Audiobook Review: Such a Lucky Girl by Wendy Heard

Two former best friends, one who built her whole life on being Such a Lucky Girl to three million Instagram followers, one who got left behind and found a book from the 1960s connected to a cult that did not end well. Someone starts manifesting. Something shows up. It is not interested in anyone’s terms and conditions. Read on to see why we couldn’t put Such a Lucky Girl down!

It’s Banned Books Week and we are featuring books by authors who have experienced censorship as well as other content related to censorship. Wendy’s Dead End Girls and We’ll Never Tell have been censored in Texas. If you’re looking for ways to fight censorship, we recently posted an interview with Dr. Alyssa Chrisman on ways you can help!

Such a Lucky Girl

by Wendy Heard
Published by: Little Brown Young Readers
on June 16, 2026
Genres: Contemporary, Thriller, Young Adult
Bookshop, Audiobook Libro.FM
Goodreads

Perfect for fans of Rory Power and Tiffany D. Jackson, this twisty horror novel follows a magnetic young influencer who gets ensnared in a web of dark, jealousy-fueled magic.

Three years ago, Bella dumped her best friend Kerry to follow her dreams of becoming an influencer. It worked; she is Such a Lucky Girl, famous for her epic manifesting glow-up and dedicated to helping other girls be "lucky," too. She's living the dream—success, sponsorships, and fame. She burned her old life to the ground and never looked back.

Leaving Kerry behind. Alone. Angry.

When Kerry picks up a vintage self-help book on shadow work, she's fascinated by the suggested rituals. Get back at those who have wronged her? Yes, please. She has one person in mind, and that girl is smiling at her millions of followers, having forgotten Kerry long ago. But there's something attached to the book, something dark and ancient, and Kerry and Bella may not be ready for what is about to be unleashed.

Review

Wendy Heard has been one of my favorite thriller writers since I won her debut in a giveaway and Such a Lucky Girl is yet another example of why! I listened to this one on audio and it had me inventing chores just to keep listening, which is the highest compliment I can give an audiobook. The pacing hits differently when you cannot put it down.

The setup is deceptively simple. Bella has three million Instagram followers and a boyfriend who just publicly humiliated her with a hit song about how bad she was in bed. Kerry is her former best friend, the one she left behind on the way up. Kerry finds a book from the 1960s with ties to a cult that ended very badly and starts manifesting. Things go wrong for Bella. Kerry starts to wonder if her spell worked. Things get considerably worse from there for everyone.

What Wendy is really writing about is the space between wanting something and being ready for what comes with it. Manifesting culture, the idea that you can call things into existence through intention and belief, is everywhere right now and Such a Lucky Girl takes that seriously enough to ask what happens when it actually works, when the dark thing you summoned shows up and is not particularly interested in your terms and conditions. The cult history woven through adds genuine dread underneath all the influencer satire. The cult seemed so real that I googled to see if it was haha.

There is a line that lives in my head now: is this how I die, at the hands of a demon I summoned, on a cult compound? That is the book in one sentence. It is funny and it is horrifying.

If you have not read Wendy yet, this is a great place to start. And then pick up everything else because every single one is my fav!