The Good Luck Girls

I'll say straight up: I'm sick to death of the trope of old west bordellos. Therefore, I started this YA book with trepidation. I was soon surprised by the book's thoughtful take on the horrors of human trafficking, all in an original weird west fantasy setting.

The "Good Luck Girls" aren't that lucky at all. They are girls sold into sexual slavery at 'welcome houses' that pepper the wilderness. All of this is referenced in delicate ways, but you know what is going on. When Clementine's debut night goes horribly wrong, she flees town along with her sister and other girls. They become bandits out of need to survive, but they ultimately have one goal: freedom, which means finding their way to the mythical Lady Ghost who can remove their show more magical brands.

This book handles difficult subjects like rape and abuse with great sensitivity. All too often now, I come across that kind of thing in books and stop reading. I'm sick of how some authors use it as a crutch for female character development. This novel, though, shows strength and resilience in its cast of women. It feels real, fantastical as the setting is, and that's all the more important since it is for a young adult audience. show less

I just finished the fantasy adventure entitled The Good Luck Girls and this was a book that I was sorry to see end. The debut novel of author Charlotte Nicole Davis, the book is an excellent combination of great story and excellent world building.

Set in a dust filled version of the Old West the story shows us a unique bond of sisterhood as five young women attempt to escape their lives of bondage in a house of ill-repute. Sold by their families as children and brought up to serve men and their needs, an accidental death is the trigger that sets this five on the road to freedom. Their journey to safety is fraught with danger as this world has fearsome ghosts called Vengeants and merciless trackers, called Raveners who are indifferent to show more cold, hunger, fatigue or pain.

Being a debut novel meant that there were some flaws in the execution but I loved this story set in an alternative Wild West where one’s freedom relies on class and gender. The story is full of action yet also allows the reader to learn about and care for the five runaways. The bonds of sisterhood and found family are strong, the characters well developed, the issues are relevant to today and the story moves quickly making The Good Luck Girls a great read. show less

Charlotte Nicole Davis's Good Luck Girls is an addictive and satisfying fantasy with an excellently realized world that will have you hooked from the opening page.

The Good Luck Girls are anything but lucky--they're sold to a welcome house as children by their desperate parents and branded for eternity. When Clementine kills a man, she, her sister, and three friends go on the run--to an uncertain freedom where they're only ever a step ahead of the law.

This is at first glance a bloody revenge fantasy but it is so much more important than that. Davis's narrative crackles with history and brings to life the countless girls and women trafficked into sexual slavery today. Thus, what you read never feels gratuitous, but necessary. And though show more it's "just a story," your heart breaks all the more for each character because you know she has a counterpart in reality.

The voice is also excellent--Davis is a gifted writer and I will be looking forward to her future works. She has built such a convincing world that you will practically choke on the dust if you can ever dislodge your heart from your throat.

I've stepped away from YA lately, but this is one you surely don't want to miss. I'm definitely hoping for a sequel.

Thank you to BookishFirst and TorTeen for providing this ARC to review. show less

This book’s got a great premise/storyline and the writing was good, but somehow a wild escape from forced prostitution, being pursued by an evil man, escaping raveners that can cause pain with a thought, performing feats of daring... it lacked adrenaline or suspense. I can’t figure out why though. Several scenes should have been heart pounding, but weren’t. Also, it took a long time for me to care about the characters - although I’ve read a few books lately with that feeling, so that may just be me. I did like the ending and now I sort of want to know what happens in the next book. Would definitely read this author again though!! I think book 2 will be on my to read list...

The Good Luck Girls is a feminist western-est debut novel by Charlotte Nicole Davis. In Arketta, girls are sold to Welcome Houses, branded on their necks by favors, and forced into a life they never would have chosen.
After Clementine accidentally kills a man on her Lucky Night, her sister Aster knows they much escape. With Clementine's friends Mallow and Tansy and head girl Violet following along, the girls make their grand escape. Pursed by Arketta’s most vicious and powerful forces, the girls trek across the Scab in search for assistance from a bedtime story called Lady Ghost.
As soon as I read the first few pages of this book, I wanted to read it all. Davis does a wonderful job at world building. Similar, I felt, to the likes of show more Tomi Adeyemi’s Children of Blood and Bone or Justina Ireland’s Dread Nation. I was able to feel myself there with the girls on their journey to freedom.
The story has strong women with heartbreaking backgrounds who form a family and all have beautifully written character arcs and growth. (Violet’s was my favorite) Davis’ writing style has become one of my favorites.
There is both fantasy and western elements sprinkled throughout the book. There are raveners who can mess with your mind and feelings, and spirits - both calm and vengeful ones - that haunt the land giving the fantasy feel. There’s also robbing, stealing, and “The Law” as there is in westerns.
The girls are constantly on the move so the book is always filled with action - clear up to the very end. It’s face pace, but it’s never fast enough that I felt like I was left in the dust.
I’m not a big fantasy reader, but this book is one I recommend checking out. show less

Badass Girls against horrible Beings

Holy crap, this book was amazing! The girls were all badasses who rose up against their oppressors and said, "NO MORE!"

They each had their own distinctive personalities and stood out from each other while creating a very interesting group dynamic.

The story itself was very well written and was set in a world that seemed so real. There were moments that had really hurt my heart and moments that had me laughing out loud. I loved Mallow's snarkiness and Aster's fierce loyalty to her sister. I even loved Violet's character (won't say much to avoid spoilers!)

The ending was supremely well done and I really hope there is more to come!

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from BookCon 2019 and Tor Teen in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I was on board with this book as soon as I found out it was a YA fantasy western. I didn’t even need to know the plot – I knew I was there for the aesthetics alone and the rest would com after.

I gotta tell you guys, the world Charlotte Nicole Davis built here is AWESOME. You get hints of a western feeling world in the post-apocalyptic dystopias like LIFEL1K3 and Gunslinger Girl, but The Good Luck Girls isn’t a dystopia and the world stays constant. I grew up watching old-school westerns with John Wayne and Clint Eastwood and while YES these are largely show more problematic, the genre has so many unique elements to it… I’m really excited to see it come back into modern fiction in a non-problematic way. Charlotte Nicole Davis has all the elements: ghosts, horses, rattlesnakes, saloons, the equivalent of U.S. Marshalls… but there’s the unique element of subtle magic, the vernacular of the world, and the class systems. She really captured the feel of a traditional western and it is ON POINT.

For whatever reason, I thought The Good Luck Girls was going to follow Clementine, but most the story is told from her sister Aster’s POV. Through the five girls and Zee, we learn about five very different backgrounds. Their stories are spread throughout the book, and it’s written really well. I never felt like there was an information dump. Each girl has a unique story that led her to the welcome house, and a unique skillset she offers the outlaw gang. I honestly couldn’t pick a favorite – Aster’s leadership and drive, second guessing Violet, Tansy’s kindness, or Mallow’s ferocity. I felt like Clem was the least developed, and while Zee was interesting, he wouldn’t take the top spot. Regardless, there are a lot of faces to fall in love with here.

Some plots were predictable, but the details never ended up quite the way I expected. For example, I figured out part of Violet’s story early on, and while I was right on the where, I wasn’t right on the what. This is such a wonderful debut and Charlotte Nicole Davis did such a great job of balance. There were exciting scenes, and there were gentler, more touching scenes. There were a lot of little plot twists and everything really felt like it went the way it had to go. This is a concerning world, and for once, I’m going to say that The Handmaid’s Tale x Westworld elevator pitch makes a lot of sense. But it’s a lot more Westworld. I see Delores in Aster for sure.

I had the opportunity to briefly meet and speak to Charlotte Nicole Davis as Book Con at the Fierce Reads Breakfast (which is where I got this ARC) and it was so cool how casual/excited she was about this novel. Each author only had a heartbeat to talk about their novel, and she simply said it had all the things she loved: westerns, girl gangs, ghosts. I am here for all of it. These are also things I love to see in book. I’ve gotta tell you – I had really high expectations for The Good Luck Girls… and I loved it.

I hope to see The Good Luck Girls making a splash across the community – it’s a strong, original book with an exciting storyline, great themes, great characters, great diversity… it’s good all around y’all. I know I’m going to be shouting about it, so I hope others will jump on board and read it, too! If you want that Old American West aesthetic with a fierce girl gang fighting injustice, you HAVE to read The Good Luck Girls. show less