Review: Lucky in Love by Kasie West

Lucky in Love by Kasie West
Genre: YA Contemporary, Romance

Publication: July 25th 2017 by Scholastic

Series: n/a

Length: 352 pages

Format: ARC from publisher (thanks!!)

Goodreads

In this new contemporary from YA star Kasie West, a girl who wins the lottery learns that money can cause more problems than it solves, especially when love comes into the picture.

Maddie doesn’t believe in luck. She’s all about hard work and planning ahead. But one night, on a whim, she buys a lottery ticket. And then, to her astonishment —

She wins!

In a flash, Maddie’s life is unrecognizable. No more stressing about college scholarships. Suddenly, she’s talking about renting a yacht. And being in the spotlight at school is fun… until rumors start flying, and random people ask her for loans. Now, Maddie isn’t sure who she can trust.

Except for Seth Nguyen, her funny, charming coworker at the local zoo. Seth doesn’t seem aware of Maddie’s big news. And, for some reason, she doesn’t want to tell him. But what will happen if he learns her secret?

With tons of humor and heart, Kasie West delivers a million-dollar tale of winning, losing, and falling in love.

LUCKY IN LOVE was my second Kasie West novel, and I found it to be incredibly enjoyable and filled with character development. This novel follows Maddie, when she wins $50 million dollars from the lottery on her 18th birthday, and the consequences that came along with it. Along the way, she works at her local zoo, where she grows a relationship with the cute Seth Nguyen.

In terms of the plot, it was predictable, but in a good way. I found that Maddie felt real and the consequences from her lottery win, such as the extravagant purchases (though I found a lot of them to be way over the top) and her quick transition to the top of the social ladder, were realistic and something that discussed nuances of trust and betrayal.

Maddie and her friends, Blaire and Elise, are also very hard-working academically. Much of the novel discusses Maddie’s urgent anticipation for her college acceptance letters and the strains that start to form between her and Blaire and Elise. One tiny thing that irked me is that it was suggested that theses seniors were taking less difficult math classes than I had originally assumed (like, if you’re going to Stanford or UCLA, shouldn’t you be taking Calc 1 or 2? I don’t know, this was just a little thing that bothered me).

I found the romance to be adorable, as always. Seth Nguyen, for one, is Vietnamese, and I loved West’s portrayal of a realistic interaction regarding cultural ignorance. Although I found that Seth and Maddie’s relationship to bloom weirdly quickly, I did enjoy their relationships and interactions towards the end of the novel.

Overall, Kasie West depicts another adorable love story, this time with a huge lottery win and lots of familial ties and friendships, something I find lacking in many YA novels. I found the consequences of Maddie’s lottery win to be super realistic, and I loved the depiction of the growth of her relationship with Seth. If you love Kasie West or you’re in the mood for a cute contemporary, I suggest this one to pick up!

Thank you to Scholastic for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest opinion. All opinions are mine and I was not compensated for this review.

Alice is an 18 year old college student who loves the oxford comma, television shows, and the company of dogs. She finds writing in the third person odd yet enjoyable. You can find her scrolling through Twitter, Instagram, and forever organizing her shelves on Goodreads.

What are your thoughts? Are you planning to read this book? Let me know in the comments below!