The Luck Uglies

The Luck Uglies is the first book of a planned trilogy. Good thing too, because about 60% through the book, I realized that the world Riley (Rye) lived in was too big and interesting to have only one book. As a result, I had to look up whether the book was part of a series.
I also grew fond of Truitt, a boy around Rye's age who helps her with some of her more dire situations. I felt that he could be fleshed out a lot more and am looking forward to seeing more of him in the upcoming books. They could potentially form a very wonderful friendship.
Rye has two close friends already-Quinn and Folly. I have a small thing against main characters that already have close friends at the start of the story, but I can live with it. They weren't unlikeable. And they had strengths that Rye was lacking which made them useful to the plot.
There were one or two mysteries that Rye could have figured out earlier, but it didn't take away from how likeable her character was. She figured things out in time, which made the story move quickly. And the book did move quickly. I breezed through it compared to the last book I read which I couldn't wait to finish.
Around the climax, some scenes, or maybe it was the writing, felt a little awkward. I can't remember any specific examples so maybe they weren't that big of a deal.
This book also has several funny moments that made me chuckle.
The man nicknamed Harmless is so charismatic. His character design just adds to that charm.
And that cover art is my favorite style of art-soft colors, not too loud. There's more art inside the book at the beginning of each chapter.

In my mind, exploring new worlds is the best part of reading. Imagine my excitement when The Luck Uglies transported me to the Village Drowning and gave me enough rich backstory to fully immerse myself there. I was dropped into a world where magic and mischief rule the day. Where dark things lurk in the shadows. A story where a brave heart means everything. Needless to say, I adored my trip to Drowning. I honestly can't wait to go back.

Rye O'Chanter is a wonderful main character. She's brave and resourceful. The type of young girl who readers of all ages will easily fall in love with. In fact, Durham writes a whole cast of characters who are fully formed. From the dastardly regent of the land, to the blind boy who becomes Rye's ally, each one of them were beautifully done. It's not hard to fall into step with them. I had a lot of fun getting to know these characters.

The story is where this first book suffered a little bit. As I said, the world is large and the characters vivid. It takes a lot of descriptive writing to get them to that point. While there was definitely a fair amount of forward movement in this, and some moments of action-packed goodness, there were big portions of explanations. In my case, it didn't really phase me too much. I love getting to know more about the people and places in my books. Just giving a warning to those of you who might feel that things are a bit slow. Keep going! By the end I promise you'll be extremely eager for more.

Last month was a tough reading month, and this book helped immensely with getting me out of that slump. It was just so much fun to read! I'm thrilled that The Luck Uglies was only the first installment, and that Rye O'Chanter will be back for more adventures. I can't wait to go back to the Village Drowning.