Lucky Girl

*4.5 stars

I just finished lucky girl: How I Became A Horror Writer: A Krampus Story
by M. Rickert and here are my thoughts

After her family are murdered and the family house burns to the ground, Ro finds herself at a diner during the holiday season. There she meets 4 other people, all strangers, all alone. She invites them to an impromptu christmas dinner where they share holiday ghost stories...

What Ro doesn't know, all the years later when they all meet up again at the home of Grayson, that sometimes stories are more true that the imagination can comprehend.

The hairs on the back of my neck still haven't gone down yet. You know when you feel the blast of icy cold terror on your neck that you just can't shake? I have one big problem with the novella.... It shouldn't have been a novella. I loved the concept but in the reality of the realm of the novella, you can't get the character development I feel would have elevated this to new heights. All the characters had a little something to them that could have been expanded and I would have loved more about Krampus. I really felt the author had something here but missed out on what could have been the best book of the year for me.

I just wanted more of everything but what I do know from reading this novella? That the author has a serious talent for suspense.

3.5 stars rounded to 4.

Thank you to Macmillan-Tor/Forge and #netgalley for my review copy!

This was such an interesting read!

When 5 strangers meet in a cafe and decide to spend Christmas together they end up on a trajectory that intwines their lives. We get to see everything through the perspective of Ro who has a strained relationship with the Christmas season. However, it sets her up to become a horror author.

I know that synopsis seems a bit short, but this is a short book and saying too much more would give too much away in my opinion. The set up of this book is different than I'm used to reading but I very much enjoyed it. It spans a length of times and moves through it pretty quickly. The ending really threw me for a loop and I loved it. That moment the title makes sense is perfect.

I can't say too much as I think going into this as blind as possible is best, but I very much enjoyed the quick read and I highly recommend.