I have mostly enjoyed everything by Marissa Meyer after getting pulled into The Lunar Chronicles series. I do not think anything has been quite as good as that series, but still very enjoyable. Something about her particular style of magical realism/fairytale magic is very charming and makes for fun reads. The only book that did not quite grab me was Instant Karma, which was probably amongst the least “magical” of her novels. Still a fun read, but not one I think about often. When I heard we were heading back to Fortuna Beach for a round two, I was happy to see a bit more of these characters, but also a bit hesitant since this world was not my among my favorites from Meyer.

I am always happy to be proven wrong. While I would admit that this book at times feels downright pandering to a nerd audience, it is effective in how it breaks down the traditional nerd and popular kids social circles. It definitely makes me wish that traditional nerdy hobbies had crossed over more into the mainstream when I was in my high school years. There is without a doubt as portion of my enjoyment of this story that is derived from this wish-fulfillment, but the particular way it reflects on social circles and perceptions is where it prevents it from feeling trite. One memorable example is where nerd Jude and popular girl crush Maya are discussing social life and Maya explains that social circles can feel like boxes, that she felt limited by the expectations of others on those in the popular girl clique. It refined a somewhat unbelievable quirk of Maya being very interesting and adept at D&D into something that allows for a more empathetic and relatable perspective on Maya. Moments like these (and there are a few) were a refinement of story arcs that did not quite hit the mark in Instant Karma.

That is not to say this is a perfect story. The pure luck related to the magic d20 went a bit too far and felt contrite. The thirty-plus heads coin flips was too much for example, and on the flip side the bad luck felt too punishing. There were a subset of perceived good luck occurrences (like Jude developing a friendship with Maya) and perceived bad luck occurrences that felt like they were derived from confidence (or lack of), but the over the top ones blurred the lines a bit too much. It felt the most successful when it hit that magical realism sweet-spot. It was also great to see some more of Prudence and Quint and how they are living out their HEA in their own quirky way.

While not perfect and a bit too campy at times, I was really delighted by With a Little Luck, and found myself flying through the back half with a lot of glee.