Lucky in Love

Maddie leads a normal teenage life. The only exception is her family's money problems. So when Maddie unexpectedly wins the lottery, she thinks her problems are solved.

OMG, I have all of Kasie West's books but this is the first one I actually read. I am drawn to books about lottery winners so I was pretty sure I was going to like 'Lucky in Love' but I Loved it. The story was just so good.
One of the things that stood out for me was how Maddie handled everything. I think it would have been easy, since Maddie was a good student and good person, to make her above splurging and using money for crazy things. However, West made Maddie true to life. Any teenager who won that much money would surely go a little crazy. I also liked how Maddie's parents and brother were portrayed as good people but they still had issues. They relied on Maddie emotionally and then monetarily too much. I also thought it was important that those around Maddie began to treat her differently once she won a lot of money.People with money and/or celebrity are treated differently in our society. That's just how it is.
Now lets talk about Seth. He was one of my favorite things about this book. His character was so wonderful. He wasn't an athlete, or super good-looking but he had an amazing personality and funny demeanor and people are drawn to him. This is what made him super a fantastic guy. Also, it was nice that Maddie and Seth's relationship developed slowly from a crush to something more. As relationships often do.
The conclusion left me wanting a bit more. I would have liked a few ends tied up but in general it was a good ending.
'Lucky in Love' is a fun, cute, and quick read that appeals to more than just young adults.. I plan to save a few of Kasey's books for any future reading slumps I may have. If I have the willpower.

Everyone has asked themselves at least once, “what would you do if you won the lotto”. LUCKY IN LOVE is about Maddie a young girl who buys a lotto ticket on a whim and actually wins. Suddenly Maddie has money, $50 million to be exact, and that question becomes all too real. People are paying attention to her, she can afford those food trucks at school, and better yet she can finally stop worrying about paying for college. But everything isn’t as easy as Maddie thought it would be. Her parents are still fighting, her brother is making stupid choices, and Maddie has begun to lose who she is and the trust she has in those around her. The only place she feels herself is working at the zoo with her very cute coworker Seth, who doesn’t even know Maddie won the lottery.

What worked for me:

Maddie as a character was amazing. She was a very levelheaded and smart girl, although there were moments when I wanted to jump into the book and shake her. Overall I really felt for her. Being that young and all of a sudden having a huge amount of cash, it’s not an easy thing to adjust to. Maddie just wants to make those around her happy. She wants her parents to stop fighting and her brother to go back to school, and she thinks with money that she will be able to solve all her problems. West really brings Maddie to this point of hurt and betrayal. People seem to want things from her and Maddie doesn’t know who to trust or turn to and she slowly begins to realize that she can’t control or fix everything and especially not with money, and maybe letting those she cares about succeed or fail on their own isn’t going to bring her world crashing down. I loved how loyal and dedicated Maddie was to those around her. She was definitely a people pleaser and while I didn’t always agree I definitely understood her motive.

Another thing I really loved was Seth. He’s sweet and funny, and easy-going. He was the perfect love interest. I would have really loved to see more interactions between Seth and Maddie. West certainly knows how to write great chemistry between two characters. I would have loved if Seth was in it more, but the focus in this story really was on Maddie and how winning the lotto really affects someone. How much changes or how people change.

I do have to admit that reading this book stressed me out so much. Maddie was a great character but after living her life confined to a strict set of rules. Getting this money allows her a bit of freedom and boy does she take it. Fancy parties on yachts and a ridiculously expensive car, all these outrageous purchases had me so worried. I also just wanted her parents to kind of step in and do something but they just let her be, which had me yelling at both the parents and Maddie. Although this issue does get addressed in the end, which I was like YES FINALLY, it had me so worried! Another thing that had me so stressed out was the way her uncle shows up and asks for an investment and she does NO RESEARCH! For a girl who has spent her life with a nose in a book and making smart decisions, this money changes Maddie as well.

Overall I loved how Kasie takes a party question that has been asked hundreds of thousands of times and really gets to the heart of it. LUCKY IN LOVE was cute, fun read with a lot of hard lessons to learn, but makes you ultimately leave feeling happy and hopeful. West brings the banter and keeps you invested until the very end. This is the first book I’ve read by her but by far not my last.