Narrated by Carly Robins and Will Damron
Best of Luck is book three in Kate Clayborn’s A Chance of a Lifetime series, which features three best friends who win the lottery and then follows each of them as they adjust to the win and fall in love along the way. It’s a poignant, gently moving story involving two people whose lives have been far from easy and who are still struggling – to an extent – to come to terms with how their pasts have shaped them and learn how to move beyond it and shape their futures.
For Greer Hawthorne, the lottery win represented freedom. The freedom to finish her education and finally to prove to her family – and herself – that she could strike out on her own. A chronic illness that manifested in her teenage years meant she was unable to attend school, but now she’s able to live a normal life – with a few provisos. The trouble is, her mother continues to be incredibly over-protective, and nobody in her family – though they love her dearly – seems to think she can do or achieve anything on her own. Greer understands her mother’s concern for her health, but can’t help feeling irritated; she’s a grown woman and wants to move forward rather than keep looking back.
Alex Averin (brother of Kit from Beginner’s Luck) was just a child himself when Kit’s mother abandoned them and their father took refuge in gambling and drink, so he was both parent and brother to Kit while they were growing up. Now a well-known globetrotting photojournalist, Alex has avoided putting down any roots since the day he dropped Kit off at college and for the last decade he’s travelled the world, never staying anywhere every long.
The plot is a fairly simple one. Greer has used some of her lottery winnings to put herself through college and is on the verge of gaining her degree in Social Work. But at the eleventh hour, she’s told she’s missing a fine art credit, so can’t get her degree – and if she can’t graduate, she also stands to lose the job she’s got lined up. Her supervisor advises Greer to seek advice from the chair of the department of academic standards – who happens to be a photographer… which gives Greer an idea.
Alex is in town for Kit’s wedding and it’s at the wedding rehearsal that Greer notices something isn’t right. During the toasts, Alex bolts and Greer follows, finding him outside and in the middle of a panic attack. She’s able to help him through it (one of her brothers used to suffer them) and as he gradually recovers, suggests that perhaps he needs a break and might consider sticking around for a little while. Deep down, Alex thinks that perhaps she’s right – his attacks have been getting steadily worse, to the extent that his agent has noticed he’s struggling and has also told Alex to take some time off – but he’s not wild about the prospect of having nothing to do. But when Greer explains her problem regarding her graduation means she needs to take a short photography class, Alex offers to help her to catch up with what she’s missed – and Greer accepts his offer with one condition – that he sees a therapist to help with his anxiety issues.
The writing is warm and intelligent, and the romance between Alex and Greer is beautifully done. In fact, it’s pretty clear that they more or less fell in love at first sight when they met for the first time two years earlier (in Beginner’s Luck) so in Best of Luck, they have come to terms with those feelings and navigate the fairly significant issues they both need to address if they’re going to be able to make a life together.
Both characters are attractive and relatable, imperfect and complex, with issues that felt real and were dealt with realistically. Greer is one of those characters who is quiet but misses nothing. Living with a chronic illness has set her apart from those around her throughout most of her life, she’s struggling to break free of her family’s view of her as a near-invalid who needs to be taken care of. She’s well aware that Alex’s wanderlust will prevent there being anything more between them than a short-lived fling, but she – with good reason – is also aware of the fragility of life, and decides to reach for what she wants, even if it – he – can only be hers for a little while.
She doesn’t tell Alex about her condition, enjoying the sense of freedom engendered by being with someone who doesn’t view her as “different”, yet although I understood her reasoning, I was a little disappointed that she seemed to think Alex would suddenly want to start wrapping her up in cotton wool after he found out.
Speaking of Alex, he’s a lovely hero; handsome, kind and intelligent, he obviously cares for Greer very much and is caught between wanting to be with her – to stay with her – and his need to keep moving. The depiction of his panic attacks is very realistic, as is his reaction to them; he hates what they’re doing to him and is desperate to “just fix it”, but doesn’t quite realise what that fix will involve, and how deeply he’s going to have to dig into his past in order to start to turn things around. His therapy sessions – as read by Will Damron, these were some of my favourite chapters in the book – are alternately hilarious and poignant, and are always insightful, especially as Alex begins to understand more and more about himself and to admit some home-truths he’s tried to avoid. There’s no doubt that Greer helps to ground him during his attacks, but it’s also clear that he’s not magically “cured” by love; there are no miracle answers by the end of the book, but he’s committed to working through his issues, and with Greer by his side, we’re convinced he’ll get there.
I enjoyed the performances by Will Damron and Carly Robins in Beginner’s Luck (I have yet to listen to the middle book, Luck of the Draw), and both narrators are every bit as good in this book as they were there. They make an excellent team, both of them very skilled technically as well as when it comes to conveying the emotion and expression experienced by the characters. Mr. Damron’s interpretation of Alex is excellent; he brings out the vulnerability Alex tries so hard to hide, and injects a real warmth and affection into his scenes with Greer. As I said above, I particularly enjoyed his performances during Alex’s therapy sessions, in which he expertly realises Alex’s shifting and conflicting emotions and reactions to the things he’s learning about himself. Ms. Robins’ portrayal of Greer is equally strong, and I liked the way she was able to capture the various elements of her personality in her voice; her determination and her self-belief, tempered by a bit of uncertainty and shyness. Most importantly however, both narrators were absolutely convincing when it came to putting across the depth of emotion Alex and Greer felt for each other.
Best of Luck is a splendid conclusion to this series, combining excellent narration with extremely strong storytelling, and I’m certainly going to be looking out for more from this talented author.
Caz
Buy Best of Luck by Kate Clayborn on Amazon
