her Italian family behind.

On a whim, she buys a rundown house in the tiny town of Juneberry Lake, Minnesota—without ever seeing it in person.

What was supposed to be a temporary escape slowly becomes something more, especially when she meets Joel, a quiet and kind man who challenges her in all the best ways.

As Eliza gets involved with the community and uncovers a few secrets about her new home, she starts to realize that maybe this fresh start isn’t just temporary.

Lucky Break is a heartwarming story about second chances, self-discovery, and finding love where you least expect it. This one released July 15th, 2025 so snag a copy for yourself ASAP!

Thank you NetGalley, Jaclyn Westlake, and Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC of this charming and inspiring read!

First book from this author, I enjoyed it a lot. Book packed with personality, has a lot of different things happening, but in a good "true to life" way. Full of fun interestering and sometimes mysterious characters. 5 🌟.


Thank you to NetGalley and the author and publisher for a copy of this ARC. All opinions are my own..

Book Review ✨

Lucky Break by Jaclyn Westlake

“An uplifting novel of self discovery, unexpected friendship, and hidden secrets in a charming midwestern lake town.”

Rating: 4⭐️
Genre: Women’s Fiction, Romance, Mystery
Yes, no, or maybe: yes 💕

Read if you like:
-Finding yourself after a break up
-Small towns
-Friends to lovers
-Low stakes mystery
-Secretive neighbors

If you want a cozy summer read, THIS ONE IS FOR YOU! Women’s fiction with a side of mystery and romance, what more could you ask for??? Needless to say I really enjoyed this book. It was like a warm hug!

Our FMC, Eliza, moves to a small town after breaking up with her fiancé where she meets neighbors hiding secrets and a kind fellow transfer who might be exactly who she needs. This is a LOW stakes mystery and a sweet side romance in this journey of self discovery!

I enjoyed all the characters and their individual stories. My favorite character might be Potato (the adorable rescue dog with 3 legs). The picturesque lake town was the perfect setting and the ending gave me all the feels.

Pick this book up, take it to the beach, and enjoy!!

3.5 ⭐️ Thank you for the ARC. The cover and title are what initially drew me into the book. This book did not hit the spot for me… I wish the romance had been more front and center in the story, but instead it was more of after thought IMO. Overall it was a decent book.

3⭐️

This had a cute premise but I honestly felt bored and disinterested in the characters for the majority of the book. It felt like the first 60% was just describing the town and the characters with very little plot. The “mystery” of her new neighborhood was so built up throughout the book and the actual reveal felt like a let down. It wasn’t bad but I also didn’t feel anything drawing me in to pick it up. If not for the looming deadline of release day I don’t know that I would have finished it.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I love a good straight fiction book, honestly this one was probably one of the best books i've read this year. With a little bit of mystery, a little bit of love, some loss and a whole lots of friendship, this book really captures what living in a small midwestern town feels like. You get with the program or stay an outsider. I really enjoyed this book, it was laid back and I didn't feel forced to fall in love with characters, it naturally eases you into the story.

I gave this one 4.5/5 stars and I can't wait to read other books by Jaclyn Westlake.

This book was such a lovely, cozy story of a woman re-inventing herself after a broken engagement.

When Eliza's fiance breaks things off and kicks her out of their San Francisco apartment, she decides to move to Juneberry Lake Minnesota. As a type A person who has had her entire life planned out for years, this is a huge departure. As she integrates herself with her new neighbors and town, she slowly begins to heal and figure out what she really wants her life to be. And it doesn't hurt that she's spending time with the handsome Joel Jawowksi, as the two of them work together to solve the mystery of what happened to the previous owner of Eliza's house.

I would describe this book as contemporary women's fiction with both a romance and mystery sub-plot. It started a little slow for me, but picked up as it went along. It never seemed overly dramatic, despite the secrets that came to light throughout the story. I enjoyed both Eliza and Joel's characters and felt like their slow burn romance was very sweet. I definitely guessed a few of the twists, but others took me by surprise. The lake setting was perfect and I adored the small town vibes. It was nice to read a book that held my attention but that I didn't feel the need to read as fast as possible to see what happens.

If you're looking for a sweet, cozy book with emotional depth and character growth, I highly recommend this one!

*Warning that there is an infertility storyline that caught me off guard and might be triggering for some people.

This was my first book by Jaclyn Westlake but I'll definitely be checking out her first one! Thank you so much to Avon for sending me a finished copy to read and review.

This was heavier than I expected! I really liked it, but I wasn't prepared for the heavier themes and topics brought up.

This book surprised me in the best possible way!

I was expecting a cozy small town romance, and it absolutely was, but it was also just as much mystery which was so much fun to try and uncover.

I fell in love with the community of Juneberry Lake and especially the neighbors on Loon Ln. Each of these side characters had unique personalities and roles to play in this mystery. I loved their weekend bbq and book clubs, but also that they all had their own secrets they were not willing to give up to a newcomer easily.

It was cute and fun and intriguing!

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Harper for providing me with a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

After a sudden breakup, Eliza makes her job remote and buys a house in a small Midwestern town, hoping for a fresh start. She struggles to settle in—until she meets Joel, another newcomer, at the local coffee shop. The two form a quiet friendship and team up to solve the mystery of the previous homeowner who seems to have up and moved overnight.

As Eliza adjusts to her new life, she begins to confront old wounds and reflect on her past in a new light. This is a heartfelt, character-driven story with cozy vibes, a touch of mystery, and a hopeful look at starting over.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon And Harper Voyager for this free advanced copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily

I don’t know why But I’ve been working so many Midwest focused romance books lately. They’re always on some beautiful lake and so polite to each other and it’s giving me the urge to go visit Midwest! Lucky break was a very delightful romance with some deeper seated issues. I took it to the beach other day and devoured it. I would definitely add this to my beach recommendations list.