My

I was in the mood for a gender bender and I remembered the book I skimmed through in the library when I was 12. For some reason, I never checked it out or finished it. Probably because of the topics I deemed “adult” at that age, like Alanna getting her period which is basically all I remembered every time I thought about reading this book. Now that I'm older, I figured I'd probably like it more. And I did, and I was eager to read the sequels. But being the evil person I am, I read the reviews for those sequels, spoiling it for myself (if there are accessible spoilers, I will read them). And well, even if the series isn't all about the romance, that's one of the main factors that keep me invested in stories, no matter how understated the romance is. In fact, the more understated it is, the more I end up loving it. And the romance in this series just isn't my cup of tea. I like the subtle kinds full of innocence, like in the books by Diana Wynne Jones. So I agree with my 12-year old self on not wanting to continue the series :)

There weren't as many character interactions as I would have liked. And this is most likely due to the world building. So since that's out of the way, I look forward to seeing the friendships grow in the next books. I would love to see the characters grow up a little more with each book if this series goes long enough.

3.5. I liked it well enough until the romance kicked in (the type where she feels tingles for the first teenage male she sees other than the ones she grew up with). Granted, the romance wasn't intrusive or anything but I always linger on it no matter how small a role it plays.

The main character, Alli, reminded me of someone I know in real life who's quite overbearing and speaks her mind regardless of how the other party might feel afterwards. I don't like her sometimes, but other times she's okay. I guess that just leaves room for character development in the sequel?

The Luck Uglies is the first book of a planned trilogy. Good thing too, because about 60% through the book, I realized that the world Riley (Rye) lived in was too big and interesting to have only one book. As a result, I had to look up whether the book was part of a series.
I also grew fond of Truitt, a boy around Rye's age who helps her with some of her more dire situations. I felt that he could be fleshed out a lot more and am looking forward to seeing more of him in the upcoming books. They could potentially form a very wonderful friendship.
Rye has two close friends already-Quinn and Folly. I have a small thing against main characters that already have close friends at the start of the story, but I can live with it. They weren't unlikeable. And they had strengths that Rye was lacking which made them useful to the plot.
There were one or two mysteries that Rye could have figured out earlier, but it didn't take away from how likeable her character was. She figured things out in time, which made the story move quickly. And the book did move quickly. I breezed through it compared to the last book I read which I couldn't wait to finish.
Around the climax, some scenes, or maybe it was the writing, felt a little awkward. I can't remember any specific examples so maybe they weren't that big of a deal.
This book also has several funny moments that made me chuckle.
The man nicknamed Harmless is so charismatic. His character design just adds to that charm.
And that cover art is my favorite style of art-soft colors, not too loud. There's more art inside the book at the beginning of each chapter.