The Lucky Ones (Unpredictable Book 2) by Felice Stevens

Sometimes when you've been unlucky your entire life, it takes time for you to open your eyes and see the new truth right in front of you. The Lucky One's is the story of Keston and Bailey finding out exactly that means.


From the blurb:

Keston:
I’m never lucky
As a foster kid I bounced from home to home.
My tattoo parlor is my only safe space.
My days are spent making art and my nights are lonely, even when I’m not alone.
Then I meet him.
Bailey Marks.
The man who won’t stop talking and making me laugh. Making me want to see him again and again. But I don’t belong in his suit-and-tie world.

Bailey:
I’m never lucky.
I lost my father, and my so-called mother sees me as a bank account. I spend my time bailing my sister out of trouble, but she’s all I’ve got.
Except my law practice, which is the only thing that’s totally mine.
I tell too many jokes to hide how lonely I am, and I have way too many one-night stands.
I just want someone to love.
Then I meet him.
Keston Harris.
The gorgeous loner who’s closed off his emotions, with walls higher than the Empire State building. One kiss from him, and I’m a goner.

We’re two lonely hearts, unlucky in life and love, failed by people who should’ve been there for us.
What we do know is, the world feels better when we’re together, and life seems easier now that we have each other.

Trust issues? We’ve got a million of them.
Yet we keep turning to each other when life gets tough.
But it’s nothing serious.
Maybe if we say it often enough, we’ll believe it.

And maybe…just maybe, we’ll finally be one of the lucky ones.


Jacqueleen the Reading Queen's review:

"𝙳𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚐𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚞𝚙 𝚘𝚗 𝚖𝚎."

Bailey and Keston were both men with some heavy baggage. Neither of them had an upbringing you'd want for yourself. While Keston grew up in foster care with less than ideal foster parents, Bailey dealt with being abandoned by his own mother as a young child. It has to be difficult, knowing the people who were supposed to love you unconditionally didn't. Keston doesn't even remember his parents. Bailey wishes he could forget his evil mother. Two different traumas, but both have led to men who guard their hearts.

"𝙶𝚘 𝚊𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚍. 𝙻𝚎𝚊𝚟𝚎. 𝚂𝚒𝚝 𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚋𝚛𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚕𝚍 𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚗 𝚒𝚝."

For much of this book these two just could not get out of their own way. Neither would communicate how they were really feeling. In fact, they went out of their way to hide it. I wanted to scream at times and give them a good bop on the heads. Even Keston's brother could see how good they were together, but it still took much longer for Keston and Bailey to believe him.

"𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚐𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊 𝚜𝚎𝚗𝚜𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚑𝚞𝚖𝚘𝚛 𝚑𝚎 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍𝚜, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙸 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚔 𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚐𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊 𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎 𝚋𝚒𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚍𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚛𝚊𝚟𝚎. 𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚕𝚢 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚑 𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛."

I really enjoyed the scenes where each of the MCs finally opened up about their pasts. It clued each other in to the fact that both were healing, but they didn't have to do it alone. You don't get to pick the family you were born into, but like Bailey reminded Keston, you do get to pick the people you surround yourself with as an adult. I'm pretty sure that the family these men have created together and with their close friends is more loving than any other family they could have had apart.

SNik's review:

Second in series (Unpredictable), but can be read as a standalone. Dual POV. 

Attorney Bailey is only out for a good time and hitting on the gorgeous Keston is routine until Keston finds out Bailey is a lawyer and turns his nose up at him. Bailey walks away but pursues Keston at least to get a good time, but the men find themselves being drawn to each other over and over again. 

Bailey and Keston are hot for each other and have instant chemistry right away but it takes a lot of struggles for them to get close in an emotional way. Both men have had difficult pasts and the tension from outside forces and their upbringings cause them to constantly overcome hurdles to be together. This was an angsty read for me considering all of their family/friend issues and the fact that they don’t really communicate their feelings with each other for a long time. I enjoyed their spicy times and the fact that they can’t give each other up, and a little more resolution with their families would have made the story more rounded out, but overall it was an enjoyable story.

The Lucky Ones is currently available as an e-book and can be read as part of your Kindle Unlimited Subscription