The Good Luck Charm is a new standalone contemporary romance Helena Hunting! Check out our exclusive cover reveal and a Q&A with the author!
About ‘The Good Luck Charm’ by Helena Hunting:
Is it love, or is she just his good luck charm? New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Helena Hunting absolutely delights with this witty and fun standalone contemporary romance.
Lilah isn’t sure what hurt worse: the day Ethan left her to focus on his hockey career, or the day he came back eight years later. He might think they can pick up just where they left off, but she’s no longer that same girl and never wants to be again.
Ethan Kane wants his glory days back. And that includes having Lilah by his side. With her, he was magic. They were magic. All he has to do is make her see that.
Just when Lilah might finally be ready to let him in, though, she finds out their reunion has nothing to do with her and everything to do with his game. But Ethan’s already lost her once, and even if it costs him his career, he’ll do anything to keep from losing her again.
Exclusive ‘The Good Luck Charm’ by Helena Hunting cover reveal:
Q&A with Helena Hunting:
What makes this book different from your previous ones?
If my Pucked Series had an affair with The Clipped Wings series their love child would be The Good Luck Charm. It combines the hilarity of a romantic comedy with the deeper emotion of an angsty contemporary romance, topped with super steamy scenes. Charm has the hot hockey player (because stamina is a wonderful thing, particularly in a romantic hero) and some of fun, flirty humor. But it also hits the feels button with more serious themes.
I love writing romantic comedy, though, so even with more serious content I can’t help but throw in ridiculous situations and silly moments to temper the angst, and of course, there’s always heat, because that’s what makes it a romance.
What was your inspiration behind having Lilah as Ethan’s good luck charm?
A lot of professional athletes have crazy superstitions. It could be as simple as always getting dressed for a game in the same order—heaven forbid you put your socks on before your underwear. Or, less quirky-cute and more stinky-gross, is refusing to wash a pair “lucky” socks until a winning streak ends. And sometimes the good luck charm isn’t a pair of socks that smells like they’ve been inhabited by a zombie carcass, it’s an actual live person. Cue the lovely, practical Lilah.
Before Ethan’s career took a dive into the deep end of a sewage tank, he had Lilah—she wore his lucky boxers the night before a big game, and with her at his side he made it all the way to the NHL. So when their paths cross again and his career is one bad season away from ending, he’s curious to find out if his good luck charm still works.
What else should readers know about Ethan?
Imagine getting fired three times in a row. That’s what the past three years have felt like for Ethan, shuffled from team to team until he’s finally sent back to his hometown. Hockey careers are notoriously short, and his is already halfway in the Dumpster, covered in rotten banana peels and used prophylactics. Then he finds himself face to face with the one part of his past that was always good, until he lost it — and that just happens to be Lilah.
Of course, Lilah isn’t all that interested taking a detour down memory lane with him. At first, anyway. She has her own life. The thing about first loves is that you never really forget them, though, and when they look as good as Ethan does, it can be difficult to remember why that trip down memory lane might be blocked off with hazard tape.
What’s your favorite thing about the new book?
Lilah. I loved writing her character and her interactions with Ethan as she very hesitantly lets him back into her life.
Athletes are generally alpha males, they’re built and hot and sexy, and they don’t back down from a challenge. They need the kind of woman who can handle all that testosterone and push back when necessary.
Lilah has a backbone and sass. While her ex was off playing professional hockey, she made a life for herself, pursued a career and set her own goals—ones she’s not willing to set aside just because Ethan wants to fit himself back into her world. As a nurse, her natural tendency is to care for people, but there’s a fine line between caring for others and letting them take over your life. She’s not the same girl Ethan knew from high school and that means he needs to figure out how to be with this version of the girl he loved so fiercely. I loved writing the push and pull between Lilah and Ethan as they rediscover each other, as individuals and eventually as a couple.
Can readers expect to see some of their high school romance too?
Rather than spending time in the past I’ve infused pieces of their history into the present. We see Ethan and Lilah’s struggle to move forward, rather than fall back into old patterns, and how who they were as a couple before has shaped how they are in the present. Second-chance romances are unique in that the reader is given an opportunity to see how people grow and how their expectations shift as they evolve personally. A relationship that worked in the past won’t be the same a decade later because people change with their experiences.
Can you talk about the cover for the book and how it came about?
The team at Forever and I wanted something very fun and fresh. We discussed a bunch of ideas, but it’s that cute tweak of the letter and adding the hockey player leaning up against the title, along with the vibrant colors, that made me fall in love with it. I’m also excited that the focus is mainly on Lilah, the female character. So many of my other covers are male model focused, and while I can definitely appreciate a nice physical specimen, we wanted to go in a different direction with this particular cover. The Good Luck Charm is a balance between exploring an emotional and sometimes tumultuous history, and humor, and we wanted the cover to reflect that difference.
What do you love most about writing hockey players?
What’s not to love about hockey players—except maybe the baggy uniforms that hide all the good stuff. But honestly, writing about super fit male leads who know how to work as part of a team, have endless stamina and really, really nice butts is a lot of fun.
While I’m known for writing books about hockey, I wouldn’t classify The Good Luck Charm as a sports romance. It’s been exciting to explore new ways of writing and bringing the romance to life. The story is far more focused on the characters and their relationship, not only with each other but with their family and the people they care about, than the intricacies of the game. I loved writing those intimate moments between Ethan and Lilah, especially as they relearn each other and realize that the physical and emotional connection they once had is still very much alive.
What do you want readers to know about your book before diving in?
The Good Luck Charm is a fun, emotional read with some serious steam. Get out your tissues and also get ready to laugh. And know there are some twists that might surprise you at the end!
The Good Luck Charm by Helena Hunting will be released on August 7, 2018! Pre-order now from Amazon, iBooks, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, or Google Play!
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