Customer Reviews

The Night She Got Lucky

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I have been an avid reader of Susan Donovan's for some time and was sad to see that others were giving this book low reviews. I think she took this book in the direction it needed, giving each character more depth and a subplot that would carry the story to the end. It was a sexy read that made the story worth a contemporary romance title and had the same edge as the first book in the trilogy. While the villain aspect of this story was not as integral to the male leads character development as the first book, it did help to carry the story along. I enjoyed the fact that her female lead was dealing with self esteem and relationship issues that most average women face which gave it a "real" feel that some people may not have appreciated. Lucky could have been a little more developed as well as his evolution to being with Ginger, but that did not take away from my enjoyment of the book.

With Contemporary Romance falling to the side of Paranormals and Historicals, I think it is important to take notice of an amazing contemporary author who has always been able to deliver for me a story that will capture my heart and make me miss the characters once I book the book down. She also can write romance without it being too contrived and sexy at the same time, a talent not all authors share. Personally I recommend reading this book and keeping an open mind.

This is the last book by Donovan that I will even attempt to read. Once one of my favorite authors she has fallen so low that this series, especially this second book in the series, is stinking up my bookshelves.

The characters are ridiculous. The slight paranormal aspect is worthless. Even the dogs don't get enough page-time to have made this worth the money I spent on this drivel. Any woman that has to go unconscious to have a sexual interlude is no "heroine". She, while in that dream-like state, uses the phrase "This [name used for a feline] belongs to you Lucio." and, of course, Lucio is right there to take ownership. Theoretically, she didn't realize he was there until, er, "after." Yeah. Right. The next day, she reprimands her teenage son for using the word "suck." How bi-polar can she get? There is the requisite totally immature and evil "ex". There are the hordes of women in Lucio's background. Same-old, same-old.

By the time they start actually trying to deal with their respective issues, I just didn't even care anymore. I don't care about the remaining women in the dog-walking group either. That really shows how awful I think this series is. I can usually force myself to read almost anything that has dogs as important characters.

Not this time. This series is mangy.

Journalist Ginger has just found out that her newspaper has folded. While at a wedding reception, she meets sexy Spanish photojournalist Lucky Montevez who is stuck in northern California while awaiting a decision on his future as a nature photographer. To pay the bills, he decides to become a pet photographer and looks up Ginger, never anticipating that the two might hit it off, but the sparks soon fly and she wonders if she is built for a fling while he wonders if happily ever after is in his immediate future.

I never thought I would hear myself say this about a book by Susan Donovan, but it was just alright - had it been my first by her, I doubt I would seek her out in the future. It takes place immeidately following the more entertaining "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" which starts the ball rolling on the gang of gals who choose their pooches over a mate (but one by one get paired off). Usually her plots are crisp and engaging and seem as if she wrote them effortlessly, the protagonists are two people you really want to get to know, and the romance is really spicy. This one was kind of lukewarm, I really did not care much about either of them (though I now know how to say the F word in Spanish - and they say you don't learn anything from fiction....), the plot pretty average, and pretty much no suspense as to who was behind Lucky's misfortune. I am hoping that this one was just a fluke, because rarely does she disappoint.

I love Susan Donovan but this book was seriously lacking in many ways. I felt Lucky came off a bit smarmy. The scene on the lounge chair in the garden was totally unbelievable. There is no way that anybody wouldnt know that what was happening was real and not a dream. I finished reading this book only because I paid 7.99 for it and felt like I had to.

I like Susan Donovan. I've read all her books. I was not impressed with this one. Lucky just wasn't working for me. I felt he was cliched. Ginger didn't ring true to me either. And while I'm pretty liberal minded, I had a problem with Ms Donovan referring to "woman land" as the P word. Ginger used it, Lucky used it (no pun intended) and it completely turned me off both characters. The story was also predictable. So what did I like? Well, I like the scenes with the ex-husband but only because he always got what he deserved. I found it hard to believe 2 teenaged boys took so readily to a man romancing their mother so soon after meeting him also.

After discovering Donovan through her wonderful book He Loves Lucy and Knock Me Off My Feet, I was excited to find an author that delivered funny, romantic stories. Ain't Too Proud to Beg was a so-so read, but I had high hopes for The Night She Got Lucky.

Ginger Garrison attends her friend Josie's wedding (Ain't to Proud to Beg) and instantly feels an attraction to Lucio "Lucky" Montevez, a famous and acclaimed wildlife photographer who's career has been sabotaged by someone. Ginger is 40 with twin boys and an ex-husband who's constant belittling has given her body complex issues. She is friends with Josie, Bea, and Roxanne and all the single women are in a man hating mode. Lucky with a sabotaged career on his hands isn't looking for anything remotely considered a relationship.

Ginger and Lucky never quite hit it off with me. Both seemed somewhat immature and idiotic throughout the book. Neither character seemed to grow and develop until the very end of the story. I felt the author portrayed Ginger's sons with more sensitivity than she did Ginger and Lucky. The fifteen year old boys seemed more real than the two main characters. They also matured and grew with the story while Ginger seemed stuck in a "do I need botox and a facelift" mode throughout and Lucky seemed incredibly stupid in terms of the mystery. He agrees to pay back something like $60,000 that his employer feels he stole via false expense account submissions. His lawyer must have been incredibly stupid to allow him to do so. His signature is forged and he doesn't go to the police, doesn't do anything except proclaim he will find out who did this.

There were some funny scenes in the book, but over all the two cardboard lead characters did not make for an enjoyable read. I'm not giving up on Donovan and will most likely read Roxanne's story Not That Kind of Girl (November 2010 publication date) as the excerpt made her story seem more interesting than Josie and Ginger's books. But that said, I hope she returns to the humor, the realness and the interesting characters that made He Loves Lucy and Take a Chance on Me such great reads.

Since Susan Donovan's book TAKE A CHANCE ON ME is one of my all-time favorite books, it didn't occur to me to read the reviews of THE NIGHT SHE GOT LUCKY before I bought it. I wish I had. This book has no real plot. 85% of it is about two people thinking about having sex, talking about having sex, and having sex. If this had been the first Susan Donovan book I'd read, it would have been the last one, too. I could barely finish reading it, and I'll be careful before laying out the bucks to buy another one of Donovan's books.

This story continues from where Ain't To Proud To Beg left off so read that book first. The Night She Got Lucky is about Ginger who is friends with Josie from the other book. In this story Ginger is a forty year woman who loses her job, got divorced, has two teenage sons, and thinks she's going through menopause. She meets Lucio and everything in her life changes. Typical to Donovan's writing this story has funny and sappy dialogue, predictable ending, and a feel good effect. I liked Ginger, but she was a little boring at times. Lucio was likeable despite how much sappy stuff he said. Josh and Jason were great characters.

Although it wasn't my favorite book by her, it's still a good quick read. I wasn't excited with all the fist pumping in the air the women did or all the cheezy things said, but it was still an okay story. Her next book out, Not That Kind of Girl follows the story of Roxie who is best friend with Josie so despite being able to probably predict the story line, I'll be planning to read it and find out what's happening in their lives.

Susan Donovan writes a delightfully funny and sexy story in The Night She Got Lucky.

Ginger Garrison world seems to be falling apart. Her job at the newspaper maybe be ending, her ex husband is acting about the same age as her sixteen year old twin boys. She is convinced her best years are behind her. Ginger feels love has passed her by. But her chance meeting with photographer Lucio "Lucky" Montevez has her thinking a change is in the air.

Lucky Montevez is stuck in the USA until his reputation and career can be saved. As a favor to a friend he agrees to photograph his wedding. He is captivated there by one of the bridesmaids. Her love for her family and friends touches a place in Lucky that he didn't think existed.

Ginger and Lucky start a sensual relationship that is deeper then either of them have experienced. But Lucky's past comes back to haunt him and puts their new found love on shaky ground. Will they be able to overcome this setback?

The Night She Got Lucky is sensational. Its a wonderful novel about second chances and being willing to put yourself out there for love. The book is full of humor and deep feelings of love and friendship. This book is a gem, I enjoyed getting to know these two delightful characters. I am eager to get my hands on the next book in this series.

Divorced, single mother Ginger Garrison feels as her life is over. Her husband is gone, her kids are almost grown, and she's just got laid off from her job. When she meets Lucky, the photographer at her friend's wedding, the sparks fly, but the last thing she needs in her life is another man who she cannot trust.

Lucky is not feeling so Lucky anymore. A world renowned photographer, his career is destroyed when photographs he'd taken were stolen and given to the Chinese government and someone skimmed funds from his company account. Now he's sleeping on his friend's couch and trying to clear his name. In the meantime, he decides to get into pet photography to raise money to pay back his company. His first client is Ginger, a woman who makes him suddenly rethink the benefits of home and settling down with one woman as he suddenly realizes that he doesn't have to travel the world to find happiness.

The only previous novel that I've read by this author is the predecessor in this series, Ain't Too Proud To Beg, which I really enjoyed. I hear that others have problems with some of her newer releases, but since I'm a recent reader, I am not familiar with her previous work and have enjoyed each book of hers that I've read so far, including THE NIGHT SHE GOT LUCKY. I need to preface this review to say that I am not a dog person and dogs play an important part in this series. The dogs are a reflection of the heroine's personalities and where they are at in their lives. It is a great testament to the author's writing skills that I could sit and read these stories. The dogs add to the story but don't take away from the main focus of Grace and Lucky's developing relationship.

Grace is the type of woman almost anyone can identify with, or at least woman of a certain age or life experience could. She's recently divorced to a man who knows how to push all her buttons in the wrong way. She's at an age where she's wondering if life has passed her by and she's the single parent to two sons. When Lucky crashes into her life, he transforms it. Lucky the photographer is so different from anything that she's ever known. For the first time in her life, she has a man who is making her feel important, putting her needs before hers. It's a heady and scary thing as all her barriers she built up around herself are stripped away. It's heady because no one has ever made her feel like this before. It's scary because she's realizing that everything she had before this was a lie, so she has to redefine her entire belief system.

THE NIGHT SHE GOT LUCKY is an amazing transformation story. I can't say enough good things about it. The chemistry between Grace and Lucky were off the charts. The conflict in their relationship was believable based upon the growth they both needed as characters. And I totally bought into Grace and Lucky's happily ever after. The only thing that I didn't get in this series was the matchmaker lady. I totally don't get her purpose and the slightly magical quality about her that doesn't fit into the overall feel of the series. However, since it is such a minor thing I was able to ignore it and really enjoy THE NIGHT SHE GOT LUCKY.

Review courtesy of CK2S Kwips and Kritques