Review: ALL I ASK by Tamara Lush

All I Ask by Tamara Lush
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Princess Isabella of Montignac has never been angrier. She’s supposed to marry a prince that she doesn't love from a neighboring European principality — but he was caught on a viral video snorting coke off a stripper’s butt in Las Vegas.

All Isabella wants is to be left alone to do her environmental charity work. If she refuses to marry the prince, she’ll lose her title and royal allowance. So she flees to a Florida island to think about her future.

When she checks into the Paradise Beach Resort, a fat pug takes a whizz on her travel pillow. Then the dog’s owner, an extremely sexy man named Tate, asks her to dinner. But just when things are looking up, an unpredictable turn of events happens.

Isabella’s arrested for harassing an alligator and an island cop suggests she call a local lawyer. Turns out it’s a familiar face: Tate, the hot man candy from the day before. And since she has to stick around on the island to clear up her legal troubles, she and Tate have a hard time keeping their hands off each other.

Will Isabella forsake everything she knows — a royal title, palaces and riches — for Tate’s love?

ALL I ASK is part of Tamara Lush’s Paradise Beach series. It can be read as a stand-alone. 

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I had quite a gap between reading this book compared to when I read the prequel and book one. In fact, after finishing those, I did start this one right away--but then I left it for a few months. I'm not really sure why. But it was easy to get back into the story and returning to the Paradise Beach world was easy and familiar.

Isabella quickly became my favourite of the narrators so far. I warmed to her a lot more than Kate and Lauren. Her character just felt a lot more realistic and intriguing (though Lauren's characterisation is really good too in the first book!) and her goals were relatable. Bella's big on animal rights and this is something I'm really interested in, and it was good to read.

As a narrating character, Tate was great. I much preferred him to Damian. One worry I often have when reading series that have multiple narrators is that some are going to seem like copies of the others, but this has so far not been the case with Tamara Lush's Paradise Beach series.

This book also has a lot more comical moments than the last two, and I enjoyed the mix of lightheartedness and seriousness that this offered.

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Review: ALL I KNOW by Tamara Lush

All I Know by Tamara Lush
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

From the author of Constant Craving comes a hilarious story about a woman who feels obligated to care for everyone, a sexy Marine who wants to make his first love his forever bride, and a fake wedding proposal that changes everything.

Kate Cooper has come home to Paradise Beach to help her mom recover from surgery. After all, who else is going to run the family's tiki bar? A few months on a Florida island won't hurt, even if her memories might.

Then Damien Hastings, her high school crush, walks into the bar one night. He's stunning. Intense. Way more muscular than when they were in high school. And can't take his eyes off Kate.

When Damien finds out Kate needs health insurance, he does what any gentleman would: ask her to marry him. He's going to Syria for a year as a military contractor, and he's loved her for years. It's the least he can do.

They didn't return to fall in love. They didn't expect to have the best sex of their lives. They didn't plan on a farting dog or a fake engagement. But strange and wonderful things happen on Paradise Beach...

Content warning: medical conditions, parent with cancer, heroine experienced bullying in high school.

ALL I KNOW is the prequel to Tamara Lush's Paradise Beach Series. They are all standalone romantic comedies and can be read in any order. If you adore hilarious banter, second chances, and steamy sexytimes, this is the book for you!

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As a fan of the first book in this series, I decided to give the prequel a go after finishing it. I already knew the details of Kate and Damien’s relationship from book 1, but I was pleasantly surprised by just how much extra this novella provides the reader with. Kate and Damien become even more developed, with their love seeming more believable in this novella.

There was also a lot more sex in this novella—with it being more explicitly described than book 1–but it works, given that Kate and Damien certainly seem more sex-orientated in this novella than Lauren and Max. This is something that surprised me as from reading book 1, I hadn’t thought they had the more physical relationship.

This book does have chronic illness rep in it, which really excited me (as someone who's chronically ill) but I'd have liked to see this explored a little more on the page. One of Kate's hospital appointments is simply skipped over and we don't see a lot of the day-to-day life of being chronically ill, which I was hoping for. Especially in a romance.

I liked how the end of the novella overlapped with book 1, however as soon as we got to the overlapping parts, the writing and pacing seemed very rushed. There was less characterisation for Damien and Kate in this section, and I didn’t feel like we got much “extra” in this part. Also, I noticed that Max and Lauren (The main characters of Book 1) seemed very 2D in this book compared to Kate and Damien, so I’m not sure whether completely new readers would warm to them and want to read their book quite as much.

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Review: ALL I WANT by Tamara Lush

All I Want by Tamara Lush
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Welcome to Paradise Beach. Land of sugar sand, shirtless men, and endless sunshine. Strange and wonderful things often happen here. And island life is even hotter after dark...

Social media influencer Lauren Spencer is determined to find out why her best friend is getting married on a whim. When she travels to Paradise Beach to stop the wedding, she's the one who comes to a screeching halt when greeted with the sight of a gorgeous naked guy in her hotel room.

He just happens to be the groom's adorably uptight brother -- and the best man in the wedding. Oops. Too bad she's sworn off relationships.

As a successful real estate broker in New York City, Max Hastings has taken his workaholic ways back to his hometown of Paradise Beach, trying to ready his family's resort for sale and attend his youngest brother's shotgun wedding. Complicating matters: the maid of honor is the sexiest woman he's seen in years, and he wants her in his bed.

After some hot and heavy flirtation, Lauren and Max come to an agreement: a weekend wedding fling is just the thing both of them need.

But when Lauren suffers an accident and can't leave the island, Max finds himself more than willing to take care of her for more than a weekend. Will Lauren set aside her doubts about relationships to explore something real with Max?

ALL I WANT is Book One in Tamara Lush's Paradise Beach Series. They are all standalone romantic comedies and can be read in any order. If you adore beach romances, irresistible alpha men, and hilarious wedding hookups, this is the book for you!

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This is the first book I’ve ready by Tamara Lush and I found it addictive. All the characters are well-rounded and believable, and the chemistry between Lauren and Max was palpable and so, so believable. I could not stop reading!

The sex was tastefully written and woven skilfully into the story. This is always a worry I have when reading steamy romance, but it was well done.

This is a fast-paced romance, and the only part I didn’t quite like as much was the ending. It did feel rather rushed, and I’d have liked to see more of Lauren and Max in their HEA—though I guess they’ll also be in the rest of the series.


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Review: THINGS WE DIDN'T TALK ABOUT WHEN I WAS A GIRL by Jeannie Vanasco

Jeannie Vanasco has had the same nightmare since she was a teenager. She startles awake, saying his name. It is always about him: one of her closest high school friends, a boy named Mark. A boy who raped her.

When her nightmares worsen, Jeannie decides—after fourteen years of silence—to reach out to Mark. He agrees to talk on the record and meet in person. "It's the least I can do," he says.

Jeannie details her friendship with Mark before and after the assault, asking the brave and urgent question: Is it possible for a good person to commit a terrible act? Jeannie interviews Mark, exploring how rape has impacted his life as well as her own. She examines the language surrounding sexual assault and pushes against its confines, contributing to and deepening the #MeToo discussion.

Exacting and courageous, Things We Didn't Talk About When I Was a Girl is part memoir, part true crime record, and part testament to the strength of female friendships—a recounting and reckoning that will inspire us to ask harder questions and interrogate our biases. Jeannie Vanasco examines and dismantles long-held myths of victimhood, discovering grace and power in this genre-bending investigation into the trauma of sexual violence.

I was lucky enough to get an advanced reading copy of Things We Didn’t Talk About When I was a Girl by Jeannie Vanasco. While this memoir is a little different from the others I’ve been reading, it truly is fantastic. In it, Vanasco recounts the sexual assaults she’s experienced while also analysing rape culture. It is a truly amazing book and I highly recommend that everyone reads it. Honestly, it is so important. (It releases October 1st, 2019.) 

What has struck me in particular about Vanasco’s memoir is how personal and honest it is. When writing about another person, there's always the risk of repercussions. Vanasco gets around this beautifully in her memoir, writing it as she seeks permission from those she talks about, and gives us their exact words. She also tells readers how her memories may not be reliable — but that the memories of those she speaks to also will not be reliable. Her book feels entirely honest and brave for that reason.

The book itself alternates between Vanasco's narrative to us and a transcription of two different phone calls that she has with her rapist, many years after the rape occurred. It's written in 'real time' as Vanasco transcribes the phone calls, and so we see her pauses and breaks and what she thinks about, and who else she speaks to. 

What makes this memoir different to others about sexual assault though is Vanasco's attitude toward her rapist and her ongoing struggle to feel the anger she expects she should feel. She and Mark were very good friends for years before the rape, and so she frames her memoir as an investigation of how a good person can do something bad. 

This book doesn't only look at sexual assault and the power in that though. It looks at how power is inscribed in language too, and how different ideologies are constructed on the basis of power and exchanges. Vanasco delves deeply into these ideas as she talks with her friend who's a gender studies lecturer, and the conversations recounted are fascinating and enlightening. 

This is a hugely important book--possibly the most important book I've ever read--and I highly suggest that everyone reads it. 

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a review copy. 

Review: SLEEP by C.L. Taylor

Sleep by C.L. Taylor
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I finished reading SLEEP by CL Taylor just over a week and a half ago, and I still can’t quite believe how amazing it is.

I mean, I knew it would be. I’m a fierce fan of CL Taylor’s books, and I just couldn’t wait to start reading this one. It did no disappoint.

SLEEP weaves a complicated tale of guilt, revenge, death, and regret. It’s a tightly plotted thriller, and honestly, I had no idea who the killer was until the end—that’s how good it was. (And I pride myself on working out who the killer is).

The story follows Anna as she recovers from a horrific car crash that resulted in the deaths of two of her colleagues. And she was driving.

We see her go through a breakup, and decide to start a new life on the island of Rum.

I loved how this island setting almost becomes a character. And what a great place for a murder mystery. It reminded me a lot of And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie at first—but there were plenty of differences I was delighted to discover as I read on (and I love that Christie book too).

The narrative is told through multiple characters, and slowly we begin to see how all the apparently separate subplots link together as it becomes clear Anna really is being stalked by someone who believes she should’ve died in the car crash.

There are so many twists, and I honestly can’t tell you enough how much I loved this book. And that ending! Wow. Really chilling.

I really can’t wait to see what CL Taylor writes next.

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Review: Scars Like Wings by Erin Stewart

Scars Like Wings by Erin Stewart
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Scars Like Wings—wow, what can I say about this book? It’s just amazing.

I was actually reading two other books when I saw I’d been approved for this title on Netgalley, and the premise of Scars Like Wings meant I abandoned my other reads and dove right in.

This book is incredible. It’s so poignant and powerful, as it tells the story of Ava, a burn survivor, as she comes to terms with the fire that took her parents and cousin and marked her body.

The writing style was just beautiful, so evocative. I particularly loved the snapshots we see of the days after the fire—they were so emotive.

One thing I loved about this book was the disability rep. Piper is a wheelchair user, and she was definitely my favourite character. She’s so well developed and has her own full arc in the story, alongside Ava.

In fact, all the characters are believable and really well-written. There’s petty high school drama and more serious conflict between them that mirrors the internal conflict Ava struggles with as she re-adapts to life and her new body.

One thing I really liked was the romantic sub-plot. (Some spoilers ahead!) The romance between Ava and Asad built up well, I was really believing it—and then, bam! That twist. It totally made sense. I felt Ava’s humiliation and hurt.

But at the same time, I’m glad she didn’t need a romance in order to heal. I’m disabled myself—and though my situation is different to Ava’s and Piper’s—I’m always super disappointed in books where romance is used to heal the character and make them see they still have worth. That was really where I thought Scars Like Wings was going at first, and so I’m very pleased it didn’t. We see Ava make the journey to heal by herself, with support from her friends, rather than making it all about how love has saved her.

All in all, this is a powerful and important read. I loved the commentary about how disabled/disfigured people are not inspirations—as this is something I hear regularly in day-to-day life and I can’t tell you how much this annoys me. So it was great to see this point being put across so well.

This is a great book, and I’ll definitely be looking out for more by Erin Stewart in the future.

Highly recommended YA contemporary. Perfect for fans of Girl in Pieces.

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Review: LAST GIRL LIED TO By L.E. Flynn

Last Girl Lied To by Laurie Elizabeth Flynn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Something made him angry that night.
Something made her cry.
Something made Trixie disappear.
What if it was all the same thing?

Fiona claims she doesn't remember anything about the night her best friend left a party early and walked into the ocean. But the truth is, she wishes she could forget.

Trixie's disappearance is ruled a suicide, but Fiona starts to believe that Trixie isn't really dead. Piecing together the trail of a girl who doesn't want to be found leads her to Jasper, Trixie's former friend with benefits, and Beau--the boy who turned Fiona down, who loved someone else, who might be happy Trixie is gone.

The closer Fiona gets to finding out what happened, and the closer she gets to Jasper and Beau, the more she realizes that the girl she knew better than anyone may have been a carefully constructed lie--and she might have been waiting to disappear the entire time.

Told in alternating chapters between the past and the present, Last Girl Lied To is a gripping emotional thriller.

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Last Girl Lied To is the first book by L.E Flynn that I’ve read, and I really enjoyed it. It’s a haunting read of loss and tragedy. Of mistakes and regrets. Of jealousy and dreams.

This book tells the story of Fiona as she struggles to process all her emotions around the disappearance and presumed death of her best friend Trixie. The writing is poetic in places and there are some really beautiful images inside these pages, with some absolutely killer cliffhangers. Seriously, some of the pages I just couldn’t turn fast enough!

All the characters in this book are so well written, they feel real and true, like people you could actually meet. At first, I struggled to relate to Fiona as I didn’t really understand who she was, but as I read on I realised this was an important theme in the novel—discovering who you are when you’re on your own, rather than knowing who you are depending on those you are around.

The thriller mystery part about what really happened to Trixie was tightly written with so many twists. I also loved how we only really see Trixie through Fiona’s eyes and the flashbacks, so there’s always the question of how reliable a narrator Fiona is, especially as we see how the different circumstances and situations she encounters rapidly changes her view of Trixie.

There are quite a lot of characters in this story, and many have complicated relationships. At times, I had forgotten a few of the details that were slipped into previous scenes but it was never enough that it meant I was lost. The writing was inviting and welcomed me into the story each time I sat down to continue it.

The romance in this book is well-written, and it builds naturally. I was a bit surprised by how quickly Fiona sleeps with her new boyfriend, but by the end of the book, the reason for this was clear.

The only thing I didn’t particularly like was how it was mentioned that the villain was sent to a psychiatric hospital, implying he’d committed murder because he was mad. I felt like this didn’t help some of the stigma around mental illness.

All in all, this is a fast-paced thriller and I recommend it.

A big thank you to the author and publisher for providing a free review copy of this book.

Review: TWO CAN KEEP A SECRET by Karen McManus

Echo Ridge is small-town America. Ellery's never been there, but she's heard all about it. Her aunt went missing there at age seventeen. And only five years ago, a homecoming queen put the town on the map when she was killed. Now Ellery has to move there to live with a grandmother she barely knows.

The town is picture-perfect, but it's hiding secrets. And before school even begins for Ellery, someone's declared open season on homecoming, promising to make it as dangerous as it was five years ago. Then, almost as if to prove it, another girl goes missing.

Ellery knows all about secrets. Her mother has them; her grandmother does too. And the longer she's in Echo Ridge, the clearer it becomes that everyone there is hiding something. The thing is, secrets are dangerous--and most people aren't good at keeping them. Which is why in Echo Ridge, it's safest to keep your secrets to yourself.

My rating: 4.5 stars.

This was so nearly a 5 star read. It was so close, by the end. But it was also so nearly a 3 star read near the beginning.

Let me explain.

This book starts off really well. I was immediately gripped by Ellery and Malcom's story. You've got family secrets, fascinating characters, decades-old mysteries, an intriguing cast, and missing prom queens. But from about the 15% mark to the 30% mark, I felt the pace slowed down a lot.

I was really struggling just to keep reading it. Until--bang. We get a second crime happening in the present timeline. (Spoilers ahead) As soon as Brooke goes missing, the pace picked up and I was eagerly reading. I felt like there really was a threat in the current time (rather than the emphasis being on the past crimes in the town), and it seemed like Ellery could really be in danger. I believed her fear at this point.

By this point, Two Can Keep A Secret was a solid 4 stars for me. And the thing that really made me like the book even more was the reveal of the villain (right to the end, I still had absolutely no idea who had done it) and the final line. Seriously, the final line changes everything. Karen McManus really is a master.

Ellery is a great main character, though it did take me a while to warm to her. I think partly it was because I was comparing her to the female narrators in McManus's first novel, and Ellery is really different.

I also found that Ellery and Malcom's narrative voices weren't as distinguishable from each other as the narrative voices in McManus's first book were, and a couple of times I did get confused about who was narrating each section--particularly as the narration doesn't always alternate between these two main characters.

But all in all, this is a solid YA thriller.

Review: BRAIN ON FIRE by Susannah Cahalan

An award-winning memoir and instant New York Times bestseller that goes far beyond its riveting medical mystery, Brain on Fire is the powerful account of one woman’s struggle to recapture her identity.

When twenty-four-year-old Susannah Cahalan woke up alone in a hospital room, strapped to her bed and unable to move or speak, she had no memory of how she’d gotten there. Days earlier, she had been on the threshold of a new, adult life: at the beginning of her first serious relationship and a promising career at a major New York newspaper. Now she was labeled violent, psychotic, a flight risk. What happened?In a swift and breathtaking narrative, Cahalan tells the astonishing true story of her descent into madness, her family’s inspiring faith in her, and the lifesaving diagnosis that nearly didn’t happen.

My rating: 5 stars

Brain on Fire tells the story of Post journalist Susannah Cahalan, a seemingly healthy twenty-four-year-old as she is struck down with a variety of strange symptoms--seizures, obsession with bedbugs, flu, and hallucinations to name a few--and follows her frightening battle to get diagnosed.

I picked up this book shortly after I was diagnosed with a neuropsychiatric illness and had started writing my own memoir. I wanted to see how Susannah had written hers, and I'd already seen the Netflix adaptation of Brain on Fire, which I thought had been well done.

Like Susannah, I struggled to get a diagnosis and my problems were also assumed to be solely psychological at one point. I related so much to so many things she went through.

This book is wonderfully written. It's poignant and gives a thorough insight into what exactly Susannah experienced--even though a lot of it, she admits she can't remember. Instead, the passages around her month in hospital have been constructed from interviews, tape recordings, and diary entries her family made. Yet this passage is still told in first person. As such, when Susannah describes having a brain biopsy, there was something a little unnerving about hearing each step that was performed, but narrated by her, in first-person. It brought me out of the story a little.

There's a fair bit of medical terminology and medical explanations in here, and at times I found it a little dense. But it really helped to paint a good picture of this illness, and I'd highly recommend it.

Review: HOW TO MAKE FRIENDS WITH THE DARK by Kathleen Glasgow

How to Make Friends with the Dark by Kathleen Glasgow
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I should’ve been prepared for this book. I devoured Kathleen Glasgow’s first book, Girl In Pieces, and I should’ve known her second novel would be just as heart-wrenching, haunting, and powerful.

How to Make Friends With the Dark is the story of Tiger Tolliver as she struggles to cope with the sudden and unexpected death of her mother. These pages are filled with grief, loss, and guilt, and we REALLY feel Tiger’s emotions. This book had me crying in so many places.

Not only does Tiger have to cope with the sudden loss of her mother, but she’s also introduced to family members she didn’t know existed in the course of the book. As the book so elegantly puts it, she has to get used to living without her mother while at the same time get used to living with others who she doesn’t know. And she also goes through the foster care system and is also imprisoned for a brief while (which was a huge shock to me).

We see Tiger really change in this book. We see her angry, lashing out, causing criminal damage, yet we really feel her.

The language is emotive and the imagery beautiful. The words are just SO powerful. I can’t emphasise that enough.

We see a wide range of people in this book. The abusive parents and caregivers, the kind adults who are trying to make it better, the lost boys and girls, and the parents in prison, just to name a few.

The characters are all so real. I feel we could just meet them to easily in the street, in the library, at the gym. And that’s the thing. This book shows how these people are everywhere. And they’re not unusual.

I’m almost at a loss for word as I write this review, that’s how good this book was. Though it was really hard to read at times. But the main thing it teaches its readers is you never know what others are going through, but there is a way to make friends with the dark—the overwhelming grief.

Review: LITTLE MONSTERS by Kara Thomas

Little Monsters by Kara Thomas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Kara Thomas is an author who’s been recommended to me a number of times as I’ve been navigating my way through YA thrillers, and I finally had time to read one of her books, Little Monsters.

This story follows the story of Kacey, a girl new to town a year ago, who is now best friends with two girls. These girls definitely have the mean girls vibe present in Dana Mele’s People Like Us, and to some extent the tv show Pretty Little Liars (though Little Monsters has a darker, grittier tone). When Kacey’s best friends go to a party and she’s not invited, she wonders why they’re being distant. And then one of them, Bailey, fails to return home.

All eyes point to Kacey, and then her stepbrother, and the mystery unfolds with plenty of twists. In terms of engagement and pacing, this book started out so good. I was enthralled. The set-up is amazing. And the ending was equally good. For me, the middle felt a little flat. For a long time, the pacing seemed a little bit too slow. There were lots of twists there, don’t get me wrong, but I felt like something was lacking a little, perhaps because it started getting so complicated with more questions being raised and very few answers being given.

Having said that, I loved the characters and the family dynamics in particular. You’ve got the stepmother who’s very welcoming, more so than Kacey’s own father, the absent mother, the stepbrother who is a great friend, and the half-sister who dotes in Kacey. But there’s also something off about her, and it’s here where I got the same vibes as (spoiler alert!) Gillian Flynn’s Sharp Objects in terms of the little sister.

So let’s talk about the ending and the reveal of Bailey’s murderer. (Spoilers in this paragraph; skip ahead to the next one if you don’t want to know the identity of the murderer!) Given that we have the story told from both Kacey’s POV and the diary extracts of Bailey before she goes missing/is murdered, I felt so sure that the murderer was Jade, the other best friend as it had to be someone close to both of the narrators. But there was also something off about Lauren, the little sister, so to find out I was right about both of them was a great payoff. And it happened so quickly at the end. Suddenly, bam, it was there. And even though I’d worked out who it had to be, by process of deduction, the way the reveal unfurled was still engaging and I couldn’t read fast enough.

The final two lines of the book also provide another twist and make you see things differently, which I particularly loved.

All in all, this is a highly recommend thriller for young adults.

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Review: PRETTY DEAD GIRLS by Monica Murphy

Beautiful. Perfect. Dead.

In the peaceful seaside town of Cape Bonita, wicked secrets and lies are hidden just beneath the surface. But all it takes is one tragedy for them to be exposed.

The most popular girls in school are turning up dead, and Penelope Malone is terrified she's next. All the victims so far have been linked to Penelope—and to a boy from her physics class. The one she's never really noticed before, with the rumored dark past and a brooding stare that cuts right through her.

There's something he isn't telling her. But there's something she's not telling him, either.

Everyone has secrets, and theirs might get them killed.


FIVE STARS

I've been on the look out for amazing YA thrillers recently, and PRETTY DEAD GIRLS by Monica Murphy definitely fits this criteria. In short, this book is amazing. 

I'll be honest, when I started it, I wasn't totally convinced of just how great this story was going to be. I've just started watching Pretty Little Liars on Netflix, and the opening of this book reminded me A LOT of that show. You've got the same set-up: a group of popular high school girls, and one of them has been murdered, with the others looking for the identity of the murderer. PRETTY DEAD GIRLS didn't feel like anything spectacular--until I got to the 30% mark or there about, when I realised that we were also having the odd chapter narrated by the murderer. 

It's all first person narrative with no tags for who is narrating, and there'd been a few instances where I was confused as Penny's narrative style suddenly seemed to change. (Particularly the first chapter where I got very dark vibes and wondered if the narrator was the murderer--but as I read on and learned more about Penny, I doubted she was really the murderer and that the first chapter had been set to throw me off the scent). But at the 30% mark, I realised that some of the chapters weren't narrated by Penny. Instead it really was the murderer, and we see the murderer in the lead-up to the next deaths. 

When Lex is the second girl to die, I felt really invested. This is where this book went from being okay to amazing, and I just couldn't read fast enough. We follow Penny and Cass as they investigate, and as they realise that all the Larks girls are being killed off, one by one. 

What struck me about PRETTY DEAD GIRLS is that I think this is the first murder mystery YA thriller that I've read where I didn't have a clue who the murderer was until the end. Every time I thought I knew, the murderer's own narration would then mention my suspect in a way that made it clear that it wasn't them. And because the murderer never gives us any clues on their identity--other than that they're female--I was so stumped. And, despite this, I was STILL suspecting one of the boys in the story as I just couldn't figure out who it was going to be. 

When the murderer is revealed, it was a tense and well-written scene that brought everything together in a wonderful and concise way. I was very impressed. 

This book definitely seems to be written with teenage readers in mind. I'm in my mid-20s, and I was struck by how often the characters Snapchatted each other and how many selfies they took, but this really helped ground it as a YA novel, and I loved this so much. 

The romance in this book between Penny and Cass is low-key and very much secondary to the who-is-killing-the-girls storyline. That, I really appreciated as it wouldn't have made sense for the romance to be central, given that Penny's friends keep turning up dead and that she's possibly next. 

Penny is a great character. Complex and relatable, likeable and still a bit prickly. Her relationship with Cass is turbulent, with lots of on/off moments that felt very believable. And Cass himself is so well written. He's got just the right amount of intrigue and charm, says some really heart-wrenching lines that make him a perfect brooding YA hero, and has a dark past that links to many of the dead girls. 

In short, I loved this book and highly recommend it. 

Review: GIRLS WITH SHARP STICKS by Suzanne Young

Girls with Sharp Sticks by Suzanne Young
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wow. Girls With Sharp Sticks is incredible. By far the best book I’ve read this year, and that’s saying something as I’ve had some incredible reads.

Okay, so this review is going to contain spoilers. I almost want to write this as a review purely for me, to remind myself later on just how amazing this book is. Suzanne Young is incredible and I’ll definitely be getting her other books.

So, Girls With Sharp Sticks is a blend of things. It’s a contemporary boarding school story that swiftly becomes a terrifying dystopian, futuristic but so close to us. The story is set in a school where girls are trained to become the perfect women for men. We meet Mena, an obedient girl who doesn’t want to upset the men who look after her. But meeting Jackson changes everything. She’s accidentally defiant to her Guardian, and it’s this that sparks the events that lead her to “wake up” and discover the truth of what’s going on at Innovations Academy: (huge spoiler alert!) These girls weren’t born. They were created.

This story is a blend of Frankenstein (Mary Shelley) and Vox (Christina Dalcher) and The Walls Around Us (Nova Ren Suma). It’s got a touch of Teri Terry’s Mind Games. There’s so much packed into this story and it works beautifully.

This is a feminist message about girls fighting back. It exposes the sexist ideology of modern day society by exaggerating it. But it also offers a message of hope.

And not all the men are bad. Jackson and Winston and Quentin fight the girls. Jackson tells Mena that she is real though she was created, and that she does have rights—just when she’s heard from the other men how she is just a product made to satisfy.

This book really is incredible. I also truly loved how it explores the power of words and writing. The girls spread their plans for rebellion and “wake” each other up by sharing a book of poems—one of which is called “Girls With Sharp Sticks”. This book almost becomes their voice, their way of discovering the truth, and finding the strength to fight and the way in which they can. And the book was given to them by the wife of the owner of the academy—a lady, it is revealed, was once an Innovations girl. The wife, Leandra, is just like them. And it’s she who manages to get five of the girls out at the end of the story, choosing to sacrifice her own chance of freedoms so she can stay behind with the intention of saving the other girls.

All the girls are so distinguishable. That was something that really wowed me. It’s predominantly an all-girl cast, but they’re all so individual and easy to tell apart. I loved them all. Mena, Syndney, Brynn, Annalise, Lennon Rose, Marcella, Valentine, Rebecca...

And it was great that this is a YA book with no romance. Sure, Jackson is obviously the love interest for Mena, and it’s clear there will be a second book as the ending leads to the set-up for taking the academy down, but in this book, Jackson’s priority is clearly to rescue all the girls at the end, not just Mena.

So, at about the 20% mark I did wonder whether Mena and the other girls at the academy were robots. There was something that felt off about them, but I dismissed this theory because Mena just felt so real. She’s our narrator and we feel her emotions, her soul. So when it was revealed at the end that all the girls there are robotic, I was stunned—even though I had previously questioned it.

There’s some uncomfortable scenes in this book. Violence against women. Sexual abuse. Emotional and physical abuse. But the messages are so important. I’m going to be recommending this book for years, I can tell already.

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Review: BOOK OF FIRE by Michelle Kenney

My rating: 5 stars

About Book Of Fire: 


Life outside the domes is not possible. At least that’s what Insiders are told.
Twins Eli and Talia shouldn’t exist. They’re Outsiders.

Their home is a secret. Their lives are a secret. Arafel is a secret.

An unexpected forest raid forces Talia into a desperate mission to rescue her family while protecting the sacred Book of Arafel from those who would use it as a weapon. As Talia and her life long friend Max enter the dome, she makes some unexpected discoveries, and allies, in the form of rugged Insider August, that will change the course of her life forever.

She’ll stop at nothing to save her family but will she sacrifice her heart in the process?

The Fire Sermon meets Gladiator in this brilliant YA debut.

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Firstly, huge thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley, for providing me with a review copy of this book. 

So, I went into this book not really knowing what to expect, and the first thing that struck me was the language. It's so lyrical and beautiful, and there's something almost haunting about the imagery and tone. The language itself reminded me a lot of the style employed in both The Clan of the Cave Bear and The Walls Around Us. They both have the immersive, lyrical quality that Book of Fire has. Yet Michelle Kenney's novel also has the high stakes of The Hunger Games (I'm always doubtful when I see that one used as a comp title due to how huge it is, but here it really works). 

I'll confess, it did take me a little while to get used to this writing style that is lyrical and beauitful but that covers a lot of action. It felt a little slower at first than other YA novels I'm used to, but once I was used to Michelle Kenney's voice, I could not read fast enough. I just had to know what happens. 

Both Eli and Talia are fully fleshed characters and very well written. I must admit, I love stories with twins--that was one of the reasons I requested a review copy of this book in particular--and the bond these two share is really well written. I also really liked that Eli is Deaf, and yet he's still treated as a valuable member of society for his way with animal and wild creatures. So often, disabled characters are often treated as a burden in fiction, but I really appreciated this representation. 

The other characters are well-written too, and I especially loved the grandfather. Each character has strengths and flaws. 

I really liked the worldbuilding. It's refreshing and new, and gives a lovely twist on your standard fantasy and sci-fi stories. There's also a touch of dystopian in there too, which I adored. The world itself is hugely imaginative and everything is layered nicely, and I loved how we're given the history of this world too, yet there's not really any sections that are heavy in backstory. Instead, everything is woven in pretty seamlessly. And normally, when I've read Dome stories, the MC has been one who lives on the inside--Talia lives on the outside, and it's the insiders who are the threat, and that just felt so new.  A couple of times, I'd forgotten what the 'terminology' in this book referred to, but this wasn't a problem, as Kenney defly weaves clues in to remind you who's who--it was mainly the Sweepers who I kept getting confused about. 

(Also, Exeter is mentioned, and as a local, I loved that!)

I really liked the contrast of the insiders and the outsiders. It was well-thought out and incredibly well executed, the old 'natural' ways vs technology. 

Overall, Book Of Fire is a tightly plotted fantasy story of deception vs truth, and loyalty vs betrayal, with incredibly well written characters and a plot that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Review: PEOPLE LIKE US by Dana Mele

People Like Us by Dana Mele
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Kay Donovan may have skeletons in her closet, but the past is past, and she's reinvented herself entirely. Now she's a star soccer player whose group of gorgeous friends run their private school with effortless popularity and acerbic wit. But when a girl's body is found in the lake, Kay's carefully constructed life begins to topple. The dead girl has left Kay a computer-coded scavenger hunt, which, as it unravels, begins to implicate suspect after suspect, until Kay herself is in the crosshairs of a murder investigation. But if Kay's finally backed into a corner, she'll do what it takes to survive. Because at Bates Academy, the truth is something you make... not something that happened.

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People Like Us is Dana Mele’s debut, a tightly plotted thriller oozing with characters who all have such great depth.

The novel begins with the discovery of Jessica Lane’s body, found by our protagonist Kay and her friends. Jessica, a fellow student, has been murdered, her body dumped in the lake on grounds of Bates Academy, the private boarding school that the female characters (apart from Justine) attend.

Immediately, we know that the main character Kay has a dark past and lots of secrets. Something that really helps build the tension as we read when it becomes apparent that Kay is a suspect for Jessica’s murder.

But when Jessica begins to “talk” to Kay from beyond the grave, instructing her to carry out a scavenger hunt that will reveal the dark secrets of her past and those of her friends, things get really interesting.

At the start of the book, I could not turn the pages fast enough. It was SO compelling and Kay’s character really drove my desire to read. She’s dark and overwhelmed with guilt. She’s already witnessed two deaths before Jessica’s and her narrative voice is intriguing. She’s also bi, having relationships with both her boyfriend and her best friend, Brie (among others). But she cheats a lot, as do many other characters in this book, which shocked me quite a bit.

A lot of the characters are morally ambiguous or outright evil. Everyone has dark secrets and things they’ve done that they’re ashamed of or regret (and a few of the characters think nothing of their mean actions). This book had A LOT of drama—it’s relentless and due to the continuous stream of it, at times I felt breathless reading. I felt I needed a break to digest what I’d read, yet I also wanted to keep reading. This resulted in me continuing, but the non-stop action ended up actually slowing the pace for me, from the 40-80% marks.

There are a lot of characters in this book, and at times I did forget who was who—but this only concerned more minor background characters, so it wasn’t a problem at all. All the main characters were fully fleshed and felt so real.

I did guess who the villain was early on, but there were a lot of red herrings that nearly made me change my mind. Ultimately, though, I was pleased to learn that I had been right as to the identity of Jessica’s murderer.

The Scavenger Hunt aspect of this book reminded me a lot of Thirteen Reasons Why, yet the clues within the game were very well written and of a completely different style (and often it was a good job the characters explained them as a few I didn’t understand).

The craft is really good in this book. There are some beautiful lines and images, really meaningful messages.

All in all, this is a recommended read for fans of YA thrillers who love a good murder mystery.


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Review: SADIE by Courtney Summers

Sadie by Courtney Summers
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A missing girl on a journey of revenge and a Serial - like podcast following the clues she's left behind. Sadie hasn't had an easy life. Growing up on her own, she's been raising her sister Mattie in an isolated small town, trying her best to provide a normal life and keep their heads above water. But when Mattie is found dead, Sadie's entire world crumbles. After a somewhat botched police investigation, Sadie is determined to bring her sister's killer to justice and hits the road following a few meager clues to find him. When West McCray - a radio personality working on a segment about small, forgotten towns in America - overhears Sadie's story at a local gas station, he becomes obsessed with finding the missing girl. He starts his own podcast as he tracks Sadie's journey, trying to figure out what happened, hoping to find her before it's too late. Courtney Summers has written the breakout book of her career. Sadie is propulsive and harrowing and will keep you riveted until the last page.

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I was a little nervous to start reading SADIE as I’d heard so many positive things about this book and it had been recommended to me countless times. It’s one of those books that felt huge, and seeing recently that it had won a prestigious award finally motivated me to open it on my kindle. And immediately, I was hooked.

I love books that use unusual writing devices as part of their narrative style, and just over half of this story is told via a podcast. I’ll confess, I’ve never listened to a podcast, so this format was new to me—and I was reading it rather than listening. The podcast revolves around a journalist called West who’s been employed by May Beth to look for her missing granddaughter (or rather surrogate granddaughter) and the episodes follow West as he travels around meeting people who Sadie, the missing girl, has talked to in her hunt for the man who killed her younger sister.

The other half of the story is told by Sadie in a first person narrative and the alternating order of the writing and podcast episodes means that we witness something with Sadie and are left on a cliffhanger, only to discover what then happened a chapter or so later via West’s investigation as he interviews the shady people Sadie’s come into contact with.

Sadie is a great character. She’s real, flawed, overwhelmed with grief over her sister’s murder and how she feels like she let her down. Sadie is thin and small, but as she tells the reader at several points, she is dangerous. She’s ruthless in her hunt for the murderer, and she saves a lot of other young girls on the way.

Claire, Sadie’s mother, is also an interesting character. We see an almost transformation from rubbish mother to caring mother as the book progresses as West interviews her for the podcast, looking for any leads as to where Sadie is now. Claire’s characterisation is strong and well written.

And the ending! Small spoilers here. It’s an ambiguous ending and we’re left only knowing the “ending” via the final episode of the podcast—which isn’t really an ending to Sadie’s story as the trail has gone cold. We don’t know what happened to her as her narrative is cut short during her meeting with her sister’s murderer. I was turning the pages eagerly as I read the podcast, hoping to be brought back to Sadie’s narration. But we’re not. This leaves an intentional and well crafted sense of unease in readers as we finish the book and it’s almost haunting. I can’t stop thinking about it.

The writing is also equally beautiful and well-crafted and in Sadie’s narrative, there are many powerful and poignant statements and messages. I found myself really thinking about her thoughts, and her voice is so strong.

Warning: This book does go to some very dark places: child abuse, rape, pedophilia, and murder are all bound up within the plot.

Overall, this is a powerful read. Highly recommended.

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Review: THE LOST AND THE FOUND by Cat Clarke

The Lost and the Found by Cat Clarke
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

SHE WAS LOST...

When six-year-old Laurel Logan was abducted, the only witness was her younger sister, Faith. Faith's childhood was dominated by Laurel's disappearance - from her parents' broken marriage and the constant media attention to dealing with so-called friends who only ever wanted to talk about her sister.

NOW SHE IS FOUND...

Thirteen years later, a young woman is found in the garden of the Logans' old house, disorientated and clutching the teddy bear Laurel was last seen with. Laurel is home at last, safe and sound. Faith always dreamed of getting her sister back, without ever truly believing it would happen. But a disturbing series of events leaves Faith increasingly isolated and paranoid, and before long she begins to wonder if everything that's lost can be found again...

---

The Lost and The Found by Cat Clarke is an emotionally-charged, poignant and harrowing tale of one girl’s disappearance and her return.

After 13 years, Faith’s missing sister has come home. Laurel’s endured physical and emotional abuse and this story follows her journey back into “normal” life, but told through the eyes of her younger sister, Faith. Faith’s grown up in the shadow of her missing sister, and now Laurel’s back she’s once again the focus of everyone’s attention.

I’m a massive fan of Clarke’s books and I eagerly picked up The Lost and The Found with high expectations. For most of the book I was thinking this was a 3 or 4 star book. For me it lacked the “heartbeat” of Clarke’s other books—that is until the 80% mark. Then I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough as my suspicions were confirmed about the major twist. This was such a relief to know I was right, and this is definitely one of those books where I believe that working out what the twist is going to be is a good thing. It doesn’t mean the author failed, rather we as readers are rewarded for our close reading skills.

Faith is a great character. She’s real, relatable, and she acted just how I think I would’ve acted had I been in the same situation. Her narrative voice was markedly different to Clarke’s other narrators. We’re less “in the moment” with Faith, and instead there’s a lot of telling and glossing over days or weeks at a time until we’re at the next important event—but, crucially, it never seems like bad telling. It’s just carefully managed.

There’s less action in this book too compared to Clarke’s other titles, and this was something that I found a little slow at times—but it suits the plot. Faith is adjusting to her life now that her missing sister has returned, and this book is very much focussed inwardly on Faith’s feelings and emotions on this (as well as her relationship with her boyfriend and her best friend, and how she’ll manage them now her sister is back).

Because the ending of this book is truly superb—I’d worked out the main twist, but the final page hits you with another twist which I hadn’t seen coming—I want to keep this review as spoiler free as possible as part of the magic of reading this book was in my wondering whether I would be right. I purposefully didn’t read any other reviews of this book in case I stumbled across a spoiler. And I do just want to talk about that final final twist—it is poignant and gut-wrenching and now I’m looking back at much of the rest of the book in a different light. For me, this is the sign of a really good author, and it’s this that makes the book a solid 4 stars.

One of the things I really loved about The Lost and The Found is the relationship between Faith and her boyfriend Thomas. Clarke doesn’t shy away from showing a more realistic relationship that’s rarely found in teen fiction—Faith isn’t always wildly in love with Thomas, as times she believes she doesn’t care much about him at all, and she doubts their future a lot. This really resonated with me, especially the line where Faith wonders whether this is what a loving, true relationship is like and people just don’t publicise the uncertainty, the doubt, or the negative parts.

Spoiler: Faith and Thomas do break up, after multiple betrayals of trust (one of which is revealed later to not actually be a betrayal), and they remain broken up. This is my only sore point about the book as I was hoping for a reconciliation between them to show that yes, relationships are difficult and require work and communication. To me, leaving them broken up risks the idea being portrayed that their relationship was never “true” and that the doubt Faith felt was real. For the anxiety-prone among us, I’d have liked a better ending here. Yet I can see that then remaining broken up also is realistic—rarely do teen couples/first loves stay together.

I also love the family dynamics in this book. Michel, Faith’s father’s new partner, following his divorce to Olivia, was a great character and seeing how Olivia gradually came to accept him as part of the family was great.

The Lost and The Found, in summary, is a great read. A little slow at times but the ending is well worth the wait.

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Review: BIRD BOX by Josh Malerman

Bird Box by Josh Malerman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Malorie raises the children the only way she can: indoors, with the doors locked, the curtains closed, and mattresses nailed over the windows.

The children sleep in the bedroom across the hall, but soon she will have to wake them and blindfold them.

Today they will risk everything. Today they will leave the house.

Josh Malerman’s New York Times bestselling Bird Box is a terrifying psychological thriller that will haunt you long after reading.

--

Bird Box is an intense, gripping, and fast-paced apocalyptic thriller by Josh Malerman. I only became aware of the existence of this book after watching the film starring Sandra Bullock. I absolutely loved that film—it had heart, action, and horror packed in—and so when I saw the ebook was on sale for £0.99 o just had to give it a try.

Because I’d loved the film so much, I was a little sceptical—but the book is even better. Malorie, our main character, is strongly written and the narrative really delves deeper into her psyche, allowing us to see new layers that the film didn’t have. We see her weaknesses and her faults as she battles to keep her two young children alive in a world where opening your eyes can get you killed.

The other main characters are well written and believable, and we see how stress brings out the worst and best things about humanity.

Remarkably, the plot of the film is strikingly close to the book. Of course, there are some differences (such as some events happen much closer together in the film and it also has a main character doe much later than in the book), but all the other essential elements are there—the book just develops many more, such as the survivors’ use of animals in keeping them safe from the creatures that will drive them mad if they see them.

I was delighted to see the book kept the back-and-forth non-linear narrative that the film had. I just loved that structure.

There is a lot of darkness in this book and a few scenes that made me feel queasy. Warning for suicide, murder, and graphic violent content.

This is a must-read for apocalypse and dystopian fans.

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Review: WE ARE BLOOD AND THUNDER by Kesia Lupo

We Are Blood And Thunder by Kesia Lupo
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In a sealed-off city, a young woman, Lena, is running for her life. She has been sentenced to death and her only way to survive is to trust those she has been brought up to fear - those with magic.

On the other side of the locked gates is a masked lady, Constance, determined to find a way back in. Years ago she escaped before her own powers were discovered. But now she won't hide who she is any longer.

A powerful and terrifying storm cloud engulfs the city. But this is more than a thunderstorm. This is a spell, and the truth behind why it has been cast is more sinister than anyone can imagine ... But what neither Lena and Constance realise is that the stormcloud binds them - without it, without each other, neither can get what they desire.

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Firstly, a huge thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an ARC of We Are Blood and Thunder, a thrilling fantasy novel by Kesia Lupo. I went into this book with high expectations and the story surpassed them.

We Are Blood and Thunder tells the story of two young women, Lena and Constance. Lena is a cryptling, a mage, and very much a likeable underdog who, as the novel progresses, embraces her power. Constance is older, the daughter of the duke of Duke’s Forest, powerful, confident, and a mage-in-hiding with a big secret. The narrative alternates between them, and together, the two work to control the storm cloud spell that’s been haunting Duke’s Forest for years.

The worldbuilding in this book is incredible. I loved it SO much. I’ve studied ritual and religion in Prehistory, and one of the notable things about that is the importance of ancestors in many prehistoric religions. Because of my love of prehistoric societies, I’m always so excited when I see ideology regarding ancestors incorporated into worldbuilding, and honestly, reading this book was a delight. Lena’s occupation as a mortician was really interesting, and seeing how she worshipped the ancestors was great.

I love stories about magic, and the magic system in this book is well thought out and, without giving away spoilers, I loved the idea of Chaos and the inclusion of the gods.

The imagery is beautiful. So evocative and visual and there’s something compelling about the way Kesia Lupo writes. I just had to keep reading. Although it took me over a month to read this (not a reflection on the story—rather I prefer to read fantasy novels over a few weeks to really savour them) I never felt lost when returning to the world after a few days. Instead, the book felt like it was welcoming me with a warm embrace.

Lupo’s characterisation is great. When books are told in third person, I am often wary. I don’t know why but I find it easier to relate to protagonists if they’re written in first person. But I felt like I knew both Constance and Lena and even though it’s third person, the narrative style was sufficiently different so I didn’t get it mixed up as to whom I was reading.

Emris, the love interest for Lena, and a man who we know once was something special to Constance, is often the uniting “factor” between the two narratives (just as the butterfly is), indeed bringing the two women together at the end. The chemistry that he has with both Constance and Lena is well-written and believable, and his romance with Lena is gradual, natural, and slow-burning.

Oh, the villains! Where to start? Lupo is amazing at writing those characters that we just want to hate. But we’re given full backstories for them and understand their motivations for their behaviour, so they don’t feel like token evil characters at all.

And the twist at the end? That had me utterly speechless. I had not seen that coming!

One of the things I really love is to understand where the title of a book comes from, and I found myself both grinning manically and nodding somewhat wisely when I realised the significance of “We Are Blood and Thunder.” It felt very authentic and well-done.

This is a great fantasy story and I highly recommend it.

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Review: A KISS IN THE DARK by Cat Clarke

A Kiss in the Dark by Cat Clarke
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Can love survive the ultimate betrayal? A compelling story of love and identity from a bestselling author.

When Alex meets Kate the attraction is instant.

Alex is funny, good-looking, and a little shy - everything that Kate wants in a boyfriend.

Alex can't help falling for Kate, who is pretty, charming and maybe just a little naive...

But one of them is hiding an unbelievable secret, and as their love blossoms, it threatens to ruin not just their relationship, but their lives...

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A Kiss in the Dark is, I believe, one of Cat Clarke’s best books. I’ve read several of her other titles, and this is the first one I read in one sitting, devouring the book in 4-5 hours. I just could not put it down.

This is a complicated story of love, deceit, betrayal, and the difference between right and wrong. The twist that comes at the end of the second chapter blew me away—the whole book pivots around this, and I can’t write a thorough review without giving away that spoiler, so be warned. Don’t read on if you don’t want the spoilers!

Right away in chapter one, we’re introduced to Alex (who I read as male). He’s watching a girl at a gig, a girl he’s met online and arranged to meet up with at the gig. Kate is confident, charismatic, and immediately likeable. I’ll be honest; at first, I wasn’t sure that Alex’s intentions were good. There were some creepy vibes I was picking up on, and I was sure there was something we weren’t being told.

And then, bam. We’re told it. He’s a girl and didn’t mean to deceive Kate into thinking she was a boy. She just likes to wear more unisex clothes, and Kate assumed from the start that Alex was a boy. Alex doesn’t correct her, feeling it would be too awkward and embarrassing, and we’re drawn into a somewhat tangled relationship. At first, Alex is pleased that someone likes her—she has no friends at school, and she likes the company. Then she falls in love with Kate, and Kate’s in love with her too (oblivious to Alex’s secret), very much believing that Alex is a boy.

Alex comes up with increasingly drastic ways to keep this allusion going—bandaging her breasts, creating a fake “penis”, wearing her brother’s clothes, and Skyping Kate from her brother’s room.

As much as I wanted to dislike Alex for this deceit, the narrative voice was compelling and I found myself wishing there was a way forward for them and that Alex could be truthful to Kate. I could feel their love, though based on lies it was. I desperately wanted to see this relationship last—even though we know from the start that it doesn’t; the book is told in two parts, before and after Kate finds out. Alex narrates the before section, and Kate the after.

And at the end of part one, Kate does indeed find out Alex’s secret at a point where Alex is convinced it’s all over, having been persuaded by her brother (who learned of what was going on) to break up with Kate and avoid hurt. Yet Kate’s hurt deepens upon the discovery of the deceit. This revelation turns her bitter and looking for revenge—and she goes down the path of accusing Alex of sexual assault.

Immediately, this false accusation annoyed me. I hated Kate (it seemed really out of character, from what I thought I knew of her) and I was desperate for things to turn out okay for Alex who’s facing prison due to Kate’s accusation.

In this book, we see both main characters making a terrible decision that snowballs out of their control and has dire consequences on those around them. It was certainly a captivating read. And the writing itself is lyrical and just wouldn’t let me stop reading.

Neither Alex or Kate identify as LGBTQA+, both insisting at various times that they’re straight, yet by the end both realise they’re in love with each other. This is a powerful exploration of love, free from the restrictions of labels or categorisations being imposed on it, and I’m glad that Kate does admit she’s lying and prevent Alex from going to prison—in part due to the interference of Jamie, Alex’s brother.

Jamie was possibly my favourite character. He’s the kind older brother who’s 18 and into girls and the “uni life”, but still has a logical and sensible head on his shoulders. He definitely plays the role of peacekeeper in this book and always advocates for the truth to be told. When he finds out about his sister’s lies, he tells Alex she can’t continue. Alex is too scared to break up with Kate, so Jamie persuades her to end it and avoid Kate being “stringed along”. And when Kate lies to the police, falsely accusing Alex of assault, it’s Jamie who seeks her out and begs her to do the right thing and not ruin Alex’s whole life. Jamie provided a nice contrast to both characters and was real and believable.

All in all, I highly recommend this read.


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