Westworld meets The Handmaid’s Tale in this stunning fantasy adventure from debut author Charlotte Nicole Davis.Aster, the protectorViolet, the favoriteTansy, the medicMallow, the fighterClementine, the catalystTHE GOOD LUCK GIRLSThe country of Arketta calls them Good Luck Girls–they know their luck is anything but. Sold to a “welcome house” as children and branded with cursed markings. Trapped … “welcome house” as children and branded with cursed markings.
Trapped in a life they would never have chosen.
When Clementine accidentally kills a man, the girls risk a dangerous escape and harrowing journey to find freedom, justice, and revenge in a country that wants them to have none of those things. Pursued by Arketta’s most vicious and powerful forces, both human and inhuman, their only hope lies in a bedtime story passed from one Good Luck Girl to another, a story that only the youngest or most desperate would ever believe.
It’s going to take more than luck for them all to survive.
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This book blew me away! It’s a fantasy western and the story follows five Good Luck Girls (a name for those who work in a brothel type situation) that escape and make a run for freedom. I seriously could not put it down. The world-building is phenomenal. The handling of trauma is masterfully done. And, ultimately, it’s a story about hope and found family. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
I’ve been eyeing this book both in my local bookstore, and on their website for two years now. I knew I’d love it, but for whichever reason I didn’t get it until May of this year. I finally picked it up today and my expectations were more than met.
When I started reading, I wasn’t expecting to read all of it at once, maybe half. But even early on it proved to be an impossible task, because the book was just too good to put down.
Things are always happening, excitement on every corner, you can’t breathe until you know the characters are safe – but when they are, you know something else will go wrong.
This book reminded me why I love reading so much. I’d like to thank it for that.
It starts with Clementine’s POV. She’s the younger sister of Aster, but the second oldest of the five girls (I believe? I don’t remember how old Violet is). And she’s about to have her first intimate encounter with a man. NOT!
The man gets too grabby and violent so Clementine accidentally kills him in self defence. Things escalate further and both her and her sister are planning to escape, but not without their friends.
They find themselves on the run from the law, but they didn’t escape one prison just to end up in another. The Good Luck Girls follows the quintet on their journey towards freedom, and the mysterious legend, called Lady Ghost who is rumoured to be able to remove the magical brands that mark them as the brothel’s property.
I assumed Clementine would be the main character or that the book would have alternating POVs, but only the prologue is in her head, the rest of the book is in Aster’s.
In a way, I mind. Because those ten pages made me love Clementine and I grew very attached to her. She’s still one of the main characters, but we see her through Aster’s eyes the whole time.
Aster I like, the protective side of her anyway. Sometimes it can be too much. I love her with Violet though. I wanted them to be friends and then there’s this one scene where it hits you that they’re supposed to be more and it works. For now though, they’re not the F/F couple.
Violet I only disliked in the beginning, but when she decided to come along with the girls I knew she had her own reasons, and the dislike melted away. And said reasons became predictable the more she opened up.
On the other hand, I don’t like to think too much unless if I pick up a uni book, so I appreciate that the Violet clues weren’t hard to follow.
The other two girls, Tansy and Mallow, they came as a packaged deal and so they stayed. I was so focused on Aster and Violet’s relationship that I completely missed their developing one so it came as a surprise that they had feelings for each other.
Tansy stood out to me more than Mallow, maybe it was the “medic” thing. I don’t have a lot to say about them, other than they’re cute together and brave when needed.
Zee is the boy of the group who joined them later on. He’s a curious case, I don’t like him on his own, but I ship him with Clementine. Before I saw the Aster/Violet vibes I was so worried he’d like Aster because of his first and second entrance into their lives. Luckily though, that’s not the case.
I’d like to point out the world building, which is close to perfect? Not the dystopia-like world itself of course, but the way the places are described, like the Scab. You can imagine brothels of this kind in locations like those.
And there’s other interesting things to explore in the next book(s), like why only certain people can cast a shadow and why others can’t and why that’s such a big deal.
The ending is bitter-sweet, some characters get a happy ending, for others we don’t know their fate.
To wrap this up, The Good Luck Girls is worth every penny. Books are expensive where I’m from, especially in English, so 99% of the time I wait until they’re at least 20% off. But this one I bought full-price and I have no regrets
An awesome fantasy story in Wild West style setting. Gritty and at times deeply disturbing, the story follows the journey of a group of escaped “welcome house girls” as they fight their way to freedom past lawmen, vicious ghosts and dreaded raveners. Loved the dystopian style world building, and the engaging characters, each with their demons to overcome.
The Good Luck Girls is one of my new favorites. I enjoy stories about finding a happy ending despite impossible odds. I could not put down this fast-paced book. It’s a fantasy western full of girl power and strength, and I can’t wait to read next book in the series.
I loved this book! It was action-packed and written well. A great young adult read.
This was a really great new dystopian story. It totally had an Old West feel with “stagecoach” robberies and horseback getaways. While there were definitely some parts that could be considered a bit standard for a dystopian story, I feel that those are things you kind of need to make the story work. There were times I wondered if those who were tentative allies were actually allies or there for other possibly nefarious reasons, but that is what kept me intrigued and turning pages as fast as I could to see what would happen next, and how they would get past each obstacle that was thrown in their path. The only thing I wasn’t a huge fan of was that it was in third person, and I feel like having it in first person might have worked better for some parts. However I feel that is my personal opinion, and not at all anything that reflects on how great the story is overall. I can’t wait to get a copy of this one for my school library for my students to read and enjoy!
Don’t underestimate the girls in the Arkettan welcome houses because you might just lose your life. Davis’ The Good Luck Girls is a dust-filled, bloody fairytale set in a menacing world haunted with the reminder ― the price of freedom is high, but it’s worth fighting for at all costs. Rise up, teen readers!
I was instantly drawn to this book by the cover. I have seen two different covers for the book and to be honest I really like them both. Though if I had to choose one, surprisingly I would pick the UK cover version which is unusual as I normally prefer the US covers!
The genre’s listed for this book are Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Teens & YA, which whilst I agree with these, I would also add dystopian to that list and would say that I definitely do not fall into the YA age group but honestly loved reading this book!
The book concentrates on five girls, Aster, Violet, Tansy, Mallow, and Clementine. These girls have all been sold to the same Welcome House when they were younger. Upon being taken into the Welcome House the girls are renamed after flowers which they then have tattooed on their necks, this tattoo is referred to as a favour. There is no way to remove these favors and everyone knows they mean you belong to a Welcome House and are a Good Luck Girl or as some refer to them as Lucker’s for short. Until you “come of age” at 16 years old, you are known as a “Daybreak girl”, who works during the day and does cleaning, and cooking chores. You are not allowed to mix with the Sundown girls, though are expected to wait on them and show them due respect. On your sixteenth birthday you have what is called your “Lucky Night” and from then on become a “Sundown girl” who begins working as the sun goes down. A Sundown girl has to entertain male clients or as they are called in the book “Brags”.
The book begins on Clementine’s sixteenth birthday, she will have her “Lucky Night” as her sister Aster and the other girls before her have and will be auctioned to the highest bidder who will then be “entertained” by his purchase for however long he has purchased her for. To help the Sundown girls cope with what they do on a nightly basis the woman who runs the home, Mother Fleur provides the girls with a drug called Sweet Thistle. It soon becomes addictive and the only way some of the girls can cope with what they have to do. Things take a different turn when Clementine fights back against her brag and accidentally kills him. It’s only the quick thinking of Clementine and her older sister Aster along with the help of friends and daybreak girls Mallow and Tansy that temporarily hide what has happened. The girls decide the only answer is to go on the run. When Mother Fleur’s favourite girl Violet discovers the girls with the brags bloodied body, they think their lives are over, but when Violet hears the plan to run away, she asks to go along with them!
Without much choice and no time to argue the girls say yes and Violet soon proves to be valuable part of the escape plan.
The rest of the book is the journey the girls take on their mission to find Lady Ghost who it’s said can remove their favour tattoo’s. Violet was told the story by her mother. In fact, Violet’s own story is quite unique as she was born to a Good Luck Girl working in the Welcome House which is an extreme rarity. (You’ll find out why, when you read the book!) Being the eldest of the girls, Aster soon becomes the leader of the girls and she is quite sceptical about the whole idea of the mysterious Lady Ghost who can remove favors, for a price. Aster believes Lady Ghost is a fairy-tale character thought up to make the younger Good Luck Girls feel better and have them think that they can at some point leave the Welcome House lifestyle and stigma behind them. Aster also wonders on a practical level where on earth they would all get the money to pay Lady Ghost with. The five girls know they will be chased, Mother Fleur will have sent the Welcome House Raveners after them. Raveners can literally paralyse a person with fear and sorrow. Raveners can get into the minds of their victims and can make them go out of their own minds. The fugitives also discover the identity of the brag that Clementine accidentally killed. It turns out to be a very important, wealthy man whose family are determined to track the girls down, though they make it widely known that they want the girls alive. The family of the brag have their own family raveners on the girls trail as well as wanted posters of the girls put up all around the scab and route to possible freedom for the girls.
My favourite character, quite predictably is Aster the unofficial leader of the fugitives. Aster has wanted to try to escape the Welcome House life for many years, but being a Sundown girl, she has been kept apart from her Daybreak girl sister Clementine. As Clementine has unintentionally killed her first ever brag, the decision is hurriedly made, it is the only option to go on the run. I adored how protective Aster was of Clementine, she seriously would lay her life down in the place of her sisters. I also liked the relationship between Clementine and Zee. Zee is a rangeman, a guide who escorts people on journeys through the Scab. The Scab is the dangerous, wilderness area the girls need to travel. Though Aster makes it quite clear that she doesn’t fully trust Zee yet, she thinks he is hiding something from them. Clementine is insistent that she has a good feeling about Zee, as the girls need his help as a guide, he is given the benefit of the doubt.
A character that I initially disliked but really ended up having my mind changed was Violet, but as you learn more about her, you realise she is as much a victim of the Welcome House system as the other girls. Violet is determined to get to Lady Ghost, and truly believes in her. Violet ends up becoming a valuable member of the group. She is as ruthless as she is practical and often makes the girls rethink their own opinions. The girls are somewhat thrown together in this escape and though they have lived together for years they grew much closer and end up trusting each other with their lives. I really enjoyed the way the girls slowly reveal their secrets, their names before they were sold to the Welcome House along with the reasons they were sold.
I could honestly rave on and go on and on about this book, but I don’t want to give away any more detail than I already have. I felt pulled into the story very early in the book and was totally hooked by less than 20% into it. I became attached and protective of the girls and really cared about what happened to them. I felt I was as suspicious of everyone they came across as Aster was. I was cheering them on when they came up with the ideas of getting the money to pay Lady Ghost.
My immediate thoughts on finishing the book were that it was an amazing read! But. . .I felt all over the place I wanted to know even more! What comes next? Could Dawn possibly find happiness with Eli? What about those in Ferron? What is life like for them? What happened to Violet? Does she ever make it to Lady Ghost? What’s the truth about her mother? I also hope to learn more about the raveners, how they become them and why. There is so much more to discover about this rather cruel world the Good Luck Girls exist in. I would also love more from the Scorpions!
To sum up my thoughts on this book I totally loved it! And I want more, much more please! I would have to say I think this book will appeal to those who have read and loved The Lone City Series by Amy Ewing, The Belles Series by Dhonielle Clayton, with elements of The Aviary by Emily Shore and the feel of A Dress For The Wicked by Autumn Krause.
We start off with Clementine and Aster who live in a “welcome house”, and Clementine has just turned 16 and is about to start working servicing the men who frequent the house. Aster doesn’t want this for Clementine but there isn’t anything she can do about it. But when Clem’s anxiety gets the better of her, she accidentally kills the man who had the winning bid for her and they find they would rather risk leaving than staying for certain death.
I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect with this, but once I started it, it was hard to put down. It had a bit of an old west feel to the storyline in that they were running from the law and they needed money, or as they called it, “shine” to survive and did what they needed to, to make it through each day. I think the book would have worked with or without the paranormal elements, but Davis created this alternate, post-apocalyptic-esque world that was really fun. The girls each had their own unique personalities and strengths, and I’m looking forward to future books down the line so we can see more of them.
I don’t normally read fantasy adventure stories but now and again I do like to push my genre boundaries and try something a little different. The premise of “The Good Luck Girls” by new author Charlotte Nicole Davis really intrigued me and I was keen to read this Wild West style YA fantasy story.
When Clementine comes of age at sixteen to become a sundown girl in a ‘welcome house’ in Green Creek, she has to entertain a ‘brag’ (male customer) for the night as part of her ‘Lucky Night’ ceremony. Unfortunately she accidentally kills her brag and knowing she will be punished fatally for the incident by ‘raveners’, bewitching and mind altering men, she goes on the run with her sister Aster and other ‘good luck girls’ – Violet, Tallow and Mansy. They meet up with Zee – a ‘rangeman’, who can assist them with their escape due to his knowledge of the woods but can he help them avoid capture and locate the Lady Ghost? She is the only person, myth has it, who can rid them of their cursed ‘favours’, tattoo like branding that will always give them away as good luck girls. They embark on a journey that is both fantastical and thrilling seeking freedom, justice and revenge. Sold as children they were trapped in an unsuspecting life they never would have chosen and its’s quite saddening to read how they are used‘sex slaves’ at such a young age. There’s lots of excitement and action in the story though to keep you thoroughly entertained and although primarily aimed at a YA audience there’s plenty to keep adults addicted to the book too. With tension and some emotional and sensitive content I wouldn’t recommend very young readers to read this but I can see this story being very popular with a female teen audience who enjoy fantasy fiction with a strong message at its core.
The characters are well developed and exceedingly likeable, though I would have liked to have read a little more on the relationship between Tallow and Mansy directly as it developed.
The author has based the story not on racism per se but about a black girl and her sister finding freedom and coming together to stand up against the rich and powerful. The author has produced a story that addresses darker themes in a subversive way that has you both questioning the system within the story and making you think about the world we live in at the same time.
This would make a cracking movie as it has all the hallmarks of a action packed fantasy thriller and I would love to see a sequel to the story to follow Clementine and Aster further on their fight for freedom.
4 stars