OMG this book is so good once you start won't be able to stop, The characters are authentic and fresh and it is very well written I would highly recommend giving it a read.

I started reading this book a long time ago and I think I finally have to admit that I won't get around to finishing it. I didn't find it gripping or compelling enough after a few chapters, so I feel it'd be a waste for me to carry on and end up regretting it

Jackpot is a very interestingly told story about class, wealth and winning the lottery. As someone who’s family has always dabbled in buying lottery tickets in the hopes of winning that life changing amount, this story and it’s discussions on how wealth ruins lives and causes more problems when not handled correctly was very fascinating to me. I really loved the way Nic Stone told the story, every character had background and personality, each perspective was investigated and discussed.
This could easily have been a five star read for me however I found the POVs of the inanimate objects just a little too bizarre and mostly pointless, I didn’t see any reason to include them. Secondly I wasn’t too keen on the ending, it felt unfinished to me and spoilt my overall impression of Zan.
But otherwise I really enjoyed Jackpot and I can’t wait to read my next Nic Stone novel.

While I loved Stone's two previous books, this was a bit harder to get into. I definitely liked the book and especially because it's covering a topic that isn't dealt with in a lot of other books, class and money issues (especially not young adult books). And I really wanted to finish the book because of that, but it was all a bit messy and of course that means that they are realistic, because life isn't picture perfect, but it just.. didn't sit right with me.

Going to school, working to pay bills and playing second mother to her younger brother, Jax, is life for 17 year old Rico. When she sells a jackpot-winning lottery ticket and the money goes unclaimed, she tries to find the ticket holder in the hope that they might reward her with a cut of the winnings. Any part of that $106 million prize could change her life - if she can stay focused on the ticket and not on the boy she's roped in to help her find it.

JACKPOT is a cute cross between a detective novel and a YA romance with a good balance of humour and pathos. The dynamic between Rico and Zan is easy and it's nice to watch it unfold as they investigate the case of the unclaimed ticket. I love Zan's friends - Finesse and his family are *chef's kiss* and it was refreshing to see a female friendship in Rico and Jess that didn't rely on "girl bitchiness" as a counterpoint. My MVP has to be Jax: 2 parts adorable, 1 part hilarious and 1 part LEGO!

There's also a lot to be learned here in terms of class criticism; the extreme levels of poverty that many young people are living in and the power and freedom wealth affords those who have it. Rico doesn't work to earn pocket money, she works so that her family can eat, which is a heavy burden for a child to shoulder. Rico's mum is frustrating - yes she's under a lot of pressure but she lets her pride override her ability to protect her children and that's hard for me to forgive.

This is definitely going in my classroom when my school reopens! Until then, I'm going to think about what I would do with £106 million... any ideas?

Seventeen-year-old Rico Danger's life isn't easy - when she isn't at school, Rico spends her time working at a gas station or caring for her little brother while their mother works.
Then someone that bought a lottery ticket from Rico's work wins a huge jackpot, but the prize isn't claimed. Hoping that finding the winner might turn her luck around, Rico enlists the help of a boy from school, Zan.
Can Rico find the owner of the ticket?
Can Rico keep things professional with Zan?

I went into Jackpot hoping that it would be a light, easy contemporary read. While it was an easy read, I wouldn't call it light - Rico's family had little-to-no money and she often compared her clothes and life to that of other characters. It did annoy me a little how she kept making assumptions and judged people because of how they dressed, or things they owned, but I can understand how hard her life was. It did make me feel grateful that I am fortunate to have the life I do.
Rico was a (mostly) likeable and relatable protagonist. I sympathised with her and wanted things to work out and get better for her.
I couldn't help but like Zan even though he could be super cheesy and over the top at times. I really liked Rico's brother as well as Zan's friends Ness and Jess.
The plot was good overall and there was a twist that I didn't see coming, but I wasn't gripped by the storyline.
The writing style was easy to follow and I found myself reading the book quite quickly.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read.

Overall, this was a fun read! I liked the characters and their quest to find the 'jackpot', but I was kind of disappointed by the ending 🙈

What a story! I have to say, after not particularly enjoying Stone's first two books, I was hesitant to pick up this newest novel but the synopsis just intrigued me and I'm glad I gave it a chance!
The characters besides Rico still felt underdeveloped but I really loved Rico herself.

Also, the idea of letting inanimate objects have their own short chapters? Genius.

A sincere thank you to the publisher, author and Netgalley for providing me an ebook copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. I enjoyed this story very much and felt like I knew each character personally due to the description of them. I enjoyed the storyline. This is not my usual genre but in this instance I am extremely pleased and grateful for opening up my mind to something totally different. Thanks again.

I received this book from the publisher via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this a lot more than I expected - it’s fun and light hearted as well as dealing really well with issues of class and poverty. The mystery of who bought the ticket and chasing them down is super fun, but Rico and Zain’s relationship is actually what drew me in. Their interactions are just so lovely.

There’s also some great hard hitting conversations about handling money that highlight both the issues of doing so but also the assumptions of those with money.

I’d have easily given this 4 stars if it wasn’t for one thing - the small but regular POV inputs from inanimate objects. I didn’t get it. In places they did add something but there must have been another way to do so. They honestly annoyed me.

A high 3.5 stars and definitely something I’d recommend.

After that, I wanted to read a short and fast contemporary so I finally picked up Jackpot which I got at YALC earlier this year. Once again, this was another book I was sceptical about because I didn't really enjoy Odd One Out by this author, however this has become a new unexpected favourite. I quickly became addicted to this book and I stayed up way too late reading it. I loved how this book touched on issues such as class, money and families. I especially loved how Rico's relationship with her brother Jax was portrayed because it was so pure and wholesome. I also adored the romance in this book and I loved the discussions they had about money. On top of that, I really enjoyed the extra little tid bits written from inanimate objects. They were so fun to read and they added a unique perspective to the book. The only flaw in this book, in my opinion, was the climax. I felt like we were building up to this big reveal at the end but when we finally got it, it wasn't as developed as it could be. I would have preferred 50 or so more pages to develop it fully and expand the relationship between Rico and Zan. Overall though, I adored this book and I highly recommend picking it up if you get the chance.

Written with a unqiue and fierce flare, Nic Stone has literally hit the jackpot with this hard-hitting and honest book about class, money and first love. Achingly raw and powerfully moreish, Stone's voice reminded me of the likes of Angie Thomas and Elizabeth Acevedo.

Jackpot is the first novel by Nic Stone that I've read and I'll definitely be reading more by the author soon!

*4.5 Stars*

I don't know where to start. I read this two weeks ago now but I still remember most of it (which is unusual for me).
It was really good, Nic Stone offers us layered and flawed characters who pull you in and then, she wraps it up nicely with a captivating intrigue and romance. I flew through the pages and found myself reading at 3am, not knowing where the hours had gone. Everything about this made me feel. I felt everything from beginning to end and the only thing that disappointed me was how curt the ending was...

THIS BOOK! ... I don't know what it is about Nic Stones writing but it always taps right into my emotions! I laugh when characters laugh, cry when they cry, and swoon when they swoon. I adore the discriptions of what's going on in Rico's mind, they feel so real that as a reader you can't help but empathise and feel conflicted and stressed along with her! I also loved the added asides from outside objects, it added a real uniqueness to the writing, allowing us to see more of each character without losing Rico's strong narrative voice.
Is the book the most original thing in the world, no, the cliche love story of the loner girl who never knew she was beautiful and blue blood boy with a warm heart is nothing new. It doesn't matter though, because you don't even care. Nic somehow takes these tired norms and breathes life into them.
Rico and Zan BOTH become better people through knowing each other, they support and challenge each other throughout the text. The slow, intimate build of their emotional connection shows a really healthy and positive basis for a relationship, which is a must for me in YA fiction.
Although my inner romantic was unsatisfied by the ending I loved its realism. Let's be honest, at 18 who knows what will happen in a love story but the ending of Jackpot leaves the reader sure that Rico and Zan will be there for each other regardless and this is another great outcome for young people to see. 5 stars!

Nic Stone never disappoints And this is no different. it’s honestly one of my favourite books I love everything about it the plot is beautiful the characters were beautiful It was written beautifully basically everything is beautiful

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC!

I wasn't a massive fan of Nic Stone's previous books but thought I would give this one a go hoping third time's the charm - which it was. I really love the chapters where the ticket or an inanimate object narrates the story. It's so unpredictable and unlike anything else that I have read that it added a certain flair to the book.

I quite liked the tension and the setup of the book. You could tell the author had plotted this book carefully and that every move was calculated to reach maximum climax.

You really fall for the MC and the LI. There is so much at stake throughout and the underlying conflict is brilliant.

This book was an absolute treat to read. Even though, there are some heavier topics discussed, it is still very uplifting book.

The story revolves around a jackpot ticket, but in a more general way it is about money and the lack there of it. Rico's family lives from a paycheck to paycheck and because of that, she has to work part time and co-parent her little brother with her mother. The book shows not only the financial struggle, but also the frustration that comes with a situation like this.

I fell in love with both main characters and most of the side characters too, to be honest. I loved the family and friendship dynamics which were not always ideal but very realistic.

Zan was so charming, it should be illegal. Though, he is in a privileged position and he doesn't really realize his not so great behaviour until he is called out, he acknowledges the things he did wrong and tries to fix them. Rico on the other hand, was such a badass, in the way she helped her family, her relationship with her little brother Jax and how she was not afraid to call Zan out on things. I felt that the relationship between Rico and Zan had a great pace and it was so sweet despite the bumps in the road.

What took me by surprise are the chapters by inanimate objects. Though I didn't expect them, I quite enjoyed them. They filled up some blank spaces in the story that Rico couldn’t fill up herself.

It would be a five-star read for me, but I didn't enjoy the ending as much as I hoped.

I liked this book a lot, I thought Rico was a great character and I wanted her to succeed. I found it hard to discern Zan's motives a lot of the time, but I liked him anyway. I'm glad the ending happened like it did, it was satisfactory

A very well written and interesting read, once it gets its hooks into you, you won’t want to put it down. This book is a rollercoaster of emotions, both funny and sad, great insight and discussion into class, poverty, healthcare poverty and although it’s a difficult read at times, it always has a sense of hope. Wonderful.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

Thank you Net Gallery for sending me an ARC of this book. I haven't read anything by Nic Stone before but was interested by the synopsis available.

This book tells the story of Rico. Rico lives with her mum, she's never known her dad, and little brother. She also works a lot of hours a week in the local gas station (seems so weird saying that since I'd call it a petrol station but that doesn't seem right either!) trying to keep her family afloat, whist also trying to stay on top of school work.

On Christmas Eve Rico is sure she sold the winning lottory ticket to a little old lady, and she is positive if she could just find her the woman would be so grateful that she would give Rico something, which in turn could go towards the bills and help ease the pressure on her and her Mum.

Despite not wanting to the only way she can see any hope of finding the ticket is by roping in the uber rich, uber popular Zan to help as he is known for being a computer wizz and will be able to find the CCTV of the night.

The book has a classic YA romantic feel about it and I loved the relationship between Rico and Zan. Rico doesn't talk to anyone in school so once she asks Zan for his  help he is intrigued as to who Rico is and so starts a love/hate relationship between the two. Having said this, I really liked how the relationship between the two developed and thought it was very believable. The two characters were also well developed with traits that you can relate to. 

The story is broken up with opinions and thoughts from objects throughout the book, for example the winning lottery ticket, and whilst this addressed some questions I had I'm not sure how I felt about it. I would have liked to maybe hear more from Zans point of view instead? But that's just me! I also found Ricos mum to be a bit annoying and childish, I understand why she wanted the children to be in a 'good' neighbourhood but they way she acted towards Rico and with money made me annoyed and I'm just not sure about it!

Overall, I really enjoyed this book although it has some sad points in it and, deals with quite tough issues, I did laugh out loud a few times while reading which is quite a tough thing to do! 

As I have said this definitely falls into the YA category, although there isn't much/anything in the book that would make it inappropriate for more able readers who are a little younger. (there is some mention of alcohol and sleeping together but it is very brief).