REVIEW (3 1/2 stars):
This is the third Kristen Ashley book that I have read, and is probably my least favorite of the three. This doesn't mean that I didn't like it, but reading three of them in a row really highlighted Ms. Ashley's weaknesses as an author.
First for the strengths, though. The two protagonists of Lady Luck are younger than the protagonists in the first two books I read (The Gamble and Sweet Dreams). I thought that Ms. Ashley captured them very well, and I enjoyed getting to know Ty and Lexie, and I enjoyed the further adventures of the Carnal, Colorado crowd. Both Ty and Lexie are interesting in that they have both experienced more than their fair share of the bad side of life, and as a reader, I was rooting for them find happiness. There is no doubt but that they deserved it. As always, the plot was fun, convoluted and fast moving. The secondary characters were great.
Now, for the weaknesses. I understand from Ms. Ashley's blog and from what I have read about her that she writes fast, and gets her books uploaded at light speed. This makes for, at times, writing that is rough and choppy. She has a casual, breezy style that is mostly enjoyable, but sometimes veers into annoying. I do not get the sense that she does a lot of editing to her work, and, while this breezy style is sometimes charming, it can also grate at times.
In addition, Lexie's constant description of things -- whatever they were -- costing "a whack" grew tedious. Actually, in general, the extremely materialistic bent of each and every heroine so far has grown tedious. While I've not yet reviewed them, I've also read Mystery Man, Rock Chick and Golden Dynasty, and the heroine's obsession with *stuff* has been a constant in each of these books. Lexie was not my least favorite heroine (I'm going with Indy for this title), but, just once, could she write a heroine who isn't totally clothing obsessed? Her heroine's definitely tend towards shallow, which is not a strength so far as I am concerned. And, while I'm at it, could we get through a book without having the heroine kidnapped by an insane bad guy?
Nonetheless, with the exception of Golden Dynasty, I have enjoyed her books. Although, at this point, it is definitely time to take a break from the Ashley formula. If amazon would let me give 1/2 stars, this would be a 3 1/2 star read, but since they don't, I'm rounding up.
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