It took me a long time to get invested in this book, I was probably halfway through it. I found I didn’t connect with the characters or storyline but I was interested to see how it all ended. Not as good as ‘The Cows’. But I’d still read more by O’Porter. ( )

General info

Four different ladies, all connect together in some way. All have their flaws, their insecurities and problems. Everybody else seems to think their lives are perfect. One wedding brings them together and changes their lives drastically.

Things I liked

The characters of this book are spectacular. They are all different, but strong women. They struggle in their lives, but other people seem to think their lives are perfect. They face their issues and they overcome them.
The plot of this book is also really, really good. It keeps you guessing, but still it gives you hints of what's about to happen. It also really opened my eyes to think about other people, ordinary or famous people in the moment when I'm judging them. No life is perfect and things may not always be as they seem. Instagram gives you an entirely made up version of what is really going on, most of the time at least. And this book really made me realise that. That is why I truly, love this book.

All in all, this book is amazing and it keeps you grounded. Women are strong, but every time you judge someone based on your beliefs, you might be hurting them more than you think.

* ARC received from the publisher via Netgalley ( )

Brought together by the wedding of the year are three women. Beth seems to have it all, a new baby, a successful business and a husband who doesn't want sex. Ruby seems to have it all, an amicable ex-husband, a burgeoning career and an embarrassing body. Lauren seems to have it all, thousands of instagram followers, the perfect body and a fiancee who is a serial cheat. Each woman learns to work through her hang-ups to become a more knowledgable person.
Although this is definitely at the 'chick-lit' fluffy end of my reading range I do think O'Porter is a talented writer and there was enough black humour and sarcasm running through this to keep me entertained. It's not going to change the world, it's not very challenging but at times it is laugh out loud funny. ( )

So Lucky is the first time I have experienced Dawn O'Porter's writing and so I had no idea what to expect. What I got was an absolutely brilliant read, searing in its honesty.

The story focuses on three women, Beth, Ruby and Lauren. Beth seems to have it all. She's a successful wedding planner, happily married with a new baby. Ruby clearly has issues right from the beginning but she's feisty and in control, isn't she? And Lauren is living the perfect life, posting her perfect pictures on Instagram and looking forward to her perfect wedding to the perfect man. Of course, nothing is as it seems and that is the overriding message behind this book. Nobody's life is perfect and everybody is dealing with their own demons.

Beth's life is far from ideal. Her husband won't touch her anymore and she's juggling a stressful job with trying to deal with the fact she's left her baby at home to do so. Ruby is dealing with a condition that affects every single thing she does, including her relationship with her daughter. And Lauren is living her life in the public eye but she's feeding the people who follow her an image of herself that isn't real.

So Lucky is an incredibly relevant and current story. We all compare ourselves constantly with others, almost always unfavourably. I found Ruby's career as a photoshopper (if that's the right expression) fascinating as she is facilitating the image of perfection by airbrushing out imperfections yet she knows that it's completely wrong and not really the message she wants to give to her 3 year old daughter.

This is the most fabulous story. O'Porter writes very close to the bone and frankly she's also deliciously filthy. She doesn't hold back on anything and it's so refreshing to witness the warts and all lives that women seem to feel they must hide. We're all only human after all. She also writes an incredibly funny story and the book is riddled with the kind of humour I enjoy. I loved how the three individual stories were all following their own paths and I wondered how they would converge. When they did it was in a clever and extremely unexpected way. I also really liked how each woman went on her own journey to come out the other side stronger than ever.

I cannot praise this book highly enough. It's a book about women for women about the power of the female of the species. I think I need to check out The Cows as I just loved O'Porter's writing style. ( )

If your favoured reading material is a compelling tale with a good sprinkling of humour, sadness, self-doubt, imperfection and destructive relationships then feel free to read So Lucky by Dawn O’Porter.

Ruby, Lauren and Beth all have their individual issues: Ruby is so sad as she hides her body from everyone and her low self esteem affects her relationship with her young daughter Bonnie; Beth is funny, lovely and vivacious but her husband constantly rejects her body. Both women face their insecurities at the same time, coming together for Lauren's wedding. Lauren is an Instagram star who appears to have a perfect life. Ruby, Beth, Lauren and Risky, Beth's personal assistant, meet and join together to support one another and I was awed by Ruby's bravery, Beth's determination, Lauren's attempts to start again and Risky's reassessment of perfection in relationships.

Dawn O'Porter looked at serious issues, the conflict women often face being mothers, the fallout of not having a good mother, juggling a career with parenthood, as well as what constitutes a happy and successful marriage, with a huge amount of hilarity but also, sensitivity.

I marvelled at Dawn O’Porter’s skill at portraying the characters’ raw, honest feelings, through her very individual, laugh-out-loud funny, thoughtful and at times, downright filthy, writing-style. The more I learned about these women and their lives, the more I found myself empathising with them. It was very hard to say goodbye to them and I found myself wishing all of of them well for the future.

The way the Dawn O’Porter managed to link their lives together was very clever and thought-provoking. I was completely drawn into this novel right from the start, fully appreciating all of the absolutely priceless scenes and also the slightly shocking ones.

So entertaining and engaging, this book certainly gave me plenty of food for thought, leaving the characters still in my head for a long while after I’d finished reading. So Lucky is definitely well worth the time invested. Dawn O'Porter could quite possibly become one of my favourite authors.

Thank you to Dawn O’Porter and Pigeonhole for giving me the opportunity to read this book. This review is my own unbiased opinion. ( )