The Luck Uglies

Written by Paul Durham

Narrated by Avita Jay

Luck Uglies was a name whispered around the docks and darkest taverns, places where men played fast and loose with the law…

Rye has grown up hearing the legend of the Luck Uglies – notorious deadly outlaws who once stalked the streets. Now they have faded to ghosts and rumours and Rye isn’t sure they ever existed. Then on the night of the Black Moon, strange cries are heard from the forest Beyond the Shale, and dark shapes glimpsed in the shadows. Together with a mysterious stranger known only as Harmless, Rye is about to discover that it may take a villain to save you from the monsters…

Enter a thrilling world of secrets and adventure in this immersive fantasy from a phenomenal new writing talent.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Jul 3, 2014
• ISBN: 9780007543533

Paul Durham

Paul works as a lawyer and lives in New Hampshire with his family and an enormous, bushy cat. He writes in an abandoned chicken coop at the edge of a swamp and keeps a tiny porcelain frog in his pocket for good luck.

Reviews for The Luck Uglies

[68papyrus · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book was amazing! The Luck Uglies details the events in Village Drowning where it appears that the Bog Noblins, a creature thought to be extinct, has returned to wreak havoc on the lives of the villagers. Rye, the main character of the book, hopes that the secret society, the Luck Uglies will be able to save her village from the impending doom. This book is a solid first installment in a planned series and has plenty of action of adventure to hook even the most reluctant readers. Paul Durham does a great job with world building and drawing the reader in to the Village Drowning. The characters were well written and easy to connect with particularly Rye and Harmless who are loyal and brave. I highly recommend this book to fans of Peter and the Starcatchers and Harry Potter. 4 stars!

[roses7184_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

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.