No Such Thing as Luck Review & Giveway

Hello everyone,

I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but Nicole Clarkston’s debut book, No Such Thing as Luck, has a new cover. Janet Taylor is the responsible for the wonderful new design and when I heard about this makeover, I thought it would be a good time to post the review of the book. It is one of my favourite North and South fan fiction books after all, and I hadn’t reviewed it yet, so I thought, why not do it now that it has a new face?

No Such Thing as Luck was the first book I ever saw of Nicole Clarkston and it was because of it that I discovered she also wrote JAFF. I’ve read and loved her other two JAFF books (Rumours & Recklessness and The Courtship of Edward Gardiner) but this one will always have a special place in my heart because it is one of the best North and South fan fiction books I’ve ever read.

This variation takes place after Mr. Hales’s death and Margaret’s departure from Milton. Some months after these events Margaret receives a letter from Frederick telling her that Mr. Bell, who was visiting him in Cadiz, is terminally ill and would like to see her one last time. She decides to embark on a ship as soon as possible and as she is about to embark the Esperanza, she bumps into Mr. Thornton, who is also embarking on the ship to meet a business associate who may help him save the mill after the disastrous strike.

It is due to these circumstances that we will see the action of the book occurring on board of a ship, and as you may imagine, it is not difficult for people to bump into each other frequently when confined in a small space, so the duration of this trip provided us with plenty of scenes between Margaret and John 🙂

In fact, I believe it serves as a closure to the original story. Mrs. Gaskell’s rushed ending was a bit bittersweet for me as I would have liked to read a more slow-paced ending with our characters exploring and demonstrating more their love for each other. This book, being also a slow-paced story, despite the adventures in the end, gave me the satisfaction of seeing these characters profess their love for one another by words and behaviours during an enjoyable amount of time.

I believe nothing could be more perfect for these characters than the scenes Nicole Clarkston created on the ship. These were the most intense and romantic scenes I’ve seen of John and Margaret so far, and I wasn’t even done with this book and already wished the author would never stop writing tales of John and Margaret.

Nothing compares to the eager anticipation that Nicole Clarkston creates in the first chapters, followed by the overpowering joy of seeing John learning the truth at last.

Ever since his conversation with Higgins I could only hope to see him in Spain. I could only imagine what his reaction at seeing Frederick would be, and Nicole Clarkston gave me that satisfaction with this unique variation of North and South.

This John Thornton is one of the best, if not the best, John Thornton I have ever seen on a North and South fan fiction book. Nicole Clarkston made me fall in love with him all over again, he is gallant, protective, tender and strong. He is a combination of everything perfect and imperfect I would love to see associated to this character.

Margaret is true to herself, but in this book she already knows that turning down such a man was a big mistake considering she is aware her heart has been touched by him. As I love to read books when Margaret is already in love with John, this book was a delight to read.

Mrs. Thornton is also seen through a different perspective and even if she remains the same in essentials, we see a new side of her that allows us to get to know and understand the character better. Also, her reaction at seeing Margaret introduce herself when entering the court is priceless!!! (when you read it, you’ll understand, but I imagine many people would love to read this book just to have the pleasure of witnessing this moment).

No Such Thing as Luck is a riveting book full of romance between John and Margaret and I highly recommend it to anyone in need of a good romance. The first chapters captivate the readers hearts and souls and it will be hard stop reading after that.

 

You can find this book at:

Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

Nicole Clarkston would like to offer one copy of this book to my readers. All you have to do to enter the giveaway is comment on this post and share your thoughts with us. The giveaway is international and the winner may choose the book format. It will be open until the 3rd of April and the winner will be announced shortly after.

If you don’t want to miss the announcement of the winner and therefore miss the opportunity to see your name there, please follow From Pemberley to Milton. By doing so you will receive an email every time a new post is published and will not miss your prize if you are the lucky winner.