Review of With a Little Luck
My Review of With a Little Luck will tell you about this charming YA contemporary with a touch of magic and the second installment to YA author Marissa Meyer’s Fortuna Beach series.
With a Little Luck by Marissa Meyer
Published on February 13, 2024. Thanks so much to the publisher for inviting me to participate in the blog tour and for sending me a copy of the book for review purposes. I read this book in February 2024.
Plot Summary for A Little Luck by Marissa Meyer
Jude just wants to draw comics, host his regular D&D night, and work at his parents’ record store. That is, until the night he comes across a mysterious twenty-sided dice and finds himself inexplicably gifted with good luck.
His favorite fanzine accepts his art for publication. His friend’s song becomes a finalist in a competition. He wins a pair of coveted concert tickets in a local radio contest, which he uses to ask out the popular girl he’s been crushing for years.
But then he loses the magic dice and his luck disappears. He struggles to reclaim his good fortune while fighting off long-buried feelings for his best friend. Can Jude win the girl of his dreams? Or is he doomed to be unlucky in love forever?
Jen’s Quick Take on With a Little Luck
- YA Contemporary with a touch of magic
- Can be read as a standalone, but you may want to refresh your memory on the people, places and events in Instant Karma
- A sweet best friends romance
- Includes comics that illustrate some of Jude’s life
Review of With a Little Luck
With a Little Luck, part of the Fortuna Beach series by Lunar Chronicles author Marissa Meyer, is a YA Contemporary romance with a touch of magic!
Main character Jude finds a red 20 side dice. He and his friends play Dungeons and Dragons, which I know NOTHING about, but I think those dice can be used in the game.
After that, everything goes his way. He can do no wrong. The girl of his dreams is suddenly interested back in him, his art gets accepted by an online magazine, and he wins concert tickets.
What Did I Love About With a Little Luck?
I loved that the book had a philosophical bent. Yes, getting everything you want SOUNDS good, but is it really for the best?
It was fun to be back in Fortuna Beach which, like Stars Hollow, was a fun place to be!
I also really enjoyed re-connecting with the Barnett family (Jude, Pru, and their siblings, all named after Beatles songs) and their big friend group (Ezra and Quint; returning characters Ari, Maya, and friends; and new characters César, Matt, Russell, and Kyle).
If you’re looking for a YA book that incorporates the creative process (Jude is an illustrator and Ari is a singer/songwriter) this is the pick for you!
A little y2k Nostalgia…
Since YA All Day is all about celebrating the early 2000s, I will mention that With a Little Luck reminded me of an obscure 2006 Lindsay Lohan rom com called Just My Luck. Lindsay plays a girl who has amazing luck. At a masquerade ball, she kisses a guy who has bad luck … and their luck switches!
The movie came out three years after Freaky Friday, which kicked off a trend of movies aond books about body switches and magical spells. In women’s fiction, this included authors like Allison Winn Scotch and Sarah Addison Allen. In YA, we had Once Upon a Kiss, Ask Again Later, Don’t Even Think About It and Don’t You Wish.
