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No Such Luck
Riley MacGowan thought her relationship with her boyfriend was moving in a serious direction. Unfortunately, the only thing moving was him—to another state. Needing a break from her miserable love life, Riley runs off to Scotland for a ten-day vacation. On her last night there, she encounters a strange woman from the Caribbean who recites a riddle to her before disappearing into the darkness. When Riley returns home to Boston, she soon discovers that things aren't quite right. Every guy she dates meets with disaster. At first Riley thinks it’s horrible bad luck, but then she sees that strange woman on the streets of Boston. Has this woman followed her home from Scotland? What if the woman’s riddle was actually a witch’s curse? Riley must figure it out fast because she has just met her dream guy who begins to have bad luck like all the other guys she dated. Will Riley lose him too, or will she learn that love is the only thing strong enough to break a curse?
351 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 12, 2016
24 people are currently reading
46 people want to read
About the author
Caitlin McKenna
9 books46 followersEver since she can remember, Caitlin McKenna has always loved a good story. Naturally, she landed Hollywood where she embarked on an acting and screenwriting career.
Now she enjoys writing any story where love drives the narrative. Caitlin lives with her husband and two spoiled dachshunds in Southern California, and is working on her next novel.
Please visit her website at: https://www.caitlinmckenna.com
You can also connect with Caitlin at:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/caitmckenna
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorcaitl...
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorcaitli...
Email: AuthorCaitlinMcKenna@gmail.com
Now she enjoys writing any story where love drives the narrative. Caitlin lives with her husband and two spoiled dachshunds in Southern California, and is working on her next novel.
Please visit her website at: https://www.caitlinmckenna.com
You can also connect with Caitlin at:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/caitmckenna
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorcaitl...
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorcaitli...
Email: AuthorCaitlinMcKenna@gmail.com
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
June 3, 2017
No Such Luck by Caitlin McKenna is not what I was expecting. I'm not into romance but I thought it would be a cozy paranormal/romance but really it was a light romance, not even a cozy. It was cute story but a bit long. It was cute but a bit wordy in places.
February 8, 2017
Delightful!! Really funny and smart, and not really predictable, which was a welcome surprise for a chick lit. Caitlin McKenna is a great writer and I expected great fun already, but even so, I was pleasantly surprised by it being even better than anticipated. Totally recommend it!!
October 19, 2016
Very interesting concept, cute story, easy to follow, and a generally good read. Recommend it!
June 6, 2016
I am a big fan of Kindle Scout! I nominated this book, and when it was published, I received a free copy. I had forgotten about it, so when I came across it yesterday I decided to read it. Boy am I glad I did. What a cute romance book-filled with a little mystery and a lot of sort of funny details. (I know you aren't supposed to laugh at others, but sometimes I couldn't help it!)
There were several places where I thought the book would be ending, but to my delight it didn't. It wrapped up a lot of details before finishing in a way I thought was perfect!
Clearly a light-hearted book that is a great way to de-stress and unwind.I recommend it for a fun read!
There were several places where I thought the book would be ending, but to my delight it didn't. It wrapped up a lot of details before finishing in a way I thought was perfect!
Clearly a light-hearted book that is a great way to de-stress and unwind.I recommend it for a fun read!
July 19, 2016
No Such Luck by Caitlin McKenna is a light hearted enjoyable read. The story centers around Riley, who is a 20-something Bostonian. After being dumped by her long term boyfriend, Riley takes a 10-day vacation to Scotland. While there, she meets a strange Caribbean woman who puts a curse on her. After returning home, and experiencing several really bad dates, Riley sees the Carribean woman again - in Boston. The rest of the story is Riley trying to put an end to the curse with much comedic effect. I received a digital copy of this book from Kindle Scout.
July 2, 2016
I received a free e-copy of this book with my nomination in the Kindle Scout program when it was selected for publication. It was hilarious and funny at times. Kitbah was something else scaring folks in Scotland at the pub. She kind of scared me too. When all of Riley's dates, Chaz, Jeremy, Rand, Eddie met with terrible accidents, was Riley cursed or were these guys purposely moved out of her life. Absolutely love Derek. I really enjoyed the book and characters, Riley, Derek, Carmen, Brian and Kitbah.
February 8, 2017
It's always fun to read about about places you know. I live in within a couple hours of Boston, so many of the places named are familiar to me and brought back my own memories. This is a funny, sweet story. I was glad I didn't have to read any embarrassing sex scenes. In a way predictable, since romance novels follow a pattern... boy gets girl... :) But it had a unique twist with the Scotland witch, so it wasn't all just about the romance. An enjoyable story I think even other non-romance readers like me will enjoy.
April 18, 2016
This story is not one I would usually read but when I read the introduction to it in Kindle Scout, I was hooked. This is a fun-loving, light-hearted story with a few suspenseful twists and turns that compelled me to keep reading. I actually had tears in my eyes at the somewhat traumatic climax. Glad to say the story had a happy ending.
June 25, 2016
Good luck, bad luck, blessings in disguise, hexes, no such luck...So much of what happens in our lives is skewed by our internal perceptions. Two people can look at the same event in completely opposite ways. Does luck exist or do we create our own reality? Riley's story is a fun read that kept me guessing until the end and left me smiling.
February 1, 2017
A fun book to read!
I gave this five stars because I couldn't put it down. This was quirky with twists and turns that had me wondering what would happen next. I will definitely be reading more of her books!
I gave this five stars because I couldn't put it down. This was quirky with twists and turns that had me wondering what would happen next. I will definitely be reading more of her books!
August 20, 2017
Luck what's that?
Completed the book, but at times seemed like it would never end. At the beginning had me laughing a lot. Later not as much.
Completed the book, but at times seemed like it would never end. At the beginning had me laughing a lot. Later not as much.
April 20, 2016
Good background and insight into Ram..
Love the series.
Enjoyed reading!!
Love the series.
Enjoyed reading!!
April 16, 2022
I like the premise of this book, but WOW! Some places in the book you read and feel like 5 pages are missing.
The story takes some huge leaps sometimes and in the last 10% of the book the main character annoyed the crap out of me. I was close to putting it down but I just skimmed the rest. She was way too corny and dramatic and how she reacted to people was so stupid and annoying.
It wouldn’t surprise me if this was a movie - it is written like a movie script, and big events are being glazed over like nothing… do not recommend this book.
The story takes some huge leaps sometimes and in the last 10% of the book the main character annoyed the crap out of me. I was close to putting it down but I just skimmed the rest. She was way too corny and dramatic and how she reacted to people was so stupid and annoying.
It wouldn’t surprise me if this was a movie - it is written like a movie script, and big events are being glazed over like nothing… do not recommend this book.
December 3, 2017
Fun Story
This was a cute and fun read. The beginning of the book kept me reading and chuckling. Further on the story begins to feel long and drawn out, but still enjoyable. I liked the witch's touch. It gave the story intrigue. The ending was very satisfying. This book is well written.
This was a cute and fun read. The beginning of the book kept me reading and chuckling. Further on the story begins to feel long and drawn out, but still enjoyable. I liked the witch's touch. It gave the story intrigue. The ending was very satisfying. This book is well written.
August 3, 2017
Cute & wacky
This was a cute & wacky story about bad luck & romance. It is a very clean story with the exception of one love scene. The characters are likable and the story is so wacky it keeps your interest. Fun read.
This was a cute & wacky story about bad luck & romance. It is a very clean story with the exception of one love scene. The characters are likable and the story is so wacky it keeps your interest. Fun read.
April 21, 2018
Lovelly
This a good one, when love wins all the battles ahead of every bad luck situation that you can have on life
This a good one, when love wins all the battles ahead of every bad luck situation that you can have on life
Read
April 6, 2016I really enjoyed this book. Heroine Riley lives a relatively ordinary life for a woman in her twenties. She's been wanting to go to Scotland for years, and finally has the money and the time to take the trip with her roommate. On their last day, when they get lost and find themselves in a run-down little town that isn't even on the map, they encounter a strange woman, Kitabah, who some of the locals think may be a witch, but whether or not she is, she sure makes them uncomfortable when she's around! At the end of the evening, she gives Riley a riddle, which will haunt her memories for quite some time. What did the strange lady mean? Why does she think she keeps seeing her after she returns to Boston, and then as soon as she does, something bad happens.
Not long after, Riley meets a man on the T-train who she is strongly attracted to, but before they can exchange numbers, they get separated. She is a bit of a control freak, but she changes her schedule around just enough to hopefully run into the man again, but it just doesn't happen. So she moves on with her life, meeting various men along the way, having dates with them. One date after another, regardless of the man, turns into the date from hell. Not that the men aren't nice enough, or handsome enough. It's just that, anything that can go wrong, does. Crazy, even unbelievable things. Riley believes she is cursed. Little by little, Raleigh learns that sometimes things that look like a curse can turn out to be a blessing. There are also several other platitudes in the book, and Riley, over time, learn that they all carry some wisdom and aren't just clever sayings. Everyone has times of good luck and times of bad luck, and life is what we make of it. We can't prevent things that happen to us, but we can control how we react to it and whether we will let it control our actions in going forward.
This book was also written at a relatively relaxed pace, and had a lot of instances of humor. It was the perfect setting for showing this internal growth within Riley, and those around her.
For those that care about those things, there is one brief “sex” scene in the book. It is written beautifully and with so much class, and is part of a loving relationship, not just lust. It had my lips quivering, literally. I've read about every kind of “sex scene” there is, and this, in its own way, was so passionate and romantic. Nothing to scare you off if you prefer clean books.
As for our Hero, Derek, he is a fantasy come true. No, he's not one of these Alpha Males who's going to grab “his” woman and claim her. He's a genuinely nice guy, sensitive, kind, and caring, and personally, I'd choose this kind of man most any day over all the alphas that are so popular nowadays.
Although this was a little bit slow reading, and not something that I “just couldn't put down”, if was a very satisfying book, with a positive message, and I'm glad I read it. Very worthwhile!
I received a free advance copy of this book through the Kindle Scout program.
Not long after, Riley meets a man on the T-train who she is strongly attracted to, but before they can exchange numbers, they get separated. She is a bit of a control freak, but she changes her schedule around just enough to hopefully run into the man again, but it just doesn't happen. So she moves on with her life, meeting various men along the way, having dates with them. One date after another, regardless of the man, turns into the date from hell. Not that the men aren't nice enough, or handsome enough. It's just that, anything that can go wrong, does. Crazy, even unbelievable things. Riley believes she is cursed. Little by little, Raleigh learns that sometimes things that look like a curse can turn out to be a blessing. There are also several other platitudes in the book, and Riley, over time, learn that they all carry some wisdom and aren't just clever sayings. Everyone has times of good luck and times of bad luck, and life is what we make of it. We can't prevent things that happen to us, but we can control how we react to it and whether we will let it control our actions in going forward.
This book was also written at a relatively relaxed pace, and had a lot of instances of humor. It was the perfect setting for showing this internal growth within Riley, and those around her.
For those that care about those things, there is one brief “sex” scene in the book. It is written beautifully and with so much class, and is part of a loving relationship, not just lust. It had my lips quivering, literally. I've read about every kind of “sex scene” there is, and this, in its own way, was so passionate and romantic. Nothing to scare you off if you prefer clean books.
As for our Hero, Derek, he is a fantasy come true. No, he's not one of these Alpha Males who's going to grab “his” woman and claim her. He's a genuinely nice guy, sensitive, kind, and caring, and personally, I'd choose this kind of man most any day over all the alphas that are so popular nowadays.
Although this was a little bit slow reading, and not something that I “just couldn't put down”, if was a very satisfying book, with a positive message, and I'm glad I read it. Very worthwhile!
I received a free advance copy of this book through the Kindle Scout program.
June 12, 2016
I received a promotional copy through the Kindle Scout program. I have to admit that I went into this book with a misconception. I thought it was a cozy style mystery with a good dose of romance. After having read it I would have to say that it falls into the light romance category instead of cozy. In fact, it reminded me of one of those movies you see on the Hallmark channel.
Two young women take a trip to Scotland. Partly to have a last adventure together before one of them gets married and partly to celebrate that the other is finally over her ex-boyfriend. While there, they end up in a small inn where a mysterious woman gives them a scare and an odd riddle. Upon returning to America, Riley dives back into dating. Only all of her dates seem to be cursed with bad luck. Can she break the curse or is she fated to remain alone for the rest of her life?
There is plenty of laughs with this story. The bad luck dates get wilder and wilder. The resolution to the problem made sense and fit into the story well. The problem is that the resolution happened around the 60% mark. So, the author had to come up with a secondary problem for the last 40% of the book. While this isn't necessarily a bad thing, in this case, the secondary problem seemed more repetitive and unnecessary than a device that added a lot to the overall story.
Riley was easy to like most of the time. Her big drawback was that she kept second guessing herself. You just want to tell her to get on with it at times. At other times, she wanted to skip necessary steps. As soon as she agreed to go out with a guy, she was picturing together for years even if she literally just met him. Yes, it is great if your date works out and you want to keep seeing them but sometimes a first date with someone you just met should be looked at more as a learning experience than the first step of the rest of your life.
Two young women take a trip to Scotland. Partly to have a last adventure together before one of them gets married and partly to celebrate that the other is finally over her ex-boyfriend. While there, they end up in a small inn where a mysterious woman gives them a scare and an odd riddle. Upon returning to America, Riley dives back into dating. Only all of her dates seem to be cursed with bad luck. Can she break the curse or is she fated to remain alone for the rest of her life?
There is plenty of laughs with this story. The bad luck dates get wilder and wilder. The resolution to the problem made sense and fit into the story well. The problem is that the resolution happened around the 60% mark. So, the author had to come up with a secondary problem for the last 40% of the book. While this isn't necessarily a bad thing, in this case, the secondary problem seemed more repetitive and unnecessary than a device that added a lot to the overall story.
Riley was easy to like most of the time. Her big drawback was that she kept second guessing herself. You just want to tell her to get on with it at times. At other times, she wanted to skip necessary steps. As soon as she agreed to go out with a guy, she was picturing together for years even if she literally just met him. Yes, it is great if your date works out and you want to keep seeing them but sometimes a first date with someone you just met should be looked at more as a learning experience than the first step of the rest of your life.
October 2, 2016
I just didn't feel this book. It wasn't awful, but it didn't grab my attention. I set it aside and came back days later and it still just didn't do it. It's not bad writing, or anything. I like the wit and humor, but didn't feel like I could relate to Riley. It was just 'meh' for me.
August 22, 2016
A sheer delight.
September 11, 2016
Cute, Nice story, a bit too long though.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews