Scan barcode
smithsj123's review
5.0
This is 4th fabulous instalment in the Asheville Brewing series, following the rollercoaster adventures of four siblings (that there are 4 is a surprise to some) who inherit a brewery from their grandfather... who had also left them a few other surprises.
In this book eldest brother Lee finally tells his story, which has been going from bad to worse recently. His interactions with the delightful Blue Combs have not gone well to date, but as this romantic and hilarious life journey continues we discover that they might well be just what each other need.
This series is funny and romantic, with quirky charm and I was addicted from the first book, and now that the final sibling has had his story... I will want more!
Highly recommended.
In this book eldest brother Lee finally tells his story, which has been going from bad to worse recently. His interactions with the delightful Blue Combs have not gone well to date, but as this romantic and hilarious life journey continues we discover that they might well be just what each other need.
This series is funny and romantic, with quirky charm and I was addicted from the first book, and now that the final sibling has had his story... I will want more!
Highly recommended.
book_lady_13's review
5.0
Great Series!
The fourth book in the Asheville Brewing series, I was most looking forward to Lee’s story in Bad Luck Club and I was not disappointed! We finally find out about Blue’s past and the infamous Bad Luck Club (and the members of the club are all perfect supporting characters!). I have been dying for Lee’s story since we first met him, he was not a nice person but glimpses of someone good showed throughout and I was so happy to see him come into his own. This book can be read and enjoyed as a stand-alone but it’s so much better if you read them all!
The fourth book in the Asheville Brewing series, I was most looking forward to Lee’s story in Bad Luck Club and I was not disappointed! We finally find out about Blue’s past and the infamous Bad Luck Club (and the members of the club are all perfect supporting characters!). I have been dying for Lee’s story since we first met him, he was not a nice person but glimpses of someone good showed throughout and I was so happy to see him come into his own. This book can be read and enjoyed as a stand-alone but it’s so much better if you read them all!
agrandromance's review
4.0
3.5 Stars
Bad Luck Club is redemptive and touching but ultimately the romance is left a little on the sidelines.
In the Bad Luck Club (Asheville Brewing #4), a newly single and humbled Lee Buchanan is in Asheville fresh from having discovered his father’s and ex-fiancé’s betrayals. He’s living with Adalia, Jack and Iris and TRYING to find a place at Buchanan Brewery but not having much success.
So far he’s failed at every job his siblings have given him within the Brewery. He’s almost ready to try his hand at janitorial services next. He’s having an existential crisis, feeling like a failure and Adalia is determined to find a place for him at the brewery that makes him happy.
He sees Blue Combs when he’s out with Adalia and introduces himself having forgotten that he’s already “met” her twice while he was terribly drunk and embarrassed himself both times.
Blue wants to help Lee’s fractured soul by sponsoring him into the mysterious Bad Luck Club, however, this would mean they would have to spend a lot of time together and also that they would not be allowed to date one another. She’s currently dating another man who her friends all dislike and says she’s not interested in Lee but does she really mean it?
I was both looking forward to this book and apprehensive about it at the same time. Could Lee redeem himself from both his actions and inactions from the three previous books in the Asheville Brewing series? Would this book provide the necessary closure to wrap up the whole series? The answer is yes and no.
Lee’s character was redeemed with the help of Dottie, Blue and her found family that make up the characters of the Bad Luck Club. He was redeemed by his competence in his job with Buchanan Brewery and his desire to help his siblings. He was redeemed in a lot of ways however the journey to get there was a long one. Of course.
Lee has a LOT of work to do on himself when he first arrives in Asheville and the book lags in the middle as he grapples with his issues and I felt that it pulled attention and time from the romance that is supposed to be happening between Blue and Lee. It is slightly realistic though as he does have to work through his father’s failures as a parent and a human being, the death of his mother that he’s never let himself experience, all of his ingrained weaknesses of character that his father encouraged, and the rift with his siblings. It is a LOT. The authors may have written themselves into a corner by making Lee a puppet of his father for so long.
The romance proceeds and it is a good one, however, Lee’s former ways return in the climax and I really could have lived without that. It does allow for one of the great moments in the book in which Lee allows himself to be truly vulnerable - but with DOTTIE - which reinforces the theme of family that the book is presenting but sidesteps the romance once again.
The book ultimately does do right by the romance, the themes of family: both with the Buchanans and Blue’s found family and there is a bit of closure surrounding the brewery and Brew Fest. I would have personally liked about five more epilogues though because I like big time closure.
The authors gave Lee his happily ever after and allowed him his redemption with his family at his side. I love Lee now and loved his relationship with his family and Dottie. For that reason and the pacing issue, I’m giving Bad Luck Club 3.5 stars. It is still well worth your time to read. I look forward to reading Molly and Cal’s story next.
WRITING STYLE: 5/5
PLOT: 3/5
WORLD-BUILDING: 5/5
PACING: 3/5
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT: 4/5
ROMANCE: 3/5
HEAT: 2/5 (closed door)
Bad Luck Club is redemptive and touching but ultimately the romance is left a little on the sidelines.
In the Bad Luck Club (Asheville Brewing #4), a newly single and humbled Lee Buchanan is in Asheville fresh from having discovered his father’s and ex-fiancé’s betrayals. He’s living with Adalia, Jack and Iris and TRYING to find a place at Buchanan Brewery but not having much success.
So far he’s failed at every job his siblings have given him within the Brewery. He’s almost ready to try his hand at janitorial services next. He’s having an existential crisis, feeling like a failure and Adalia is determined to find a place for him at the brewery that makes him happy.
He sees Blue Combs when he’s out with Adalia and introduces himself having forgotten that he’s already “met” her twice while he was terribly drunk and embarrassed himself both times.
Blue wants to help Lee’s fractured soul by sponsoring him into the mysterious Bad Luck Club, however, this would mean they would have to spend a lot of time together and also that they would not be allowed to date one another. She’s currently dating another man who her friends all dislike and says she’s not interested in Lee but does she really mean it?
I was both looking forward to this book and apprehensive about it at the same time. Could Lee redeem himself from both his actions and inactions from the three previous books in the Asheville Brewing series? Would this book provide the necessary closure to wrap up the whole series? The answer is yes and no.
Lee’s character was redeemed with the help of Dottie, Blue and her found family that make up the characters of the Bad Luck Club. He was redeemed by his competence in his job with Buchanan Brewery and his desire to help his siblings. He was redeemed in a lot of ways however the journey to get there was a long one. Of course.
Lee has a LOT of work to do on himself when he first arrives in Asheville and the book lags in the middle as he grapples with his issues and I felt that it pulled attention and time from the romance that is supposed to be happening between Blue and Lee. It is slightly realistic though as he does have to work through his father’s failures as a parent and a human being, the death of his mother that he’s never let himself experience, all of his ingrained weaknesses of character that his father encouraged, and the rift with his siblings. It is a LOT. The authors may have written themselves into a corner by making Lee a puppet of his father for so long.
The romance proceeds and it is a good one, however, Lee’s former ways return in the climax and I really could have lived without that. It does allow for one of the great moments in the book in which Lee allows himself to be truly vulnerable - but with DOTTIE - which reinforces the theme of family that the book is presenting but sidesteps the romance once again.
The book ultimately does do right by the romance, the themes of family: both with the Buchanans and Blue’s found family and there is a bit of closure surrounding the brewery and Brew Fest. I would have personally liked about five more epilogues though because I like big time closure.
The authors gave Lee his happily ever after and allowed him his redemption with his family at his side. I love Lee now and loved his relationship with his family and Dottie. For that reason and the pacing issue, I’m giving Bad Luck Club 3.5 stars. It is still well worth your time to read. I look forward to reading Molly and Cal’s story next.
WRITING STYLE: 5/5
PLOT: 3/5
WORLD-BUILDING: 5/5
PACING: 3/5
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT: 4/5
ROMANCE: 3/5
HEAT: 2/5 (closed door)
spowers2627's review
5.0
Lee and Blue might be my favorite couple yet! This sweet tale explores the idea of finding something you didn't even know you were looking for.
Lee is a grouch who seems to be pushing everyone away, though he is inexplicably drawn to Blue. Blue wants to help Lee, even though their first encounter leaves something to be desired. Neither can deny the chemistry they feel, yet their past hurts prevent them from being open about their feelings for each other. Both of them must learn to embrace the person they want to become instead of who others expect them to be.
The Asheville Brewery series is so much fun, I love the returning characters, especially Aunt Dottie and the fur babies! I also enjoyed the new characters. One of my favorite themes in books is friends becoming the family you were not born into. I loved how the members of the Bad Luck Club come together and look forward to learning more about these characters.
Thank you to the authors and BookSprout for the opportunity to read an advanced copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Lee is a grouch who seems to be pushing everyone away, though he is inexplicably drawn to Blue. Blue wants to help Lee, even though their first encounter leaves something to be desired. Neither can deny the chemistry they feel, yet their past hurts prevent them from being open about their feelings for each other. Both of them must learn to embrace the person they want to become instead of who others expect them to be.
The Asheville Brewery series is so much fun, I love the returning characters, especially Aunt Dottie and the fur babies! I also enjoyed the new characters. One of my favorite themes in books is friends becoming the family you were not born into. I loved how the members of the Bad Luck Club come together and look forward to learning more about these characters.
Thank you to the authors and BookSprout for the opportunity to read an advanced copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
trish_beautifulchaosreviews's review
4.0
The Bad Luck Club is the fourth book in the Asheville Brewing series, and I have only read Getting Lucky (third book) before now. I can honestly say you can come into this series midway and catch up. I know we saw the epic fall of Lee in Getting Lucky, and now he's scraping his life back together. I will give the author's this; they didn't sugar coat Lee's path; he needed significant attitude adjustments and working on undoing a lifetime of mental abuse from Prescott Buchanan. This abuse is evident in every one of the Buchanans we've met, and they are healing as a family.
At the same time, Blue has been in much the same boat as Lee, but she's been trying to change with her new life in Asheville. Her path of doing this is by joining the Bad Luck Club, headed by Bear and his son Cal. The members are a motley crew of individuals who are stuck in bad luck mode for various reasons. Blue wants Lee to come to try to bring him back into balance. So we genuinely have two people who the negative forces have programmed in their lives and are trying to change. Their story is filled with their attraction (which is hot), verbal missteps (particularly Lee), and many fears on both their parts.
This book left me in tears several times at what both of these characters had to go through; I will say it's not physical abuse; however, the power of words and being manipulated by a parent is just sad. But the other side of the coin is how Lee and Blue find each other and are their road together. I am looking forward to more from these authors and their stories in Asheville and even more about Buchanan Brewery. #buchananisback
At the same time, Blue has been in much the same boat as Lee, but she's been trying to change with her new life in Asheville. Her path of doing this is by joining the Bad Luck Club, headed by Bear and his son Cal. The members are a motley crew of individuals who are stuck in bad luck mode for various reasons. Blue wants Lee to come to try to bring him back into balance. So we genuinely have two people who the negative forces have programmed in their lives and are trying to change. Their story is filled with their attraction (which is hot), verbal missteps (particularly Lee), and many fears on both their parts.
This book left me in tears several times at what both of these characters had to go through; I will say it's not physical abuse; however, the power of words and being manipulated by a parent is just sad. But the other side of the coin is how Lee and Blue find each other and are their road together. I am looking forward to more from these authors and their stories in Asheville and even more about Buchanan Brewery. #buchananisback
jlwright04's review
3.0
Slow, Cute, Sweet & Sensual
This book overall was quite enjoyable.
When I started it i apparently wasn’t in the middle for it and walked away for a bit.
I picked it up again today at about the 50 percent mark or so and devoured it.
The story was a bit slow overall to progress but once it really got going it never stopped.
Lee and Blue were really a beautiful match.
I love how the other couples/siblings helped the story dynamic and the family dynamics overall were fun to see grow.
The bonus epilogue was a little confusing as between the end of the book and the bonus epilogue three of the couples had gotten married and were pregnant. It seemed like Blue was also but it was only mentioned a little bit at the beginning of the bonus epilogue chapter.
The bedroom scenes were sensual and started off open door and then faded to mostly closed. (Neither good nor bad just an FYI for those that like super spicy)
This book overall was quite enjoyable.
When I started it i apparently wasn’t in the middle for it and walked away for a bit.
I picked it up again today at about the 50 percent mark or so and devoured it.
The story was a bit slow overall to progress but once it really got going it never stopped.
Lee and Blue were really a beautiful match.
I love how the other couples/siblings helped the story dynamic and the family dynamics overall were fun to see grow.
The bonus epilogue was a little confusing as between the end of the book and the bonus epilogue three of the couples had gotten married and were pregnant. It seemed like Blue was also but it was only mentioned a little bit at the beginning of the bonus epilogue chapter.
The bedroom scenes were sensual and started off open door and then faded to mostly closed. (Neither good nor bad just an FYI for those that like super spicy)
angelastl's review
5.0
Who is this Lee and what happened to the cranky man he used to be? This Lee is so much more open and loving I almost couldn’t believe it. Thanks to Blue he gets to be the man he was meant to be.
lauriereadsrom1's review
5.0
The male lead of "Bad Luck Club," Lee Buchanan, was kind of a jerk in the earlier books of this series, but after facing scandal and betrayal by his father and ex-girlfriend, he was in a much different place by the time this story began. There was so much more to Lee than I ever thought possible, and his journey turned out to be one of the most emotional character arcs of the entire series. His father had forced him to hide his emotions for years because he considered them to be a weakness, but when Lee was finally allowed to show that side of himself, he turned out to be incredibly sweet, thoughtful, and supportive. I loved how that was reflected in the bond Lee and his siblings started to establish by the end of the book.
Lee's love interest, artist and yoga instructor Enid "Blue" Combs, had fought hard for her independence, and she was determined to build a new life for herself in Asheville. Part of that was joining the Bad Luck Club and working through the baggage of her past through a series of challenges set out by her sponsor, one of which indirectly led her to Lee. They couldn't help being drawn to each other even though it was against the rules of the Bad Luck Club, and that wasn't the only challenge standing in the way of their relationship. I loved the two of them together, however, and it was very easy for me to cheer them on to their HEA.
Overall, "Bad Luck Club" gave me all the feels and I highly recommend it for fans of contemporary romance and romantic comedy. While I'm sad that the Buchanan family's story has come to an end, I am very excited about the spinoff series coming this summer, which will feature at least one of Blue's friends from the Bad Luck Club.
*Review copy provided by the authors via Social Butterfly PR. All opinions expressed are my own.
Lee's love interest, artist and yoga instructor Enid "Blue" Combs, had fought hard for her independence, and she was determined to build a new life for herself in Asheville. Part of that was joining the Bad Luck Club and working through the baggage of her past through a series of challenges set out by her sponsor, one of which indirectly led her to Lee. They couldn't help being drawn to each other even though it was against the rules of the Bad Luck Club, and that wasn't the only challenge standing in the way of their relationship. I loved the two of them together, however, and it was very easy for me to cheer them on to their HEA.
Overall, "Bad Luck Club" gave me all the feels and I highly recommend it for fans of contemporary romance and romantic comedy. While I'm sad that the Buchanan family's story has come to an end, I am very excited about the spinoff series coming this summer, which will feature at least one of Blue's friends from the Bad Luck Club.
*Review copy provided by the authors via Social Butterfly PR. All opinions expressed are my own.
ssejig's review
3.0
I think I built this book up too much in my own mind so I was sort of disappointed. A lot of the story seems to be building up to another series based on the characters in the Bad Luck Club which meant that there was less time to focus on Blue and Lee. It ended up being an okay book but lost some of the fun earlier books in the series had.
Blue Combs knows from bad luck. She's been attracted to the wrong type of man and finding out her last boyfriend was married was just too much. To help herself, she answered an ad for a club that is supposed to help people clear their bad luck. Basically, they do a series of challenges assigned by a mentor in order to try to change their luck themselves. She can see that her friends' brother, Lee, is in the same sort of situation. She wants to help him, even though he threw up on her shoes in an earlier book.
Lee is definitely ready to change his luck around. He just turned his father in for a giant Ponzi scheme and is considered untouchable by the same people who used to think he had a magic touch. He is feeling brought down to have to work in his family's brewery but meeting Blue might just prove that his luck is changing for the better.
Blue Combs knows from bad luck. She's been attracted to the wrong type of man and finding out her last boyfriend was married was just too much. To help herself, she answered an ad for a club that is supposed to help people clear their bad luck. Basically, they do a series of challenges assigned by a mentor in order to try to change their luck themselves. She can see that her friends' brother, Lee, is in the same sort of situation. She wants to help him, even though he threw up on her shoes in an earlier book.
Lee is definitely ready to change his luck around. He just turned his father in for a giant Ponzi scheme and is considered untouchable by the same people who used to think he had a magic touch. He is feeling brought down to have to work in his family's brewery but meeting Blue might just prove that his luck is changing for the better.
lowkeyreader's review
4.0
I am definitely loving this series so I'm pretty bummed that this is the final book. I've been intrigued by Lee's story since he was introduced. But also wondering how his story is going to go as he is not the most likeable character previously. In this one, his character has definitely grown and developed better in this one. Both he and Blue did and it was fun to see them get together.
More...