3.5 stars. ( )

Since I have travelled to Maine many times during my life, especially Damariscotta, I was excited to read that it was the setting of this novel. The Good Luck Girls are well developed characters, as well as the people who inhabit their lives. This book was so enjoyable for me in the premise of the story, the setting, and the warmth of the relationships. Janey, the socially anxious but spectacular home chef, Nean the smart-mouthed but vulnerable down on her luck twenty something, and especially Aunt Midge, the firecracker and wise woman who holds them all together with humor and understanding. The Maine men they encounter are also likeable. However, it is the women who drive the story. I would not hesitate to recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a feel good book about the being open to good luck, adapting to change, and daring to forgive the imperfections in people you hold dear. Oh! And the power of cooking food to comfort, connect people and show love.

Sexual situations exist, but are not heavily explicit. /There is a 7 page scene of verbal and physical domestic abuse. /Alcohol is consumed./ Profanity. ( )

This is one of those books that I almost didn’t make it through, but picked up considerably towards the end and made the effort worthwhile.

It’s a gross over-simplification, but I don’t like anti-heroes, or any characterisation that comes close to such a definition. One of the Janine Brown’s that make up the main characters of this book is a drifter, which in and of itself isn’t any problem. She starts off strong, in my book, when she knocks her abusive boyfriend unconscious with a coffee mug. But then she proceeds to lie, cheat, steal and string along the ‘other’ Janine Brown and her Great-aunt, and I don’t really care why or how sad her story is (and it is, by the way). I don’t care that I know that the trope virtually requires that the character is going to regret their actions, and find redemption, either. I just don’t like the trope, so I was pretty close to DNF’ing this one, but inertia, if nothing else, kept me reading it.

I still have problems with the premise as it relates to the above, and I was left dissatisfied with the weak explanations for why the ‘other’ Janine Brown retreated so completely into dysfunctional shyness after the death of her fiancé, but Great-aunt Midge managed to pull it altogether and make the story into something far more interesting and touching. The men were … meh. Necessary, I suppose but not central to the plot; this is definitely a story of a friendship forged under unusual circumstances.

Better than I expected, but not as good as the other book of hers I’ve read, The Matchmakers of Minnow Bay. ( )

Jane Brown and an unrelated Jane Brown are apparently both winners of a beautiful home furnished by the Home Sweet Home Network. Hats ensues when both Janes come to claim their prize. When it’s revealed who the real winner is the other must determine their future. Both Janes are coming from places of pain and bo5h have difficulty establishing trust and breaking down barriers. Through time and a lot of help from Jane #1’s Aunt Midge the women’s lives go in directions they couldn’t possibly imagine. I don’t have enough superlatives for this book. I laughed, cried and hoped that both Janes would let their guards down to see how good tthey are for each other. I absolutely, positively love this book. ( )

I'm sorry, but from the third chapter on I just found this book hokey. Not an enjoyable book for me at all. ( )