Lucky Night

by Eliza Kennedy

“[A] crafty new locked-room thriller of adultery and disaster . . . a fresh take on middle-class marital malaise . . . Kennedy’s page-turner brings [our] fundamental human fears into the blazing light of a towering inferno.”—The Washington Post

Two people, one hotel room, and all the choices and complications that make up a life.

After six years of a stolen hour here, another there, tonight is going to be different for Nick Holloway and Jenny Parrish. They’ve booked a room in a new luxury hotel in Manhattan, where they’ll spend the entire night together for the first time. Expectations are running high for this brief reprieve from ordinary they both need a good bout of ravishing sex and witty conversation.

But that’s not what they get.

Because they’ve barely gotten started when a smoke alarm goes off. Nick is annoyed, but not worried about what must be only a minor glitch. Jenny is anxious, guilty—is karma coming for them at last?

This existential page-turner seamlessly shifts between Nick and Jenny’s perspectives as the reality of their situation becomes apparent, and all their secrets, evasions and regrets come spilling out. Stripped of their defenses, disagreeing about everything, these two flawed, funny, very different people are forced to be honest—with each other and themselves—about what they want, all they stand to lose, and whether their affair is really as casual as it seems.

Genres: Fiction, Literary Fiction, Contemporary, Audiobook, Romance, Mystery, Adult

275 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 25, 2025

About the author

ELIZA KENNEDY attended the University of Iowa and Harvard Law School, where she was an editor of the Harvard Law Review. After graduation she served as a law clerk for a federal judge, then practiced litigation for several years at a prestigious Manhattan law firm. She lives in New York with her husband and son.

Reviews

[Steph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Lucky Night has thought-provoking, beautifully controlled writing that pulls you in from the first page. Set entirely inside a $2,000-a-night hotel room, it follows Jenny and Nick, two lovers caught in a six-year affair, as their situation unravels and the walls—both literal and emotional—start closing in.

What makes this story so gripping is how it uses such a small, confined space to dig into big questions. The book dives deep into morality, free will, guilt, and how much of what we believe is shaped by other people's rules. It's an unforgettable exploration of the choices we make when no one is watching. It lingers long after the last page, daring you to rethink everything you thought you knew about right and wrong. I added it to my favorites!

[Elaine · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Lucky Night.

I'm not a fan of literary fiction but I wanted to expand my reading horizons so I requested this based on the premise.

I've never read this author before so I went into it with an open mind.

I knew this wasn't going to be for me when I saw there were NO quotation marks for dialogue.

** Minor non-interesting spoilers ahead **

Nick and Jenny are really annoying; Nick is a d**k, his thoughts constantly revolving around oral and anal sex.

Jenny is kind of silly and not in a rom-com, I-mean-well-Reese Witherspoon kind of way.

They don't have anything in common and I'm not sure why they hooked up in the first place, sexual chemistry?

Boredom? Did I miss that part?

I struggled to get through this since the POVs jump back and forth between them.

It's not difficult to distinguish who is monologuing but it was still mentally jarring for the reader to switch back and forth between their mindsets.

I don't want to work hard to read unless it's a mystery featuring a serial killer who makes the detectives follow a bunch of grisly clues.

A serial killer targeting these nitwits would have made this supremely more compelling to read.

I understand what the author is trying to say but the themes discussed are nothing new.

This is what I get for reading outside my comfort zone. 😆

[Stroop · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dazzling, gripping, moving, and unexpectedly tense considering the entire novel unfolds within a (luxurious) hotel room.

The writing is so good, the plot is compelling, and the characters are flawed and remain likable even as they bicker and make questionable decisions. Being able to read Jenny’s and Nick’s thoughts and how they contrast with what they are actually telling each other was delightful. I loved every moment and the ending was perfect.

Highly recommended, especially to readers who appreciate the magic of two people sitting in a room, having a long conversation about everything and nothing, as they consider their lives and their feelings for one another.

Thank you very much to Crown Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.

[Wendy Remez · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF at 20%-Jenny and Nick are having a clandestine meet up at a high rise when a fire breaks out in the building. They have been seeing each other for 6 years. He is sex obsessed and doesn’t really want much more from the relationship. She is worried about her husband and kids at home. I started the first chapter and immediately did not like the writing style. It is a lot of run on sentences without punctuation to show the character is speaking. Nick is so damn arrogant, and so damn unlikeable. Jenny is freaking out about the fire and he is wondering how he can convince her to give him a blow job. I thought maybe this will get better, so I tried. But the whole book is these two people, this night…and a whole lot of wasted words. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for the honest review. All opinions are my own (I really wanted to like this one…)

[Zoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

not my fire anxiety

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another book I discovered while listening to a podcast. Annie Jones, the sweet host of The Bookshelf podcast really enjoyed, but warned it would not be for everyone. After some hesitation, I chose to give it a go. Boy was she right. This book is R rated and I wound up scanning a lot of the steamy parts. The story was truly unique and I had to keep reading to see what would happen to Jenny and Nick. After a 6 year long affair, they choose to spend an entire night together in a $2000 dollar a night New York City high rise. After a fire breaks out and they are unsure they will make it out alive, their conversations become more serious. This was my favorite part of the story. I found myself thinking about it when I would have to set it aside. The writer did a great job writing an entire story set inside one hotel room. If you choose to read it, I feel like it will give you a lot to think about and want to discuss with others.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This had a unique premise and an interesting writing style and it def kept me engaged for the most part. The two main characters were pretty awful people though and they annoyed me quite a bit, just very selfish and self absorbed. Some of their conversations were fascinating though and the narration was great, but I hated the ending so pretty middle of the road for me in the end.

[Michelle Wright · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two stars might be harsh, but there’s a layer of such disappointment involved here. I had loved Eliza Kennedy’s prior novels, and it had been so long since she published anything new. And what a fantastic concept!!

I hated these main characters. They were so unlikable, and their conversations annoying. I couldn’t for the life of me understand why they were even together.

Should have listened to my gut and quit this when I wasn’t feeling it around a quarter in.

[PATCHES · Rating 5 out of 5]

I blew through this in a day

Which is fitting because this essentially takes place over the course of a day, give or take

Two people in a hotel room together that aren’t supposed to be together are now trapped in said hotel room because of a fire on one of the floors beneath them…

There’s really only a handful of authors that can pull this off, and boy did she pull this off

And that ending, oh my god

If you can do the audiobook, it’s a must — I flipped through the physical copy and there are no quotations and the transitions from inner monologue to dialogue to POV are kind of hard to follow… and of course, Rebecca Lowman killed it

[Jeanie ~ MyFairytaleLibrary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one. After having an affair for years and only seeing what they want to see in each other, everything unravels in the wake of mortal peril. The story is well written and very hard to put down. I particularly liked listening to Jenny’s internal dialogue. She was the more interesting of the two. Nick didn’t seem to think much beyond his little Nick! Rebecca Lowman is excellent in the narration on the audiobook production. I truly enjoy character driven stories and this one is excellent!

[Cyndi A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you very much for the ARC. A good read, but hard to follow at times. I appreciate the free copy though!

[Cassie · Rating 5 out of 5]

We make so much fun of people when they carry on about falling in love, about getting swept away, because they sound so ridiculous. Love is ridiculous, from the outside. But when you’re in it…oh God, when you’re in it…

Lucky Night is the kind of literary fiction I absolutely love to read. After six years engaged in an affair, Jenny and Nick are spending the night together for the first time in a brand new luxury hotel in Manhattan. But then the fire alarm goes off, and it becomes clear that their night of passion isn’t going to proceed the way they’d hoped.

The plot sounds straightforward on the surface, but the execution is anything but simple. Lucky Night is an emotionally resonant character study, set against a backdrop of mortal peril, and it’s astoundingly insightful. The narrative switches seamlessly between Nick’s and Jenny’s perspectives, so we get to read their thoughts about each other’s words and actions in real time. The dialogue is fantastic, and Nick and Jenny are so richly-realized – two imperfect people who are trying to connect and be present in their lives in whatever way they can, however self-destructive their choices may be. I grew to care so much for these two idiots, despite how aggravating they were, and I was so invested in their fate. Eliza Kennedy has so much love for these ridiculous, flawed humans, and she made me love them too.

All of this magnificent character work is happening within a tense, high-stakes narrative, as Nick and Jenny are forced to confront some hard truths about each other and themselves while their lives are quite literally in danger. Lucky Night reminded me of books like Nightwatching and Fierce Kingdom – both about mothers and children, so not exactly the same, but where deep musings about life and love are occurring at the same time the characters are facing unimaginable danger and their own mortality. This book actually made me feel physically stressed while I was reading it because the circumstances were so intense and claustrophobic.

I knew very early on that Lucky Night would be a five-star read for me, but then…that ending solidified it. It was perfection and actually brought me to tears. I just absolutely loved it. Thank you to Crown for the early reading opportunity.

[Paige · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you met up with the counterpart of your 6 year affair and your swanky hotel allegedly starts burning down mid-affair, take that as a sign to work on yourself.

Nick and Jenny are people with their own lives, which are brought up often. They meet up regularly to do each other, as affairs tend to go. Then, a smoke alarm goes off. In the digital age of knowing nothing and knowing everything at the same time, how can two people survive an emergency sheltering in place?

It was fine enough. I wish I could say more or describe it with more enthusiasm, but ehhh. Any book that takes place in one room will get repetitive like this.

I won this book as a part of a Goodreads giveaway. All opinions are my own. 3/5

[Kimmie Snyder · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know there are mixed reviews of this book, and the writing style did catch me off-guard at first. But I’m so glad I pushed through that and gave it a chance. Days later I am still in the room with our main characters, thinking about everything that happened, all that was said, the full range of human emotion. Wondering what I would do in a similar situation. Loved it.

[Stacy40pages · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lucky Night by Eliza Kennedy. Thanks to @crownpub for the gifted Arc ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Nick and Jenny have snuck an hour here or there with each other for their six year long affair. Now they have an entire night, for sex and banter, in a hotel. When the smoke alarm goes off, their night does not go as planned.

This is definitely a unique and interesting premise. It took a bit for me to get into it, as the writing it unique without quotation marks but I settled once I got to know the characters and didn’t even notice. Anyone with infidelity triggers should not read this one. I loved their back and forth and how we were privy to inner thoughts that evolved into the conversations. It was pretty steamy as well!

Lucky Night comes out 3/25.

[Abby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this despite (or maybe because of) my greatest fear of dying in a fire

[Nichole Lemons · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to admit I was really irritated with Jenny and Nick for the first full half of this book. I came close to not reading more. But as the situation in the hotel became more and more dire, their confessions and discussions became much deeper.

I’m still mad at these characters for focusing so much of the precious time they had left on themselves. I would be thinking of nothing but my child and these self absorbed people don’t get to that point until it’s nearly over.

So my feelings were wrestling. One part of my thought: they are cheaters and karma comes for everyone. Another part was more empathetic thinking: this would be terrifying and who am I to judge what someone else thinks or talks about when in a situation like this.

I ended up feeling lots of feelings with this book so I can’t say it wasn’t good or didn’t deliver for me. I just thought the main characters were pretty awful.

I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to the author, Crown Publishing, and NetGalley for the advanced digital copy for review.

[Byram · Rating 5 out of 5]

The writing is extraordinary, exploring the humanity that comes from love, lust, and the lies we tell each other and ourselves to deal with the sheer weight of existence and interconnectedness. Many may critique the circularity, the fluid flow between characters exploring themes over and over in evolving ways, or the fact that it’s a one-room story, but we need that claustrophobia, that threat of annihilation, that tension of wanting to not like our characters but actually identifying in them ourselves and our traits in some measure to open up our eyes to the less we tell ourselves as well and that resistance we all feel toward an authentic life. I thought the writing and the pace was deft, and the stakes expertly used to heighten the emotion of the characters, with an ending both apt and poignant. An excellent read.

[Patty Ramirez · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was not able to stop thinking about this book whenever I had to put it down for about 50% of the story, after that it started to slow down a bit, but it was not necessarily a bad thing because the story warranted it.

Jenny and Nick’s conversations turned more serious as their situation got more dire and it forced them to let go of their fears and confront what this affair really means to them. I felt that the author was able to transmit the tension and the seriousness of the situation beautifully throughout the book.

Loved!

Thank you to the publisher and author for providing a free copy of this book through NetGalley.

[Maddie Grimes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super well written and exactly the entertaining read I needed! This book definitely solidifies for me that I love the category of books that take place of a single day/night. Anyone who loves books about morally gray characters in super messy relationships will love this.

[Marina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A six year affair.
One night together in a brand new luxurious NYC hotel room to actually sleep together.
And a fire alarm that suddenly goes off.

WOW.
What a story. I need a minute because by the end my heart was racing.

Yes, this entire novel takes place within a few hours of one single night. But I hardly noticed. At first it took a some time to get into this story- i wasn’t sure I was going to enjoy it- but then we got about 25% in and I needed all the banter.

Jenny and Nick have been entangled in an affair for 6 years. Most of this book is the night that they think will be their first sleep over but is actually the opposite.
Told through conversations the pair are having locked in a room together thinking they may go up in flames- and with inner monologues of each of them.

I cared really deeply by the end of the book for both Jenny and Nick. The writing is funny, witty, sultry, and shameful but also really deep and dark. It was brilliant to me.

Almost a perfect read. I rated this 4.5.
The narration was TOP KNOTCH as Rebecca Lowman does no wrong in my mind.

[Kanako Okiron]

Urrrrgh...this just did not grab me in any way. It's not like I had Great Expectations for this book...but damn if it wasn't so short this could have easily been a DNF.

[Julia Roberts · Rating 2 out of 5]

Blah. Something about an infertility story that immediately puts a sour taste in my mouth. This one almost romanticized it, too. Sure, there were some valid points and conversation between the couple but overall, I got sick of reading about the sexcapades and wanted more of the fire story.
Don’t recommend.

[Mari Johnston · Rating 1 out of 5]

What was the point of this book? I sure don’t know.

Nick was a dick. The whole entire time. He couldn’t stop thinking about sex long enough to have a legitimate conversation and he was constantly rude and condescending. There was also a disturbing obsession with whether or not the teens (literal children) in Jenny’s YA book had sex.

Jenny was just annoying. I honestly don’t remember anything about her other than she lied about everything and didn’t seem to want to take ownership over the problems she created.

Overall this book gave me the ick and I wish I could erase it from my brain.

[Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. This is pretty captivating. Takes place in a single night and you get to feel and see every emotion come out in the beautiful words written. Once I started I couldn’t put it down. I will admit, I was first turned off without seeing quotation marks, but the story is so breathtaking and well written I smoothly transitioned into getting used to it and didn’t expect anything different. I honestly can’t wait to read it again!

[Jessica Moree · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF - I have to say right away that it might be because I received an ARC & there were no " " to distinguish inner monologuing from what's being said... with that, I couldn't connect with the writing style or the overall personality of the characters. I tried multiple times but I just couldn't get past the first few chapters...

[Stephanie (TheBookishBoyMom) · Rating 1 out of 5]

When I tell you, I absolutely loathed these characters, that’s being kind for the sake of respect for the author and her novel. This book is pointless. I don’t see what we were supposed to take away from 2 adults behaving badly and being irresponsible in such life altering ways. I only finished because I was determined to see if there was a point to this book. There’s not.

[Tina · Rating 2 out of 5]

I rarely write reviews, but felt I needed to with this one. I had a kindle ARC. There were no quotes when people were talking or having conversations. It was difficult to read. And the ending? Wtf?

[Alexis Schad · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gloriously horrible book about gloriously horrible people faced with the reality of their own existence. This would make a great play.

[Victoria Klein · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and Crown for this advance reader copy, in exchange for an honest review. This book is set over the course of one tense evening, as the nearly six-year affair between Jenny and Nick metaphorically implodes, as they share secrets, frustrations, and other hidden feelings while they’re trapped in a burning hotel building. Yes, a literal burning building.

The author did a great job at building up the tension and anxiety in this book; I think that in the large part is what kept me turning the pages. The two main characters were on the unlikable side and their back and forth, almost circling the drain, banter became frustrating after a while. Theirs is an exemplar of a messy, disastrous relationship that you almost can’t look away from because you need to see what direction it will take next. However, I will say that by the second half of the book, the conversation between the main characters did shift away from the surface-level, irritating banter to deeper, heartfelt discussion (as you might expect when you think death is imminent). I appreciated this much more and think that this is really when the book shines.

The writing style of this book was unique and I did need to work a little bit in the beginning to get in the groove of the format. It had a very stream of consciousness style format, with the thoughts of both characters interspersing with the dialogue (which also had no breaks or quotations). However, I did find that the stream of consciousness thoughts felt very realistic, which I appreciated. So, again, while this took a bit to get into, I think this style largely contributed to the overall high stakes atmosphere and feelings of frustration that were boiling over, as these characters reconciled with their complicated feelings toward each other and the real life threat of the burning building they were trapped in.

While this book probably won’t be for everyone, I enjoyed it! I would recommend it to those who enjoy stream of consciousness narratives and those who enjoy character driven books. Will be interested to see what others think when this publishes.