Customer Reviews

Lucky Girl

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Lucky Girl by Cate Lord was delightful treat. The story was light, funny and sweet, with a little bit of heat mixed in. It asks the question, "Do you believe in Fate?"

The two main characters, Nick and Jess, have a chance meeting two years ago while she was in London for her favorite Grandfathers funeral. While attending her cousins wedding two years later, the two are thrown together again, and we follow them on a rollercoaster ride of a time. What will happen between these two, and could it have been fate that had them meet again? You will just have to pick up a copy and check it out!

The beginning was a little slow to pick up and sometimes it got to be overly descriptive, but for a fun, lighthearted romance with some comedy thrown in, I say it was a great read!

I really enjoyed Lucky Girl as pure entertainment. Jess's exploits from leaving Orlando to returning were highly entertaining and the true essence of classic chicklit to me. There is humor, self-depreciation, girlfriends, makeovers, great clothes and shoes, friendly pets, good men, bad men, bad women and so much more. While some plot lines were a little glossed over for me, overall the main plot lines were covered well and the characters rang true. I loved Jess and her stay true to your girl friend cousins. I also like Nick who showed himself to be a very good man.

Lucky Girl as I said pretty much has it all. There are explanations into previous exploits in characters lives to make it obvious why they have acted that way in the past. There is Jess on vacation who is sure she is going to act different to attract a man and get over her engagement gone bad and her self-esteem that is in the toilet. And who better to do that with than hot, sexy spy guy, Nick? Reading Lucky Girl, I want a Nick of my own. He sounds amazing and so sweet to. I really liked him as he and Jess begin to fall for each other, he's so sweet. Of course some of what happens is predictable, but the end is great so that is all that matters, and that part wasn't predictable.

My only qualm was a couple of the story lines became glossed over through the book. I'm guessing the author ran out of space and eventually they were really backseat to the main story so I understand. The main story was resolved and I was happy, though I did still wanted to know a few other things, but truly that was my only gripe with the book. Otherwise I found the book to be a great read. It read quickly, kept me entertained. It was sweet, romantic and was just one of those great books that takes you away for the day and romances you and reminds you there are great men out there (and for me reminds me I have one of them). I loved Jess and Nick's story and look forward to more of Ms. Lord's writing. There was a definite fun voice to this story and hopefully we'll get to see maybe one or two of the cousins in their own story in the future.

Jessica Devlin takes a well earned two week vacation from her position as Beauty Editor of an Orlando based beauty and fashion magazine. She hasn't had the best time of it lately. Stan, her cheating obnoxious fiancé broke off their engagement, wounding her deeply at the time of their rift. In the aftermath of the breakup Jessica has gained a few pounds which adds insult to her injured confidence and self esteem. Despite her troubles Jessica remains upbeat and I have to say, hilariously funny.

Lucky Girl is narrated in the first person from Jessica's POV. What I found extremely clever about the storyline is that Jessica uses Chicky Dee, a character from a (fictitious) old British cartoon called The Adventures of Plucky Penguin as her inspiration to cope with her little foibles.

"I swiveled my chair to face my computer. I really should try to add a few more sentences to this article, which seemed to be taking forever. But as I stared at my monitor, waiting for inspiration to return, my gaze slid to the figurine beside my pen holder--an adorable, three-inch-high penguin dressed in a white shirt and tuxedo with tails, holding a bouquet of red roses. Plucky Penguin. A clever spy, and the main character of the old British TV cartoon, The Adventures of Plucky Penguin. Twenty- three episodes had aired before the show was canceled.

Smiling, I picked him up and ran my finger over the cool porcelain. Not a single chip--and I intended to keep him that way. How I loved this figurine and the others carefully wrapped and stowed in a box under my bed. Among them was Plucky Penguin's sidekick, Chicky Dee, a perky female spy penguin with coiffed blonde hair.

Plucky Penguin might have flirted with every bird in sight, but Chicky Dee was the only one he loved. Mistress of ingenuity, she'd wiggled her way out of every nerve-racking situation using her nifty spy-girl gadgets, red-lipped smile, and sharp-as-a-broken-fingernail wits--and saved Plucky Penguin's feather-covered ass more than once.

Lucky Girl © Cate Lord"

Chicky Dee is Jessica's subconscious ever present cheerleader, who she calls upon for inspiration and guidance when things get rough. Jessica does tend to be a little neurotic obsessing and stressing about the `what ifs' on a regular basis, of course her worries never materialize. That being said, her neurotic tendencies do not hold her back from having a good time and upon arriving in Britain Jessica is welcomed by an interesting assortment of family after packing herself into an unbecoming bridesmaid dress. She is a member of her cousin Tilly's wedding party.

It so happens, one Nick Mindinello, who Jessica met years earlier under rather embarrassing circumstances is an usher. Nick is a real head turner, handsome, well educated and polite, a man with whom every female in the vicinity would like to spend time. Jessica refers to Nick as "Sex God. Playboy. Heartbreaker." an assessment that is an assumption on her part. While she considers him a player and certainly not the settling down with one lady kind of guy she isn't opposed to enjoying a fling with said heartbreaker while on holiday. Jessica is determined to throw caution to the wind, morph into her Chicky Dee persona and have a great time. Thing is, Nick proves to be an extremely kind and decent human being, not the shallow playboy she thought him to be. He is the sort of man a woman could fall truly, madly, deeply for. In addition, Jessica learns she and Nick have far more in common than she ever dreamed.

Lucky Girl is set in the small town of Hertfordshire, England and I thought Ms. Lord, did an excellent job of emulating British colloquialisms and lifestyles. Secondary characters of note are Jessica's sweet cousins Charlotte and Anna with whom she bonds for some hilarious girl time. Jessica is a connoisseur of makeup and style, and she is very considerate, sharing her time and expertise with her cousins. She helps Charlotte in particular to entice the object of her desire. ;)

Then there is Casanova the cat, a spoiled feline whose special care Jessica is responsible for as part of her lodging arrangements. Nick demonstrates his true nature in a number of acts of kindness toward Jessica, one in particular involves Casanova. He gradually breaks down her defenses. Conflict certainly arises given these lovers live an ocean apart but an impulsive action on Jessica's part also causes problems between them. Once she returns to America, Jessica believes she will never see Nick again. As it turns out, when all seems quite bleak for a variety of reasons, Jessica discovers she is a very Lucky Girl.

I found Lucky Girl to be an extremely enjoyable feel good contemporary romance that provided numerous laugh out loud moments. In addition, I really liked Jessica's quirky voice and the way she dealt with her various troubles. As for Nick? An awesome Plucky Penguin who is perfect for Chicky Dee.

If you enjoy a fast paced comedic romance that has a Bridget Jones feel, you may like to give Lucky Girl a try.

I'll start by a confession. I knew I wanted to read Lucky Girl long before I knew anything about the story or read the blurb. All it took was one glance at the cute and beautiful cover and I was a goner. But I believe you can understand me, just look at it, doesn't it make you want to read it? *sighs*

So now that I've gotten this off my chest let me tell you about the story.

Based on the cover and premise I was expecting a cute, quirky and funny romantic chick lit and I was not disappointed. Lucky Girl is a light, fluffy, wedding cakes and rose petals and lots of bubbly kind of story, one that will make you chuckle and cringe a lot while rooting all along for Jess our curvy and quirky heroine.

I enjoyed Cate Lord's easy storytelling and how the story pulled me in. I loved Jess' tongue-in-cheek self-deprecating and quirky humour and Nick is a dreamy hero: tall, dark, handsome, mysterious and speaking with a British accent, what more could a girl want?

As said in Jess' own words:

"Nick seems like a decent guy," I said. "Intelligent. Sexy as sin. I'd bet most of the women in this room would toss their panties to have a chance in his bed."

One of my favourite unique quirkiness of this novel were the "talking names". Jess works as a beauty editor at an American magazine and she tends to give make up shade fantasy names to people (Dominique was only referred to as Sex Crazed all through the novel), which was very entertaining and gave a unique spot of colour to the story.

The story is told through Jess' narrative and due to this the reader can really identify with her and see her side of the story but unfortunately miss out on what happens outside of Jess' POV, namely what is going on with Nick. He kept himself away and he remained a mystery until almost the last minute. Sure we got to see some glimpses which showed what a warm-hearted and kind man he was, but I would have loved to read what went on inside his head and the development of his feelings for Jess.

I enjoyed all the spyreferences and winks, my favourite small detail was how Jess and Nick kept messaging each other through secret spy coded notes, it was so cute!

As a woman I know that we are all critical and have plenty of insecurities when it comes to our bodies, but Jess' constant agonizing over her weight/belly/curves got on my nerves after some time. Especially that whenever she looked or referred to her body it was always to say something negative and demoralizing. The self-hatred she had against her body was painful to read, so hurtful to her self-perception and lack of confidence.

It seemed to me that Jess lived in a wordl of her own with constantly imagining her favourite TV show the Plucky Penguin characters and what they would do in such events, which sure made the story entertaining, but I felt it was too much from a nearly 30 year old adult.

At the end I was very glad that Cate Lord didn't make the heroine abandon everything and move continents, but felt disappointed that the HEA had to happen with an obligatory marriage proposal after only three weeks! Wouldn't a simple "Move in with me please?" be just as romantic and touching?

Verdict: You'll laugh, you'll sigh and you'll bite your nails cringing for Jess our Bridget Jones-y heroine while reading about her adventures in green and posh England. If you want a light and fluffy but chuckle out loud quirky romance you'll have a great time reading Lucky Girl.

Plot: 7/10

Characters: 8/10

Writing: 9/10

Ending: 7/10

Cover: 10/10 - love it!

I give Lucky Girl 3.5 stars!

Jessica Devlin is devastated when her fiancée calls off the engagement. Well, after she finds him in bed with another woman. To mend her broken heart, she whisks away from her hometown of Orlando to England, where she is the maid of honor at her cousin's wedding. Jessica also needs a much needed break from working non-stop at O Tart magazine, where she works as a beauty editor but is trying to move up on the totem pole. A two week vacation to a foreign land sounds like just what she needs for her broken heart and over worked mind.

But once she lands in England and meets up with the family, she runs into the dashing Nick Mondinello. Jessica has a past with Nick from the last time she visited England, and finds the attraction to him is still there. But Nick happens to be a playboy extraordinaire, and also seems to be taken. Can Jessica get over her crush on him? And will two weeks away from her job crush her dreams of a promotion? Or can Jessica finally be considered one of the lucky ones?

While I did enjoy reading Lucky Girl by Cate Lord, there were a few aspects of the book that I didn't love. First, it seemed that Jessica needed a man in her life. There really wasn't much other plot than her trying to figure out how to go about catching Nick. That was unsettling to me. A second would be that halfway through the book, readers (and Jessica) are still to believe that he has a girlfriend. So why Jessica acts like Nick already belongs to her and makes him feel terrible for dancing with said girlfriend was pretty baffling. I actually started to dislike Jessica during this time, because she was acting like she didn't care Nick was with another woman- she was going to get him. As I continued reading, I was eventually able to warm up to Jessica and her complicated crush on Nick, and the rest of the book turned out to be quite enjoyable. It was fun to read about a beauty editor and the assignments and articles that Jessica has for her position at O Tart magazine. Overall, I would recommend this book, but be warned that the first half might be hard to get through.

I enjoyed the romantic comedy of Lucky Girl by Cate Lord.

Jess is a writer of a beauty magazine in Florida, she is 29 and single. Her fiance 4 months ago broke up with her after he cheated on her. She is going to a cousin's wedding in England to be a maid of honor. Jess is determened to have a great time with her cousins.

At the wedding Nick is one of the bridegrooms and in the past at Jess's Grandfather funeral afterwards she was drunk and upset she was throwing up into a plant he saw and comforted her.

Jess is embrassed but flirts with him at the reception even though he is with someone else. Nick flirts back and almost Kissed her did get shaving cream on her. Her other cousins Charlotte & Anna have a good time at the wedding. All three are single.

Jess keeps running into Nick on her vacation and gets into embrassing situations with him or caught by him. Like jess and her cousins start playing with makeup and they go wild in ways you dont put make up on each other when a knock at the door is Nick and they don't want to answer but he doesn't give up.

Or talking about him and he walks up and hears what she is saying. Or breaks his toilet seat after thinking she caught him and girl friend making out in his room at a party.

It was a good book to relax and enjoy the romance of them falling in love. Also good to see cousins having great time together.

I was given this ebook in exchange of honest review.

Jessica Devlin doesn't really feel like a lucky girl. Four months ago, she came home late one night to find her fiance banging one of the receptionists from his office. His nasty comment that she couldn't blame him since she wasn't home and that she was lousy in bed led not just to the direct demise of their engagement but also to the continuing death spiral of Jess' ego. Unfortunately, she's spent the past four months drowning her sorrows in Ben & Jerry's.

Her cousin is getting married in England, and Jess is the maid of honor. Her final dress fitting doesn't go well. Four months repeated applications of Mr. Ben and Mr. Jerry haunt the fitting room. But she is still going on her first vacation in two years, her first trip back to England since the death of her beloved grandfather.

It's clear that Jess has some unfinished business in England with a handsome stranger she met, a man she fantasizes about as "Spy Man". Nick Mondinello looks rather like a younger version of Pierce Brosnan, the actor who played James Bond a couple of times. Jess assumes that any man that gorgeous won't want anything to do with her slightly overweight and rather out-of-shape self. Especially since when they met two years ago, she threw up in a planter and then sobbed on his shoulder.

But Nick turns out to be the best man at her cousin's wedding. And he is very interested in Jess.

Jess thinks this is all too good to be true, that it can't possibly last, and that Nick can't possibly want her. But Jess has also made a pact with herself to grab a whole new life while she's on vacation, to finally be the heroine of her own story. And she's only going to be in England for two weeks. If "Spy Guy" wants to have a two-week fling, who is she to turn him down?

Lucky Girl, by Cate Lord is a light, fun read. One of the elements I loved was Jess' near-obsession with the "Plucky Penguin" collectibles, and that Nick collected them too. The concept of the TV show about the spy penguin and his girlfriend was cute and funny, but also a part of the story.

I didn't get some of the parts about Jess' job at the magazine. Jess worked in Orlando, and it was a beauty magazine, so the name of the magazine was O Tart? O please! And then there was that secondary story about Jess' work being sabotaged that was just not fully resolved. Who did it? We never know for sure, and neither does Jess. That still bothers me. There's an assumption, but it's not a complete answer. Jess' angst over the missing stories, and needing to write substitute stories, and getting her cousins and Nick involved with the creation of those stories was a fairly major plot point. Not finding the villain for certain, even if Jess couldn't prove it, made it feel like the story was a tiny bit unfinished.

Escape Rating C: Worth finishing the story, but I wanted all the ends wrapped up.

Most of this book was amazing and I loved a lot of Jess's internal dialogue. Her attitude and spunk were irresistible and Nick was a sexy and yet tender counterpart to her awkwardness. The tenderness between these two characters was obvious, while the sexual tension was so palpable I felt I could reach out a hand and stroke it. For me, Jess sometimes went into a somewhat whining internal dialoguing that had me rolling my eyes, but other readers might not notice it since she was such a fun character altogether.

Read the full review here:

[...]

Virginia

Reviewer for Coffee Time Romance and More

Jess isn't expecting to meet the man who would forever block her nightmare of an ex-fiance out of her mind forever on her trip to England, but she does. Nick, known as the playboy, is something who Jess would have never imagined being involved with, but only days after her cousins marriage she is. Could he possibly leave behind his days hopping from one bed to the next for Jess? Only time and a lot of luck will tell.

Cate Lord's novel Lucky Girl is her first foray into the world of Chick Lit. Having previously written more romance focused novels you can see their influence in her writing with Lucky Girl. There was certainly the fun and flighty aspect seen in most Chick Lit novels, but there was also quite a bit more "romance" than I'm used to seeing. That being said, Lucky Girl was absolutely a fun and quick read perfect for an afternoon getaway.

Jess' character started out as the typical heart broken around thirty working girl seen in many Chick Lit novels. I loved that to escape from the normality of her life she left to a wedding in England for a couple of weeks. It was very reminiscent of Four Weddings and a Funeral in many ways, the family & friends and the parties; quite a bit of fun. What was hard to wrap my head around was Jess' near-constant use of slang, nicknames and her obsession with sex. There were times I felt as if I might throw the book if there was one more mention of the word "snog". Don't get me wrong, I am a huge fan of books that embody different cultures and accents, but this all seemed a bit overdone. Still, the story between Jess and Nick (minus the slang) was enjoyable and I was incredibly happy with the ending.

Overall, Lucky Girl was an enjoyable afternoon read. For readers who are looking for a quick getaway in a novel filled with characters that have you thinking of some of your favorite Chick Lit movies, this may be just the one. A budding romance, a European location and the possibility of a happily ever after make Jess' story one that many readers will enjoy getting lost in.

Originally reviewed and copyrighted at my site, Chick Lit Reviews.

My Review:

This was a fun and entertaining afternoon read. I enjoyed getting to know Jess and the very-sexy Nick. I loved Jess and her attitude. She is getting her first vacation after 2 years and has just broken off her engagement 4 months ago after finding her fiance cheating on her. This vacation leads her to England where the majority of her family is located to attend a wedding. Her goal is to be single, engaging, and to have a fabulous time on her vacation. So she adopts a Goddess attitude and ropes her two cousins, Elizabeth and Anna, into her Goddess plan and they all three set out to have a fabulous two weeks.

At the wedding, she quickly runs into Nick, a gorgeous man that she remembers from her Grandfather's funeral 2 years ago. He was the one who gave her a shoulder to cry on and helped her through her mourning at that awful time. He is a gorgeous, hunky guy and reminds her of Pierce Brosnan as 007 so she calls him Spy Guy. Every girl can see that Nick is a catch so Jess has issues maintaining her Goddess facade in the face of such incredible competition. It's fun and quirky and provided more than a few embarrassing moments which were enough that I would have to put the book down in mortification every once in a while. LOL! It's very Bridget Jones-esque.

The things I loved:

*English setting--love the ambiance that England provides, esp the Pubs

*The Goddess moments-- I loved how Jess would prop herself with her Goddess attitude!

*Elizabeth & Anna-- such fabulous partners-in-crime for Jess. These are the kinds of gal-pals that we all wish that we had

*O Tart magazine-- I loved Anna's job. so fun!

*Spy Guy/Girl secret notes-- just too sweet

*Nick (sigh)

The things I didn't love:

*Chicky Dee & Plucky Penguin-- while I loved the spy guy/spy girl moments, I thought this little addition took the cuteness factor too far over the top.

*the binge drinking that seemed to happen every single night...just too much.

*Nick & Jess hook-up took too long esp. in a 2 week vacation.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It was quirky. It was fun. It made me homesick for England (I was lucky enough to live there for 2 years.) Just a really entertaining read!