Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

I found this one fairly infuriating. Hope is so oblivious, so willfully ignorant, that she was too frustrating to be sympathetic. She skews far younger than almost sixteen, especially with her siblings constantly infantalizing her. I can appreciate the idea that her constant positivity is damaging, that "protecting" your child from reality does them no favors, I had to grit my teeth to get through this book.

#Happy Girl Lucky by author #Holly Smale is such a fun novel. Featuring the Valentine sisters-Hope, Faith and Mercy. They have fame, beauty, and success. But, all Hope wants is love and she is willing to give it her all.
Thank you for the advance copy,
#Netgalley, #Holly Smale, and # Harper Collins

Happy Girl Lucky by Holly Smale is the first book of the new young adult contemporary romance The Valentines series. Each book of this series is going to feature one of the Valentine sisters so they could read as a standalone if choosing to do so with each having a different lead although there is a lot of character building of the entire family within this opener for the upcoming installments.

Happy Girl Lucky introduces the readers to Hope, the youngest of the four Valentine siblings. Hope is only fifteen with four months away from her sixteenth birthday and she is not allowed to be in the family fame spotlight just yet. Hope’s mother, grandmother and great-grandmother have all been famous movie stars and now all her siblings are getting into the business too leaving her feeling left behind.

The paparazzi are relentless when it comes to this famous family right at the moment though with Hope’s mother at a retreat for her mental health. Hope’s father is away on location of his latest movie and rumors are flying about the family. Hope however would rather have her moment in the spotlight when she finds her leading man.

I don’t really read much contemporary young adult but I have seen the Geek Girl series around quite a bit and have been curious so seeing this new series I thought it was a good chance to check out this author. I honestly thought this was rather cute and fun to read but I would warn that the main character in this first book doesn’t quite feel her age. Hope is very sheltered and that shows immensely in her own fantasy “movie” world but I had fun with the style that brought to the book when Hope ran her imaginary scenes. In the end I enjoyed this but I’m not the age it is marketed to and I’m not sure the main character would be as likable to that crowd.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

I received an e-arc of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

2/5 stars

Honestly I was so tempted to dnf this book but I pushed through in hopes of character growth but I never really felt it. I found all of the characters to be really annoying and just did not like being in our main characters pov. Unfortunately the style just didn't suit me well with her constantly creating her own scenes in her head and doing multiple takes of it until she felt it was right. I was also confused about the fact she followed him across the ocean after knowing him for basically a week. And the love interest is awful and rude to her most of the time. I was not hoping for them to get together and would've been much happier if she had left him behind at the beginning.

Also the family dynamic left much to be desired. It seemed like no one really cared for Hope and that she was all alone. I think if the relationships had been stronger I would've enjoyed this more but because I didn't have any relationship to be ground in I didn't really ever get a hopeful feeling for things to turn around for her.

The writing itself was good even though the styling of the story didn't mesh with me. I'm thinking this series isn't for me but I'll probably give this author another chance.

I really wanted to like this book but unfortunately I had a really hard time getting into it. The synopsis didn't really match what I was reading. I lost interest about 40% of the way in.

I usually really like YA books involving becoming famous or being related to someone famous (See Spoiled; Not in the Script; Between the Lines) but this one was a bit odd. At first, I couldn't figure out Hope -- she had almost too rich of an internal life. If you are ok with the character fantasizing for the majority of the book versus actually living, then this may be the book for you. I am curious what the other books in the series will be like (presumably about the other siblings) but this one just wasn't my favorite even though it had its glamorous moments.

Happy Girl Lucky came out earlier this month on February 2, 2021 and you can purchase HERE.

It's not me, I know that.

There's no way this wild wailing is coming from my mouth.

I've practised crying in front of a mirror, and my tears are beautiful. They're small, neat crystals; they trickle one at a time down my left cheek, shiny and devastating for my audience.

My eyes are eloquent and sparkling. Maybe my chin wobbles sweetly -- the tragedy! -- and a quiet but dignified sob catches in my throat as I turn with self-control towards a window just in time.

This was not a good fit for me. I hadn’t realized this was really a children’s book when I requested it. I saw romcom and read the synopsis and that was it. I tried to read it, but ended up skimming most of it. I’m not a doctor but Hope had some really serious issues going on and no one recognized it or addressed it. And one afternoon with a psychologist and all her problems were solved. So I definitely had a problem with that. Didn’t work for me at all.

This is a fun read, but not without some substance. Hope Valentine, the youngest family member of a movie dynasty family, is just months from starting her real life. When she turns sixteen she can begin training for the craft. With her active imagination she already lives her life as if it is a movie -- doing multiple takes when possible and cutting out the scenes she doesn't want to keep. But, wait. Is that the best way to live your life? It may take a trip to America to follow a boy (and try to bring her dad back to reunite with her mom) for Hope to realize that our daily ups and downs help us to grow and make the choices that take us into the future. Taking well-natured shots at rom-coms and media coverage of celebs, I thought this was clever and want to revisit the Valentine family when the second book comes out.

Thank you to HarperCollins and NetGalley for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.

Mini Review: Geek Girl is one of my favorite books, so when I saw Holly Smale was releasing a new series, I knew I had to read it! This was a cute read, with a nice message at the end. I'm interested in reading books about Faith and Mercy. (Which is what I think the next two books in the series will be about?) Overall, an enjoyable read, with plenty of Holly Smale's signature humor throughout the book!