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Just Our Luck

Denise Williams

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A lottery ticket + donuts = love in this steamy new fake dating romance from beloved author Denise Williams.

Sybil Sweet has always been lucky, but lately she can’t catch a break. After years of bouncing from job to job in search of something that feels right and from man to man in search of something special, Sybil is worried that she’s the directionless, floundering daughter her family thinks she is. All she really wants now is a little financial stability and carb comfort. Lucky for her, she’s got just enough in the bank to buy a lottery ticket, and the late-night donut store is open.

Kieran Anderson put his dreams of becoming a doctor on hold to take over running his family’s bakery, and after fighting a losing battle to save the place, he’s exhausted, broke, and no closer to getting back to school. But when a whirlwind of a woman sweeps in late one night, flirty energy gives way to more…until she runs out the next morning, leaving behind her winning lottery ticket.

Lucky for Kieran, his attempt to return the ticket looks like a grand romantic gesture and goes viral, sending sales through the roof. In an effort to keep the store afloat and to convince Sybil’s family she can make good relationship choices, they agree to fake a relationship for three months. Even with hundreds of millions of dollars, finding each other might end up being the sweetest bit of luck for both of them.

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Posts about this title from chronicallybookish

chronicallybookish\ \ Kaley\ \ • Feb 25

4 books i want t0 read by the end of february

We’re just gonna pretend I don’t have 4 assignments due by the end of the month 🫶🏻 #booktok #romancebooks #fantasybooks #tbr #toberead @HarperCollins @Simon Teen @Read Forever Pub @Grand Central Publishing

4 books

chronicallybookish\ \ Kaley\ \ • Dec 27 2024

Berkley Romance ARC Unboxing

5 books

Posts about this book from across Bindery

The Nerdy Babe Life\ \ Brianna \ \ • May 22

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Books I really thought I was going to love… but didn’t 😭\ \ \ \ The Shield of Sparrows\ \ I listened to the dramatized version on Hoopla, and it was okay. A solid romantasy, but nothing spectacular to me.\ \ People were foaming at the mouth for this book on Tiktok!!! It's a good book for sure, but idk it just didn't connect with me. \ \ The middle dragged a lot, and it honestly felt like the author kind of forgot the plot. It read like a slice-of-life anime for about 100 pages instead of the heart-pounding, tension-filled, corrupt political system, plot-driven romantasy I was expecting.\ \ I’m on book two now (on audio), and it’s decent… but yeah.\ \ Just Our Luck\ \ This one just didn’t do it for me at all. It felt unrealistic, it dragged, and I ended up skimming the last 100 pages.\ \ I didn’t really like the MMC, he came off as mean and even though the beginning had potential, the story lacked real tension.\ \ Heat of the Everflame\ \ Okay… books 1 and 2? AMAZING.\ \ If you want high-stakes, crazy plot, slow-burn romantasy, this was IT. I was obsessed. Blown away.\ \ Then book 3…\ \ The author flattened all the characters. Our FMC is insanely powerful, but then she allows a man to literally spit in her face??? No, like that's literally a scene. \ \ \ \ She can wipe out entire continents, but she lets herself get bullied constantly. It just didn’t make sense.\ \ And the plot?? The solution is RIGHT THERE, but the characters can’t see it. It made me question their intelligence, honestly.\ \ Not to mention, the MMC turned into a sappy, love-sick puppy instead of the powerful prince we got before.\ \ Hated it.\ \ Plated Prisoner series\ \ I made it to book 4… and yeah, it was time to wrap it up.\ \ Looking back at my Goodreads reviews actually makes me laugh, because by book 3 I was already like “I don’t know about this…” and by book 4 I was DONE.\ \ The pacing slowed to a complete halt while the FMC processed her trauma. And I understand the themes, feminine rage, how patriarchy hurts everyone, but it was so heavy-handed.\ \ It wasn’t woven into the story. It took over the story.\ \ \ \ At a certain point, I was like… where is the plot? Where is the action?\ \ It felt less like high-stakes fantasy and more like a very long trauma-healing narrative with magic in the background.\ \ Fate of the Sun King\ \ This series gave everything but the kitchen sink.\ \ What started as high-fae fantasy somehow turned into a space odyssey… like there are literally aliens involved.\ \ The first book was so good, and then slowly but surely… we lost the plot.\ \ It started to feel like those old CW shows where anything goes by the end. Like… Dan Humphrey and Blair Waldorf dating.\ \ Just chaos 😭\ \ I really wanted to love these… but yeah.

My Most Disappointing Reads (I Had High Hopes 😭)

5 books

chronicallybookish\ \ Kaley\ \ • Feb 25

4 books i want t0 read by the end of february

4 books

The Nerdy Babe Life\ \ Brianna \ \ • Feb 24

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I finished two books this week, and they could not have been more different for me.\ \ Just Our Luck started off as this cozy, feel-good vibe… but somewhere around the middle, I lost steam. By the last 20% I was more like “just get me through this” and ended up skimming the end. 😭😭\ \ What didn’t land for me: the MMC came off as lowkey mean at times, and the FMC felt a little too innocent for the energy of the story. And the Whole Lottery Thing… she wins a life-changing amount of money and then basically keeps living like nothing happened??\ \ \ \ I was here mentally booking Paris, Seoul, spa days, big moves with her money, but she’s at a donut shop trying to be near her crush. I just could not suspend disbelief lol.\ \ Funny Story was much more my vibe. The FMC’s issues with her father actually hit me, HARD. She’s emotionally grown, but sometimes parents have a funny way of hitting our soft spots. That added a level of depth that I didn’t expect.\ \ The MMC was such a soft teddy bear, supportive, earnest, calming, and yet the bedroom dynamic surprised me in the best way. Like when we say talk her through it, that's exactly what he did. No notes. I don’t usually crave spicy scenes, but here it felt earned and natural. If intimacy jumps in too fast I get bored, and this one paced itself perfectly for me.\ \ Overall, pacing was smooth, emotional arcs felt believable, and I walked away satisfied.\ \ Week verdict:\ \ Just Our Luck - fell flat\ \ Funny Story - cozy, meaningful, well paced

Reading Last Week: Just Our Luck + Funny Story

2 books

Fat Forward Books\ \ Samantha Puc\ \ • Dec 9 2025

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Hello, December! ☃️ Addressing My Unplanned Hiatus

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Fat Forward Books\ \ Samantha Puc\ \ • Aug 20 2025

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This non-exhaustive list of 2025 books by fat authors, about fat experiences, and featuring fat characters spans genre, theme, and mood.

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Fat Forward Books\ \ Samantha Puc\ \ • Aug 13 2025

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CLIP: Author Denise Williams Explains the Plot of Her Next Book, The Re-Do List

The Re-Do List hits shelves in 2026.

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Fat Forward Books\ \ Samantha Puc\ \ • Jul 26 2025

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Fat Forward Books: Disability Pride Recommendations

Happy Disability Pride Month! 🙌 Today marks 35 years since the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law. This year especially, disabled people and our allies are fighting for our rights with everything we have—and as fervid readers and advocates for more and better intersectional disabled representation in media, we know how much of an impact reading disabled stories can make. 📖

In collaboration with author and fellow fat, disabled babe @laurelhollbooks, #FatForwardBooks presents 36 books with intersectional fat and disabled representation! 📚✨

How many of these titles have you read? How many are new to you? Let us know in the comments! For more, tap the 🔗 in the usual place and join FFB on @bindery_books for fat+ refs all year long.

#DisabilityPrideMonth #ADA35 #DisabledAndCute #ReadFatBooks

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36 books

Fat Forward Books\ \ Samantha Puc\ \ • May 26 2025

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CLIP: Denise Williams Explains the Importance of Writing Friend Groups in Romance

Just Our Luck and The Fastest Way to Fall author Denise Williams talks about the importance of developing MC friend groups in romance.

2 books

Fat Forward Books\ \ Samantha Puc\ \ • May 23 2025

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CLIP: Denise Williams On Just Our Luck FMC Sybil's ADHD

Just Our Luck author Denise Williams wanted to name FMC Sybil’s ADHD but not make it a major plot point.

1 book

Fat Forward Books\ \ Samantha Puc\ \ • May 20 2025

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\ \ Join for free or login](https://fatfwdbooks.binderybooks.com/item/oa2w36rakoXRA9FdlYzk/)

In Conversation with Denise Williams

In this Fat Forward Books exclusive interview, Samantha Puc talks with author Denise Williams about her new contemporary romance, Just Our Luck, which character in her portfolio is the most like her, and how grounding her books in reality includes creating full lives for all of her characters, no matter how small their roles.

Denise Williams wrote her first book in the 2nd grade. I Hate You and its sequel, I Still Hate You, featured a tough, funny heroine, a quirky hero, witty banter, and a dragon. Minus the dragons, these are still the books she likes to write. After penning those early works, she finished second grade and eventually earned a PhD in education.

Denise's work has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Cosmopolitan, The Today Show, Good Morning America, Oprah Magazine, Marie Claire, Women's World, and her mom's list of top topics of conversation with strangers. Her books have been listed as an Indie Next pick, Library Reads pick and Hall of Fame author, and received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Library Journal.

After growing up a military brat around the world and across the country, Denise now lives in Iowa with her husband, son, and an ornery shih-tzus who thinks she owns the house. She can usually be found reading, writing, or thinking about love stories.

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BUY JUST OUR LUCK BY DENISE WILLIAMS Bookshop → https://bookshop.org/a/9129/9780593641439 Amazon → https://amzn.to/45bRqq4

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4 books

Fat Forward Books\ \ Samantha Puc\ \ • May 19 2025

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How many of these #FatForwardBooks are on your shelves?

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Fat Forward Books\ \ Samantha Puc\ \ • Apr 29 2025

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R&R Reads\ \ Ebony\ \ • Mar 2 2025

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WELCOME EVERYONE! HAPPY MARCH!

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R&R Reads\ \ Ebony\ \ • Feb 20 2025

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✨🍃2025 Anticipated Releases Post

thank goodness they extended this to have 20+ pictures

I missed some because covers have not been released yet so there will probably be a part two to this post

i am for sure going to get back to posting monthly anticipated releases on here rather than the clock app if the clock app gets deleted

#bookstagram #books #romancebooks #fantasybooks #blackauthors #diverseauthors #diversebooks #2025bookreleases

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chronicallybookish\ \ Kaley\ \ • Dec 27 2024

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