Picked this up on audible plus and finished in a day! 

Like Frieda’s other books it was fast paced, easy to follow and kept me gripped the entire time. In her classic style there were various red herrings which kept me guessing for multiple parts.

I don’t think I enjoyed this as much as her other books due to the placement and length of some of the other POVs switches which would occur just at the height of tension and would reduce the impact that had for me. I also found the ending to be wrapped up almost too quickly and missed out on what could have been a very dark and twisted moment. 

Overall I enjoyed this read and enjoyed the plot twists but definitely not one of her stronger books. 

This is my first fiction read by Joanna Cannon and was excited to give it a go after loving her medical memoir. 

Similar to the medical memoir, Joanna has captured beautifully a sense of vulnerability in her main character Flo and her mental state throughout this book.

The plot did take a while to get into and progress for large parts of the book which did make it feel like a slow read when waiting for the mysteries to unravel and whilst I was caught by surprise on some parts, the biggest “twist” in the book I sadly had predicted at the 20% mark which was a shame. 

The last couple of chapters and specially those around present day Flo laying on the floor were very emotional. 

Overall a good read though the pacing felt off for me and had it been slightly more concise may have packed a greater punch for me personally. 

Firstly, I want to thank Book Publicity Services and the author for providing me with a free paperback copy to read and provide an honest review. 

Though this book is short and fast paced with an interesting plot and resolution - the execution of the characters and writing style made it a challenging read 

The book constantly bounces back and forth between lots of different characters as they interact with each other to gauge their thoughts and behaviours. Without a consistent character to follow the narrative through, it made all the characters feel shallow and relied very heavily on just telling us how each character is reacting to a situation rather than showing it in a more refined way which made it feel very monotonous to read.

I really struggled to like any of the characters. Where we didn’t get any depth to them, a big flaw I had with this is that all the male characters just felt too similar - each these fun welding bravado men who only seem to want to kill people or try and get with a female character.  

The women on the other had were poorly written about as their only purpose in this book is to serve as sexualised objects for the male characters and even when 2 female characters were talking it was only about guys… definitely would not have passed the Bechdel test. 

Whilst I can see how this book is thoroughly enjoyed but some, sadly it just didn’t hit the mark for me and can’t see myself reaching out for the other books in this trilogy. 

As my first Tessa Bailey book I was keen to check out her work as I know she is incredibly popular online. Expecting a cutesy costal romance I was shocked by how explicit this book was!

The plot itself is nothing overly special or unique as it follows the typical tropes; Grumpy x Sunshine, he falls first and small costal romance - it gave off a lighthearted humorous romance (for the most part) and did find all the characters very loveable in their own way. 

The self development of Piper was okay though wish it had a bit more depth but the relationship between her and her sister Hannah was very sweet. 

Whilst I’m not opposed to reading about a steamy encounter this really went all out on sexual content! Sadly for me I felt once this was introduced the romance between the 2MCs started to devolve just a focus on getting off with eachother in graphic detail. The choice of wordy was a bit off putting for me and other parts just too cringey to enjoy.

Normally I’d probably rate this book closer to a 2.5 but the sheer shock and laughter I had listening to this. I would consider reading other work of Tessa Bailey … but perhaps not as an audio book for getting through the work day! 

After a week of trying to sit down with this book and only getting to the half way mark I had to DNF.

Whilst the plot seemed okay, I just couldn’t get hooked into the story and even with short chapters it felt like it was dragging out. The characters felt very cliche for me which perhaps didn’t help but something about the writing style just wasn’t working for me. 

Sadly I think M.W Craven just isn’t the right author for me but can see why other might enjoy it. 

Truthfully, I was a bit apprehensive picking this audio book up as I’ve heard such good things but knew it was a character orientated storyline over traditional plot which are not my usual favourites…safe to say Young Mungo did NOT disappoint!

Douglas Stuart’s writing style captures the emotions and development of his characters so vividly and approaches tragic themes with a sense of tenderness which will break hearts! 

I was entranced through my whole time listening and feel emotionally spent after reading and left with such a heavy heart. The character dynamics change so much in a way which felt real and organic that I can’t quite describe and the whole book took me on such an emotional rollercoaster. 

Easily one of (if not THE) best book I’ve read this year and will be looking to get my hands on a physical copy ASAP as I almost want to start the book over right now and read it all over again!! 

Note: retrospective review as I read this almost 10 years ago and it popped up on my FB memories.

I remember enjoying this book a fair bit at the time though don’t have any desire to reread it.  I remember the plot being fairly emotional and liked how the characters felt fleshed out.

Perhaps it’s just John green’s writing style that prevented me from picking up another John Green book since. 

Not sure what I was expecting for a prequel and whilst I did enjoy the writing style and getting more detail of Charlie and Ben in this book, I didn’t love it.

The plot was okay … the whole

pregnancy

subplot felt really redundant until the very end and felt it was only done to cement it as a prequel. That being said, I can honestly say I didn’t predict the turns this book took, I think it’s because the ending didn’t feel very realistic. 

The idea that Flora is some form of mastermind drug distributor, land owner and manipulator at the age of 15 based off skills she supposedly learnt from the scouts…just felt a bit far fetched to say the least!

That’s not to say I hated it, and I do love how we don’t get a ‘clean’ happy ending but nothing special. 

If I were to sum up this book in one word it would be ‘POWERFUL’.

The characters felt very well rounded and enjoyed how the POV of Star as she develops through the PTSD of losing her friend and becoming an activist. 

The plot itself kept me intrigued as it felt very layered with prominent and important themes of racism and gang violence. All which intwined very thoughtfully and created a great narrative. 

The narrator of the audio book in particular did a really good job capturing the emotions of the book which made it feel very impactful. 

A great read and will keep my eyes out for a physical copy to reread in future. 

The initial romances in this book had my heart swooning. Reading about Emma falling for Jesse and Sam the first time around was honestly so romantic! 

The premise was really interesting and there were absolutely some parts which made me feel quite emotional - the letter and the discussions with Sam were so heartfelt. 

Whilst I didn’t mind the writing, it’s definitely not as strong as her more recent book; the pace felt off in places, their wasn’t as much depth to the characters emotions as I would have hoped and certain phrases and points became repetitive. 

Not a bad romance at all, but won’t be one of my go-to reads.