I read this in the middle of June, despite the story being very Christmas-y and Christmas-related in general - and honestly, it didn't take away anything from the experience! This is short enough & packed with enough spookiness (without being too gory or scary) to be completely immersive, and I'm definitely going to be revisiting when it's actually Christmas time because I think this will be a huge hit for folks who love horror - and tbh, also for those who might be a little too scared of other horror, since again, this didn't go too overboard with the grossness or terror. Highly recommend!

If you’re looking for a horror novella that will scare you but not scar you, Lucky Girl by M. Rickert is just the thing. Lucky Girl was terrifying without being graphic or gory, which are two reasons I’ve stayed away from horror in the past. Rickert makes you use your imagination and gives just enough detail so that you can really get yourself worked up. The characters were fleshed out and the creepiness almost became another characters. This was so much fun to read.

This is a short read that I finished in one sitting. All the Christmas and Krampus elements make this a great read during the holidays. Ro is a struggling horror writers who gets together with a group of other lonely strangers for the holidays and exchange gifts. Decades later, they get together again at a spooky mansion where everything quickly goes downhill.

Despite the shortness of the story, each character felt unique despite them being strangers. In the end I think this just wasn't for me because I struggled to get invested with the characters, I think because they were simply strangers who kept getting together now and again, nothing about their relationships or characters really grabbed me. The elements that did grab me, like how Ro's family was murdered when she was a teen, made me wish those elements got more screen time.

This was a very quick, fun read. It is perfect for Halloween/Thanksgiving/Christmas cozy holiday reading. My only complaint was that it was too short and I would have liked more. I want more information about what happened to a couple characters and it would have been fun for some of the events to be more drawn out. It definitely feels like this could have been made into a full length novel really easily. But it succeeds as a creepy, interesting story as is.

I'm questioning if I am remember correctly, but I think there isn't any gore or body horror.

Sexual violence? No. Other content warnings? Murder, eating disorder

Who doesn’t love a good scary story at Christmas? Isn’t that what everyone does at Christmas? Tell scary stories? This is a really good scary story that takes place over many Christmas Days.

Ro, real name Roanoke, is trying to establish herself as a writer. In the Horror Genre. When she meets four different people at a local diner, all of them alone on a holiday, they become a group of friends, in a loose sense, and continue to share a Christmas dinner and gift exchange. At the first one she suggests everyone tell a scary story and boy does Grayson have a good one! Krampus is always a hit!

Ro has her own scary Christmas story. And it is going to tie in with one of these people. But, which one?

Years later Grayson asks to host Christmas and it turns bad quickly. This is a short story but I loved it! The author is so good at writing scary stuff and this one is just perfect.

NetGalley/September 13, 2022, Macmillan/Tor-Forge

Welp, that was a disappointment. This was a super quick horror novella that I got through in about an hour, but here's the thing. I wouldn't call it horror. It was a forgettable story about unlikeable people who don't really care about anything or each other, yet somehow continue to reemerge in each other's lives. Calling this a Krampus story is as misleading as calling this a horror story. This just felt poorly thought out and didn't know what it wanted to be or why.

Thanks to tordotcom and NetGalley for the ARC.

"Lucky Girl" by Mary Rickert is a gothic tale with folklore elements that are perfect to devour in one sitting. This short novella offers plenty of terrifying tales that make one wonder if the characters are very unlucky … or if nothing is truly a coincidence.

Ro meets four strangers at a local diner, all of whom seem to be as lonely as she is during the holiday season. On the spur of the moment, she decides to invite them back to her place for a Christmas dinner. When it seems as though the party is winding down and everyone is ready to call it a night, Ro suggests they share ghost stories. Yet, Ro is taken off guard when she discovers that one of the stories told is true and along with that knowledge comes deadly consequences.

There was a lot that was done well with this story. Though we didn’t learn much about all the characters, I think their personalities really shine through, especially in such a short time span. Each character has a distinct voice and mannerism that makes it easy to keep them separate in one’s mind. I liked that there was some mystery behind the main character and their backstory and that it unfolded slowly to keep the reader intrigued. I also loved those “what the heck” moments that are typical in horror. The ones that are so bizarre and off the rails that you have to take a breather and go over all the information like a detective sniffing out a lead in a murder mystery, just to understand what happened and where the story is headed.

The struggles I have with the story are mostly around the build-up to the horrific moments and how it was executed. It may have been the author’s intention and I could be misunderstanding the story’s goal, but it did feel as though there was a lack of anticipation or intensity leading up to the great horrific reveal of certain events. I think the main character’s tragic backstory was well done, but their present moments of horror fell a little short. The events happened pretty quickly and suddenly, so there was little time to process what was going on and to build up any dread or anticipation of what would come next. One of the aspects I enjoy most about horror stories (besides the gory details which this story didn’t go into too much, sadly) is the adrenaline rush of the climax of a scene when the main character is about to step on the metaphorical landline and everything goes downhill. It may just be an issue of pacing where some of the important elements of horror flew by a little too quickly rather than being flushed out so that the suspense could really build.

Overall, this is a great short story. It’s intriguing, gripping, and definitely holds one’s attention. There is a lot happening and a lot to unpack. It may not be everyone’s book, especially if they are looking for an intense and gory read. Readers who enjoy creepy and spooky stories will definitely want to pick this one up, especially if graphic details are not up their alley as this story wasn’t very explicit. Look for "Lucky Girl" by Mary Rickert on its expected publication date of September 13th, 2022!

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan-Tor/Forge, and Andrew for inviting me to read this title and providing me with a free e-arc to share my honest opinion in this review.

This is a very quick read.

On the plus side, small investments like these make me feel like I have less to lose. At the end of the day, whether I liked it or not- it only takes about an hour of my time to get through.

Lucky Girl was not a favourite of mine, and I was glad to see it done, The first 80 percent was slow and left a lot to be desired. However, the last 20 percent really picked up, and that is why this book is earning a 2.9/5 from me instead of a 2/5. I have rounded up in my final rating.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for the ARC

Lucky Girl is a horror Christmas novella that centers around an aspiring horror writer named Ro and her group of ‘friends’ connected by shared loneliness to get through Christmas with an impromptu holiday dinner and gift exchange. The story spans many years and takes lots of twists and turns.

Thoughts: I’m pretty easy to please with horror novellas.All I want is to be shocked and entertained and this book succeeded in doing both. I didn’t want to give much away in my overview of the synopsis and going in blind with this one is certainly going to be your best bet. Really packs a punch for a short read! With everything it had going on, it felt much longer than it was but didn’t convolute the plot, each layer just added more and more depth to Ro’s story. For a Krampus story, there wasn’t as much Krampus as I would’ve liked but I loooved that ending! Overall a really fun read and I think any fan of horror will enjoy it! Perfect for when you get sick of all of the holiday cheer and need to darken things up a bit 😂

Favorite Quote:
“There are all kinds of ghosts. We talk most about the ones that appear in the dark, less about those who never leave at all but follow a person everywhere she goes.”

This was a very quick read for me. Somnething a little different. A novella mentionong, Krumpus, a Christmas horror story. Friends, not friends meeting for Christmas every year. A little spooky--a mansion and an epic ending! I didn't see that coming.
Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for allowing me to read this book. I gave it a 3 out of 5.

Lucky Girl, in my opinion, takes too long to get moving. It's a very short read, and it plods along for the first half of the book. By the time the action picked up some, I really didn't care. What I did care about, though, was that ending. Now that was well done.

LUCKY GIRL is a horror novel set at a succession of Christmases, following a young woman who has a Christmas dinner with strangers one year and their lives become entangled.

Usually I can tell pretty quickly whether I'll like a book or not, and I wasn't won over by the opening. But this one turned positive for me when they started telling the ghost stories, and I came away liking it a great deal. Some of the quirks in the main character's narrative style made it hard to tell how seriously the narrative was taking certain things, as she has a very flat way of conveying distressing information. This has a fascinating payoff and ended up being a new favorite character-driven ending for me.

It touches on a wide variety of traumatic situations while avoiding graphic details on most of them. This means that while it's difficult to emotionally brace for what's about to be discussed in the narrative, there also isn't as much to brace for as there easily could have been.

This a well crafted bit of horror with a truly excellent payoff, don't miss it!

Lucky Girl is a quick and entertaining horror themed novella. And while I may not have found it to be as creepy as I had hoped it would be the writing is solid!

This horror/fantasy novella might send you running under the covers. It was a quick read. I devoured it.

Strangers with nothing to do over Christmas get together for a party and tell scary stories. One has a chilling story about encountering Krampus at his family’s estate. They lose touch but then get together again years later at this estate that’s straight out of a Gothic novel- candelabras, spooky atmosphere, and a creepy butler. The guests feel like this is a bad idea and maybe they shouldn’t have come…

This book was full of the unexpected. I really liked it! The atmosphere that the author creates draws you in. Can you read a Krampus story when it’s not Christmastime? Of course! This one comes out September 13. Thank you to Macmillan/Tor-Forge, Tordotcom, and NetGalley for my copy.

Lucky Girl is a wonderfully wicked seasonal horror novella. It combines Krampus, serial killers, storytelling, and Christmas ghost stories all into a short hundred pages.

I loved the depth of character work in Lucky Girl, the slowly-building dread, and the story-within-a-story structure. I finished it last night and still felt a bit unsettled when I woke up this morning. It sucked me in as deeply as a novel.

I did find the pacing a bit off near the end — I felt rushed through a few creepy events and I’d have liked the author to spend a little more time on them. But I’m so glad I read this one, it’s a perfect snack to for late at night right before bed. I plan to read it again at Christmas.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tordotcom for my review copy of this book

How can someone heal from holiday trauma?

I feel like this book read more like a screenplay than a novel. Most of the was revealed in dialogue, which was sometimes hard to read into the character's feelings and motivations. I enjoyed the plot. and the turn at the end, but I didn't feel it was completely earned. I was also confused with the title and it being a krampus story. I kept expecting there to be a monster appearance and was a bit disappointed when this was more folklore based.

I would recommend it to anyone looking for a quick holiday read with a tinge of creepiness.

Thank you to TOR for the advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was able to read this pretty quick. I would've liked it to honestly be a little more horror centered but honestly I did not expect the plot twist at the end. I also did like the tie back into Krampus at the end.

“Lucky Girl” is a horror novella by Mary Rickert that follows Ro, an aspiring author who meets four strangers at a local diner and decides to invite them to an impromptu Christmas party. When the party starts winding down, the guests begin to tell Christmas themed ghost stories. And the plot continues from there.

I love Christmas books. Whether they are retellings of classic stories, adorable romances, or chilly horror. So I had a feeling I would enjoy this one. This is a very short book, hitting just over 100 pages. The story itself was very intriguing and I think horror novellas are the perfect way to consume horror because they can be read in one sitting, keeping you fully immersed in the world. I thought this book had plot twists I wasn’t expecting and the exact type of open ended conclusion that I love.

My only complaint was just how surface level the characters felt. I understand that with a novella, you won’t have pages and pages of character development but I think this book would have benefited greatly with just 20 or so more pages to really pull the reader in, in particular towards the beginning when the characters are all telling their stories.

This was a really fun creepy little book that would be perfect to read during the holidays if you want a little spooky in your Christmas.

Lucky Girl is a great horror mystery set around Christmas with some great twists. Highly recommended if you Christmas themed horror.

Thanks to Andrew King at Tordotcom Publishing for the ARC.

Highly recommend!! My first book to read by this author but definitely not my last!! Uniquely and beautifully written, this story and its characters stay with you long after you finish the book.