Conservation of Luck

By: Lesley L. Smith

Narrated by: Kathryn Supina

For every good fortune, there's an equal and opposite misfortune. As a brilliant young computer scientist working on her Master's Degree, Ella Hote doesn't believe in luck. But when bizarre accidents, insane coincidences, and weird encounters with improbably handsome strangers start to happen all around her, even hardheaded Ella has to change her mind.

She comes to realize she's inadvertently created a luck-generating computer that can make even the longest of long shots pay off. Unfortunately, for every stroke of good luck, someone else pays the price in bad luck. Ultimately, when lives are on the line, how far will she go?

©2017 Lesley L. Smith (P)2017 Lesley L. Smith

Conservation of Luck

Oh I really really liked this book! Fun, fun,fun!
First it was so very original! I loved the characters Ella and Jayden. Ella was a riot! I pictured her as Zooey Deschanel - pretty, smary, and very quirky and snarky! Just the way I love my characters.

You would think a fiction book about quantum physics... eehhh not for me - but it was fun, interesting and not so much about physics! LOL right up my alley. The biog question - can you change your
luck? Hmm interesting thought. But I also liked that this was also about Ella's gambling, her MIA father, her friendships and love interests, or lack of. So there were a lot of spider webs in this story.

OK - my favorite part of the story - The narrator (Kathryn Supina)! OMG!!! I loved her! I have a problem with narrators - I don't usually like them. So to finally find one that I love. Oh yay! She totally made the book for me. I loved her voice and the way she read. I could really picture Ella. Great job!

Great story with a great narrator! A win/win!

I voluntarily posted this review after receiving a copy of this book from Kate Tilton Author services and Lesley Smith - Thank You!!

An alright, somewhat slow YA

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

This book was less of a sci-fi and more of an Young Adult story. Yes, there are sci-fi elements surrounding "machine generating luck" by "conservation of energy" etc.. but that is mostly a background detail here. You can call it YA cozy-scifi, I guess. So, if you are looking for such a book, you'll like it.

What aspect of Kathryn Supina’s performance would you have changed?

The narrator did a good job with the content she had.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Conservation of Luck?

The book starts out very slow and for large swath of the first half, not much happens. It was very difficult to keep listening. Most of the fluff from here could've been cut to keep the story concise and keep it moving at quicker pace.

Any additional comments?

I received this audiobook for free from the author / narrator / publisher in exchange for an unbiased review.

Conservation of luck

A college girl has alternating good and bad luck.It was an ok book.Nothing really made it 'pop'.Kathryn SUpina was a good narrator.“I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.”

Slow going but worth the read

I liked the story but found it slow going at times, and some words were pronounced oddly from time to time.
I do think the book has some interesting moments but it is not a fast read at all. I was given this book as a gift for my unbiased review.

A good fluff novel

There was nothing that really made this novel stand out to me. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't something I'd typically choose. It's a good lay in the sunshine and listen type of novel fluff story. From the description it seemed that it could be really interesting, but in the end there wasn't a lot character depth and much of the writing seemed repetitive.
Overall though, it was just a cute YA book. Just like 'chick-flicks', there's a place in this world for fluff novels :)

-- (For full disclosure) I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Fun YA novel...give it a chance!

Although it took me a bit to get into this book, I ended up really enjoying it. The narrator did a great job with all the different voices. I received a review copy at my request and voluntarily reviewed.

Three and a Half stars

I was expecting some sort of fantasy due to the description, but this is a contempary book with a girl who has a lot of bad luck, while others have all the luck. I can relate to this in some ways.

The plot is interesting but I just found it slow going. Others might like this type of book.

I thought the narrator did a great job in voicing the characters out.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

YA Sci Fi with too many 'hot guys' :eyeroll

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I would almost say it was a mindless listen while I helped prepare for a family & friends reunion. Except I kept rewinding because of the inconsistencies. Like how when she was at her surprise party (oh, she bailed on her 'bff' but failed to call and cancel. Like wtf?) and indicated her new job at KC was an hour away, yet the narrative on the day of the move complained about the long ride and she took a nap during the car ride and they stopped to eat on the way.
I spent too much time on this book.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

A qualified editor and copy editor could add several layers of depth and charisma.

Which character – as performed by Kathryn Supina – was your favorite?

I liked Katherine as a narrator for this author. I prefer her to the narrator of the other book I listened to for this author in the Quantum series.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Even though a screen play drastically changes most books, no. There is way too much humdrum 'I wanna bed him' thoughts. It felt too juvenile for the age range of the characters. Every touching moment involved someone getting misty eyed. Worse than a chic flic.

Any additional comments?

Premise was curious. Characters weren't deep. Plot was interesting. It was too fast paced but without suspense or friction.
The loose ends were like a three year old learning to tie their shoelaces. It wasn't tight enough and had too many loops.
I enjoy the book summaries by this author, but feel slighted by the lack of world building and flow. I still intend to pick up another book from her because I think she is growing into her own and I do enjoy the quantum theories she plays with in her literary works. V

It was ok

I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

This was an OK book. It wasn't great, but it wasn't terrible either. I know this isn't that helpful as a review, but I'm having trouble quantifying it. I found the premise of a technology being able to generate luck interesting, especially as it uses the concept of conservation of energy (or mass) to "explain" what the computer is doing. In other words, the author seems to relate luck to a form of energy or matter. It can't be created from nothing, it must be taken from somewhere. I think, for me, the missing piece that would have made this book better was the suspense. It was slow and didn't really world/character build very well. The narrator kept my interest, though, so it wasn't a "well there's x number of hours I can't get back." Again, it was just OK to me.

Girl Geeks of the World Unite

It's hard to write a book about a college-aged woman without there being a few references to hot guys, so let's cut this author a little slack, shall we, people? This tells me that the author knows her audience, and if you can't tell from the age of the cute young girl on the cover with the storm cloud over her head what age this book's hero is, then you might not be bright enough to follow along and we might need to hold you back a year.

This book was smart, charming and clever. And in only one or two parts did I want to ask the young female hero why she didn't take more practical action when she broke her phone or didn't have her wallet, but with all the bad luck that came her way, it's a wonder she kept herself alive.

This story is about luck, fate, computers, technology, randomness and yeah, a few hot guys. Get over it. It's funny, fun and thought-provoking. If you're in the mood for something that will make you laugh out loud and also ponder the randomness with which life seems to hand you a crappy hand while the guy over there gets dealt a royal flush, this book may have the answers you seek.

I was give a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, but this story is right down my alley and I loved it. I hope there are more both my author Lesley L. Smith and by narrator Kathryn Supina who did a terrific job with both the male and female voices.