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Americana #49
With a Little Luck
Every novel in this collection is your passport to a romantic tour of the United States through time-honored favorites by America's First Lady of romance fiction. Each of the fifty novels is set in a different state, researched by Janet and her husband, Bill. For the Daileys it was an odyssey of discovery. For you, it's the journey of a lifetime. Your tour of desire begins with this story set in Wisconsin.
Could he love again? Did he even want to?
Luck, the man with the blue, blue eyes, had called Eve "a little brown mouse." Unfortunately, it was true. Eve had always thought of herself as a very nondescript, "plain Jane" type.
Born and bred in small-town Wisconsin, Eve used to wonder if love would ever find her. Then she met Luck McClure again ....
She found herself falling helplessly in love with him, but did he share the feeling? More likely he was just looking for a practical, ordinary mother for his little son, Toby ....
Could he love again? Did he even want to?
Luck, the man with the blue, blue eyes, had called Eve "a little brown mouse." Unfortunately, it was true. Eve had always thought of herself as a very nondescript, "plain Jane" type.
Born and bred in small-town Wisconsin, Eve used to wonder if love would ever find her. Then she met Luck McClure again ....
She found herself falling helplessly in love with him, but did he share the feeling? More likely he was just looking for a practical, ordinary mother for his little son, Toby ....
187 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1981
77 people are currently reading
200 people want to read
About the author
Janet Dailey
697 books1,822 followersJanet Anne Haradon Dailey was an American author of numerous romance novels as Janet Dailey (her married name). Her novels have been translated into nineteen languages and have sold over 300 million copies worldwide.
Born in 1944 in Storm Lake, Iowa, she attended secretarial school in Omaha, Nebraska before meeting her husband, Bill. Bill and Janet worked together in construction and land development until they "retired" to travel throughout the United States, inspiring Janet to write the Americana series of romances, where she set a novel in every state of the Union. In 1974, Janet Dailey was the first American author to write for Harlequin. Her first novel was NO QUARTER ASKED.
She had since gone on to write approximately 90 novels, 21 of which have appeared on the New York Times Bestseller List. She won many awards and accolades for her work, appearing widely on Radio and Television. Today, there are over three hundred million Janet Dailey books in print in 19 different languages, making her one of the most popular novelists in the world.
Janet Dailey passed away peacefully in her home in Branson on Saturday, December 14, 2013. She was 69.
Born in 1944 in Storm Lake, Iowa, she attended secretarial school in Omaha, Nebraska before meeting her husband, Bill. Bill and Janet worked together in construction and land development until they "retired" to travel throughout the United States, inspiring Janet to write the Americana series of romances, where she set a novel in every state of the Union. In 1974, Janet Dailey was the first American author to write for Harlequin. Her first novel was NO QUARTER ASKED.
She had since gone on to write approximately 90 novels, 21 of which have appeared on the New York Times Bestseller List. She won many awards and accolades for her work, appearing widely on Radio and Television. Today, there are over three hundred million Janet Dailey books in print in 19 different languages, making her one of the most popular novelists in the world.
Janet Dailey passed away peacefully in her home in Branson on Saturday, December 14, 2013. She was 69.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
April 29, 2020
"With a Little Luck" is the story of Eve and Luck.
A super sweet tale of blooming love, between a music teacher and a single dad. When the h bumps into the H one night, he calls her a "brown mouse" in a drunken haze, and she runs away. They meet again, thanks to a broken window, and the H eventually recognizes the h. The H's son plays the important character of a cute matchmaking child desperately longing for a mother. If you don't mind gender stereotypes, with a semi attractive Mary Sue who loves to cook, clean and take care of kids, desperate to fall in love- and the manly and sometimes nonchalant H showing up and giving her the perfect soil to sow her roots- with the son acting as the fertilizer. I did like the H's respect and attachment to his dead life, and how he did eventually let her go. Also liked that it didn't just fade to black, and had some clarity about the hero's intentions.
Good one time read.
Safe
3/5
A super sweet tale of blooming love, between a music teacher and a single dad. When the h bumps into the H one night, he calls her a "brown mouse" in a drunken haze, and she runs away. They meet again, thanks to a broken window, and the H eventually recognizes the h. The H's son plays the important character of a cute matchmaking child desperately longing for a mother. If you don't mind gender stereotypes, with a semi attractive Mary Sue who loves to cook, clean and take care of kids, desperate to fall in love- and the manly and sometimes nonchalant H showing up and giving her the perfect soil to sow her roots- with the son acting as the fertilizer. I did like the H's respect and attachment to his dead life, and how he did eventually let her go. Also liked that it didn't just fade to black, and had some clarity about the hero's intentions.
Good one time read.
Safe
3/5
August 23, 2012
A lot of Janet Dailey's books don't hold up well. This one did though. It is a very sweet story of Luck, a widower with a young son, falling in love again. Eve is a quiet ordinary looking woman who falls in love with Luck and has a hard time believing that he really loves her.
The book is well written and the pacing is good. The young son Toby is very advanced for his age and I would have bought him just a little bit better if he had been 10 instead of 8 but he was still well written and funny in his grownupness. I read this book when it first came out in 1981 and have never forgotten it. There were certain lines of dialog that I have actively remembered for 30 years. There were a couple of bits where Luck and Toby are talking about what kind of women you marry and they discuss the fact that Luck doesn't want to marry a woman with staples in her stomach and later Toby confirms with his dad that Eve does not in fact have staples in her stomach. Wonderful imagery that I've never forgotten and it was just as vivid a visual this time around.
The book is well written and the pacing is good. The young son Toby is very advanced for his age and I would have bought him just a little bit better if he had been 10 instead of 8 but he was still well written and funny in his grownupness. I read this book when it first came out in 1981 and have never forgotten it. There were certain lines of dialog that I have actively remembered for 30 years. There were a couple of bits where Luck and Toby are talking about what kind of women you marry and they discuss the fact that Luck doesn't want to marry a woman with staples in her stomach and later Toby confirms with his dad that Eve does not in fact have staples in her stomach. Wonderful imagery that I've never forgotten and it was just as vivid a visual this time around.
November 26, 2018
3.5 stars
abrierto-to-read-hr-other
November 12, 2022Could he love again? Did he even want to?
Luck, the man with the blue, blue eyes, had called Eve "a little brown mouse." Unfortunately, it was true. Eve had always thought of herself as a very nondescript, "plain Jane" type.
Born and bred in small-town Wisconsin, Eve used to wonder if love would ever find her. Then she met Luck McClure again ....
She found herself falling helplessly in love with him, but did he share the feeling? More likely he was just looking for a practical, ordinary mother for his little son, Toby ....
Luck, the man with the blue, blue eyes, had called Eve "a little brown mouse." Unfortunately, it was true. Eve had always thought of herself as a very nondescript, "plain Jane" type.
Born and bred in small-town Wisconsin, Eve used to wonder if love would ever find her. Then she met Luck McClure again ....
She found herself falling helplessly in love with him, but did he share the feeling? More likely he was just looking for a practical, ordinary mother for his little son, Toby ....
March 6, 2020
Loved this...........read it in one night. It was a sweet story of a widower and son and the dialog of the boy had me laughing all the way through. As you can see it was a quick read but so very heartwarming.
July 31, 2023
Typical romance story. Lonely girl who doesn't think she deserves a man in her life. A man who has a son and lost his wife 6 years ago, who thinks he will never love again. Little Toby playing Matchmaker. Good story... But it's the same thing, just different characters in a different setting.
March 17, 2020
Book 49
Wonderful book.. Janet Daily is a fantastic author. I will read a great many more of her American Series. thanks
Wonderful book.. Janet Daily is a fantastic author. I will read a great many more of her American Series. thanks
August 2, 2021
Going to be sad to see series end in one more book
October 24, 2021
Loved the book, romantic story
May 21, 2022
It’s a sweet enough story, but I didn’t really buy that Luck was desperately in love with her or anything. Also, Toby went from precocious to obnoxious by the end.
November 22, 2022
A good old fashioned easy read romance. No disappointment here.
September 25, 2024
Pretty cute
October 16, 2024
The romance was very bland, and the H seemed like an overgrown teenager that shirked responsibility.
Adding 1 star for Toby - he was such an endearing character.
Adding 1 star for Toby - he was such an endearing character.
March 4, 2017
Luck McClure and his 8-year-old son Toby live a bachelor life since the death of his wife six years ago. On the anniversary of her death, Luck goes out and gets drunk and runs into Eve Rowland, who intrigues him with how she resembles an adorable little brown mouse. She views this as an insult, while he doesn't intend it as such, but she has some insecurities about how plain she is. They run into each other again, note the attraction and pleasantness between them and slowly get to know each other romantically. But Eve worries about whether she'll ever compete with the memory of Luck's wife given how beautiful she is and Luck struggles with his son pushing him to marry.
There isn't much going on in this story really. It's primarily about the main characters, Luck, Toby and Eve getting to know one another, becoming something of a family unit and Toby trying to matchmake between Luck and Eve. What little angst there is stems from Luck letting go of his wife's memory and Eve not really knowing what Luck's intentions are. It isn't much. In addition the ending felt extremely abrupt, following a marriage proposal after they've known each other for a few weeks. I found it interesting that the characters felt the inclination to marry right away, rather than to continue dating for a while. It's an interesting story.
Toby brings most of the entertainment value as an 8-year-old going on 50. He's VERY mature for his age. It also brings about a total difference in values between 1988 and present day. Toby prepares his father's hangover remedy, understands his father's need to go out with women and is allowed to stay on his own for short periods of time, is able to explore out in the woods on his own and has a very open and honest curiosity about sex, particularly when he walks in on Luck and Eve making out. I was 8 when this book was written and I can remember things being similar to this (not necessarily in preparing hangover remedies though...nor the honesty about sex), but definitely in the responsibility and the expectation of respect for adults. But in contrast, this book also presents a very different mindset about gender roles. Toby's primary motivation in wanting a mother is that he's tired of doing all the feminine household chores and is ready to have a mother in the house to do it for him. Especially after Luck tells him that a mother's role involves cooking, cleaning and various other housework, in addition to any job she might work during the day. RME and LOL. If this had been written today, this book would have gone up in flames. I found it entertaining though.
There isn't much going on in this story really. It's primarily about the main characters, Luck, Toby and Eve getting to know one another, becoming something of a family unit and Toby trying to matchmake between Luck and Eve. What little angst there is stems from Luck letting go of his wife's memory and Eve not really knowing what Luck's intentions are. It isn't much. In addition the ending felt extremely abrupt, following a marriage proposal after they've known each other for a few weeks. I found it interesting that the characters felt the inclination to marry right away, rather than to continue dating for a while. It's an interesting story.
Toby brings most of the entertainment value as an 8-year-old going on 50. He's VERY mature for his age. It also brings about a total difference in values between 1988 and present day. Toby prepares his father's hangover remedy, understands his father's need to go out with women and is allowed to stay on his own for short periods of time, is able to explore out in the woods on his own and has a very open and honest curiosity about sex, particularly when he walks in on Luck and Eve making out. I was 8 when this book was written and I can remember things being similar to this (not necessarily in preparing hangover remedies though...nor the honesty about sex), but definitely in the responsibility and the expectation of respect for adults. But in contrast, this book also presents a very different mindset about gender roles. Toby's primary motivation in wanting a mother is that he's tired of doing all the feminine household chores and is ready to have a mother in the house to do it for him. Especially after Luck tells him that a mother's role involves cooking, cleaning and various other housework, in addition to any job she might work during the day. RME and LOL. If this had been written today, this book would have gone up in flames. I found it entertaining though.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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July 13, 2013بحيرة الذكريات
بحيره
يناديها الفأرة البنية
بحيره
يناديها الفأرة البنية
July 18, 2016
Easy read very light hearted.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews