Review: Luck and Last Resorts by Sarah Grunder Ruiz (Spoiler-Free)

~ Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for an early copy in exchange for an honest review! RELEASE DATE: August 9, 2022 ~

Perhaps that's how change happens. Dip in a toe. Work your way up to a foot. A calf. And eventually, you're able to submerge yourself completely. Maybe a moment of bravery is as powerful as a moment of hesitation. Maybe it's enough to change the course of my life.*

And just like that, I've finally found another romance that I love! Ever since Sarah Hogle's You Deserve Each Other I've been searching for another gem. I'm still quite new to the romance genre and am incredibly specific in what I enjoy and what I don't and I'm so thrilled that this was one I fell in love with! I was starting to get scared that Hogle was a fluke and now I'm glad to have been wrong.

I sincerely hope this book gets noticed by some of the TikTok girlies because it deserves so much hype!!

Now let's get into why this worked for me specifically. As I said before, I'm newish to romance but have very specific likes/dislikes when it comes to the genre.

Luck and Last Resorts was perfect for me because it fit those guidelines.

- mc +li have known each other for a long time ✅

- doesn't forget the "com" in "romcom" ✅

- character growth from both parties separate from the relationship ✅

- minimal spice ✅

I also really appreciated this book from a writing perspective. I know most readers won't care/be thinking about this lol but as a writer myself I've been doing more and more research and practice at story craft/theory and I couldn't help but notice how perfectly executed that was in this book. I could see exactly where each beat fell (in a good way) and found it so clever and well fleshed-out.

I do think some people might be frustrated by Nina at the beginning of this story because she is the sole reason for the conflict in the book, but again, from a craft perspective her arc is handled perfectly and I just really hope anyone who is annoyed by her at first sticks around to see her grow! On a personal level though I wasn't bothered by this at all lol because while I recognized she had issues to conquer, they were RELATABLE, and she is somewhat self-aware about them as well, even from the get-go.

And of course we can't end this review before talking about the man himself, Mr. Oliver Dunne. Ollie is such a refreshing love interest. I'll admit that descriptor might only apply to me (Little Ms. Has Read Like Three Romances), but I stand by it! He's extremely level-headed, vulnerable, kind, patient—literally everything you could want and everything Nina needs. Also he's Irish. Just a fun added bonus.

I absolutely adored Luck and Last Resorts and I hope it starts to gain the hype it deserves!! Can't wait to keep my eyes on Sarah Grunder Ruiz's work in the future.

A smile flickers at the corner of his mouth. I want to press my thumb there and yank that smile like a loose thread on a thrifted sweater. I want to unravel him in my hands until there's nothing left, until I'm so tangled up in him I'll never break loose.*

*All quotes are pulled from an uncorrected proof.