Nikisha, Danny, Lizzie, Dimple and Prynce all have the same thing in common - their dead-beat dad Cyril who was pretty good at making children but failed in every way imaginable when it came to actually being a dad. Despite hardly knowing each other, when Dimple gets into trouble and calls her big sister, all of her siblings come to her aid and for the first time, they feel like a family.

I really enjoyed this book - both the plot of the story and the twists and turns with Kyron and what he did and did not remember about the night he was rolled in a tarp and almost buried alive but mostly the dynamic and growing relationship between all the siblings. The book covers some more serious topics such as loneliness and the feelings of parental abandonment but also shows the special bond that can exist between family, even when that bond is discovered or nurtured later in life rather than in childhood.

I can't say Dimple was my favourite character to follow for the majority of the book as yes, she was pretty much a crybaby and tended to overdo her victim complex but I guess she was a good character to observe the others through particularly Lizzie and Nikisha whose personalities are so different to hers. I think my favourites were Danny and Prynce (mostly Danny for being a lovable soft boi)

I think I would have liked more chapters in the POV of the other siblings just to understand more what was going on inside their heads than always being in Dimple's which got slightly tedious at times as she repeated the same actions (videos, Roman, crying, poor me act etc).

There are some great scenes in this book and most characters have big personalities in different ways so I do feel like every character stood out but all the best scenes definitely had Cyril in them as he left chaos in his wake. From the way he talks to his baby mamas to how he uses his children for money yet at the same time often visibly struggles to connect with his children and you can tell he does want to but has no idea how and fears that rejection and failure - and not to mention when you find out about some elements of his life, it's hard not to feel a bit sorry for him.

I very much enjoy Candice Carty-Williams, and I think she will probably be an auto-read author for me.

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planetsaturns's review against another edition

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1.0

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hanelisil's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes

4.0

Unexpected! This book jumped into the thick of action quickly and remained engaging. I liked the relationships and characters.

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nicolaparty's review against another edition

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hopeful lighthearted

3.0

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just_one_more_paige's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I read Carty-Williams' debut novel, Queenie, a few years ago when it came out, and I really enjoyed the messy, genuine titular character. So this sophomore novel was on my Tbr longlist as soon as I heard about it. I was actually able to grab an ARC copy from my library's "up for grabs for staff" pile sometime last year and I've finally gotten to it.

Dimple is an adult, living with her mother, and trying to make a career as an influencer happen. She has five half-siblings that she mostly doesn't know at all. She met them once as a child and hasn't seen or spoken to them since. But, when a dramatic and terrifying interaction when her (ex) boyfriend leaves her in a tough spot, she calls her oldest half-sister, Nikisha, for help. Nikisha, in turn, calls the rest of the half-siblings (Danny, a plumber and single father, Lizzie, a medical student, and Prynce, Nikisha's full-brother who is still trying to figure things out) and together they converge on Dimple's flat in the middle of the night to help her sort things out. Because maybe they only have an absent father and abandonment issues in common, but at the end of their day, they share blood - and that's a thicker bond than anything else.

I was really not expecting the dark humor in the set-up of this novel to be so strong, but honestly, I found myself fully amused the entire time I was reading this. Carty-Williams manages to take a number of truly terrible themes, like murder, blackmail, mistreatment by the police, and a number of dysfunctional/dangerous family and relationship situations, and really make them...humorous. I feel like I've never actually read something that, literarily, so fully embodies both "dark" and "humor" as well as it was done here. Obviously, this is in large part down to Carty-Williams writing. But also, the plot set-up of five half siblings that have objective connections (blood), but no real subjective connections (inter-relational), yet are thrown into this high-drama situation together, absolutely lends itself to the humorous aspects of the story, with vibes of absurdity in the hilarity.

Also, once again, the author tackles the "messy new adult life" characters. Each one of the siblings was a bit of a mess, in their own way, and they are so genuine because of it. This was a fascinating comparison of how different people handle the same life circumstances, even when genetics are in common, because of the surroundings they've experienced. it really kept my attention both in interest and in entertainment. Plus, if you love sibling relationships, and I've mentioned before that I really have a soft spot for well-written sibling relationships, this book brings it hard with the “I’ll do anything for you but annoy the piss out of you while doing it” style interactions. And I could not get enough of that.

The ending was a bit transparent, as far as it paralleled back to the opening chapter, but it is also a satisfying literary circle-back as a finale. I don't really have too much else to say - this is a fairly succinct review for me - but don't take that to mean I didn't enjoy this. I was really into these characters, they were gorgeously human (flawed but full, and loveable in that), which seems to be a particular talent of Carty-Williams. And the story held some real depth and room for reflection and growth, while remaining a primarily fun and entertaining reading experience. This is definitely one I'll be recommending!

“But what if you felt like you didn't have a choice? [...] What if you did what you had to do because you were scared?”

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gabriellejane's review against another edition

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reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I loved Queenie, so I was interested to see what Carty-Williams would do in her sophomore novel. Unfortunately, the story fell apart in the middle in my opinion. You have this big event that happened in the very beginning of the book and then from that point to the 70% mark nothing really happened. I feel like the story could have been told in less pages with more meaning than that middle section that did nothing for the characters or the plot. I did read lots of pages as it was a semi-quick dialogue despite my qualms with the plot. I wanted more from the other siblings, and maybe that was a summary issue that focused on all 5 of the siblings, but when in fact it was really told from one sibling really. I'll probably read Carty-Williams next book and chalk this one up to a sort of sophomore slump.

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d0505's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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