OVERALL: Windfall was a cute and fluffy contemporary read - left me with a nice warm happy feeling after finishing the book.
BOOK BASICS:
TITLE: Windfall
AUTHOR: Jennifer E. Smith
RATING: 3/5 Stars
SYNOPSIS (Goodreads): “Let luck find you.
Alice doesn’t believe in luck—at least, not the good kind. But she does believe in love, and for some time now, she’s been pining for her best friend, Teddy. On his eighteenth birthday—just when it seems they might be on the brink of something—she buys him a lottery ticket on a lark. To their astonishment, he wins $140 million, and in an instant, everything changes.
At first, it seems like a dream come true, especially since the two of them are no strangers to misfortune. As a kid, Alice won the worst kind of lottery possible when her parents died just over a year apart from each other. And Teddy’s father abandoned his family not long after that, leaving them to grapple with his gambling debts. Through it all, Teddy and Alice have leaned on each other. But now, as they negotiate the ripple effects of Teddy’s newfound wealth, a gulf opens between them. And soon, the money starts to feel like more of a curse than a windfall.
As they try to find their way back to each other, Alice learns more about herself than she ever could have imagined…and about the unexpected ways in which luck and love sometimes intersect. ”
WHAT I LIKED ABOUT THE BOOK:
I liked how there were realistic characters and a lil bit of character growth. Jennifer E. Smith doesn’t present Teddy as a perfect swoon-worthy saint, because in reality - nobody is. In particular, I really liked how Teddy did succumb to peer pressure and popularity after winning the lottery, because to me, it (reacting to peer pressure) felt like a very realistic scenario. Throughout the book, Alice realises that Teddy does have human flaws, but also that he can learn and grow from his mistakes! (signal cheesy awwh soundtrack)
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE ABOUT THE BOOK:
I feel like the “female best friend falls in love with male best friend” is a slight cliche that’s been used a lot, but then again, in the trope’s defence, it does serve as an easy set up for fluff and romance! Another thing that seemed slightly awkward for me was the insta-romance between Alice and another character (no spoilers as to who), as well as how the character wasn’t really mentioned at all after one scene.
YOU WOULD ENJOY THIS BOOK IF:
You like reading light YA romance and interesting what-if scenarios.
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