5 novels about lottery winners

Beginner’s Luck

by Kate Clayborn

This series opener centers Kit, a steady scientist who, because of her peripatetic childhood, wants to use her winnings to create a home for herself and develop roots in her community. So when Ben shows up in his role as recruiter her to entice her to leave it all behind and move to Texas ... well, it's a disaster. But as they keep talking, their connection grows. I loved watching Ben and Kit work through their respective baggage over the course of the story, and the large cast of well-developed secondary characters gives this series life.

Jackpot Summer

by Elyssa Friedland

A multimillion dollar lottery win distorts family dynamics in Friedland’s amusing family dramedy. A year after their mother dies, the four adult Jacobson children gather one last time in their parents’ beloved Long Beach Island vacation home before it’s sold. On a whim, Noah decides to buy a Powerball ticket and invites his siblings to go in on it. Two say yes, one condescendingly refuses: why would he throw his money away like that? But against all odds, three siblings win the $262 million jackpot. After the win, it’s uncomfortable for everyone as guilt and resentment abound, and the Jackpot Jacobsons discover that instead of finding the relief they’d expected the money to bring, they find themselves living with all their old problems—plus a whole lot of new ones.

The Road to Tender Hearts

by Annie Hartnett

Hartnett’s gift is to nestle genuine humor right alongside life’s most terrible tragedies. Here she again balances joy and tragedy, combining the comedy of a screwball road trip with a serious meditation on loss, grief, healing, and second chances. Along for the ride are a 63-year-old named P.J. who has an ailing heart and a drinking problem, his estranged 23-year-old daughter, his brother’s recently orphaned grandkids, and Pancakes, a tabby cat with unusual powers. They’re on a mission to reunite with P.J.’s old flame at Arizona’s Tender Hearts nursing home. This madcap ride manages to feel hopeful and heartwarming despite its sad subject matter.

Play to Win

by Jodie Slaughter

A second chance romance exploring poverty, class, community, and the power of staying put. Miriam, a fat bisexual Black nail tech, has a paycheck-to-paycheck existence when her life is upended when she wins the Mega Millions Lottery Jackpot. There’s just one snag: she’s technically still married to her estranged husband Leo, a demisexual construction worker, and he has a right to the winnings. Miriam tracks him down and asks him to come back to their hometown of Greenbelt, South Carolina, only to ask him to finally sign the divorce papers. Leo’s not ready for their marriage to be over and asks for a chance to win her back. Game on. (Open door.)

Windfall

by Jennifer E. Smith

Alice doesn't believe in luck, at least not the good kind. But when she buys her friend Teddy a lottery ticket for his 18th birthday, she picks the good ones: 31 (Teddy's birthday). 9 (the number of years they've been friends). And for the Powerball number: 13 (the date both her parents died, 13 months apart, making her an orphan). That unlucky number wins him 140 million dollars. Teddy promises her the money won't change anything, but of course it does. A novel of love, family, fate, and Chicago, and one that you could read in the course of one happy afternoon.