Review Good luck charm by Helena Hunting / Piatkus Books

The Good Luck Charm

By Helena Hunting

Synopsis: Lilah isn’t sure what hurt worse: the day Ethan left her to focus on his hockey career or the day he came back eight years later. He might think they can pick up just where they left off, but she’s no longer that same girl and never wants to be again. 

 

Ethan Kane wants his glory days back. And that includes having Lilah by his side. With her, he was magic. They were magic. All he has to do is make her see that. 

 

Just when Lilah might finally be ready to let him in, though, she finds out their reunion has nothing to do with her and everything to do with his game. But Ethan’s already lost her once, and even if it costs him his career, he’ll do anything to keep from losing her again.

Lilah is having the worst day ever. After being hit with one bad thing after another, she doesn’t think it could get any worse. But it can and it does. On her way out of the hospital at the end of her shift, she learns that the man who has been an important father figure to her since she was young has suffered a stroke. Rushing to his beside she never anticipated running into his son. The boy who broke her heart. The boy who is no longer a boy.

This is all too much. I’ve already taken too many punches to the heart today. And in this moment I feel like I’ve barely recovered from the punch he delivered eight years ago.

Ethan made a decision when he was a teenager that he has to live with. Now he’s back in town and wants to explain the situation. He finds himself drawn to her as he was in the past, his feelings still very real. He flips Lilah’s life upside down once again as he makes his way back into her world and it seems like the universe is trying to bring them together. Is there a second chance for these childhood sweethearts, or is the past too painful to overcome?

Second chance romances are some of my favorite stories and The Good Luck Charm has all the makings of a good one. This story has humor, heart, and heat, a whole lot of depth, and is full of feels. The plot is well developed and I enjoyed the twists and turns the story takes. I also really loved the characters. Lilah and Ethan are real and relatable, and I enjoyed watching their story unfold.

Lilah was awesome. She was a hardworking, determined woman who refused to give up her dream even if she got a little lost along the way. My heart broke when hers did and I understood why she had to guard her heart, especially when Ethan walked back into her life.

I fear my heart remembers loving him more than it remembers how he broke it.

Ethan was a wonderful hero but he was far from perfect. His choices in the past broke me. I wanted to scream at him but I felt his own heartache clear as day. He had to come a long way before he could fully grasp who Lilah really is to him.

I know now why I never found anyone else who compared to her, why she never let me go because she’s meant to be mine just as I’m meant to be hers.

This story is deeper than I expected and the emotion is solid. I felt it all. My heart hurt along with theirs and everything they went through. The heartache and regret are forefronts but the love was there too, hidden behind the pain. It began as a young love but it was a real love. It is so clear that the connection was never severed even when their hearts were broken. They are intense, passionate, and downright HOT together.

I really enjoyed watching them open up as they reacquaint themselves with each other. They go on a journey and must find themselves before they can ever truly love without conditions. The character growth and self-discovery is well written and I loved watching them accept the difficult realizations that come to light as they grew closer.

Past and present are merging, and I don’t know how to separate them.

I felt the insecurities and vulnerabilities as they accept what’s best for them as a couple and individually. Learning to balance everything in their lives, I could imagine the story playing out in my mind as I turned the pages. The issues that arise are believable and I feel the resolution was well done. There was no added angst for the sake of angst and I appreciated it.

Overall, The Good Luck Charm was an entertaining, emotional read that will make you believe in second chances, and I loved it.

 

Thank you, Piatkus Books, for the book.