Quickfire Reviews is a thing I do very sporadically when
there are books to talk about that I should have reviewed but haven’t.
Sometimes I didn’t like these books enough to want to review them; sometimes I loved them but time got away from me;
and sometimes, less is just more. I’m trying to do it semi-regularly as a
feature but please don’t hold your breath for the next one because I am
rubbish.
What’s it About? Party
girl Lexi accidentally overdoses and finds herself in a fancy rehab facility…
What I liked There’s a
meet cute and a slow burn love story which I liked, and I think it’s really
important to have YA books that deal with things like drugs, sex, gender and
sexuality, family dynamics, all that stuff that’s going on in the every day,
and Clean does deal with all of those
things. It’s brilliantly diverse and it’s also a really interesting look at how
a party girl who seems like she has it all can still end up at rock bottom.
It’s got an addictive style (pun intended) and I flew through it.
What I liked Less It felt
a little bit try-to-hard to be honest, and Lexi really bugged me – also I'm not sure I found her to be all that
relatable. I also found the ending to be a little bit rushed and I felt like
the whole thing could have gone deeper than it did. I think Melvin Burgess’s Junk is a million times better, honestly.
What’s it About? Simon’s gay, but he’s not out and he’s kind of
seeing this guy he’s met online – but not in real life, yet – and then his
emails fall into the wrong hands and he finds himself being blackmailed by
another kid at school and it all looks like going to shit.
What I liked Honestly, I
was so here for this book; I can’t believe it took me so long to read because
it ticks so many of my boxes when it comes to YA fiction. I love Simon and
Blue’s slowly developing relationship; I love Simon and his close knit group of
friends; I love his family; I love the way the whole thing with blackmailer
Martin pans out and how messed up that is and how everything is dealt with in a
very teenage way. I kind of really loved it. It’s really cute. I smile a little
bit when I think about it.
What I liked Less I would
have liked a little bit more character development maybe? Because sometimes it
did sort of coast along a little and that was fine because I was caught up in
the story but then afterwards I was left feeling a little bit like I wished I
gotten to know these kids better. Especially Leah. & I know this is me saying this, but sometimes in books
it bugs me when there’s a million and one HP references
What’s it About? Sasha
kind of maybe has feelings for her best friend Xavier, also, she really hates
the way he ex – Ivy – broke his heart so when Ivy and Xavier got back together
she poses as a boy online to prove to Xavier that Ivy’s no good. Except it all
goes wrong.
What I liked Such an
interesting concept this one, and a really important look at what manipulation
can look like in a relationship and how you can love somebody toxic and the
blurred lines between right and wrong – although they’re not that blurry really, but you know what I
mean - and it was super twisty and turny
and I liked it in the same way I liked Suicide
Notes from Beautiful Girls. Plus, it’s always nice to read something a
little different. It’s a fascinating compulsive read and it’s one that I flew
through.
What I liked Less It
wasn’t long enough and that’s not just me being greedy; it wasn’t long enough
and that meant that it felt rushed and there were things we needed to see that
didn’t and gaps and things that didn’t make sense – it would have benefited
from being a little more fleshed out. & it didn’t really get going til maybe halfway through.
What’s it About? It’s a
psychological thriller – Claire’s a struggling actress without a green card who
gets offered a job by the FBI. They need to get close to a suspected serial
killer.
What I liked I proper love
me a thriller and this one is good. The premise is excellent and the whole
thing is dark and twisty and turny and everything I love in a thriller. A
couple of times I thought I had the whole thing figured out, only to realise I
was wrong and I LOVE THAT. Also WHO DO
YOU TRUST? I liked that also, and it’s pretty tight and also pretty cleverly
written.
What I liked Less Could it
have been anymore implausible? The police – or the FBI, you’re never quite sure
– use a girl who only has acting school levels of experience really to BAIT A
POTENTIAL SERIAL KILLER? No. It just bugged me the whole way through
because…because no. Also the timeline could have been clearer and the ending
was rushed.
What’s it About? Three
women, at different places in their lives, living entirely different lives and
trying to keep their shit together, basically.
What I liked I follow Dawn
O’Porter on Instagram where she is excellent value and so was super excited to read
this because my expectations, they were high. IT was the prefect holiday read,
actually, and I tore through it; it’s really addictive. It’s funny and
insightful and there’s something I think in each of the women in each of us and
it covers a wide range of topics that really need all the air time they can
get, topics that affect women and that we shy away from talking about. O’Porter does not shy
away and I love this book for how bold it is.
What I liked Less It’s so
far fetched in places SO FAR FETCHED and I wasn’t a fan of a lot of the
dialogue – people do not talk like that, not in my experience anyhow – and
there were too many instances where I was thinking ‘that would not happen’ for
me to get fully immersed in the story. There were certain aspects that made me
really angry too which I won’t mention because SPOILERY. This book, actually,
is bizarre and overall I was really
disappointed
