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 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.

I know some folks go into books with nearly no idea what the book is about. They don’t even read the synopsis, which is a whole other level of going in with no expectations. I almost never look at reviews of a book before I read it, but I frequently just…have a sense of a book before starting it. Whether from seeing folks post something enthusiastic about it on Twitter or Bookstagram, I can certainly get a rough feel for a book & whether or not it’s something I’m interested in.

But The Good Luck Girls is one of those rare books that I went into with really no sense of what the book was all about, and I just hadn’t seen many friends talking about it. So, imagine my surprise when I started the book & I was like…

”Oh, cool it has a bit of a Western vibe…”

“Oh, dang, it REALLY has a Western vibe!!”

“GAHH, you know who loves a good Western? It’s ME, I love a good Western!!! Goddamn!”

I mean, maybe that glorious cover should’ve tipped me off a bit more, but I just wasn’t 100% sure. But yeah, Charlotte Nicole Davis’s debut leans heavily into Western territory, albeit with a fantasy twist.

The story follows a group of five girls, the so-called Good Luck Girls. At a young age, these girls are sold into welcome houses, which…it’s sex trafficking in all but name. So the very premise of this story is upsetting, for sure. As such, here are the content warnings provided by the author on their website:

“Content warnings: sexual assault, addiction, violence, references to rape and suicide”

But we quickly move away from the welcome house, as Clementine, one of the main characters, fights back against a man on the night she turns sixteen. This is what’s called her “lucky night,” the first time she will be with a man. But he becomes aggressive, and while sexually assaulting Clem, she kills him.

Clementine’s older sister, Aster, is also a Good Luck Girl. She’s the POV character for the book, and after what happens on Clem’s lucky night, Aster realizes their only hope is to run. Aster, Clem, Violet, Tansy, and Mallow quickly find themselves on wanted posters all over the country of Arketta, on the run, and fighting to be free.

This. Book. Is. AWESOME!!! The Good Luck Girls is the very best kind of adventure novel, one that pulls you in with some seriously tense moments, and keeps you flipping pages into the night because you become thoroughly absorbed in this world, and in the fate of these incredible characters. There’s also some great magical/supernatural elements as well!

Aster is a great protagonist, and the ultimate big sister. She leads this group of girls despite her own fears & doubts, and she’s just someone who Gets Shit Done. She’s for sure the heart of the group, and someone I loved learning about. These girls all carry their own trauma, and the book definitely veers into some dark territory. That said, this is a fun read set at a brisk pace, and I was completely hooked.

It looks like there are more books coming in this series, though I’m not sure how many. But this is a vivid & very cool world that Davis has created, and this first book is a badass, revenge-driven, Western-inspired delight! Found family, sisterhood, enemies to friends, queer girls on the run from the law, restless & vengeful spirits…get The Good Luck Girls on your TBR!