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smateer73's review against another edition
4.0
This book was really good! It moves at a fast pace, the character and world development was excellent.
brookhorse's review against another edition
4.0
This was a tightly written and engaging novel tackling some difficult topics with finesse. I was wary going in, because books on prostitution walk a fine line between honest reality and glorifying in their characters' suffering. Davis did very well on that front, and I appreciated her handling of her characters' agency. While the shining star is Aster, she also did a fairly good job of developing the rest of the cast, though ironically I felt like Clem got the shortest stick--I really would have liked to explore more of her experience, and how she had been affected. I guess I expected I would get that through conversations between her and Aster, and there was a little, but not as much as I hoped. But I did love Aster's story and perspective, and how she grew as a character.
I also really enjoyed the world, and felt like it made sense and formed a coherent setting. I think my main complaint is that even though she has such an interesting world, Davis's writing isn't particularly vibrant. It's by no means dull, and at no point did I find myself bored or think the writing flat, but I realized afterwards that I hadn't really felt the world as much as I have in other books. Given how rich the world seemed to be, I wish the writing had really let that shine. I noticed the same thing for some of the dialogue--there was nothing particularly wrong with it, but it didn't feel especially dynamic or memorable. Like I said, it didn't really detract from the story, but I wasn't wowed as much as I'd hoped to be by her excellent world and cast of characters. Definitely worth reading, but not quite a favorite.
I also really enjoyed the world, and felt like it made sense and formed a coherent setting. I think my main complaint is that even though she has such an interesting world, Davis's writing isn't particularly vibrant. It's by no means dull, and at no point did I find myself bored or think the writing flat, but I realized afterwards that I hadn't really felt the world as much as I have in other books. Given how rich the world seemed to be, I wish the writing had really let that shine. I noticed the same thing for some of the dialogue--there was nothing particularly wrong with it, but it didn't feel especially dynamic or memorable. Like I said, it didn't really detract from the story, but I wasn't wowed as much as I'd hoped to be by her excellent world and cast of characters. Definitely worth reading, but not quite a favorite.
callosaurus's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
gileslibrarian6's review against another edition
4.0
Girls are sold to the welcome houses in hopes they’ll have a better life. But welcome houses are anything but welcoming. Girls are branded with favors (tattoos) and serve as welcome girls when they come of age. Clementine is excited for her first night entertaining a brag who paid a high price for the night; but Clem fights back and kills the man. Now she, her sister, Astor, and their friends are on the run from the welcome house and the wealthy family of the murdered man. They are taking a chance-chasing a childhood story that they’re hoping will lead to freedom. They battle to overcome obstacles, find allies, and make it to Lady Ghost before it’s too late.
abookandacup's review against another edition
4.0
Ghost + Western + pretty cool female characters = winning combo!
jedegra013's review against another edition
5.0
Really enjoyed it! Ending was good enough that it can be a stand-alone or have a sequel.
nsoroma's review against another edition
3.0
Solid novel. offering a new take on westerns. Glad to see a diverse cast in that setting. I would love to see a sequel, especially because McClennon was never dealt with, and Zee never found out what happened to his sisters.
thebookishmutant's review against another edition
4.0
TW/CW: rape, branding, sex slavery, murder, descriptions of illness, misogyny, torture, loss of loved ones/death, substance abuse
Have you ever finished a book and immediately thought something along the lines of “man, why has nobody gotten the rights to make this a TV show?” My thoughts exactly for The Good Luck Girls – its cinematic writing makes it the perfect fit for the small screen, and its effortless blending of paranormal, Western, and dystopian genres made it stand out from all the rest!
I’ve never really read or watched many Westerns or Western-inspired books, movies or TV shows (I’m counting The Mandalorian in there though), but I found myself latching onto the immersive and unique world that Charlotte Nicole Davis presents us with in The Good Luck Girls. It’s equal parts Western, paranormal fantasy, and dystopia, and all of them fit to make a fascinating world! There’s something for everybody. You want girls rising up and fighting the power? FIVE OF THEM! You want ghosts, demons, and other weird monsters? Plenty of those to go around. Magic? Lots of that too. Whatever genre you usually gravitate you, there’s something for everybody in this novel.
The feminism and themes of sisterhood also shone in this novel! We follow a diverse cast of characters (some of them are POC and there’s a wlw relationship between two of them) as they escape a life of sex slavery, encountering no shortage of horrors along the way but sticking together through it all. Especially regarding most of the scenes in the “welcome house,” there are plenty of heavy and hard-to-read topics, but Charlotte Nicole Davis handled them in a way that balanced realism and giving the slightest bit of hope. I’m always up for books with a gang of well-written women taking down the patriarchy (and in the case of this book, fighting against misogyny and rape culture in particular), and The Good Luck Girls delivered 100% in that respect.
As for the characters, I liked most of them a reasonable amount, but I didn’t get completely attached to all of them. For Violet in particular, I liked that even though she was the token “bad-natured one who refuses to get along with anybody else” character, Davis gave her just as much depth and backstory as characters like Clem and Aster. However, I do wish that Tansy and Mallow got more page time; they just seemed like footnotes in contrast to Aster, Clem, and Violet, and we didn’t get much of their backstory. The Good Luck Girls would have been more enjoyable with a multiple POV structure, in my opinion; we got inside Aster and Clem’s heads, but since there’s an ensemble cast, I would have liked to get some of the motivations and quirks of characters like Violet, Tansy, and Mallow from their perspectives.
All in all, an effortless blend of wildly different genres that results in a fiercely feminist and cinematic journey. 4 stars!
Have you ever finished a book and immediately thought something along the lines of “man, why has nobody gotten the rights to make this a TV show?” My thoughts exactly for The Good Luck Girls – its cinematic writing makes it the perfect fit for the small screen, and its effortless blending of paranormal, Western, and dystopian genres made it stand out from all the rest!
I’ve never really read or watched many Westerns or Western-inspired books, movies or TV shows (I’m counting The Mandalorian in there though), but I found myself latching onto the immersive and unique world that Charlotte Nicole Davis presents us with in The Good Luck Girls. It’s equal parts Western, paranormal fantasy, and dystopia, and all of them fit to make a fascinating world! There’s something for everybody. You want girls rising up and fighting the power? FIVE OF THEM! You want ghosts, demons, and other weird monsters? Plenty of those to go around. Magic? Lots of that too. Whatever genre you usually gravitate you, there’s something for everybody in this novel.
The feminism and themes of sisterhood also shone in this novel! We follow a diverse cast of characters (some of them are POC and there’s a wlw relationship between two of them) as they escape a life of sex slavery, encountering no shortage of horrors along the way but sticking together through it all. Especially regarding most of the scenes in the “welcome house,” there are plenty of heavy and hard-to-read topics, but Charlotte Nicole Davis handled them in a way that balanced realism and giving the slightest bit of hope. I’m always up for books with a gang of well-written women taking down the patriarchy (and in the case of this book, fighting against misogyny and rape culture in particular), and The Good Luck Girls delivered 100% in that respect.
As for the characters, I liked most of them a reasonable amount, but I didn’t get completely attached to all of them. For Violet in particular, I liked that even though she was the token “bad-natured one who refuses to get along with anybody else” character, Davis gave her just as much depth and backstory as characters like Clem and Aster. However, I do wish that Tansy and Mallow got more page time; they just seemed like footnotes in contrast to Aster, Clem, and Violet, and we didn’t get much of their backstory. The Good Luck Girls would have been more enjoyable with a multiple POV structure, in my opinion; we got inside Aster and Clem’s heads, but since there’s an ensemble cast, I would have liked to get some of the motivations and quirks of characters like Violet, Tansy, and Mallow from their perspectives.
All in all, an effortless blend of wildly different genres that results in a fiercely feminist and cinematic journey. 4 stars!
emmago's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
3.25
chels_elyse's review against another edition
5.0
Painful and beautiful and gritty and heart and survival. Add in queer BIPOC and I'm all over it.