Uncertain Luck by Rea Keech has an intriguing premise set in 1969 Tokyo, where Emiko searches for her missing father amid political unrest and falls for an American soldier in the Vietnam War. While the historical backdrop is interesting, I found it hard to connect with the characters and the story lacked emotional depth. The audiobook narration was a bit flat, and a professional narrator might have improved the experience. The print version could have been a better option for me.

Thank you Real Nice Books | Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Audiobooks for allowing me to audibly read and review Uncertain Luck by Rea Keech on NetGalley.

Published: 11/01/23

Narrated by Rea Keech (Author)

Stars: 5

This has everything I look for in a good story. The characters are as written with textbook expectations. Everyone has problems and no one is sabotaging another. This is great storytelling. The pieces are interlocking and the end result is not necessarily what I wanted, but exactly as it should be.

The author did a good job narrating.

The synopsis speaks for itself.

I would gift and recommend to those who enjoy historical classy fiction.

"Uncertain Luck" by Rea Keech, both authored and narrated by Keech, offers listeners a glimpse into the tumultuous landscape of 1969 Tokyo through the eyes of Emiko, a young woman on a quest to find her missing father. Set against the backdrop of the Vietnam War, the audiobook promises a blend of historical fiction and romance, which initially intrigued me as a fan of the genre.

After her mother's death, Emiko's journey unfolds as she leaves her village behind to seek answers in Tokyo, only to find herself entangled in a series of challenging circumstances. Working for various unsavoury characters, she crosses paths with Juan, a wounded soldier recovering from injuries after being wounded in Vietnam, sparking a love story fraught with uncertainty.

While the premise of "Uncertain Luck" held promise, I struggled to connect with the protagonist, Emiko, and the overall narrative. While aiming to convey the mood and atmosphere of the time, Keech's narration fell flat for me, lacking the depth and emotion needed to immerse me in the story fully. The monotone delivery made it difficult to stay engaged, and I often found myself putting off listening to the audiobook.

That being said, there were moments of brightness within the storyline, particularly in the portrayal of friendships and fleeting moments of connection. However, these were overshadowed by the challenges of connecting with the main character and the narrative as a whole.

Reflecting on my experience, I couldn't help but feel that a female narrator may have enhanced the story, particularly given its focus on Emiko's perspective. A different voice might have brought depth and authenticity to her character, allowing listeners to better empathize with her journey.

While "Uncertain Luck" may not have resonated with me personally, I believe there is potential for it to find its audience among those who appreciate historical fiction with a touch of romance.

While it may not have been the right fit for me, I remain hopeful that others will find enjoyment in its pages.

I am grateful to NetGalley, Real Nice Books, and Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Audiobooks for providing me with a copy of the audiobook.

This book was a different kind of read than what I am accustomed to reading. I did like it and find it entertaining, and I learned a lot along the way. It was a good historical view of the Vietnam War times. I did not care for the narrations.

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

In 1969 Japan, Emiko’s father went to Tokyo to protest the Vietnam War but hasn’t been heard from for months. When Emiko’s mother dies unexpectedly, she follows her father to Tokyo to track him down. While there, she meets Juan, an American soldier recovering from injuries in the same war Emiko and her dad are denouncing. Will she be able to find her dad, and will she be able to find happiness with Juan?

This story had an interesting premise, but the execution fell a bit flat for me. I learned some interesting things about Japanese culture in the late 1960s, but I felt disconnected from the characters and their emotions and thoughts. I think the audiobook would have been better with a professional narrator. If you want to read this book, I would recommend a print or ebook version.

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an audio ARC of this book.

I did not finish this audiobook. I could not get into the story. However, I am not saying that the story might be interesting for someone else.
I think for me I was just not interested in the culture of the story.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the early review copy of this book.
I really liked how unique the premise is, we follow a Japanese woman and a Puerto Rican soldier with a lot of emotional baggage.
Narration for MC did not work for me and took me out of a story a lot, I think this would have been a better choice in print.
I wish there was more character development and explanation as to why Emiko makes the choices she does.
Overall, interesting book set during a period of time we don't see often in books.

It is an interesting historical fiction about Vietnam as Emiko searches for her missing father. An eye-opening view of what it was like at that time. The struggles Emiko deals with in another country and so quickly after the death of her mother. Emiko is a very thought-out character I felt I knew personally by the end of the story. I think the love triangle with the American soldier just enriched the plot. The narrator did a great job although a woman's voice for Emiko might have been better but overall it was a great audiobook. Rea Keech did a great job creating a realistic historical fiction novel.

Uncertain Luck by Rea Keech, an audiobook narrated by Rea Keech is historical fiction, set in 1969 Tokyo.
Unfortunitelly this wasn't the book for me. I struggle to connect with the main character Emiko and the story in general. I don't think that author was a suitable narrator for the book. The voice was so monotone, that I needed to concentrate so much to stay focused. Usually, I multitask while listening, but this time I caught that book becoming a background noise so I needed to go back and relisten. I pushed myself to listen to it all in one go as I knew it would be hard to come back if I left it.

The storyline wasn't bad, there were some good moments, and some good friendships. Probably with a female narrator, it would be better, I don't know.

In 1969 Emiko’s father goes missing so she decides to go to Tokyo and find him. Things are not straight forward and Emiko goes through tough times. In Tokyo, Emiko meets Juan and falls in love but she doesn't know if there is a possible happy ending.

Thank you, NetGalley for the copy, even though It wasn't a book for me, I believe there will be readers who will love it.

An unusual historical fiction, "Uncertain Luck" by Rea Keech tells the story of Emiko as she tries to find her missing father and Juan during his recovery from an injury in Vietnam. Emiko and Juan meet in Tokyo and sparks fly despite the two coming from different worlds.

Listening to the Japanese perspective and history surrounding the time of the Vietnam Conflict is interesting amidst the unusual storyline. I personally enjoyed getting some insight on Japanese life in the late 1960s. However, I felt that Emiko was quite naïve and I had a little difficulty getting into the story initially because I had a hard time connecting with her. I also wished for a female voice when the story was told from her perspective. The male voice narrating Emiko's parts made me remember that she was fictional rather than helping me relate to her.

Overall, "Uncertain Luck" is a pleasant read with great historical insight.

Overall this was a nice, relaxing read! I felt that Emiko needed stronger character development- we didn’t get a deep look into her reasoning, emotions, or background to understand why she makes the decisions she does. However, the plot was engaging and the author clearly did a lot of research into the politics and culture of Japan at that time.

Interesting premise but the foreign savior trope is tired and I am not a fan of it .

Thank you for the audiobook .

Took a bit to read this. Interesting facts about the locations and history of same but this wasn't for me. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

Having lived in Japan for 45 years, I’m pretty fussy when it comes to books that are set in Japan written by non-Japanese. Often, they are filled with stereotypes and cultural blips. But Rea Keech in “Uncertain Luck” has written a book set in 1969 Japan that has a very authentic feel to it. It takes place ten years before my sojourn began, but I do remember people talking about the glue sniffers at Tokyo Station. I knew people who were wannabe radicals (particularly protesting Narita Airport operations). And my husband has also talked about the student uprisings and the radicalism that had swept the country at that time.

The story begins when Emiko leaves her factory job in her country city after her mother dies to search for her father, a WWII vet who disappeared after supporting students in Tokyo protesting the Vietnam war. There she meets some shady people and finds lodging in Sanya, a neighborhood that could be called a slum. While searching for her father, she obtains a job as an English translator and meets Juan, an American GI who is recovering from an injury from the Vietnam war. Now she is in love, but will love be enough for them during this very difficult time?

There are a few things that are hard to believe (for example, I can’t imagine a high school graduate from a local city having the necessary English skills to communicate in rudimentary English, let along talk to Juan with such passion and land a job as a translator). But other than that, I think the book does a fine job in transporting us to the Japan of that time. My only complaint is that I listened to an audio ARC. As other reviewers have mentioned, it would have been better to have had a female narrator since the POV was mainly from Emiko. However, once I got used to the male voice, I didn’t hate it. I would have just preferred a woman.

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this audio book.

This was an ok read, I enjoyed the setting and was interested in the Vietnam War aspect as I haven't really read many stories set in that time frame. However, I wasn't really drawn in by the characters and so it felt a little flat to me. Not bad, just not my favorite. The narrator was ok.

As is my usual way with reviews, I will not be repeating the precise of the story here as I believe that the professionals do a better job without giving too much away. What you really need to know is whether this book is worth listening to.
You have to remember when absorbing this book, that it is set in the 1960s and during the Vietnam war. It is not a time and place in history which I know much about and so I was interested to learn more. However, I do not feel convinced that Emiko gave me much to learn from. There were so many inconsistencies within the story and presumptions which the listener has to make to make the facts add up. I also found that the narrator did not use enough different ‘voices’ to make the audio work well. Not a book I can highly recommend but perhaps reading it would be better?

The backdrop of Vietnam War time in Japan makes for an interesting historical setting, and the burgeoning romance between Emiko, a Japanese young woman, and Juan, a Puerto Rican US soldier convalescing there, is gentle and sweet.

For both characters, the book provides more facts about their pasts than emotional history (we know some of what happened in their lives but not their feelings, yearnings, insecurities, defining moments etc). As a result, their choices throughout the book seem abrupt or unfounded. For instance, their rapid attachment to one another was sweet, but hard to be bought into and invested in as a reader.

I particularly struggled to understand the motivations and voice of Emiko, whose maturity seems all over the place. She seems at once self sufficient and helpless, worldly and naive. I also think the audiobook narrator gives her a childish voice, which adds to this and makes it surprising when she does adultish things like forwardly initiate a kiss or start an intellectual conversation over policy or politics.

I found myself filling in the gaps to make the story make sense or resonate: how did she get so good at English and have such in depth knowledge of world politics? Because of her father’s activism? But then why didn’t she go to college like some of her friends? Is it because her father was away and they needed the money from her factory job? Why is she so deferential to women in her village and suddenly so bold and outspoken when she gets to Tokyo? Why is she so opposed to domestic life and disinterested in romantic relationships until she meets Juan? And why do they instantly attach themselves to each other? Are they filling a void of lovelessness in other parts of their lives? Are they drawn to each other’s different backgrounds? Or are they both just super hot and irresistible to one another?

I kept rooting for this book, as I love both historical fiction and romance, and it has so much potential with the initial plotline and context. The gaps I described above as well as the stilted dialogue were distracting, though, so I give it ⭐️⭐️⭐️.

Thanks to NetGalley, Rea Keech and Real Nice Books for an ARC in return for an honest review.

I thank netgalley and the author for allowing me to review this advanced copy of the novel.

After having read several reviews of the novel I have to say I dind myself quite aligned with praise and criticism. I was really intrigued to read a novel about the Vietnam war, as by being Italian I am not very familiar with it. I liked the story as an overall, it gave a nice insight into the political realities at the time of the war. The main character at the beginning is so inexperienced it is almost annoying, but she thankfully develops into a more mature person throughout and leaves behind her naivetee. I liked the relationship between the two main characters, even if the desire to be together and the development of the ove is a bit fast for my taste. I have seen the criticism that the female main character should have been a bit more conflicted by dating an American, and I do agree, but also understand her need for love in a reality where she has lost her mother, doesn't know if she will ever see her father again and is in a foreign city alone.
I didn't dislike the author reading the novel out loud, but it is true different female voices would have enriched the narration.
Lastly there are some abrupt changes of perspective in the novel, as the POV shifts rapidly between the characters.I hope the book does a better job transitioning than the audiobook.
Overall I recommend this book for a light read..

Thank you NeGalley, Real Nice Books and Rea Keech for the audiobook Arc.

This story dis not disappoint! Recommend this audiobook! I could put it down.