Contrary to other reviews I really enjoyed this book. I appreciate it when an author can create a story and deliver in under 200 pages. At times I think authors feel pressured by publishers or perhaps by editors who want the average size of a book to be over 300 pages. In 112 short pages I enjoyed myself.

I had fun. I enjoyed the Christmas and wintery elements that were continuously described in the book. It was atmospheric and creep cozy. It was a neat concept that whenever time periods changed it always reverted back to simply Christmas in another year. This would make a fun, horror/spooky book to read during the holiday seasons.

Readers who are very literal or who need EVERYTHING to make sense may want to pass on this novella. Certain plot points moved too quickly in areas where I would’ve preferred more development. The reader may ask “wait, how did this happen?”

Someone got married (wait how did you fall in love again?).
You’re trapped. (Two paragraphs later you’re not trapped).
A baby was born. (well that was quick too).

In moments like these I believe the editor should’ve pushed the author to elaborate more. At only 112 pages we as readers needed more for clarification purposes. While we’re aware that it’s fiction the longer descriptions in the areas above would’ve wrapped a bow around the story better. (Christmas, bow pun intentional)

⭐⭐.5/5

• holiday "horror" novella
• fun setup but not fully developed

Spooky Szn has begun! 👻🎃🧙
This one had potential. It wasn't really all that scary and overall it felt choppy. With the shorter length of a novella, I wasn't able to connect with the characters.

🗣️ Thank you to @netgalley and @torbooks for the opportunity to read and review this book via widget! All opinions are honest and my own.

"Monsters are real, and ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes they win."
Stephen King

A Krampus horror novella with human monsters if I need to describe this book.
I enjoyed this book there was a twist I didn't expect but overall this story not going to stay with me to remember or think about it more.

Release Date: September 13th 2022

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I love stories about Krampus, but this just didn't do it for me. It didn't really hold my attention or feel very spooky. Other than that it was ok

3.5 stars rounded up

This wasn't earth-shattering, or even truly scary. But it was a fairly enjoyable, creepy novella.
Perhaps a bit too short, but the sort of thing you could easily read in one sitting while cuddled up with a blanket and cup of tea on a fall evening. I'm not sure there's a lot I can say without spoilers, but the setup of Lucky Girl is this...

A woman is telling a story that begins when she was a recent college graduate- impoverished and lonely with a traumatic past, trying to make it as a horror writer. She ends up meeting three other lonely people and they decide to get together for Christmas, exchange inexpensive gifts, and tell scary stories. Stories that might come back to haunt them years later...

This novella is a bit creepy, though much of the time it was more sad than anything else. There is a great deal of loss and tragic violence. And for a horror writer, the narrator is unbelievably dense at times. If you're looking for something on the darker side for the holidays, with a side of Christmas horror a la Krampus among other things, give this a try! I received a copy of this book for review via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

Horror is always at its best for me when it sneaks up on you. The dread in the back of your mind that builds and lingers until its hands are firmly wrapped around you, cutting off your sense of safety. Horror novellas are uniquely adept at this craft; they must strike faster than their lengthier counterparts in order to snare you well. The best of them still pack a surprise punch, even when you think you’ve got it all figured out.

Mary Rickert’s bite size Krampus story, Lucky Girl, How I Became A Horror Writer, is a slick and visceral winter tale sure to leave its mark. Partly a cautionary tale about the ways the relationships we build traditions around grow flimsy with age and how easily the social masks we use to maintain appearances can slip off into shadows, Lucky Girl is remarkably quick on its feet constructing a series of untrustworthy characters. In a house filled with strangers guised as acquaintances, how do you tell the monsters apart from the friends?

At just 112 pages and framed in classical holiday tradition of gathering to tell stories by the fire, Lucky Girl is the perfect single-serving size for a bitter winter’s night. Don’t let its mini stature fool you. Rickert came for blood, and blood she shall have. Bursting with twists to its final gasp, Lucky Girl is both a testament to horror as comfort and a perfect rug-pulling slasher sure to leave its claw marks on your imagination.

Just be careful of any bells…

Well… that was certainly different. I’m not really sure how to rate this. I liked it. It was an easy and very quick read. I could have easily read this in an hour or two if I had that kind of time to read right now.

It was creepy, and part of the story was actually fascinating. It felt like the really good parts were truncated and the rest was just a bunch of people getting together every once in a while to celebrate Christmas.

It was a Christmas story, but it didn’t really feel like it.

I felt like it was lacking in details and emotions. I think that’s why I couldn’t really relate to characters or invest in the story. It reads more like a short story than a novel.

It is a fun read, and anyone who loves Krampus or creepy Christmas stories should read it!

This book was not for me. It was well-composed, and the author achieved what I assume was her goal of making nobody likeable, but unfortunately they were <i>so</i> unlikeable that I found reading the POV character's deliberately-pretentious narration to be largely intolerable, especially over the space of a novella rather than a short story. It's a horror writer (M. Rickert) writing the story of a horror writer (Ro) living through her own horror story, and so a lot of the character's commentary on writing seemed a bit self-congratulatory in tone. Beyond that, it was predictable--the part that was meant to be a twist was telegraphed very early on, so I didn't find it very engaging as a mystery.

That said, I know a lot of people enjoy horror where everyone is terrible and thus everything that happens to them is deserved. It's a popular subgenre! If you enjoy the vibes of that type of horror, you may like this more than I did.

Quick read with very little suspense or spookiness. Definitely a dark atmosphere though. Those with little time to read but looking for a dark read might enjoy.

Well this was a fun Christmas horror novella. The story revolves around Ro, an aspiring horror writer, who has had her fair share of trauma. During the holidays Ro finds herself at a diner she has frequented that is closing. Here she meets 4 others who bond over shared loneliness and get through the holidays together with an impromptu potluck dinner and gift exchange. As the night is coming to an end, the group decides to tell horror stories. Because why not?! Here is where the story of Krampus is introduced. The “friends” agree to get together the following year as well. After that, everyone just drifts apart and losing contact, until several years later when social media is a thing. Life events happen for all parties, and once reconnected they decide to get together. From here there are so many twists and unexpected developments! The story is short, but packs in so much!

Lucky Girl by M. Rickert
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A impromptu Christmas dinner with strangers is a great time to tell ghost stories, right?
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This was a quick horror novella that kept my attention. I finished it in one evening. It wasn’t overly scary and I did read it at night. It was ghost stories, awkward reunions, and a nightmare come to life.
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I really enjoyed the mystery threaded through the story and wasn’t expecting the way it ended.
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4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Thank you Tor and Netgalley for this digital copy to read!

A delicious little nugget of spicy chocolate! This novella packs a punch and makes me wish it was a full length novel. The atmosphere and character development are masterful. If I can’t have a full book with backstories, answers and resolutions then I look forward to reading more from this author!

I think the writing was good. It was engrossing, disturbing, and the tension was there. To be honest, I got spooked.

But I don't know what it's trying to do? What is the actual story?
The messiness of the story is reflected very well in the title. Just looking at the title, I thought: Is it the story of how she became a horror writer? Is it a Krampus story? Is she a lucky girl because she became a horror writer of a Krampus story?
There's a "we're not really friends" group. There's a creepy church with a Krampus. There's also a creepy person from the past. And then, there's a vampire(-looking) servant???

One thing's clear, it is not a Krampus story. The Krampus was more like a motif.

Overall, a short, quick, and okay read. Even though the words flow well, the story is all over the place.

Strangers meet at a diner and develop an odd connection. They meet again on Christmas, give each other stolen gifts, and tell scary stories. Or at least they do for a year until one of them cannot attend their second gathering. Time passes and they agree to meet again at Grayson's home. But why exactly did he invite them and what kinds of secrets are each of them keeping? Is Grayson really their friend or will this holiday have a tragic ending?
At only 112 pages, I finished this story in a flash. I liked how it started, but somehow it became less interesting and to me, a bit confusing. I finished this two days ago and still feel like there might have been sections missing. I don't think that is the case though, more like the author was covering a large chunk of time in a novella. Did I enjoy it? Some parts but overall, I just don't think I was the right reader.

We follow Ro, a struggling writer, who knows all too well the pain and solitude that comes with the Christmas holiday season.

Ro meets four people at the local diner—all of them strangers and as lonely as she is—she invites them to an impromptu Christmas dinner. And when that party seems in danger of an early end, she suggests they each tell a ghost story. One that’s seasonally appropriate.

Based on one of those horrifying stories, Ro will write a novel about Krampus. Years later this group of strangers is supposed to meet again.

This was a really short story and it was not perfect but it had great atmosphere and I can recommend this for people looking for a short read for Christmas.

This was good but wasn’t great, in my opinion. I enjoyed it but it wasn’t scary and at times, I got a little bored. It’s a fun little novella and easy to get through, but I expected a bit more from it!

I wanted to like this book. Random meeting of four people at the closing of a go to diner is a curious story, especially when they decided to meet every Christmas and give each other stolen gifts. These people were like children; they told each other horror stories just to unsettle each other. But one story stuck with them.

Couple of years later, the participation had been dwindled and gradually they gave up. One day they got an invite from their rich friend to his estate. Narrator, now a successful horror author, didn’t know why she accepted the invite. She neither wanted to see one guy who used to hit on her nor the rich friend who sent her the bell calling Krampus. Yet there she was with three other listening to other Christmas stories that were bit more than a tale.

Sometimes I felt like I skipped pages thinking there was a gap in what I was reading. I would check and nope, no skipped pages. I wish there was more of a continuity. Little bit more detail, hows and whys,, would made this story more chilling

This novella grabbed me from the start. I liked the characters and storyline, but I felt the ending was rushed and this may have been better if it was longer.

This was predictable, boring and not scary. Not what I was expecting from this at all. Cannot recommend. Don't waste your time.

Thanks to NetGalley, M Rickert and Macmillan Tor Forge Nightlife Tor Dot Com for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available: 9/13/22

Thank you to Tor for letting me read LUCKY GIRL early. This book hits the shelves on September 13!

Krampus stories have always intrigued me and this one is no exception. This novella features all the creepy characters you’d expect and then some. I loved how this story came to life and I hated how these characters didn’t hear me screaming at them and I still definitely recommend it.

Four strangers meet in a diner and decide to hang out for Christmas to cure their loneliness. Ghost stories are shared as well as secrets from the past. Krampus can never be tamed.