[31-ENG] Review: Lucky Town - Morgan Brice

Series: Badlands

Volume: 1.5/?
Publisher: Darkwind Press
Genre/s: urban fantasy, MM paranormal romance
Length: -
Pages: 116

Read in: English
Review copy format: epub

Rate:✮✮✮✮✮✮

Simon Kincaide and Vic D'Amato have been together for a few months, but it is only now that Simon has a chance to meet his lover's family. Going to Pittsburgh to spend Thanksgiving with Vic's relatives, the men did not expect that it would be the beginning of a very busy holidays for the two of them. It all starts when a ghost of a woman seeking justice for her death comes to Simon, as the police couldn't solve the case of her murder. It soon becomes clear that her death seemingly due to natural causes, in fact had a supernatural cause and it wasn't an isolated case. When her murderer comes to Myrtle Beach, Vic and Simon are forced to act as quickly as possible if they want to save people for whom it is not too late.

Can you imagine something more festive than Christmas themed urban fantasy? As far as I am concerned, I think it's simply impossible! The more so when in "Lucky Town" Morgan Brice invites his readers to spend unique and amazing holidays alongside Vic and Simon. For starters we are surrounded by warm and homey atmosphere of Thanksgiving, that we spend with the D'Amato family. It's loud, cramped and very tasty, so it's perfect! In my opinion, this is how a true family holiday should look like and thanks to it the relationship between our two amazing protagonists becomes all the more official and "forever" – if you know what I mean. Let's move on, as the holiday season is not only about joy, food and spending time with our beloved ones. It is also about a festive bestiary. Morgan Brice reached for the myths and legends associated with Christmas, to show her readers a supernatural creature, about which every one of us should know sooner or later. And certainly every person interested urban fantasy and in the subject of hunting for monsters, demons and other magical things. And so in "Lucky Town" we have a one hundred percent festive atmosphere and a one hundred percent Christmassy monster. What else could we want?

Although "Lucky Town" is just a novella, the author used it not only to present the new adventure of Vic and Simon, but also to push their relationship forward and focus on its further building. Thanks to it, their feelings do not halt while waiting for the next volume of the series, but with each page written by the author they develop, grow and strengthen the bond between the leads. It's amazing because it shows that our characters exist and to some extent live all the time and not just from volume to volume. I would compare it to visiting a family with whom we meet once in a while during holidays, birthdays or other important events. Between these meetings their lives go on, just like ours, something changes, something happens, we all experience greater and smaller joys and sorrows. It works the same in the case of Vic and Simon. The fact that we don't have a new "Badlands" novel in our hands doesn't mean that their lives are dormant. I admit that for some reason this fact makes me love them even more, although I know that it is impossible.

Undoubtedly, it is worth mentioning that "Lucky Town" is not entirely about holidays, but it is also another way to bring us closer to the characters, and above all to Vic. Morgan Brice introduces his family to us, shows the atmosphere in which he grew up, the things he is used to and she returns to the topic of his previous relationship. The reader has the opportunity to take a closer look at the bitter feelings that are still evoked by the memories of the error, which was Vic's relationship with the wrong person, with a man who never really cared about him, who betrayed his trust, and what's more, who turned out to be someone betraying every virtue in which Vic always believed. In the novella, we see that our protagonist is struggling with the awareness that for a long time he couldn't see the truth about his partner and couldn't read the signs he had right in front of his nose. And let's be honest, coming to terms with something like that is not easy. I admit that this is all the more important to me because to a certain extent it reflects my own experiences and it makes me identify with Vic.

Another themes worth noting, to which the author refers in this novella are human desires, desperation and luck, mentioned in the title of this story. Contrary to appearances, these topics match the festive theme of "Lucky Town" as they are somehow connected with the Christmas season, which is, after all, a time of high expenses, wishes and dreams, hopes that they will come true and plans for a better future. All this makes people vulnerable and easy targets, and that's what the author shows in a very good way on various examples in "Lucky Town", as she presents victims whose life problems lead them to acts of desperation. They need help, they need luck and they think they found the solution but in fact all they found are even more serious problems. To some extent, we can also treat it as a warning, so that we don't get into similar trouble, because sometimes it ends up worse than it was at the beginning when it all started.

With all this in mind, I can honestly say that "Lucky Town" is a really fantastic and noteworthy novella, which not only makes us feel Christmassy but also offers us a nice, exciting entertainment alongside two of our favorite characters. This is another incredible adventure that you just have to read!

Headcanon: Every time Vic and Simon visit the D'Amato family in Pittsburgh, they find some time to meet with Travis and Brent.

Fanfiction idea: Naked Santa!AU. On Christmas Day, Simon wakes up alone. Looking for Vic, he finds him in the living room, naked except from a Santa hat on his head and a gift covering the crotch.

AU idea: Simon works seasonally in a shopping mall as Santa Claus, giving children sweets and small gifts. At the same time, Vic comes to the mall to buy presents for his family. A thief snatches Simon's Santa sack out of his hands and runs into Vic, who seeing what's happening chases him. Vic manages to catch the thief and when he gives Simon his sack back, Simon invites him for a coffee as a thank you.

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