I’m sharing another instalment of my Mini Review Mondays, the most recent of which was a little while ago. In case you haven’t seen any of my previous posts, I do ‘mini’ reviews of books that I’ve previously read and am now ready to share my full thoughts about.
First up, I’d like to talk about Never Ever Getting Back Together by Sophie Gonzales. Thank you so much to Hachette Children’s Group for sending me an eARC in exchange for my honest review.
Eighteen-year-old Maya dumped her cheating ex-boyfriend Jordy two years ago. So, when she receives a call to participate in Second Chance Romance – a reality show in which the now-famous Jordy re-dates his ex-girlfriends – she isn’t interested … until she realizes she can use this opportunity to exact her revenge. If she can make it to the final spot on the show, she can reject Jordy in front of the nation, and publicly break his heart.
Maya’s fellow contestants include Skye, the beautiful, charismatic girl Jordy cheated on Maya with. Skye charms the socks off everyone she meets, except for Maya, who knows that underneath all the sparkle, she’s the girl who dated her boyfriend while he was still her boyfriend.
The reality show is a challenging environment. Amidst backstabbing, bickering, and having to see Jordy again, Maya finds herself becoming friends with Skye. Together, they come up with a plan for the ultimate revenge on Jordy.
But as she spends more time with Jordy and Skye, Maya is torn. Is Jordy a good guy who made a mistake? Is there more than friendship between her and Skye? As the season finale approaches, can Maya execute her plan, or will she go off-script?
Publication Date: 5th January
TW: TW: toxic relationship, emotional abuse, infidelity, misogyny, sexism, biphobia, abandonment, gaslighting
My Thoughts:
Never Ever Getting Back Together is an incredibly fun slice of escapism and empowerment. Gonzales has another smash-hit on her hands.
We all secretly love a bit of reality TV – the drama, the dynamics and the characters we take from it. It is so over the top and ridiculous, yet you get incredibly invested quickly. Gonzales has that same ability to completely hook you in instantly. It took very little for me to utterly fall in love with the fantastic characters of Maya and Skye. They’re both determined, strong-willed young women going into this competition with their own motivations and watching them pursue those is fascinating. Their facades slowly crumble, revealing the vulnerable and brilliant people trying to find their way. Watching them find themselves and their truths in this incredibly toxic and pressurising environment genuinely brought a glow to my heart. Of course, their dialogue and chemistry is also firecracker worthy. Their dynamic is just *chef’s kiss*. That slow-burn build from enemies to friends to potentially something more is delicious.
This book also really delves into toxic relationships. The gaslighting, emotional manipulation and lying is incredulous and really gets under your skin. Jordy is an absolutely vile human being and watching the construction of his downfall is immensely satisfying. Gonzales highlights the way that manipulation starts to break down your psyche and emphasising several of the red flags in the various relationships. Also, I liked how she also exposed the salacious manipulation of reality TV. Every moment is intricately framed to create maximum buzz and the way people are shoehorned into character types for better storylines is unnerving. So, when the narrative is flipped on its head, there is a really heart-warming moment of the reclamation of your own narrative.
Never Ever Getting Back Together is a stunning, sapphic and scandalous YA contemporary. It is perfect for bingeing through the night – just like a good reality TV series.
Next up, I’d like to talk about The Things We Do To Our Friends by Heather Darwent. Thank you to Viking for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
You’d die for them. They’d kill for you…
What is the cost of an extraordinary life if others have to pay?
Clare arrives at the University of Edinburgh with a secret. This is her chance for a blank slate – to finally become who she was meant to be. And then she meets Tabitha.
Tabitha is charismatic, beautiful and intimidatingly rich. Soon Clare is sucked into her enigmatic circle of friends and their dizzying world of champagne on rooftops and summers in France. Her new life has begun.
Then Tabitha reveals the little project they’re working on, a project they need Clare’s help with. And Clare can’t say no. Because they know what she did…
An intoxicating feminist page-turner, this novel will take you on a journey from Edinburgh’s dazzling spires to the dripping staircases and dark alleyways of its underbelly.
Publication Date: 12th January
TW: violence, death, child abuse, suicide, rape, murder, torture
My Thoughts:
The Things We Do To Our Friends slinks slowly towards you and pulls you in a rabbit hole of darkness, toxicity and deception.
In the middle of this web, we find our central protagonist: Clare. She was a deeply intriguing character for me, with so many layers to uncover. Her narrative voice was deeply trusting, but also far removed at the same time. There’s always a sense of something uncovered in her observations of the world. She’s shrewd and deeply affected by something that is slowly revealed over the course of the book.
This is not a book that plays around. It is deliciously dark, taking plenty of unexpected and nasty turns throughout. At its centre is the strangely glittering friendship group and their web of connections. It is an incredibly toxic enmeshment that you become entangled with. I like how it begins with a bang and then slowly burns through, building the suspense and character work to an impeccable point. You are itching to know everything, but Darwent ensures that you test your limits along with Clare. Eventually, everything dissolves into a brutal explosion of chaos that seems the hallmark of youth. It has those stylings of dark academia that I adore, from the exploration of gilded cages and privilege to that ominous setting of the otherworldly university buildings from another time and place.
Heather Darwent has such an exceptional writing style. It is bursting with description, gorging until ripe to burst, almost to the point of oversaturation and overstimulation. You feel as lost as Clare in this labyrinthine structure of enmeshed friendship circles and something much darker lurking beneath the surface. At the same time, it is also so fragmentary and able to move effortlessly in a place that seems beyond time. The boundaries of time and space blur into nothing as you become intoxicated by this seedy little story. It is perfect for these increasingly cold and damp nights, caught in that liminal time between light and darkness.
The Things We Do To Our Friends takes you into a tantalising trance, heady with smoke and secrets.
Finally, I’d like to delve into Someone is Watching You by Tess James-Mackey. Thank you to Hachette Children’s Group for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
An abandoned prison. A deadly game. How far would you go for a dare?
Nia would do anything to win the approval of her boyfriend Scott and his friends, especially mean girl Olivia. When Olivia dares Nia to explore an abandoned prison, she sees it as the perfect opportunity to prove herself. Facing dark tunnels, distant noises and creepy mementoes left behind by incarcerated criminals will surely all be worth it.
But it isn’t long before Nia and her little sister, Kayla, find themselves trapped inside. And then Kayla vanishes.
Suddenly, this feels like more than a game gone wrong. Someone is hellbent on making Nia and Kayla the prison’s last inmates . . .
An utterly compelling, terrifying thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat, from remarkable new author Tess James-Mackey.
Publication Date: 2nd February
TW: death, murder, emotional abuse, sexual coercion, physical violence, manipulation, gaslighting, child endangerment
My Thoughts:
Someone is Watching You was a pulse-pounding read that I absolutely sped through.
I really liked the way the narrative combined a modern horror story with ghostly influences and a focus on historical injustice. Through Nia’s narration, we get a true sense of past and present colliding. This is achieved through the diaries of the previous prisoner and the flashbacks to that fateful day in the previous year. The more details we got, the further my heart sank for Nia. I really enjoyed her character, being determined and fiercely protective of her character. Through her desire to belong, James-Mackey also interweaves an important exploration of toxic relationships and manipulation. That societal pressure to fit in can cause you to change every single aspect of yourself and watching this unfold was gut-wrenching. I kept hoping Nia would break free.
There were so many layers to the story, creating a detailed and nuanced narrative. Of course, it helps that there were so many curveballs thrown our way. It destabilised my trust in everything and everyone we encountered. The tight time frame of the story ratcheted up the tension to another level, with every page emphasising that flowing sand of time. Every second counts and could bring another deadly surprise with it. I also adored the setting: I mean, an abandoned prison being turned into a soft play centre? That was never going to end well. The contrast of the unnerving darkness and the technicolour moments of brightness was excellent. Ultimately, it is that contrast that reminds you of true happiness and belonging. I loved how this is a narrative about finding your own place and reconnecting with those who love you.
In Someone is Watching You, James-Mackey expertly deploys tension and terrific twists to deliver a spine-chilling story full of surprises.
A Short Book Lover 
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