When I found out that Jenn Bennett was publishing another YA contemporary, I genuinely could not contain my excitement. ✨ Her stories are always incredibly thought-provoking yet filled with sweet romances that I can’t help but become invested in.
Starring a classic friends-to-enemies-to-lovers romance, Chasing Lucky explores the dysfunctional relationships between perfectly imperfect characters. 💛 From family members to ex-friends, this is a book about new beginnings and second chances.
CHASING LUCKY by Jenn Bennett
PUBLISHED BY Simon Pulse (Simon & Schuster) on November 10th 2020
GENRES: Contemporary
PAGES: 416
ADD TO GOODREADS // BOOK DEPOSITORY
Thank you to the publisher & NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book. This did not, in any way, influenced my thoughts and rating.
Budding photographer Josie Saint-Martin has spent half her life with her single mother, moving from city to city. When they return to her historical New England hometown years later to run the family bookstore, Josie knows it’s not forever. Her dreams are on the opposite coast, and she has a plan to get there.
What she doesn’t plan for is a run-in with the town bad boy, Lucky Karras. Outsider, rebel…and her former childhood best friend. Lucky makes it clear he wants nothing to do with the newly returned Josie. But everything changes after a disastrous pool party, and a poorly executed act of revenge lands Josie in some big-time trouble—with Lucky unexpectedly taking the blame.
Determined to understand why Lucky was so quick to cover for her, Josie discovers that both of them have changed, and that the good boy she once knew now has a dark sense of humor and a smile that makes her heart race. And maybe, just maybe, he’s not quite the brooding bad boy everyone thinks he is…
Content/Trigger Warnings: burns, death of a family member (off-page), near-death incident, leaked nudes, hospitalization, sexual harassment, car accident, abortion, teen pregnancy, absentee parent, depression, grief
Chasing Lucky follows the perspective of Josie Saint-Martin, an aspiring photographer who has spent the majority of her life following her single mother as they move from city to city. 📸 When they finally return to their New England hometown years later, it was never meant to be permanent, and Josie would have never expected to run into her former childhood best friend, Lucky Karras.
“Because I saw you, and it just felt like everything that had gone wrong in my life just magically healed, like I’d been walking around all broken, and al my broken pieces suddenly reconnected.”
Lucky has all the characteristics of a swoon-worthy YA love interest. He’s a bad boy with a heart of gold, and despite his tough exterior, he’s always had a soft spot for his former best friend. 💛 I love how patient and caring he was for Josie, and he continuously encouraged and challenged her to be more open-minded and vulnerable.
Another main focus of the story is Josie’s relationship with her family. Josie was the child of a teenage pregnancy which has resulted in an absent father and a flight-risk mother. As she develops as a character and becomes more sure of herself, she also learns to establish a better relationship with her mother.
“The thing about being this close to someone is that when you hurt them, you hurt yourself.”
Throughout the story, Jenn Bennett also subtly discusses the privileges of the wealthy and power dynamics between those who have money and those who don’t. 💵 In the New England small town, the rich flaunt their wealth and wield it as a tool to remain in power, and the book doesn’t hold back in describing how it affects both children and adults.
Would I say this is my favorite Jenn Bennett book? Nah, that special award is still reserved for Starry Eyes, but this one is probably tied as my second favorite with Alex, Approximately! I had so much fun getting absorbed into her writing, and I can’t wait to read what she writes next. 💞
“But it’s okay. We can break the curse ourselves. No magic spell needed. No special charm. All we have to is decide that we’re ready to small down a few invisible walls.”
Have you read Chasing Lucky?
What were your thoughts?
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Read By Tiffany 
Great review! It sounds interesting with amazing characters.
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Thank you!! I would definitely recommend picking it up 🥰
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Yay, wonderful review!
Totally agree with you on everything – Jenn Bennett’s contemporary books are all sorts of wholesomeness while exploring intricate relationship dynamics. Unfortunately, this book was one of the weaker ones for me 😥 I don’t know why, but something about it didn’t have the magic that her other books did while I was reading them. Maybe that will change upon the extended publishing date?
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Ahh thank you, Aila!!
Ooo I can understand what you mean because that’s how I felt about Serious Moonlight. 👀 I hope that we enjoy more of her future books!!
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Okay can I just say that it’s been a long time since I’ve been on your blog and it’s BEAUTIFUL?!?!? I mean it’s you so I’m not surprised but oh my gosh, this post is formatted so pretty! I’m in love 😀 I recently wanted to start adding quotes in the middle of my reviews but wasn’t sure if it would be weird, so I’m really happy to see that you do it too! We can be quote buddies 🙂 Your review makes me want to read the book!
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AHH YOU’RE SO FREAKING SWEET!! I’m so glad that you love my aesthetic and formatting!! Sometimes, I worry that my book reviews are too chunky with too much text 🙈 I hope you read this book!
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This looks really cute! I’m a sucker for a bad boy w a heart of gold 😍 can’t wait to read this one when it comes out! Great review!
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Thank you, Jamie!! I really hope you enjoy it when you give it a read 🥰
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I’m so glad you enjoyed this! I’ve heard such great things about this author and her books, and I want to give them a try this summer😍
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Yes!! You definitely should pick up her books because I love them so much! I recommend starting with Starry Eyes because it’s my most favorite 💞
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Loved reading your thoughts – this book sounds really good! I’ve been thinking about reading a Jenn Bennett contemporary for a while now so will have to give this one a go when it’s released!
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Thanks, Emme!! I’m glad that you liked my review. I love Jenn Bennett books so I hope you read one soon 🥰
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Ah I’m so glad you enjoyed this one! I agree that it’s not my favorite of Jenn Bennett’s books, but her writing sucks me in every time! I can’t help but love all of the characters she writes !!
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I feel the same way!! She’s definitely one of my favorite contemporary authors, but Starry Eyes is still my favorite 🙈
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I love Jenn Bennett’s books, so I was so disappointed when the release date was pushed back! I was really looking forward to reading it! I love the fact that this one features a book store!
And I have to agree with you! Starry Eyes is my favorite Jenn Bennett book. I believe my next favorite is The Anatomical Shape of a Heart, but it’s honestly been so long that I need to reread that book to confirm my love for it!
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Oooo I actually haven’t read The Anatomical Shape of a Heart so I’ll definitely check that one out! It really sucks that the date got pushed back, but I’m really excited for you to read it ❤️
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Aww this sounds so sweet – Jenn Bennett’s books are always the perfect read for warm smiles and happy feelings! I love a good enemies-to-lovers romance so I’ll definitely have to check this out when it releases! 🙂
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Aww thank you, Riv!! I love her books so so much, and I’m so excited for you to read it 😍
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I’m so, so happy you loved this one ❤ I really had a great time with it as well, even if I think my favorite might be just like yours, Starry Eyes ❤ I just really liked the relationship in this one, former childhood best friends to a little bit enemies to lovers, it's just such a great trope!! ❤
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Jenn Bennett does SUCH a great job of writing the friends to enemies to lovers trope 😭❤️ I’m so glad that we had similar thoughts!!
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My oh my, I just got goosebumps reading this review!!! I can’t wait to get my grubby little bookworm hands on it! 😍
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Ahh I’m so excited for you to read it!! 💖
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Amazing review~! This sounds so good. I’ve been meaning to read one of her books for so long, so I might have to make this one of the first I try!
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Thank you, Destiny!! I love Jenn Bennett books a ton. I highly recommend Starry Eyes too 😍
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ah this book sounds excellent from your review!! (also hi, i’m new here!!) i’ve been meaning to read some of her books for a while, and this review may have convinced me to pick it up sooner than i planned!! lovely blog xx rhi
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hi!! welcome rhi 🥰 her books are so great, and i think she’s a wonderful contemporary writer!!
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childhood friends to lovers is one of my favorite tropes, and jenn bennett absolutely killed it in starry eyes, so i’m looking forward to seeing how it’s done in chasing lucky! i’m so glad you liked this book, tiffany, and your review is making me look forward to november so i can get my hands on a copy asap 😀
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asdfghjkl ok i think starry eyes is still better than chasing lucky but this was better than serious moonlight!! i can’t wait for you to read it 😍
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