$VALID1 = '[-a-zA-Z0-9_.*\s]';

$line1a = "[no\nluck]";
$line1b = "[no\nluck]";
$line2a = '[no\nluck]'; # FROM A read(<FILE>)
$line2b = '[no\nluck]'; # FROM A read(<FILE>)

print "luck1a\n"  if $line1a =~  /\[\s*($VALID1+)\s*\]/m;
print "luck1b\n"  if $line1b =~  /\[\s*([a-z\s]+)\s*\]/m;
print "luck2a\n"  if $line2a =~  /\[\s*($VALID1+)\s*\]/;   #DESIRED
print "luck2b\n"  if $line2b =~  /\[\s*([a-z\s]+)\s*\]/;