Publication Date: July 15, 2025
When a spate of bad luck upends her meticulously planned life, Eliza moves to a charming—and mysterious—Midwestern lake town, where she just might find herself while trying to find the truth. Perfect for fans of Beth O’Leary, Katherine Center, and Sophie Kinsella.
Eliza has always had a plan…until her seamlessly plotted life implodes, and her engagement falls apart. At thirty-two, she suddenly finds herself second-guessing the picture-perfect future she had always envisioned—one that included raising 2.5 children nearby her tight-knit Italian family in San Francisco.
Then Eliza is offered the chance to start over: in Juneberry Lake, a small Midwestern town eager to lure remote workers to their picturesque community. Shocking her family and friends (and herself), Eliza packs up her apartment and buys a lake house sight unseen.
Juneberry Lake is as delightful as it looked in the pictures. And the pictures didn’t even include Joel, a fellow new arrival who works alongside her every day in an adorable coffee shop. But if Eliza is hoping to spy her uncertain future in the shimmering waters of Juneberry Lake, she’ll find herself out of luck. Because her friendly Midwestern neighbors are keeping a marvelous secret—one that will help Eliza see that her recent spate of bad luck was never her fault…and that the tide can turn when you least expect it. With the help of her friends and family, new and old, Eliza is finally ready to build a new future that’s entirely her own.
Lucky Break by Jaclyn Westlake is filled with various types of love and affection, as well as different friendship groups, families, and some friends who become like family.
When Eliza decides to move from San Francisco to a small lake town in Minnesota after she and her fiancé call it quits, everyone seems to think she’ll be back. Little did they know how she’d embrace her new life, make her house a home, become a part of her new community, and even maybe find a new love. I loved the inclusion of all the special needs rescue dogs.
The story alternates between her current life and her past life with Marco and her college friends. She gets to really know herself better and even realizes why she became such a control freak. We get to know her neighbors a little at a time and learn their history. There are secrets too numerous to count, confessions, apologies, and lots of planning. I love how the neighbors finally embrace her after a few rough spots. There is closure when her life seems to settle on all fronts—professionally and personally —and she seems to really fit into her new life.
Lucky Break is a contemporary romance filled with new friends and wonderful descriptions of the lakeside community.
Jaclyn Westlake is the author of the novel Dear Dotty and an alumna of the Stanford Continuing Studies novel writing program. A recruiter turned career advice columnist, her work has appeared in Forbes, Business Insider, and Inc. She lives in California with her husband and their dachshund mix, Indiana Jones (but you can call him Indy).
