The Good Luck Charm by Helena Hunting
Genre: Adult Sports Romance, Contemporary
Page Length: 352
Publication Date: April 7th, 2018
Publisher: Piatkus
Rating 3 out of 5
Synopsis
Is it love, or is she just his good luck charm? Lilah isn't sure what hurt worse: the day Ethan left her to focus on his hockey career, or the day he came back eight years later. He might think they can pick up just where they left off, but she's no longer that same girl and never wants to be again. Ethan Kane wants his glory days back. And that includes having Lilah by his side. With her, he was magic. They were magic. All he has to do is make her see that. Just when Lilah might finally be ready to let him in, though, she finds out their reunion has nothing to do with her and everything to do with his game. But Ethan's already lost her once, and even if it costs him his career, he'll do anything to keep from losing her again.
I was originally really excited about reading this book as I’ve read quite a few of Hunting’s works before including, Pucked (which I adored and is one of my favourite sports romance) and Clipped Wings (sadly one that was a bit of a miss). But I love a good sports romance and I’ve haven’t read many romance stories with the trope of old lovers reuniting so I was excited to see how I found it. I ended up find this book middle of the barrel, it had some great parts and some meh parts.
Parts I adored:
✓ A female lead that had a career drive and had a life outside of the fancying the love interest
✓ Enjoyed the moments in the hospital with Lilah being a nurse (though tbh I at one stage just wanted more of her drama’s at the hospital)
✓ An emphasis of finding yourself and the importance of putting yourself and your own goals first and not becoming lost in a relationship
✓ Strong family relationship moments
And if you wanted more than that, Ethan was understandably swoon-worthy and there wee so many parts I found super hilarious. I also found save for a few bits of drama the story stayed pretty realistic and what I imagine would actually happen like in real life.
As this is my first dive into the second chance trope, I can’t say how well it compares to other stories out there but I would say it’s a solid read and would definitely recommend it to other people that like this trope.
Adding on from earlier, I really loved the emphasis on Lilah’s career and even though at parts I was like really girl? she got herself together and really sold the idea of not throwing away your career or dreams just because you’ve gone all heart eyes over a guy (even if it’s totally justified) . This book was definitely a chill, easy read. I read this on holiday by the pool and I can attest to that being the perfect place and time to read it. It felt like a comfort blanket, strong and reliable and you knew wasn’t going to leave you out in the cold or hurt at any point.
Even though there were parts of the book that were great, there were also parts of the book that I found were not so great. I found I didn’t really massively connect to either character nor did I feel a massive connection between the two love interests either. I love a strong angst, tension filled romance and I found this rather lacking (though I’m not too sure if that’s due to it being a second chance romance). I also found even though there was a massive emphasis on Lilah carrying out her degree and remaining in a career, nearly every chance she got she’d pass it off for doing something else and I find realistically it would not have happened to that extent (or maybe that’s just my Type A brain talking…) This was an extremely chill read but for me I will admit in itself it was partly forgettable due to this and the lack of drama and tension that happened.
Overall, I would say this was a solid read great for anybody that’s a fan of second chance romances or just wants a relaxing beach read.
“You can’t live in fear of what-ifs.”
“You’re in my soul, Lilah. That will never change.”
Amazon ~ The Book Depository ~ Wordery ~ Goodreads
Have you read any of Helena Hunting’s works? If not, is there any that do interest you?
If you’d like to see more of my reviews click here, and if you’d like to see my most recent review which was about the perfect story for lost boys and girls; ‘Children have always disappeared under the right conditions; slipping through the shadows under a bed or at the back of a wardrobe, tumbling down rabbit holes and into old wells, and emerging somewhere… else.’ – click here.
Disclaimer: Physical copy provided by the publisher for an honest review, all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own
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