Customer Reviews

Getting Lucky

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is fascinating. In it, someone wore a "floor length sheer duster" over her "dressy palazzo pants". There was some bedazzling too I think. The heroine's nemesis had a gold fingernail and the hero had black wranglers he wore with a big belt buckle and western style tuxedo jacket (who knew such a thing existed?). Reading this book was like watching a car accident, I wanted to look away, but I just couldn't. There were identical twin cowboys, identical cousins, infertility, infidelity, Iraq war veterans, a wildfire, a cattle auction, the richest man in Wyoming, and a meth lab -- all in the same book. Seriously, I was put off by how confrontational the heroine is throughout the book and how frequently she curses, uses "ain't" as a word, and threatens to beat women up. It made me wince that she was a kindergarten teacher with such a potty mouth. That being said, I still read all 400+ pages. So, it is intriguing in a car accident kind of way.

OK this is the kind of book that all other "Romance" novels are unfairly judged by. Half-naked good looking guy on the cover, lots of silly cliche ridden dialogue, sprinkled with every ridiculous "down-home" proverb you can imagine. With that said, if you have an ereader or book cover to hide this guilty pleasure it's really not too bad. There is a clever twist or two I didn't see coming, the sensuality is not too intense and the child characters have a precocious sweetness that is not too far off from a couple of cute kindergarten kids. I can't completely recommend as an auto-buy but I will keep an eye on this author in the future. Good for days when you just got back from the dentist...

Griffin Luckadeau is trying the best he can to raise his five year old daughter, Elizabeth "Lizzy". Though, it isn't easy as she has the Luckadeau blood running in her veins. As we all know Luckadeau's can be very stubborn with a capital `S".

Julie Donovan and her daughter, Annie has recently moved to the town of Saint Jo. Julie is the new school teacher. Julie is looking to make a fresh start for her and Annie. Julie may need to re-think her location, when tall, dark and handsome Griffin walks through her door. His daughter Lizzy is in her class.

From the first moment Griffin lays eyes on Julie, he is memorized by her beauty. The funny thing is that he doesn't have a thing for red heads but yet this is one red head that he wants to get to know better. Though, Griffin can't help but suspect that Julie has an ulterior motive for showing up in Saint Jo.

Getting Lucky is the last book in the Lucky trilogy. I am sorry to see this come to an end. I have enjoyed getting to know all of the Luckadeau men. They really know how to make a woman's heart race. Though, it was nice catching up with all of the Luckadeau's. They all made appearances in this book. Julie and Griffin were both so stubborn and won't admit their feelings for the longest time that it made you want to give them both a swift kick in the behind. I have to admit that Lizzy, Annie and Chuck stole the show for me. They were so cute with the comments they made. I wanted to give them all a big hug. Carolyn Brown has done a great job with these books. I can't wait to read her next novel, I Love This Bar. Another book that also features ...a cowboy! Yee Haw.

As I kept reading this story, I was constantly reminded of a made-for-cable-tv romance movie with a cast of C-list actors. The premise of two look-alike girls and their parents' animosity turned friendship turned love is cute, vaguely like "The Parent Trap." But I found myself constantly frustrated with the writing (many unnecessary and long-winded descriptions), the horrible dialogue (when town elders and little kids cuss, you **know** it's bad), over-the-top characters, and the practically non-existant editing (there was one line in particular toward the end where Griffin was referred to as "Julie's daddy"... yuck! Completely the wrong relative!!!). It's unfortunate, but I actually had to force myself to finish the book, and that was with quite a bit of page skimming. There are a few sweet, heart warming scenes, and the ending is certainly nice enough. But, if you're the type of reader who needs great writing to fully enjoy a story, be warned - you won't find it in this puff piece.

Julie Donovan wants a change. After years of not being able to get pregnant and an unhappy marriage, Julie settles for divorce. In a night of a drunken haze, she has a one night stand. A week later, her husband begs to be taken back and Julie agrees. Nine months later, Annie Donavan is born. One look at Annie, with a silver streak through her hair, and Julie's husband is out of her life for good. That streak is passed down from the father, and Julie's husband has no such streak.

With everyone assuming adultery, and gossip on high alert, Julie leaves town with her five year old to start over. She moves to the very small town, and on her first day of teaching Kindergarten, her life takes another tumble straight to the gossip column. Lizzy Luckadeau also has a silver streak in her hair, in fact she could be Annie's twin. Julie takes one look at Griffin, Lizzy's dad, and knows he is they guy she had a one night stand with. When she confronts Griffin, he has absolutely no idea what she is talking about. Griffin assumes Julie is in town to lay claim to his property and immediately goes on the defensive. Julie knows they drank too much that night, but how could he not remember her? Griffin comes to learn Julie has a lot of spunk for the new girl in town and takes on the Luckadeau family head on. Despite Julie's insistence on starting a new life, this sexy cowboy keeps drawing her back.

Getting Lucky is quite a different romance book that when I normally read. It is the first book I have read by Carolyn Brown and she has a very unique voice - the southern, Texas vibe really comes through. It is honestly not really my type of romance book, but that doesn't mean it is written poorly. I just didn't connect with the type of humor and the characters that well.

I found Julie to be a little bit conflicting- when you are reading her internal monologue she comes across as someone who is pensive and quiet and just wants to keep to herself with her daughter and not intrude on anyone's life. Yet, when she talks, you don't want to mess with this woman. She is very outspoken and does not take crap from anyone. It is almost like two different characters at some points. I am not sure if I truly bought into the more sassy Julie, although her confrontations with the others in the Luckadeau clan were amusing.

Griffin is a sexy, bull riding, ranch owning cowboy. The kind of guy that is sweaty and dirty all day (and looks good in all that dirt) and then cleans up real nice after his shower at night. He is a single father raising a daughter and that starts an immediate connection to Julie, something they both have in common. Griffin doesn't know what to do with this new girl in town and his tension and sexual frustration comes off really well.

There are many family members that make appearances in this book and Annie and Lizzy take center stage quite often. I sometimes wish we got more of just Griffin and Julie. The romance scenes are more sweet than steamy. Griffin can ride a bull so well, I would have liked to see those skills used elsewhere, if you know what I am saying.

Overall, Getting Lucky is a cute story, but I don't think I will be jumping to try the previous ones in this series.

Like the Silver Springs shopper, I wondered at all the coincidences and happenings in this book. But what really caught my attention was that everyone -- and I mean everyone -- had gotten drunk and done the nasty, and then ended up pregnant! Whoa! Is this book intent on opening a dialogue about the unintended consequences of drinking and hooking up for the night, or is it lauding the drink-'til-you're-drunk-and-hook-up as the best way to meet a guy/get pregnant? Confusing...and the heroine is a bit too arrogant and prickly. Why is it that she ends up with the handsome younger guy again?

If you want a fun story with a Texas flair, then you have to read Getting Lucky. You won't want to miss these human and loveable characters. I laughed so hard that I cried. This series is a must if you like funny and witty.

I think the Silver Springs Reader says it all. What a great review!

I never liked the heroine. She had a foul mouth, seemed eager to fight others, had bad grammar and just seemed tacky. It was hard to believe she was a kindergarten teacher. And those girls were five and had horrible grammar that went uncorrected. I found it hard to believe that the hero fell in love with her. For some reason I did finish the book.

I am never ready for the story to end !
This one's a real winner. Carolyn gets more
creative with each book.

Getting Lucky has it all. Along with the
red hot love story is a beautiful family story,
a blended family story.
For awhile I thought I'd lost my mind until I
realized I hadn't been alone when two times
while reading this story, the tears welled up
and my heart broke.

As in all of Carolyn's books there is lots of
humor. Getting Lucky has all of that and much
more. I've given it four stars instead of five
only because I don't care for quite so much detail
of sex or unnecessary profanity. The imagination
in this regard is a bit better to me simply because
I want to share these stories with everyone of all
ages. However, the story is heartwarming and
the style is fun. You won't get bored reading.
I can't wait until I can get the next one!

This was my favorite of the three "Luckadeau" books. The characters of Annie and Lizzy who bond over having the same hair without a second consideration of how they got the rare streak in their hair is a very accurate description of how children think. The love story that blooms (slowly) between Annie's mom and Lizzy's dad is very unique. Unlike some of the reviews I read, this story was NOT like a car accident...sure, it takes a while to get to the end, but it's a great western romance. Be sure to read the first two books before you get to this one so that who will understand the personalities of the supporting family characters.