The Good Luck Girls by Charlotte Nicole Davis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
In the country of Arketta, young girls sometimes get sold to ‘Welcome Houses’ by impoverished families.
The families are told the girls will be well-cared for and they pull a good price. Additionally, it’s one less mouth for the family to feed.
While it’s true, the girls have a roof over their heads, clothing and food, let’s not beat around the bush here, they’re sex slaves.
Keep in mind, this isn’t blatantly expressed on the page, but they are living in brothels, run by a Madame, being frequented by wealthy men with money to spend on pleasure.
Initially, when the girls are too young to service the patrons, they provide general labor around the house.
When they finally come of age, their first night with a patron is called their ‘Lucky Night’. It’s a big deal with everyone prepping the girl to look her finest.
Once she is ready, into a room she goes to await her client, and her fate.
Our story opens on Clementine’s Lucky Night. She’s nervous, but with an older sister, Aster, already at the Good Luck Girls stage, she’s ready to join her and the more easy lifestyle she believes comes with it.
When her night doesn’t go as planned, and the patron ends up dead, Clementine seeks out her sister for help. Aster knows they need to run or Clementine will be killed herself.
Unbeknownst to them, some of the other girls aren’t happy at the Welcome House either and they want to go with. They’re fed up and they’re not going to take it anymore.
The Good Luck Girls took me by surprise. I had no idea what it was about going in and I ended up really getting into it.
I loved the sort of Western-feel setting and the light fantasy elements sprinkled throughout.
There is a lot of action and the characters were engaging. I wanted the girls to find safety wherever they could.
I also enjoyed the relationships among the girls and the people they met along the way. They basically were following clues held in a bedtime story that they felt was the secret to their freedom.
Overall, I felt this was a unique story. It was well-written and kept me coming back for more. I read it so quickly.
If Charlotte Nicole Davis releases more stories in this world, I will definitely be reading them!
