Lucky Break

Lucky Break by Jaclyn Westlake (2025) 340 pages

Eliza, who's a renowned list-maker and planner, makes a huge move without much planning: she leaves her family and beloved city (San Francisco) within weeks after realizing that she and her fiancé weren't going to work out. She is accepted into a program to receive a stipend to help buy a cottage on a lake in Minnesota. 

She wants so much to find new friends. The other residents who live near her seem nice enough, except for Bob, who's an old curmudgeon, but they haven't started inviting her to their Sunday barbeques even after several weeks. There seems to be something about the woman who used to live in Eliza's house that makes the neighbors clam up. Eliza's tempted to go through some tubs filled with old mail that were left behind, to see if she can find out what happened to her.

The novel follows Eliza as she tries to fit in and have her questions answered. There are some memorable characters, and a few big reveals, but the book doesn't quite make it on my recommended list.

Funny Story

Funny Story by Emily Henry (2024) 384 pages

Daphne got her dream job as a children's librarian when she moved halfway across the country to a small town in Michigan, where Peter, her fiancė, wanted to move, to be back near his family. It's just a few weeks from their wedding when Peter breaks their engagement ‒ he realizes he is in love with his best friend from childhood, Petra. Daphne is devastated. Petra's boyfriend, Miles, is devastated as well, and Daphne ends up moving into his apartment because she needs a place to live. In a moment of drunkenness, they RSVP that they're coming to Peter and Petra's wedding. They even decide to pretend that they're now dating.

There's some friend drama, too, when Daphne realizes that she doesn't really have any friends that weren't Peter's friends. 

There's family drama, as well. Daphne's dad left her and her mom when she was small, and she learned that she couldn't count on him. These trust issues spill into how she handles her relationship with Miles.

At the beginning of the book, Daphne is counting the days before she can leave Michigan. Will she follow through, or will she find out she can stay on her own terms?