Wow. *Lucky Night* is a masterclass in stunning, thought-provoking writing that grips you from the very first page. Set in the claustrophobic confines of a $2,000-a-night hotel room, the novel follows Jenny and Nick, two adulterous lovers who have been carrying on a six-year affair. As their situation spirals into increasingly dire territory, the walls around them—and their secrets—close in.

What makes this story so compelling is how it uses this confined space to explore enormous questions. As Jenny and Nick slowly unveil their darkest truths to each other, the tension builds with every revelation. The novel dives deep into the murky waters of morality, free will, and the ways society dictates what’s “right” and “wrong.” Their raw, unfiltered dialogue about love, guilt, and personal freedom feels as explosive as it is introspective.

Claustrophobic and tense, *Lucky Night* is a riveting exploration of human imperfection and the choices we make when no one is looking. It’s a story that lingers, asking readers to question their own assumptions about morality and the paths they’ve chosen. Truly unforgettable.

Thanks to NetGalley and Crown for this advance reader copy, in exchange for an honest review. This book is set over the course of one tense evening, as the nearly six-year affair between Jenny and Nick metaphorically implodes, as they share secrets, frustrations, and other hidden feelings while they’re trapped in a burning hotel building. Yes, a literal burning building.

The author did a great job at building up the tension and anxiety in this book; I think that in the large part is what kept me turning the pages. The two main characters were on the unlikable side and their back and forth, almost circling the drain, banter became frustrating after a while. Theirs is an exemplar of a messy, disastrous relationship that you almost can’t look away from because you need to see what direction it will take next. However, I will say that by the second half of the book, the conversation between the main characters did shift away from the surface-level, irritating banter to deeper, heartfelt discussion (as you might expect when you think death is imminent). I appreciated this much more and think that this is really when the book shines.

The writing style of this book was unique and I did need to work a little bit in the beginning to get in the groove of the format. It had a very stream of consciousness style format, with the thoughts of both characters interspersing with the dialogue (which also had no breaks or quotations). However, I did find that the stream of consciousness thoughts felt very realistic, which I appreciated. So, again, while this took a bit to get into, I think this style largely contributed to the overall high stakes atmosphere and feelings of frustration that were boiling over, as these characters reconciled with their complicated feelings toward each other and the real life threat of the burning building they were trapped in.

While this book probably won’t be for everyone, I enjoyed it! I would recommend it to those who enjoy stream of consciousness narratives and those who enjoy character driven books. Will be interested to see what others think when this publishes.

Gripping and unexpected! What a perfect suspense/thriller with some romance and humor! Kept me on my toes and wanting more. What more could you want in a book?

I was not able to stop thinking about this book whenever I had to put it down for about 50% of the story, after that it started to slow down a bit, but it was not necessarily a bad thing because the story warranted it.

Jenny and Nick’s conversations turned more serious as their situation got more dire and it forced them to let go of their fears and confront what this affair really means to them. I felt that the author was able to transmit the tension and the seriousness of the situation beautifully throughout the book.

Loved!

Thank you NetGalley, for this uncorrected ebook ARC of 'Lucky Night' by Eliza Kennedy - expected release date 03/25/2025

Even at 288 pages, this book was too long, and the whole first chapter was written with such exaggerated, pretentious verbiage, which wasn't necessary. It took way too long to get anywhere. The first 3/4s was so surface level I had a hard time connecting with the characters and storyline. The two main characters finally started getting deeper after that, but by then, it was too late. This book lost me early and I couldn't get into it.

this one was so….not for me.

I felt it was a bittttt too long and much of it could have been shortened without the incessant dialogue that went in circles & accomplished nothing.

also, the pacing of thebook caused so much unneeded anxiety. why the back & forth, okay and then not okay, it was annoying to me, an already anxious reader.

and don't even get me started on the whiny characters of jenny & nick. they deserve each other.

just didn't enjoy this book much at all. sorry!

many thanks to netgalley & the publisher for an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

The lack of punctuation paired with tons of internal dialogue made Lucky Night unnecessarily confusing. I enjoyed the examination of the personal relationships and decisions made by the two main characters, and there were some compelling themes throughout. I feel like a better edit could have made this a great book.

Admittedly, I went into this novel completely blind. I really got it because I loved the cover :) The entire novel takes place in one hotel room, in one night. It would make a FANTASTIC stage play. While it dragged at times, I found the study of this relationship to feel incredibly lived in and authentic. I also found the sexual language to be a little jarring at first, but the further I got into the book, the more it felt organic to this situation and this couple. Marriages are tricky and so are relationships and I found Kennedy's insights to be very wise and thought-provoking. This was much more of a thinker than I expected! It's going to stay with me!

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Lucky Night.

I'm not a fan of literary fiction but I wanted to expand my reading horizons so I requested Lucky Night based on the premise.

I've never read this author before so I went into it with an open mind.

I knew this wasn't going to be for me when I saw there were non quotation marks for dialogue.

Nick and Jenny are really annoying; Nick is a d**k, his thoughts constantly revolving around oral and anal sex.

Jenny is kind of silly and not in a rom-com kind of way.

They don't have anything in common and I'm not sure why they hooked up in the first place, sexual chemistry? Boredom? Did I miss that part?

I struggled to get through this since the POVs jump back and forth between each of them.

It's not difficult to distinguish who is monologuing but it was still mentally jarring for the reader to switch back and forth between their mindsets.

I don't want to work hard to read unless it's a mystery featuring a serial killer who makes the detectives follow a bunch of grisly clues.

That's worth the effort.

I understand what the author is trying to say but the themes discussed are nothing new.

It was hard to care or empathize with two unlikable, uninteresting characters.

I had a difficult time getting into this one. The writing style here did not work for me, and I found myself unable to become attached to the story and the characters. Maybe this just wasn’t a book for me but at the same time, I am not entirely sure that I felt this book offered any new insight on the topics that it tackles. This is not one that I will be recommending, unfortunately.

One sign of a good book is not being able to put it down..., and Lucky Night is it. Twists and turns, or, more like, layers of an onion. Thoroughly enjoyed.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #PenguinRandomHouse for the ARC in exchange for honest review of #LuckyNight

I liked this story. It gave me an insight into two married couples and their relationships and self-discoveries in their forties. The writing is very good, and the setup for the bulk of the action was a pleasant change of pace. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

This book was utterly unique and the premise was unlike anything I've ever read before - a man and woman having an affair are trapped in a hotel room together when a fire alarm goes off forcing them to confront what it is exactly they are doing. Given that this book is centered on cheating, I know it will be an immediate no for some, however, if you can stomach that, I'd highly recommend checking this out - as it really is an interesting book which left me dying to discuss with others the minute I finished!

This is such a difficult book to read. There are no quotes and I tried my best to follow, but they are there for a reason. Don’t make us work to read a book.

Unfortunately not for me. In a world with SO many books being published, I just don't see this as a must in our collection.

Just finished this book. Was my 2nd by this author. I made a notation in my spreadsheet for her previous novel that I thought it was hysterical.
This book had nothing hysterical, but man, it was action packed. The pacing was great, the concept gripping and what an ending! I gasped out loud when I turned the page and realized it was the last one!

I didn't love that it had no quotation marks, and would warn someone about that before I recommended it - because after 45 years of reading books in a certain format, it was hard to train your eyes to follow and catch everything.

What an interesting, crazy concept. Really a great book

To be honest, I struggled big time getting through this book. The writing wasn't great so the whole book felt slapped together. It's too bad because the plot is right up my alley and the characters were overall fairly likeable.

Thank you to both #NetGalley and Crown Publishing/Crown for providing me an advance copy of Eliza Kennedy’s #literaryfiction novel, Lucky Night, in exchange for an honest review.

#LuckyNight is an amateur attempt to imitate the sweeping prose, allegories, and character introspection, specifically dissecting the dichotomy of the sexes within a heterosexual marriage, in the vein of a novel written by Lauren Groff.

Having briefly skimmed samples of the author's other novels, along with some reader reviews, I figured at worst it would be another contemporary romance novel. Chick lit, or a #beachread, if you will. I understand yearning to be the next Lauren Groff, but to invoke the southern twang of Jenny, the female protagonist, "This ain't it." And I loathe contractions nearly as much as I despise beginning sentences with a preposition.

The inferno is an allegory. I knew as soon as the name “Aloysius” appeared a mere two chapters into reading. How I hoped and prayed that the title of Part I would either lead to a hilarious satirization of a modern era #romcom or some type of #Sci-Fi erotica. Alas, no such luck.

There are no breaks when switching between the characters’ introspections or dialogue. While it doesn't exactly require rocket science to differentiate between the binary perspectives given the material is trite and rudimentary, it is bizarre and seems like the content was cobbled together with some slapdash editing. Like a Cormac McCarthy novel, which this book far from, quotation marks have been tossed out the window. Ironic, considering this is where I would have liked to toss the novel, and even myself at points, while struggling through it.

The concepts discussed are not revolutionary either. Nay, no moon-eyed or swooning of the critics here. Harkening back to my point of not rocket science to discern between the man, who is fantasizing about sodomy through the vehicle of baby oil (how disgustingly ordinary), and the woman, contemplating the cellulite in her ass. This is insulting to readers who actually enjoy literary fiction and/or contemporary romance novels.

The only reasons I even finished the novel were to write this review, and to find out whether the truly, insufferable characters—and not in the "this is brilliant writing" sense—perished, along with the hotel, which I prayed these annoying twats did from the first chapter onwards, or if this was the burning down of their "torrid" affair. Readers may never know...

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the Kindle ARC in exchange for an honest review. The premise of this book is intriguing - a couple - both married to other people - sneak away for a night together and the hotel they visit catches fire. I wanted to enjoy this book - but didn't finish it. I didn't like the writing style and could not get involved with the story or characters.

Don’t skip over Lucky Night! This was a great book. It kept me turning the pages until the very last one. I didn’t want it to end.