Denise Williams writes raw and honest characters that are likable because of their authenticity.

Sybil has been the outcast of the family and after losing her latest job, she takes a shot at luck and purchases a lottery ticket. Kirian has big plans to attend med school but has to put his life on hold and help run his father's bakery after health concerns. On one random night, Sybil enters the Kirian's bakery and not only the ovens heat up...

With no way to contact her and in possession of her winning lottery ticket, Kirian makes a statement - that looks like a grand romantic gesture. The two begin navigating a fake dating relationship, but sometimes things don't feel fake.

I love that Denise Williams allows characters to be flawed to be loved for them. I highly recommend this contemporary romance with fake dating, a plus size FMC, and a little bit of spice.

Thank you Berkley for my copy. I absolutely love Denise Williams' books but this one missed the mark for me. I found it difficult to believe a meaningful, romantic connection between the main characters and the portrayal of the FMC's undiagnosed ADHD was so exaggerated it felt like a stereotype instead of representation. Instead of connecting with, relating to or giving me more perspective of the FMC- it truly just made me dislike her. She didn't have any insight into her feelings, actions or how she treated others which didn't feel congruent with the inner monologue of her we received. I also had a major issue with the ending of the book and don't see how that could be forgivable.

This one missed the mark for me, however I will continue to read and support this author! I did enjoy the side characters in this one and am looking forward to hearing their love stories.

Let me start this off with Denise Williams has written some of my favorite books. I love her characters and their stories and how she writes and everything in between. And from this point forward, this book is proscribed by me in her lineup. Friends, random people on the internet, I full stop disliked this book (even some chapters I will admit I hated).

What's great:
the side characters. Joe and Tom and Lila and Marcus and Emi and Deacan and Grace and everyone else: loved. They were full of life and interesting. (I shall exclude Kieran, Sybil, and Sybil's mother).

What's Meh:
Kieran and Sybil separately as characters are built more like side characters in book one of a five book series. They have some development needed off screen because this wasn't it. At all. Kieran I could almost see as a MMC if he wasn't equally reserved as shallow. Seriously the first half of the book his main interactions with the FMC are are fantasizing about her butt or boobs. Thank you, basic white man, for nothing. Sybil, let's all be real here, has ADHD like real bad. As someone with ADHD (mind you I'm also not diagnosed, but like it's all but in official writing), how in the year of our lord, 2025, does this woman not have a clue? She's on social media all the time? I needed her to have some drive and she had NONE. Nothing of her own. Everything she did was because of someone else. Also, no clue how old anyone is. I'm guessing Kieran is 24 maybe 25 based on him having completed a year of med school, but not a single clue on Sybil.

Also, Sybil's mother felt very charactacture--ish. She's very much a driven, ambitious woman and struggles that her daughter is not. Which, honestly I support her mother. Yeah, she wasn't nice at all, but I could imagine (idk how old either character is-- there's no timescale here? Maybe 23-24? no clue. Some of these characters are full adults with adult careers and others are IN MEDSCHOOL?!?)

Honestly any plot line surrounding winning millions should be more exciting than this. I guess I also wanted more of Sybil figuring that out and she never did. She really didn't develop much of as a character? Stood up for herself more, but not in anyway I was super cheering for. I just wanted to go in the book and have a real talk with her about what she was doing.

The first 15% was great, the next ~40% was painful to get through (nothing really happens emotionally and even plot wise was weak), the next ~30% was moderately enjoyable it was like we finally found interesting characters and a mid-level plot, the last 15% made me take this book from a solid 3.75/5 straight down to a 1.5/5.

Still with me here? Great. I'm sorry Denise, I love your work, but here's my unfiltered opinions on this book:

I loathed the end. If I could erase the last two chapters of the book, it would have been wonderful. THERE WAS NO REASON FOR SYBIL TO DO WHAT SHE DID AND HONESTLY KIERAN UNDER REACTED TO THE SITUATION. Dude, I was LIVID reading this section. I did a load of laundry, took out cat litter, and rotated the dishwasher because every sentence made my blood pressure increase. I will not give spoilers, only Kieran was never in the wrong and he should have NEVER taken Sybil back. The whole setup of the HEA was utterly and completely ruined for me. Of all the things to have been a last minute twist in this book this was the last possible one I could have expected and made me absolutely hate this book. Yes, I said it, hate this book. And their relationship throughout the book was mediocre at best. There were some good moments, but overall incredibly lukewarm.

I hate writing this review, I really, really do. I have very much enjoyed all of Denise's other books, but I honestly wish I could go back in time and stop myself from reading it because I could have spent my time in more useful endeavors (DMV, jury duty, doctor's waiting room--you know exciting places we all want to be).

I knew that this was already going to be a hit for me as I am a plus size woman. And boy was I RIGHT! I typically don't love a fake dating book. IT can often leave me feeling slimy or like the FMC is a second choice or being used but this was a PERFECT and LIGHTHEARTED way to incorporate that trope! I enjoyed the dual point of views and the ADHD representation in this book and who doesn't love the incorporation of some scheming elderly side characters? My only issue with this book was that our main girl was a bit irresponsible and messy, but it also made her a bit more real and relatable if you're into that thing.

This is a steamy rom com layered with family drama, loyal and fierce friendships, and deals with issues such as adult ADHD, caring for an elder family member, and more.

I laughed often while reading and cheered for Sybil to figure out her future. I also connected to her relationship with her mom, though my hopes for mom's character growth never materialized in a way that felt authentic.

I enjoyed the dual point of view as I got to see both sides of the relationship and the struggles each character had with a fake relationship. The ending was a bit too neat for the messiness throughout, but the epilogue was much appreciated.

ɴᴇᴛɢᴀʟʟᴇʏ ʀᴇᴠɪᴇᴡ || JUST OUR LUCK [thank you to @berkleyromance and @netgalley for my #gifted copy!]

Title: Just Our Luck
Author: Denise Williams
Genre: Romance
Format: Digital
Star Rating: ★★★★☆

ꜱᴜᴍᴍᴀʀʏ:
Sybil Sweet is broke, directionless, and on a late-night donut run when she buys a lottery ticket that changes everything. Kiran Anderson is a baker struggling to save his family’s shop, but when Sybil accidentally leaves her winning ticket behind, his attempt to return it goes viral, sparking a fake relationship that could save the bakery and silence her meddling family.

ᴍʏ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛꜱ:
This was such a cute (steamy) novel! Watching Sybil and Kiran go from strangers to being each other’s best friend was a delight (and all of the doughnuts was an added bonus)!

Plus, by now, you must know I’m a sucker for a novel with meddling senior citizen side characters. 😂

If you like FMCs that are very messy but trying to make things better and MMCs that are actually just giant Green Flags, then you need to pick this up!

ʀᴇᴀᴅ ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴋᴇ:
Fake Dating
Foodie Romance
Opposites Attract
She’s a Mess, He’s Not
Adorable Senior Citizens

ᴅᴇᴛᴀɪʟꜱ:
GR: 3.47 ⭐️
# of Pages: 400
Pub Date: March 25, 2025

Just Out Luck was an overall fun story!

I immediately fell in love with Kieran even though he had that hard grumpy exterior. I have to say that I was utterly frustrated with Sybil for most of the book. She was such a mess and as someone who has to be 5 minutes early to be one time, it was incredibly infuriating that even after winning the lottery, she still couldn't seem to be on time anywhere.

*slight spoilers below*

I also couldn't handle how irresponsible she was with her winnings and in her 'grand gesture' to help Kieran. I couldn't imagine working so hard for something only to lose it because of something someone else did. I did sympathize for Sybil but I wish we would'e seem more growth from her in this book.

Today, I’m reviewing the latest romance by Denise Williams, Just Our Luck. In this romance we follow Sybil Sweet who is in need of a break after another failed job and relationship. Feeling a bit desperate and in need of some luck, she buys one lottery ticket and a donut.

Enter Kieran Anderson.

Kieran put his dreams on hold to help his aging grandfather run his donut shop. Barely making ends meet, while receiving notices of unpaid medical bills, not to mention the unpaid bills staking up for the shop, he’s in need of some luck too.

Book friends, the premise of this one is fantastic! Two people in need of a break, a one night stand, a winning lottery ticket, Sybil thinks she’s lost the ticket and moves on meanwhile the grumpy but adorable Kieran creates an "I’ve got you’re winning ticket" video, which goes viral, and catches Sybil’s attention, then what happens next??? you get a confection of a romance that readers will gobble up.

If you love grumpy + sunshine, he falls first, neurodiversity representation, and a steamy romance, make sure to grab a copy of Just Our Luck.

3/5 - kieran and sybil are faking dating with a mural understanding that kieran can save his family’s donut shop and sybil can convince her family she is stable enough to not need them hovering. The overall premise, fake dating, he falls first, one night stand, are all tropes I look forward to in a book. kieran and sybil weren’t any different. my main cons for this novel follow sybil’s storyline, I believe she has adhd and as a fellow adhd girly, there were many thought processes she had that I have also had. I also struggle with money, keeping hobbies, jumping from thing to thing. I am not judging Sybil, but I wanted so much more for her. She went from barely being able to keep money in her account to winning millions. I wish she would have gotten a financial planner or just someone to help her on that end. she started buying gifts for her family and I think she did this to “make up” for what she thought she lacked. It made me feel for her.

I did not feel a lot of chemistry between the two main characters. I loved the plus size and poc representation and I think kieran genuinely adored sybil but the chemistry just didn’t feel right to me. overall, I feel very average about the story and characters. I will definitely read another book by this author though! I always give second chances. thank you netgalley and berkley for the arc :)

Thank you for the opportunity to read this eARC.
This one starts off very cute, funny and flirty. But I began to find the MCs somewhat hard to like. The FMC was just a hint too chaotic/messy for me. The MMC just didn't seem that into her. I was not sold on their chemistry after the initial encounter.
Overall, its a quick, cute read.

So I thought this novel was so super cute. This was my first novel by Denise Williams and it for sure won't be my last! I did think the FMC was a bit immature toward the beginning, but she truly ended up growing on me. Same with the MMC. But despite my apprehensions about them at first, I really did end up enjoying this book. Thank you to Denise Williams, NetGalley, & Berkley Romance for allowing me to read an early copy of this book. :)

I really enjoyed this book. It started out great and I definitely found myself laughing. At first I could not relate to Sybil but knowing she has ADHD made me feel for her and her situation so much more. I do not have ADHD but I do know some friends of mine that are or have children that are ADHD and seeing that representation was beautiful. The romance was steamy and I enjoyed the MMC as well. Good book!

I LOVE Denise Williams's and her previous work, but this one missed the mark for me.

I struggled with Sybil HARD. She doesn't feel like a realistic human woman. Every decision or lack there of she makes made me look at her sideways at every turn. If she was my homegirl, she would be getting lots of eyerolls and headshaking. So rooting for her to be in a relationship with someone like Kieran? It wasn't happening.

No chemistry.? A nonrelatable FMC? A plot that was kind of all over the place? This one just didn't work and it makes me so sad!

The way this novel started was a bit of a whirlwind that gave me a cluster of emotions. It began with a subtle one night stand that turns into a journey between two people finding each other. Sybil Sweets bought a lottery ticket even though she hasn’t been lucky lately, why not give it one last shot? She visits this donut shop after a night out with some friends and meets Kieran Anderson, who works behind the counter. One thing leads to another and she ends up leaving her lottery ticket there. Lo and behold, Kieran finds the lottery ticket and realizes it’s the winning ticket. However, it’s not his.

This read was good and I really liked Sybil’s character. She’s messy, chaotic, and lovable. She brings out so much character with her personality. They did a great job introducing her ADHD and showcasing that. We see how it affects Sybil’s worldview of everyone around her as well as herself. I wish they delved more into her neurodivergence throughout the book. The diversity of the secondary characters were also a favorite of mine! I loved the grandfather and how supportive he was for his grandkids while being safe space for Sybil to land. Kieran was a good character that had a bit of plot holes for me that ultimately made this underwhelming. I felt that even though he had his ambitions of wanting to go back to medical school while upholding his grandfathers shop; the way he treated Sybil felt forced and disingenuous. It made the romance between a bit unbelievable even though they had instant chemistry.

*spoiler*
*I did notice that it was mentioned that Kieran is a Virgo however, throughout the span of the book we don’t get into that part of the season. The seasonal period is in late winter-early spring. He would realistically be a Pisces or Aries instead of a Virgo. Especially considering they also celebrate his birthday later along the line.*

The ending felt rushed and more could have been explored within Sybil and Kieran’s relationship. Overall, this a funny and cute book that I feel people who love flawed characters who find their passions would like.

Thank you Berkley and NetGalley for this E-ARC.

This was a cute, funny, yet heartfelt romance that featured a neuro-spicy female protagonist (undiagnosed ADHD) and a stoic, family-oriented male protagonist who reunites her with a winning lottery ticket. Her carefree and happy chaos bring a breath of fresh air to his life, and his level-headed pragmatism and unwavering support provide her with the acceptance and sense of purpose she's always wanted.

I struggled a bit with the initial meeting between the two main characters - I'm more of a slow-burn kind of gal and the quick hook-up at the beginning felt a bit off for me. However, the author rectifies it with a fake-dating trope that allows for the emotional connection, intimacy, and personal growth that build into something really great. Extra points for found family and an effortless blending of lives that feels meant to be.

Recommended for fans of Charish Reid and Cathy Yardley.

I was anticipating this book from the moment I saw the cover art and read the plot summary. As a casual player of the lottery, it seemed this was written just for me :)

From early in the story I got a sense of who the FMC Sybil is and how she feels she is perceived by her family and that she's just trying to figure it out (aren't we all?). Perfect candidate for "one day when I win the lottery I will...". Kieran and Sybil's initial meeting and then how they end up fake dating was the absolute cutest thing because even though he was fighting the attraction from the time of the winning ticket realisation, you really got a sense of how taken he was with her.

I like when romances give the reader a full sense of who each character is while developing the relationship between the two and this story did such a good job of that. I appreciated how the themes of commitment to family, trying to find yourself and learning to give yourself grace in the process were explored. These were so very relatable.

The supporting characters like Grandpa Joe, Tom, Lila and Sybil's friends also added a welcome depth to the progression of the story as well, for me.

Minor spoiler below- warning!
The one thing I would've loved to have been developed a bit more was Sybil learning about being neurodivergent and how she navigated her life as a result of that newfound knowledge.

Notwithstanding, that did not detract from my enjoyment of the book. Definitely among my recent favourites and I am looking forward to receiving my pre-ordered copy! :)

Many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for facilitating an early copy!

I love Denise Williams’ books. Her rom coms are funny and engaging and swoony. So it kills me to say that this one missed the mark for me. The MCs had little to no chemistry, and I don’t know why they love each other. They both individually had more chemistry with Grandpa Joe. I wish I could have enjoyed it more, but it was blah for me. 2.5 stars. Thanks to Berkley for the ARC.

First, thank you to Berkley for the free advanced review copy!

I thought Just Our Luck was a super cute and fun rom-com! Sybil is going through a bit of a rough patch but her luck turns around when she wins the lottery. However, she leaves her winning ticket in a local donut shop the night before. When Kieran, the grandson of the owner of the donut shop, finds the ticket, he turns to the media to help return the ticket to its rightful owner. After coming to claim her ticket, Sybil asks Kieran to fake-date her until her sister's wedding in a few months in order to get her family off her back and in exchange his grandfather's shop would get good press and she would offer him a portion of the winnings.

Sybil's relationship with her family, especially her mom, felt physically painful at times with how realistic the interactions felt- like girl, I've been there. Her ADHD has turned her into the butt of her family's jokes and they always seem to have something to say about her. It was honestly disappointing that Kieran, a guy she just met, is the only one standing up for her.

The only thing that kept this from being a more enjoyable read for me is the ~Conflict~ at the end, the "third-act breakup", in other words. I'm going to be vague to avoid spoilers but basically Sybil makes a really big decision with some of her lottery winnings and it affects Kieran in a negative way. Yes, Sybil is shown throughout the book to be impulsive but I really can't believe that any grown, adult woman would ever think they could do what she did without consequences. And on top of that, everyone besides Kieran was just kind of fine with it? Like they were maybe upset for a day but they all just kind of said "well she meant well" and moved on...Like, no, girl, that was dumb and everyone should be telling you exactly how dumb that was. I know this is a work of fiction but this was just a little much IMO.

Other than that, it was super cute and fun. I loved the banter and dirty jokes between the MCs and I loved Sybil's friend group as side-characters. And I liked how Sybil really grew into herself in the end and found something she was passionate about. I think that's a big struggle IRL for folks with ADHD (speaking from personal experience) - it's hard to focus or even WANT to focus on a job or task that doesn't spark your interest. I feel like the representation of that was well done in this book.

Other than that, really loved the book. This book has:
-fake-dating
-Opposites attract
-Neurodivergent MCs
-well-timed dirty jokes

This was cute but I wasn't sure where it was supposed to go. The whole situation was kind of weird and not even really expended upon. Sybil was a mess and im always hesitant to read a book with a character who has ADHD since I usually can only relate to those whose experiences align with mine and that was not the case with Sybil.

I also did not really feel the connection between the two MC's. It just felt very messy.

I was HOOKED on this book for the first 30% an easily thought I'd fly through. There was spice, tension, a funny group of friends and charming bakery boy and a lottery ticket. Then it dragged. For some reason, this story turned into a fake dating situation with super slow burn, and I couldn't connect to the romance. Within the first chapter, they meet each other. We have spice and chemistry. He even goes on social media looking for her, so I don't understand why they didn't try actually dating. The rest of the book is plot to keep the donut shop, and we watch our mfc family talk negative about her while we also watch her fumble. This felt like two different books, and I didn't like the ending at all. This book was overall meh, but I really loved the beginning!