A review by yvo_about_books
Very Very Lucky by Amanda Prowse

2.25

Finished reading: January 3rd 2024


"The treadmill of family life ran quickly and relentlessly. It was just how it was, and she felt a little clueless as to how to fix it."

*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***

WARNING: it's unpopular opinion time again!!

I love a good story featuring unlikely friendships, so I was intrigued by Very Very Lucky as soon as I read the blurb. Add the fact that I've been meaning to try Amanda Prowse's books for quite some time now, and I was excited to finally start reading this story. I've seen nothing but praise for this book so far, and I fully expected to add my own glowing review to the mix... But in the end it just wasn't ment to be. It almost felt like I was reading a completely different story than everyone else, and I confess that I struggled to keep reading. I'll try to explain why briefly below.

First of all I have to stress that Very Very Lucky is by no means a bad story; it just wasn't a right fit for me at all. What I thought was going to be a mostly uplifting unlikely friendship contemporary actually turned out to be a more family drama focused plot... And it's no secret that stories with a lot of family drama simply don't seem to work for me anymore. There was SO much drama going on, and it just felt way over the top to me; like the author wanted to lay it on thick only to have a nice happy ending wrapped in a big red bow at the end.

I think one of the things I struggled with was with the main characters, who I just couldn't connect with at all. I understand that Thurston is grieving his wife, but his POV is just so depressing with his constant mention of his suicide plans. That and the fact that he just lets June walk all over him... The whole walking-over-someone seems to be a theme here, because there is plenty of that going on with the other character Emma as well. She is basically a human doormat slash slave, and lets everyone commandeer her time and life without standing still for a second and think about her own needs. I ended up being SO angry and frustrating with her character, and I've lost count of the times I said to myself 'are you serious?! really?!'.

I was also very surprised to see that the characters don't even meet until more than a third into the story. The main reason I wanted to read Very Very Lucky, the unlikely friendship element, came just way too late for me... Because by then I was already ready to give up on these characters and I had started to skimread. Between Thurston's suicidal thoughts and Emma being railroaded into doing things, I just couldn't take it anymore... Especially with her toxic relationship with her mother and the way her children treat her. The changes later on were just too little, too late for me, and it couldn't change the way I felt about the story as a whole.

Before I end this review, I have to stress that I seem to be the outlier here, and most people seem to love their time with this story. Just make sure to prepare yourself for a lot of family drama and a LONG introduction before the unlikely friendship appears... I was definitely a wrong fit for this book. 
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