Winning the Lottery Never Tasted So Sweet in This Trope-Filled Romance

Just Our Luck by Denise Williams

"Just Our Luck is the fun, escapist romantic romp that we need in these very expensive-egg times."

In a time when eggs are priced at insane levels, winning the lottery seems like a sound financial plan. Okay, maybe not, but it may help supplement those grocery store trips. For Sybil in Just Our Luck by Denise Williams, winning the lottery came with a lot more than just extra egg money–or in this case, donut money.

Sybil Sweet is at a not-so-lucky position in life: she’s on her umpteenth temp job, she’s lost her apartment and is back in her childhood room, and her car is on its ninth life. When she finds a lucky penny one morning, leaving for work, she’s hopeful that her plan to pick up the donut order for the morning meeting will show her manager, Josefina she’s taking initiative and deserves a promotion. Instead, she manages to steal the donuts (really, she just forgot her wallet. She’ll pay them back later!), trip and lose the donuts, and get fired. 

She thinks the penny’s luck is for her blind date later that night, but she’s disappointed there, too, when the date stands her up. So, she vows instead of putting her energy in men, she’s going to win the lottery with a ticket she just bought for kicks and have the perfect donut … coincidentally from the same shop where she “stole” the donut order that morning. 

Kieran Anderson is at his wits end: he’s left medical school to run his grandad Joe’s donut shop while Joe is healing, the shop is in financial trouble, and his sister Lila who’s helping with the shop, is about to graduate college and possibly leave town for any one of six dream accounting jobs. Kieran’s tried almost everything to get Joe’s Donuts out of bankruptcy-infested waters, including staying open late to catch the crowd leaving bars and clubs for the night. 

Joe’s friend Tom finds a lucky penny outside the shop one day and gives it to Kieran. Even though Kieran doesn’t believe in luck, he sure could use some, considering someone took off with a $40 donut order that morning. It seems as if the penny might be working because later that night, a beautiful woman walks into the donut shop vowing to find the perfect donut and win the lottery, and she’s flirting with him.

Trope-arrific and Steamy to Boot

For readers who love the one-night stand, fake relationship, or grumpy-sunshine tropes, you will love this novel. Ms. Williams lays heavily on these tropes, as well as a couple of other honorable mentions to get us into Sybil’s and Kieran’s story. After their sexy night, Sybil left her lottery ticket at Kieran’s donut shop, and Kieran’s heartstrung plea via social media to find her leads them into a fake relationship. Grumpy Kieran and eve-optimistic sunshine Sybil are not only a smoldering steamy couple, they are a ball of laughs as they navigate small-time fame, making and selling donuts, and keeping the ruse going for family.

As you probably already realized, when there’s a one-night stand, there’s bound to be some steam attached. Ms. Williams has a nice heaping of spice in her novels–the scenes are open door, but most of her stories are also a slow-burn. In Just Our Luck, our one-night stand is followed by lots of pining and a couple of kisses before we see Sybil and Kieran come together again. When you pair hot and heavy with not-quite-familiar and add on a reluctant fake relationship, you get one delicious romantic dessert.

More to Sybil than Meets the Eye

When we first meet Sybil, readers will pick up right away that she’s clumsy and somewhat forgetful. Readers may even get a bit frustrated with her as Kieran did in the beginning, despite being deeply attracted to her. I even had a moment in the beginning of “give him the money for the donuts!” frustration. 

But there’s more than forgetfulness here. What slowly becomes evident is that Sybil thinks differently and possibly has ADHD brain chemistry. As someone who believes she has undiagnosed ADHD, I saw some of my own behaviors mirrored in Sybil. And when I realized it, I became more frustrated with how Sybil’s family treated her than how she was acting. 

For readers who are triggered by gaslighting and slight emotional abuse by family, try another delightful novel by Denise Williams. However, for those who want to see Sybil triumph and find the love she deserves, along with a few great donuts, then dive into this sweet treat. Just Our Luck is the fun, escapist romantic romp that we need in these very expensive-egg times.

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