The Good Luck Girls by Charlotte Nicole Davis — ARC Review

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The Good Luck Girls by Charlotte Nicole Davis

Summary:

Westworld meets The Handmaid’s Tale in this stunning fantasy adventure from debut author Charlotte Nicole Davis.

Aster, the protector
Violet, the favorite
Tansy, the medic
Mallow, the fighter
Clementine, the catalyst

THE GOOD LUCK GIRLS

The 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 in a life they would never have chosen.

When Clementine accidentally murders 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.

Review: 5 Stars

The Good Luck Girls is probably the most powerful novel that I’ve read this year. I was absolutely shocked to find out that it is Charlotte Nicole Davis’ debut novel because it is so well done I thought that it must have been written by a seasoned author. It deals with the heavy topic of sex trafficking in a way that is both tactful and raw. The characters grabbed me by my heart and the pacing is fast. I had an incredibly hard time setting this book down, it was an addicting read. As soon as I read the prologue I was completely hooked.

I absolutely loved the characters in this book. They were al developed so well and they felt so real to me. While this is fiction and set in a fantasy world, sex trafficking exists and this book portrayed it in a way that really grabbed my heart. While all five girls in the book had been sold to the “welcome house” Aster and Violet were the ones that had worked as “sundown girls” and the author did a great job of showing how their work haunted them. While Aster always saw the worst in everything, Violet tried to emotionally detach herself by using Sweet Thistle, the drug that the welcome house supplied the working girls. I also think that this book did a wonderful job of showing what it is like to have PTSD. Aster was haunted by some things that had happened at the welcome house and even though this book was written in third person it was easy to see how she thought and felt.

While this book did have some heavy subject matter it was a book of hope as the girls escaped the welcome house and were on a search for true freedom. I would check for content warnings if you are unsure that this book is for you, but I absolutely loved it. The Good Luck Girls was raw, powerful and despite being a fantasy it felt very real. The plot had me on the edge of my seat a lot of the time and made it hard to set this book down. I devoured this book in less than a day because I found it so captivating.

I am so glad that I had the opportunity to read this book because it really moved me. The characters all felt so real to me and this book got me emotional at times. I laughed, I cried and I even found myself wanting to shake the characters for their choices sometimes. I was so emotionally invested in these characters and their story. This was such a powerful and eye opening read to the world of sex trafficking and I can’t wait for other people to read it. It is also the first in a series, so I will be able to return to these characters in the next book.