Just Our Luck by Denise Williams 
Published by Berkley on March 25, 2025
Genres: Contemporary
Pages: 400
Format: eBook
Source: Netgalley
I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
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A lottery ticket + donuts = love in this steamy new fake dating romance from beloved author Denise Williams.
Who needs love? Not Sybil Sweet. After years of bouncing from job to job in search of something that feels right and from man to man in search of something special, Sybil is embracing her role as the directionless, floundering member of her family. All she really wants now is a little financial stability and carb comfort. Lucky for her, she’s got just enough in the bank to buy a lottery ticket, and the late-night donut store is open.
Kiran Anderson abandoned his dreams of becoming a doctor to take over running his family’s bakery, and after two years of fighting a losing battle to save the place, he’s exhausted and broke. But when a whirlwind of a woman sweeps in late one night, flirty energy gives way to more…until she runs out the next morning, leaving behind her winning lottery ticket.
Lucky for Kiran, his attempt to return the ticket looks like a grand romantic gesture and goes viral, sending sales through the roof. In an effort to keep the store afloat and to get Sybil’s family off of her back, they agree to fake a relationship for three months. Even with hundreds of millions of dollars, finding each other might end up being the sweetest bit of luck for both of them.
We are the lucky ones with this treat from Denise Williams.
Sybil Sweet has always considered herself pretty lucky, except where it comes to men. After a night out drinking with friends, she impulsively picks up a lottery ticket for the $349M jackpot. She is hoping millions of dollars and maybe a yummy donut can help her give up on men, so Joe’s Donuts is her next stop. And just when she is given up on men, and ends up flirting and getting naughty with the hot, donut guy. A mix- up sends her dashing off, leaving her lottery ticket behind.
Kiran Anderson finds the winning ticket on his desk the next day. Everyone is suggesting Kiran claim the winnings since that would solve the problem of the failing business, his grandfather’s medical bills and Kiran’s medical school tuition. But Kiran won’t even discuss keeping someone else’s winning ticket. He knows where it came from but he only knows the woman with the great smile is called Sybil so he takes to social media to find her–and his story goes viral. It seems everyone in town is suddenly showing up for donuts and maybe to be there when the missing Sybil shows up to claim her ticket. They want a view of the woman with the “amazing smile.”
Sybil finally see the video and shows up at Joe’s. She offers Kiran some of the winnings like a finder’s fee but he refuses, even though his grandfather’s shop desperately needs money to stay open. In light of the crowd at the shop and the thousands of likes and comments on the video showing everyone’s investment in Sybil and Kiran, Sybil suggests that they pretend a romance and maybe the publicity will provide the necessary funds to keep Joe’s Donuts in business.
Everyone is interested in Sybil and Kiran and donuts are flying out the door. But once the bills are covered and his grandfather’s health is improving, will Kiran return to medical school or give up on his dream to be with his dream girl?
THOUGHTS:
This definitely starts off as a grumpy/sunshine story, even if it isn’t intentional. Kiran is very uptight. Maybe it is the stress of having to take off from medical school to take care of his sick grandfather and his failing business but it seems that Kiran is always just a bit uptight.
This is important because I was very sad for Sybil for the first quarter of this story. She is so sweet and she gets a lot of derogatory comments from her mom because she doesn’t seem to be able to hold down a job. Sybil tries working at restaurants, fast food, temp jobs but she often gets fired right when she is about to find her stride. Her mom is often comparing her to her Dentist sister with her beloved fiancé. Sybil loves them both (they are nice people) but her mom is constantly telling stories of Sybil’s failings. While Kiran and Sybil start the story with chemistry, once they begin to fake date, Kiran is so uptight about the lying. This leads to him snapping a lot at Sybil and like her mom, constantly pointing out her flaws, making Sybil very sad because she likes Kiran.
Thankfully, it doesn’t take long before Kiran realizes that when he gets stressed and snaps at Sybil, her smile that he loves so much dims immediately. He also realizes that spending time with Sybil brings a sunshine has been missing from his life for too long. Yay, because I was getting ready to throat-punch him. Kiran is a really nice guy and we like him but watching him treat Sybil badly and making her upset was really, really bugging me. I guess the problem is that Sybil is like a Labrador Retriever. She is a generally happy person with such a positive attitude. She always wants to help and jumps right in but doesn’t see the destruction she is causing while she plows ahead with her crazy ideas. I just wanted to give her a hug.
Denise Williams also gives us some great secondary characters who I hope will show up again in future stories.
Favorite Scene:
“What stories would you share?” I crossed my arms over my chest, angling my body in the car toward him as we waited for the spot to open. “How I sort of robbed you the day we met? How I spilled pink icing all over your kitchen? It looked like a Tarantino film took place in the Barbie Dreamhouse. Which, okay, is kind of funny.”
He huffed, and I braced for him to agree. “That teenager who sits out on the corner every weekend because they don’t want to go home to their transphobic family. You’ve taken them donuts and slipped them cash when you’ve visited with them the last few weeks. They came in the other day looking for you to tell you they got into college and to thank you for encouraging them.” He wasn’t looking at me, his focus was on parallel parking, angling his body to check the mirrors and cranking the steering wheel at the right moment. “I’d tell that story.”
“Alex,” I said. “Their name is Alex.”
Kieran nodded. “Or how you ask Tom about his grandkids, and he lights up because you listen and ask questions and want to see photos when he’s done.” Keiran put the car in park and cut the engine. The car dinged when he opened his door, and the interior light flicked on. “And I might tell the pink frosting story, but only because it starts with you helping out my family’s business, and I like remembering your face sprinkled with pink frosting. You looked surprised and kind of…adorable.”
“I didn’t know you were paying attention when I did those things,” I said.
“I was.” He darted his eyes to me, lingering on my face for a moment before looking away. “I always pay attention to you.”
I waited for him to say more, but he pressed his lips together, the next sentence contained before he stepped into the street. Keiran’s door closed behind him, and he left me in the car, dumbfounded and watching him walk around to my side as if he hadn’t just bowled me over with his observations. I hadn’t even undone my seat belt yet, and the night sky reflected off the water beyond the edge of the bridge. I had no idea Kieran had been paying attention when I’d done those things, the frosting excluded, and knowing he had should have been creepy, but instead I felt noticed. I felt seen.
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