Reviewed by Taylin

TITLE: Stay Lucky

AUTHOR: Leta Blake

PUBLISHER: Leta Blake Books

LENGTH: 219 Pages

RE-RELEASE DATE: January 9, 2020

BLURB:

A second chance to build the family of their dreams…

Dr. Grant Anderson long ago gave up on a relationship with Leo Garner. After all Leo left him for a movie star, and who can compete with that? But now, Leo’s back with his adorable, genius daughter in tow, leaving Grant consumed by three important questions:

1)Did Leo come home without the movie star because he’s looking for a fresh start?
2)Does he want a do-over with Grant too?
3)Why else would Leo be hanging around Grant’s hospital so much anyway?

The attraction between Grant and Leo is undeniable, and soon their affection reignites as well. But will their luck hold out through health scares and family drama so they can find their happy ending at last?

*Originally published in 2018 under the same title using the pen-name, Halsey Harlow.

REVIEW:

Years ago, Leo dumped Grant when his ex-boyfriend offered him the world. When that relationship goes down the drain, and Leo is need of dialysis, he returns to his childhood town with his daughter for the kind of support only family can give. Grant is a surgeon at the hospital where Leo receives his dialysis. Grant is type of doctor who, with one look, can make a nurse cry, but has a soft spot for children. A family is the one thing he wanted the most, but since Leo skipped out on him, it’s the one thing he never thought he could have. Determined not to be caught by the love bug again – fortunately, or unfortunately for Grant, Leo has a habit of upsetting his grumpy, ordered life.

The story is told entirely from Grant’s viewpoint. It starts when Leo is getting ready for an operation, then goes back to when they met for the second time. From there, the chapters are almost date stamped. Backstory chapters are interspersed with updates from the present.

The story contains a super range of characters. I’m not going to name them all, but a few deserve mention.

Lucky is Leo’s daughter. She is a little girl obsessed with Greek mythology and is smarter than the average bear. There is more to that arc, but I don’t want to give away spoilers unless there’s no choice. I don’t usually go for stories that contain children because although I love my own, I don’t go gaga over children. However, Lucky is my kind of kid. She is smart, but not unbelievably so, and has a super personality without it being laced with saccharine. She is down to earth and ballsy, while not overbearing.

Alec is the flamboyant best friend who fans Grants dreams while giving him a brutally honest reality check. My only gripe about him was, (and I feel guilty about this) that he is immediately in camp Leo, even though Leo broke Grant’s heart. At the start, I’d have expected a little more loyalty, despite Leo’s extenuating circumstances.

Leo is sweet, troubled and very ill. He has a lot on his plate and is dealing with it as best he can. When Grant comes back into his life, he realizes the mistake he made. But, staying with Grant may have meant that he didn’t have Lucky. He’s a trooper.

For me though Grant is far and above the star of the show. I loved that he was the softie with a hard shell. The thing that I adored though was his language base. The words he came out with were frank to the point of brutality. He didn’t play nice. If he didn’t want to be somewhere, he was honest about it. He said what he meant and meant what he said – soooo refreshing. For a hardass doctor, he tries not to give in to Leo, but his love for Leo steers him on a path he wasn’t prepared for, which makes him utterly gorgeous.

What I got with Stay Lucky was the journey of two men, both hurt by love, who found their way back to each other. They cared, they hurt, and their hearts got ripped to pieces, but damn, it was a good read.

As brash as Grant is, I liked him because he was flawed and didn’t walk around with a budding halo. OMG I loved the things he came out of his mouth

RATING:

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