The Good Luck Girls follows the story of five girls and their escape journey to find freedom in the brutal land of Arketta. With a hope to get rid of their cursed markings, they will have to face a long trip full of demonic creatures, ruthless monsters, and not to mention the forces that chase them for a murder that one of them accidentally committed.
“Everyone deserved to be free, though. Everyone deserved to feel this.”
The story begins in a brothel called Welcome House, where the five girls live and try their best to survive after being sold by their families in exchange for money to live, pay debts, or simply because it was seen as the better way because the brothel offered food and a place to stay. On the sixteenth birthday of one of the girls, Clementine, it marked her transformation from being a daybreak girl where she’d need to do daily chores, into a sundown girl where she starts to accompany clients at nights, commonly called brags. It was supposed to be her Lucky Night, until she accidentally killed her very first client. Her older sister, Aster, who’s already experienced the ugly side of being a sundown girl, realised that there was no way for them to get out of this unfortunate event without getting punished unless they run away and leave the brothel. With the other three girls, Mallow, Tansy, and Violet, Aster leads the escape journey not to just physically get out of the brothel, but also to get rid of the tattoos that marked them as good luck girls. Girls that are forced into sex slavery in Welcome House, girls that are forced to praise every brag that they encountered, girls that need to swallow drugs in order to escape their traumas, girls that are sold by their own family. Maybe, they were not so lucky after all.
Right from its first page, The Good Luck Girls was nothing but continuous intensity with a dynamic storyline. It was full-force and action packed with excellent inclusivity and representation of multiple mental illnesses (anxiety, depression, PTSD, addiction), and delivery of well-researched topics including sex trafficking, sex slavery, social inequality, and oppression. It was raw and raging. Davis delivered a story which is set in a fantasy land, but with issues that sadly still happened in our reality.
I thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of The Good Luck Girls. As much as being entertained by the magical universe that Davis created, I was also learning about multiple important issues that I’ve never aware of before. Yes, this story feels like a furious shout over devastating issues that are still happening at this very moment, and I applaud Davis for sharing her awareness and knowledge. Not only just by simply writing this story, but also for spending enormous efforts and time to deliver facts and truths by conducting researches (in case you want to see more behind the story about this and the book references that Davis used, check out the acknowledgements).
The universe of The Good Luck Girls was exceptional. It was built on such detailed narratives that leave me craving for more. Davis was truly incredible in describing this magical world of hers, everything from the scab, the underworld, to the animal and other magical creatures that lived in it was delivered in such cinematic writing. Everything was vivid and authentic.
And clearly, this is neither a plot-driven or a character-driven story because it is both! There was always something happening that moved the characters forward. I’m not the biggest fan when this method used in a story because oftentimes, they feel forced and unnatural. But in The Good Luck Girls, it flows smoothly and although I’m tensed and scared for these characters’ lives, I couldn’t wait for more twists and unfortunate events. No offence, Aster. Your gang will be always in my prayers.
In conclusion, I’m glad to have picked this book as one of my most anticipated debut titles for this month, because it truly lives up to my expectations! The ending was not a ‘happily ever after’, indeed, but it left many unanswered questions that hopefully will be revealed in the next book.
The Good Luck Girls is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
Westworld meets The Handmaid’s Tale in this stunning fantasy adventure from debut author Charlotte Nicole Davis.
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 murders 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.
