The TCF Book Club Is Deep in “Just Our Luck” and Our Last Meeting Was Absolutely Chaotic (In the Best Way)
Chief Story Stylist Taylor Corrien here, your guide through the TCF Book Club!
We’re currently reading Just Our Luck by Denise Williams, and if you’ve been looking for a romance novel packed with chemistry, chaos, and questionable decision-making that somehow feels completely reasonable in the moment, this one is delivering.
As our first rom-com pick of the year, it has been the perfect way to wrap up our first quarter of reading together.
Our plus size heroine, Sybil Sweet, wins the lottery and then promptly loses the winning ticket. Well, technically, she leaves it behind at a bakery after a very memorable encounter with baker Kieran Anderson. One stolen donut, one missing lottery ticket, and one impulsive leg lift later, these two find themselves pulled into each other’s orbit.
Needless to say, we’re invested.
If You Missed Our Last Meeting, You Missed A Lot
And when I say a lot, I mean a LOT.
Our most recent TCF Book Club discussion was absolutely lit.
What started as a conversation about Just Our Luck quickly turned into a hilarious debate about romance tropes, the choices we love to read about, and the choices we would never make ourselves.
The fake dating trope became the star of the conversation.
Sure, it sounds fun in a book. But would you actually pretend to date someone in real life if the reward was good enough?
Suddenly everyone had opinions.
Some members said absolutely.
Others needed to know exactly how much money was involved before answering.
A few of us may have discovered that our standards are more flexible than we originally thought.
The conversation was funny, honest, and exactly why I love this community. We start with books, but somehow we always end up learning something about ourselves too.
Tropes We Love Reading About
The fake dating trope is front and center in Just Our Luck.
After Kieran takes to social media to find the mystery woman who left behind a lottery ticket, he and Sybil find themselves unexpectedly thrust into the spotlight. To help his struggling donut shop and manage the attention, they agree to fake a relationship.
Simple enough, right?
Except we all know how that usually goes.
Our discussion expanded into some of our favorite romance tropes:
- Second Chance Romance
- Friends to Lovers
- Enemies to Lovers
- Slow Burn
- Workplace Romance
- Forced Proximity
- Friends with Benefits to Lovers
- Neighbors to Lovers
So now I have to ask:
What’s your favorite trope to read?
And which one would you actually entertain in real life?
Personally, I will never get tired of Forced Proximity. Watching two people realize they have no choice but to spend time together while their feelings get deeper? Every single time, I’m seated.
And let’s be honest. Enemies to Lovers remains elite.
The tension. The banter. The inevitable realization that maybe they never hated each other at all.
It’s a classic for a reason.
When Tropes Leave The Page
As much as we love romance novels, fiction and real life do not always operate by the same rules.
Take Second Chance Romance.
In books, former lovers reconnect and ride off into the sunset. In real life? Sometimes that happens. Other times there’s a very good reason they broke up in the first place.
We all know somebody who decided to spin the block and give an old relationship another chance.
Sometimes it works beautifully.
Sometimes it absolutely does not.
Workplace Romance is another fan favorite.
Reading about secret relationships and forbidden attraction is incredibly entertaining. Living through the HR meeting afterward? Maybe less so.
And then there’s Slow Burn.
In fiction, the anticipation is delicious. Readers get to enjoy every longing glance and almost-confession.
In real life, waiting too long can mean somebody else makes a move first.
The slow burn suddenly becomes a missed opportunity.
That’s what makes these conversations so much fun. We get to explore what works in fiction, what works in reality, and where those lines blur.
Join Us For The Final Discussion
We’re not finished with Just Our Luck yet, and trust me, you are not too late to join us.
In fact, one of my favorite things about TCF Book Club is that you do not have to finish the book to attend.
You don’t even have to start the book.
Seriously.
If you’ve been curious about joining but have been telling yourself you’ll come “once you’re caught up,” consider this your official permission slip.
Come anyway.
You might leave with a new book recommendation, a new favorite trope, a few new friends, and a reading list that suddenly got much longer.
Join us on Saturday, June 27 at 1:30 PM EST / 10:30 AM PST for our final discussion of Just Our Luck by Denise Williams.
One Important Thing
You must RSVP to receive the event reminder.
If you’re planning to join us, make sure you RSVP so you don’t miss the discussion, the laughs, the hot takes, and whatever romance trope debate inevitably takes over the room next.
Because if our last meeting taught us anything, it’s that book club is never just about the book.
We’ll see you there!
