How to Lose the Lottery

by Jay McKenzie

'Heartwarming, nostalgic and poignant' Lucy Clarke

'Both achingly funny and poignant' Sally Page

'Tender and uplifting' Kate Storey

Buy a lottery ticket✅

Win your wildest dreams✅

Lose everything…?

One lucky ticket is about to change everything

Edie and Ron have been together for nearly fifty years, keeping each other afloat by the skin of their teeth. They’ve always been ordinary – until something very extraordinary happens.

Winning the lottery is everything they’ve ever wanted – well, almost.

Because for the last twenty years, Edie and Ron have been running from a secret that tore their family apart. And when you can suddenly buy everything you’ve ever wanted, you realise that the only thing you really want is the one thing money can’t buy.

Join Edie as she finally takes control. She’s had enough of playing the hand she’s been dealt – it’s time to risk it all.

Kindle Edition

Expected publication March 26, 2026

Reviews

[Julia Rice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read an advance copy of the book.
All Edie ever wanted was a family. She grew up without a Dad and her Mum just wasn't there for her, as she had mental health issues. She meets Ron and falls in love. Eventually she has her twin boys , Sean and Colin but times are hard and her marriage isn't as she'd hoped.
This story jumps between before, meaning before the lottery win and after. I loved Edie and felt so sad for her. Her life before the lottery win was one hard slog and I hated her husband for not being there for her. The lottery win comes later in life when I presume Edie is in her 60's and it doesn't seem that money really is the answer to her problems. Her husband doesn't want to spend time with her and she suspects an affair. Something has happened with Sean her son but we don't find out until the last quarter of the book.
I really did enjoy this book and became very invested in the characters. It was very well written and I will definitely look out fir more by this author.

[Linda Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this book. Edie and Ron have been together for 50 years. They've always struggled financially so it's a miracle when they win the lottery and can now have everything money can buy. But the one thing Edie wants more than anything is to be reunited with her estranged son. The story takes us right back to the beginning of Edie and Ron's relationship and is a wonderful story of love, friendship and loss. I loved the characters and I recommend this as a great, heartwarming read.
Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.

[Lucy Ellis-Hardy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although Edie and Ron are living as husband and wife, winning the lottery sends them off on very different journeys.  The story weaves together themes of privilege, friendship, family secrets, honesty, identity, and quiet courage. I was reasonably engaged throughout, though I did find parts of the book a little slow at times.

That said, there were some genuine surprises in the plot that caught me off guard and made me feel unexpectedly emotional. It’s not only really a story about the lottery win; it’s also about what truly matters beneath the surface.

I enjoyed it and would recommend it.
I received an advance review copy from NetGalley and the publisher.

[Gill · Rating 4 out of 5]

We all dream of winning the lottery and all the things we’d buy, with a new home probably being first on the list. We join Edie and Ron in their new home. It’s luxury, especially in comparison to their old terraced home where they brought up their children and struggled along trying to make ends meet. But now Edie has moved, she can’t help missing her old place and it’s taken a move to realise she was happy there. Their son Colin lives with them after his divorce and both Ron and Colin are enjoying themselves living the dream with a new luxury car each. Edie on the other hand can’t help feeling lonely and there’s still a missing piece to the jigsaw, that would really make her happy.

The book then goes back and forth in time through alternating chapters as Ron and Edie’s story is gradually revealed, from the time they met in the 60’s right through all life’s ups and downs. Personally I preferred the present and would have liked to have heard more about that and a little less about their past. Once you approach the end of the book it all comes together and you can understand the reason for such a detailed backstory but I did find some aspects of the book incredibly slow to move along.

Once all the reveals came and for perhaps the last quarter of the book, for me the story really started to pick up and move along at a faster pace and I became quite engrossed. By the end I found it quite a thought provoking story and think it would make a good book club read. Highlighting the far reaching effects of less than perfect childhoods, sibling rivalry and tensions, class diversity and social disparities, there is more to this book than first thought. There aren’t many books I would re-read but I think this one does merit a second read to gain a deeper insight into earlier parts of the book. This is one book where perseverance, if you’re finding it a little slow, really does pay off.

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very slow and dull start to this novel. The timeframe switches between before and after winning the lottery for Edith and Ron; having married the couple originally lived with Ron’s mother Hilda until Edith is left a run down miners cottage. Raising twin boys, Sean and Colin, played heavily on Edith who felt inadequate as a mother, but persevering to give both boys the opportunity normally denied to a working class family, Sean won a scholarship only for him to be offered a home by the parents of a school friend. Ron’s subsequent financial troubles only added to the equation until they won the lottery and their lives changed forever.

It’s only when three quarters of the way through this book did the story become interesting. The background and story line are well written and this pulls the earlier chapters together, displaying the human elements and characters. Money might not buy love, but the wealth did not affect Edith’s kind heart, generosity and friendships of those she loved.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers HarperCollins for this ARC for review.

[Maggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Edie and Ron have struggled financially all their lives. Struggling to keep his garage afloat kept Ron working day and night. Edie longed for a proper family. She had been brought up by her mother, her father having gone from their lives. Her mother struggles with her mental health. They lived with Ron's mother for many years and Edie had twin boys.

When they were in their sixties they won the lottery. Suddenly money was no problem. However money can't buy you happiness and whilst Ron spent his time on cars, she mourned the loss of the people in her old life.

Told from two perspectives, before and after the win the contrast is stark. What did happen to Sean- the clever twin? Has Ron been cheating? How will Edie make a new life for herself? I loved Edie and the strange group of friends she managed to gather around her- especially the eccentric Russian lady!

This was a very enjoyable read that makes you count your blessings. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.

[LindyLouMac · Rating 3 out of 5]

Prior to reading 'How to Lose the Lottery' I had never heard of Jay McKenzie, despite the fact she has, I now know has had her writing published at least since 2019.

Edie and Ron are the protagonists of this story which is written as a dual time line, before and after the couple have a big lottery win. Their lives are obviously richer in monetary terms and the financial struggles they had coped with for years were resolved. The couple had not had an easy marriage and they encountered difficulties from their very first meeting. Money certainly does not guarantee happiness though as Edie in particular very soon discovered.

Although well written I found the storyline very slow and at times boring, however I do recommend the author for her writing style.

With thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read and review.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

How to Lose the Lottery follows Edie and Ron's life after they met in the 1960's. I initially struggled with this read at the start, I really wasn't too keen on the characters and found them quite hard to like - Edie came across as very selfish to say the least. The more I read though and found out more of their upbringing (particularly Edies) the more they slowly grew on me. The authors writing is good and engaging. I liked how the story moved from past to present easily and found it easy to have empathy for Edie after their lottery win. Ron and Colin, not so much though. The story follows Edie and Ron's relationship over 40 years and how their friendship circle changes after their win. I loved Veroushka. The ending gives the story good closure and considering this is a book I would say I didn't much like at first, it did get better as I was reading it.

3 stars

[Lorraine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was so invested in How to Lose the Lottery by Jay Mckenzie that I was disappointed when I finished it.

It is a well written, heartwarming and poignant tale of Edie and her husband Ron, who having struggled financially for years, win the lottery.

Written in two different time lines, before and after, it is a story that will make you laugh and make you cry. It is a story of family, love, forgiveness and new beginnings.

Highly recommend!

[Chrissie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a lovely cosy Family drama .Eddie and Ron have always struggled in life with little money and twin boys to bring up .Then a miracle happens and they win millions on the Lottery and suddenly for Edie her life is turned upside down .Told in two timelines before and after the win. A heart warming story of family ,love forgiveness and new beginnings ,a compelling story that is hard to put down .Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC.

[Sheila · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received a free copy of, How to Lose the Lottery, by Jay McKenzie, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Edith and Ron have done it, they won the lottery. This book goes back and forth from before and after they won the lottery. I did not care for Edie or Ron at all.

[Michael Kranicz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful writing, captures so much of the North. Made me cry, made me laugh. For me it is a story about hope, about a woman's love for family and her struggle for self-determination.