Thank you to NetGalley for providing the ARC of the audiobook version! I really loved Camp Damascus so I knew I would vibe with this. I did have to rewind a few times because I got a little lost with the pacing. Other than that though I liked the main character and her growth as the story went on. Very unique premise!

ok, this is my first Chuck Tingle book and it was a trip! A low probability event happened and killed millions of people. Fish fell from the sky, airplanes plummeted, and people died in all sorts of unlucky and improbable ways. Vera survived after watching her mother die right in front of her and then she basically gave up on life. Once a statistics master she now lives for nothing. She has no contact with friends, lies on her floor staring at the ceiling to pass the time, and doesn't see the purpose in life.

When agent Layne knocks on her door asking for her help she doesn't know why she says yes, but she does. She has always thought the evil empire casino is behind all of this but has never been able to prove it. Layne thinks that with both of them working together, they have a chance.

I listened to this on audio and the first 30 minutes were beyond wacky, I was like, wait what is happening?! After that things start to pan out but it just gets wilder from there. If you enjoy a good off the wall read, go for it!

I enjoyed the narrator and found the pacing to be good for a variety of speeds which I appreciated.

Thank you to netgalley for an ALC to enjoy.

Seemed like it was taking forever to get to the point, could not hold my attention. And perhaps Tingle's writing style just doesn't slick with me.

What an interesting book! This is firmly in the horror genre-but make it colorful and gruesome.

We are following Vera who is celebrating her new book with her fiancé Annie and friends. She has decided to is finally going to tell her mom that she is with a woman, knowing her mom won’t be supportive, but still hopeful. Whenever that implodes in her face and she is running after her mom… well fish start falling from the sky and things get bloody.

I liked this book, but didn’t love it. The conversations around grief and existential crisis were interesting and I could definitely relate. I wish we could have sat more with Vera in her grief, but that took a quick turn when Layne was introduced.

Overall, this was okay!

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan audio for the ALC!

[2.5 stars rounded down]

Lucky Day is an absurd comedy-horror novel following a young statistics and probability professor as the worst thing that can happen in her field happens: luck is proven to be real. One spring day, nearly 8 million people are killed in a horrible string of very-unlikely-but-technically-still-possible events. Is it possible for fish to be swept up from the Great Lakes in a storm and dropped onto downtown Chicago? Yes, but would that ever happen, probably not (but, it’s not impossible!). A (nearly) impossible string of these events occur that day, causing a domino effect of destruction worldwide. That’s the spring day that Vera finds herself experiencing, the “Low Probability Event” (LPE).

This is the first of any Chuck Tingle novels I have read. To me, he is still the funny-titles-Photoshop-covers-parody-gay-erotica-guy who got screenshotted on Tumblr so often, so it’s time to look into his newer stuff. This was a very weird book to write a review for because I loved and truly adored the story and message, but hated every character. The writing was genuinely poignant and really struck me so many times throughout, but the main character’s narration grated on me like no novel has in a long time.

I do not like the main character, Vera. Though the idea of her is so interesting, a statistician whose life’s work has been proven to not matter at all and falls into a depression as a result, it was just her personality that was grating to read. She is a nihilistic character to a comical extent. Like: (paraphrased because I listened to the audiobook, sorry) ”We are all just electrified bags of meat, waiting to die.” or *characters are at a bar* “What do you want [to drink]?” “to escape the endless torture of this mortal coil.” are two examples that I had to pause the audiobook and just take a break. Maybe you like characters and narration/dialogue like this. If so, you would love this book! For me, I have just spent too long online in the last decade and too much time around annoyingly self-depreciating, nihilistic people that it’s gotten so tiring for me to listen to this. I need to emphasize how prevalent this is in nearly every conversation she has with the secondary main character, Agent Layne, and much of her internal narration. It is not a few one off lines, but her entire way of speaking. It really is a shame too because I like so much of her character besides this. Though Vera takes it to an extreme, I relate to how she shut down and ran away after things got bad. Her revelations at the end are touching and actually poignant. It is just that she is so grating in nearly every scene. I really never felt like she was a woman in her thirties who managed to become a professor at the University of Chicago and instead kept forgetting that this was not a teenage protagonist.

Uh, Agent Layne works for what he is. I was in this weird balance of whether I was supposed to like or hate him for most of the novel and never really got a handle on it for the first two-thirds-ish. I enjoyed what he brought to the table as well as the glowing glimpses of why this, as the book describes him “himbo”, managed to become a high-up government agent. The more I think about him after finishing the novel the more I like how he was written and how he filled the role in the story. There are times that he really plays off Vera well, but most of those scenes are poisoned by my dislike of Vera’s character and her side of the conversations.

Denver is also there and decently fun. She’s hammed up a lot as the country girl turned CEO of a casino, but I was never bored. Maybe a bit too caricature-like at times, especially early on, but by the lead up to the climax she settled and became really interesting to me. I liked seeing the different faces of her and how she interacts with the main pair at different points depending on what suited her best. Though still obviously a corrupt CEO from the start, it was always fun to have her back on the page. It’s not often that these higher ups get to be actual characters as usually I see them refined to these far away positions unreachable by the little-guys main characters, if that makes sense. It was refreshing for her to be so present in the story and in direct interactions.

Moving back to what I really did enjoy with this novel, the story is good. It’s a play on The X-Files with the man and woman as the suspicious events government investigators. The writing was very tight and well thought out. Events that happened always came back satisfyingly and nothing felt like it fell to the wayside. Beyond that, the absurd, unlikely situations were funny (when they weren't horrifying. Or also when they were). It’s very Final Destination in how the dominoes from one horribly unlikely event lead to another. What I really enjoyed was the look backs at later points of “okay, that was insane, but what just happened” and the replaying of step-by-step events. I love when authors take the time to explore things like these and it really emphasizes the main idea of the worst luck ever happening all at once to everybody.

I like how he writes the accidents/injuries/deaths/gore. This is definitely not nearing an extreme horror novel and I never cringed too badly at it (a few scenes were definitely rough, though), but if you’re very squeamish then you won't have fun (you’ll learn in a very early chapter when event starts happening whether you’ll enjoy it or not). He writes the gore/injuries in a very concise way that I really applaud. He does mention blood (copious amounts at times) but he never gets overly into describing guts, etc. It’s a fine balance of morbid descriptions that kept me wanting to hear more and more about it, while still being aware of the horror.

It’s crazy how satisfying he made the plot. A lot of times, authors get stuck on an incredible idea, but pick one of a few stock endings to wrap it up. Tingle instead really takes his time to set up so much earlier on that it comes together so well. Plot, characters, suspicion, and all else that comes with it.

The ending and main messages of this book really hit home. It is hopeful, despite everything. How can we keep moving on when so many people died in a freak, unlikely event. Why do we always notice our bad luck streaks, but rarely ones of good luck. Yes, bad things can unfortunately come from good choices, but that doesn’t mean to not make good choices. Anyways, if you’re fine with the main character’s narration and worldview, this is an incredible book. For me, this was a pain to get through for a substantial portion of it. I dreaded clicking play while in the middle of a conversation. The climax and ending were well worth it, though, and I do ultimately recommend it despite my personal gripes.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

4.5 stars rounded up.

I didn't know what to expect going into this book and I absolutely loved it. Devoured it in one day, it was such a fun and weird mystery. I love a good supernatural mystery and this one was up there with the best I've read.

He was able to insert me directly into this world and get us going immediately. The characters were fun and unique, the main characters made me question myself multiple times.

The audiobook was especially good, Mara Wilson did a stellar job. I could listen to her talk for ages.

This is my first Chuck Tingle book but it absolutely will not be my last. This book was funny in a dry way and weird in a relatable way.

Thank you Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for this audiobook ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Well, this one starts off with a nice little Birthday gathering at a local cafe and then goes completely off the rails batshit crazy. And I mean that in a good way. Chuck thrives in this environment and has a unique and colorful way of painting out his brand of chaos. Lucky Day definitely provides the perfect canvas.

Thank you, NetGalley for the audiobook review copy. The honest review is all mine.

I didn’t read any reviews or synopsis for this one before requesting it - Chuck’s name and that kick ass cover was more than enough. Reliably weird and consistently demented, Tingle is really killing it lately. An easy 4+ Stars

my first chuck tingle book did not disappoint!!!

i’m a little lost for words, i didn’t know what to expect going into this and knowing what i know now, i don’t know that i could have ever been prepared. and i mean that in the most complimentary way. the writing is so addicting, and at no point did i want to set this book down. consider me a chuck tingle fan from this point forward.

the audio just added to the experience! mara wilson was the perfect fit for this book and i plan on looking into more of her work in the future.

This was a fun read and i liked it even if didn’t love it. The plot was unique and weird in the best way possible and the main characters were interesting to follow in their adventures. Some parts felt a bit slow but overall it was a quick and entertaining read.
The narrator did a great job and really suited the tone of the book.

Thank you, NetGalley and Macmillan Audio, for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

🎰 Lucky Day by Chuck Tingle
⭐️ 4.25 stars

Okay, so this book starts with eight million people dying in bizarre, low-probability ways — and I thought, “Oh cool, a little statistical thriller.” NOPE. What I got was chimps in suits committing chaos, suspicious casinos, Lucky Charms-esque cereal showers, and a very broken ex-statistics professor named Vera just trying to figure out why the world is glitching.

Lucky Day is one of the weirdest, most original books I’ve read — and somehow it works. Tingle delivers dystopian satire with a twist of neon absurdity, all while exploring big themes like fate, autonomy, and the terrifying illusion of control. One second I was cackling at the wild randomness of it all, the next I was hit with an existential truth bomb I wasn’t emotionally prepared for.

Vera’s journey — part investigation, part unraveling of reality — is the kind of ride where you’re gripping the book like, “What’s happening now?” but also nodding like, “Wait… that’s actually kind of deep.” It’s smart under the surface, even when it’s serving total chaos on top.

If you’re into dystopian stories with dark humor, high strangeness, and a surprising amount of heart, this one’s for you. It’s not just a book — it’s an experience.

📌 Final thoughts:
✔ Weird in the best way
✔ Unapologetically original
✔ I will never look at Lucky Charms the same

Thank you Macmillan Audio and Tor Nightfire for my free ARC of Lucky Day by Chuck Tingle — available Aug 12!

» READ IF YOU «
💚 have read and enjoyed Chuck’s other books
🌀 struggle with a bit of a doom spiral lately
🃏 find odds and probabilities fascinating

» SYNOPSIS «
Insanely unlikely catastrophes are occurring across the globe and being dubbed “Low Probability Events.” When FMC Vera barely survives one, she has a rough time reconnecting with her sense of purpose. But a secret agent with a sweet tooth coerces her into investigating a suspiciously lucky casino, and Vera might actually be on the hook to save the world?

» REVIEW «
Buckle up, buckaroos. This one starts off with a bang and just keeps on truckin’. It’s my favorite Chuck novel so far, and the messaging in this one really resonated with me. I think the timely timing is, maybe, lucky? But hey, let’s not get carried away into any plot holes, I don’t think it’s THAT kind of suspiciously lucky.

Anyway, if you’re going “wtf is she talking about” then you should read this book. Vera’s journey alone is worth your time, much less the rest of the wild and engaging plot. A lovely, violent little romp through Vegas is just what the doctor ordered.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

A type A statistics analyst loses everything in a highly unlikely scenario. Now she must go against all odds to save the world.

Audiobook Stats:
⏰: 8 hours 24 minutes
🎤: Mara Wilson
Publisher: MacMillan Audio
Format: Singular POV
I found the narrator to be clear and concise in her narration. I never had to adjust my speed and was able to listen within my typical range.

Themes:
🎲: Grief
🎲: Finding purpose after disaster
🎲: Challenging homophobia
🎲: Questioning our existence

Representation:
🃏: Logical type A female lead
🃏: Queer characters

Tropes:
💗: Alien invasion
💗: Vegas Setting

🥵: Spice: 🚫
Potential Triggers: domestic violence **check authors page/socials for full list.

Short Synopsis:
When Vera, a former statistics and probability professor, lives through a disaster that kills 8 million people in the most bizarre and improbable ways, she descends into grief and depression. Four years later special agent Layne knocks on her door and asks her to join him in trying to disprove a casino that is "Lucky" to an impossible degree statistically. in fact, he believes the casino is responsible for the death of the millions.

General Thoughts:
Type A peeps unite, this is one for you! Vera is logical and reasonable to a fault. I, being somebody who also likes to hear statistics on certain aspects of things, really found her to be endearing and comical. But in that droll very dry way that academics who are exceedingly smart, usually are. Think Sheldon!

This book is fast paced and kicks off immediately. The portion of the book where Vera lives her pre-disaster life does not last very long at all. This created a very empty feeling for me surrounding her previous life as well as her relationship with people. I feel like this made the portion of the book where Vera grieves for everything she's lost feel a little flat for me.

I do enjoy the character growth that Vera goes through during the duration of the novel. I do feel like she does a lot of self reflection and I liked the discussions surrounding grief. The existential conversations about whether or not we really exist and if anything we do has actual purpose felt so relatable. Are you reading my journal Chuck Tingle??

I was not a fan of Layne as a character in general. He felt like a mish-mash of tropes that just didn't work overly well up against Vera. An interaction between Layne and Vera surrounding biphobia felt was very unresolved. Also, it didn't really match up to how Vera dealt with biphobia earlier in the book. I really would've liked a few more discussions between Layne and Vera surrounding what it means to be dismissed as a bisexual and the inherent biphobia that runs rampant throughout LGBTQIA community.

There were parts that were really well written that mostly revolved around the violence and gore aspect in the novel. They came across as super comical and very fun, and I wish that the Vegas aspect had played more into that type of feel. I never really felt like this was a "Vegas" setting, larger than life/glitz and glam. I really wish it would've leaned more into that.

Overall, I would say this book hits the middle of the road for me, leaning more towards not one of my faves. While it had some great aspects, and I really enjoyed our main characters type A personality as well as the premise surrounding statistics and probability, there was a lot of things that didn't work for me within the setting and the overall plot line.

Disclaimer: I read this audiobook via free ALC through NetGalley and Macmillan Audio. All opinions are my own. This is my honest and voluntary review.

This was delightfully wicked! Chuck Tingle delivers a totally original, chaotic premise that somehow balances absurdity, horror, and razor sharp commentary. I was completely hooked.

What really made this story stand out was the protagonist. A brilliant statistician constantly calculating the odds of the increasingly bizarre and terrifying events happening around her. It’s such a clever angle, and it added both humor and tension in all the right places.

Just when I thought the book had hit its peak weirdness, it pushed even further, and I was buckled in for every wild, unsettling moment. And I have to give extra bonus points for Mara Wilson’s narration, which was pitch perfect and added a whole other layer of charm and creepiness to the experience.

Strange, smart, and surprisingly sharp, Lucky Day was an unforgettable ride.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Chuck Tingle, and Macmillan Audio for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

I’m not entirely sure how to rate this book. It was a very grand and weird idea but I think I enjoyed it? Did I understand it all? Not at all. It’s a creative take on the horror genre and I definitely vibed with it as it reminded me of some of my favorite movies and shows: Final Destination, Fringe, and The X-Files. Also, it was just the weird mishmash that I enjoyed.

I like what the author tried to tell (metaphorically) about living and appreciating the small joys of life. It’s not all rainbows and sunshine.

Narration by Mara Wilson was great, I think she embodied Vera’s statistical nature, which elevated the story!

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the early audiobook copy.

In typical Tingle fashion, Lucky Day is full of intensity, creative horror, blood, queer love, and a story about stepping in to your true self. While, unfortunately, this story did not hit home for me, I know that many others will love it. The pacing felt off and I couldn't ever fully vibe with our main character or get in to the sci-fi elements. I do fear it's a me problem and not an author problem so I would still recommend this book. If you have a chance to listen to the audiobook, I would also recommend for the wonderful narration by Mara Wilson.

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the early copies in exchange for an honest review. Available Aug 12 2025

This was my first Chuck Tingle book, but it won't be my last. I wasn’t honestly sure what to expect, as all I know of the author is that he typically wears a pink sack over his head and has exciting book titles/covers 😂 Luckily, I can now add that I know he writes excellent books to that list of randomness. Lucky Day has a lot of my favorite elements. It has low-probability events, fish that inadvertently murder people, and excellent character progression. This should honestly be enough to make you preorder/buy this book immediately. It also encourages folks to wear seatbelts, which is also a plus.

I was able to listen to the audiobook (which is fabulously narrated by Mara Wilson), and I recommend picking it up if you’re able. Huge thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this advance audiobook copy of Lucky Day!

As someone who unironically uses the phrase "statistically significant" in her day job several times a week, I was drawn to Lucky Day's concept, and, in true Chuck Tingle style, it delivered.
In Lucky Day, we are told the story from the point of view of statistics professor Vera as she witnesses part of what becomes known as the Low-Probability Event in which 8 million Americans were killed in a single day of freak accidents, which brought to my mind some of the bizarre deaths from films like the Final Destination series. 
The next 4 years sees Vera in a depression, but this is where Tingle's writing talent shines. Through Vera, he never uses any version of the word depressed or sad or mourning. Instead, Vera tells us what she does each day, and we are left to identify through her actions - and through her reveal of how much time has passed - what her mental state is.
In "Much Ado about Nothing", Leonato tells Dogberry, the malapropisms-spewing watchmen, that he is "too cunning to be understood," and sometimes I feel that way with Chuck Tingle's novels. There are times that he's halfway through a sentence, and it feels like, as the Doctor says, "it got away with [him]." That's not a criticism, by the way, because the language is beautiful and lyrical, and fortunately, Tingle doesn't indulge too much before winding his way back.
Thanks to a government agent, Layne, Vera is pulled from her depression as he needs her help investigating an improbably lucky casino, and she is drawn into a mystery of Eldritch proportions and finds that she may have to save the world from another potential LPE.
 I came primarily for the horror, and I got horror. Layers of it, like an onion. Besides the in-your-face descriptions of body horror and violent events, there is the horror that comes from his perfectly skewered satirical view on American society, from how we react in national disasters to how we hold (or fail to hold) those in power accountable for their actions. 
The audiobook was excellently narrated by Mara Wilson.
Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Simply absurd. Simple Chuck Tingle.
I didn’t know what I was getting into with this story but wow. The existential pain, the grief contrasted by the will to keep going and persevere. The idea that chaos is winning and all you can do is continue to exist.

This was funny at times, terrifying at others full of cosmic dread.

I really liked Vera as a character and her progression of coming to terms with what life is now.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Mara Wilson and it was fantastic. Her tone and pacing was good, and the emotions were conveyed well.

Looking forward to my next Chuck Tingle read!

This was such a fun and totally absurd horror read! It was a mixture of grief horror, final destination, and FBI investigation that came together to make a really unique plot. I thought this one had a really good lesson behind all of the bizarre events, which I really loved too, with focusing on the butterfly effect and how it doesn’t matter if you make the right or wrong decision, things can still be put into motion (positively or negatively) regardless.

Vera experiences a completely traumatic Low Probability Event that sends her into a hole, living as kind of a hermit. One moment, she is celebrating being named as Chicago’s youngest Professor and the publishing of her book about a very shady casino, and then next, it is raining fish. When Special Agent Layne from the Low Probability Event Commission comes busting through her door taking her on as a ‘consultant’ to investigate said casino, Vera’s life takes a turn she never expected. Clearly, her Low Probability event was not isolated, and Vera & Agent Layne are going to get to the bottom of it.

The audiobook was great! Narrated by Mara Wilson who did an amazing job. Thank you NetGalley, Chuck Tingle and Macmillan Audio for this ALC!

Let me just start by saying this book was phenomenal. I went in with pretty high hopes because I had previously read Bury Your Gays by the same author and enjoyed it a lot- and the premise of this book sounded bizarre and fascinating. And honestly it surpassed all my expectations. I find the butterfly effect and luck (good or bad) very interesting and honestly kinda terrifying; and this book delved into that a lot while mixing in elements of Horror, Speculative Fiction, and Sci-Fi.

Now this book is very zany and odd and reminds me a lot of two very specific TV show episodes- those being the Gwyneth Paltrow/Fortune cookie episode of Rick and Morty, and also the cursed rabbit foot episode of Supernatural. If you have seen and liked either of those, I'm begging you to pick this book up.

Tingles writing is the perfect amount of odd, gross and thought provoking for this story and I cannot recommend it enough.

My only issues with this book was I wish it was a bit longer- coming in at just 304 pages- while it told the whole story without feeling rushed, i think it could have benefited from about 75 more pages.