Reviews

ARC received from the Next Step PR. Voluntarily reviewing and all opinions are objective and my own.

I am disappointed in this book. I feel like I was built up so much for this book and let down. And this is coming from the reader who LOVES Birthday Girl (one of my favourite novels ever!) and Credence, both of which have gotten their fair share of negative reviews. So it pains me to give one of her books anything less than 4 and 5 stars, but every author has that one book, and this one is it for me.

I was bored. It started out strong, but fizzled out for me. I feel like the bully stuff died after a short while. I couldn’t follow the relationship growth easily. I got more invested into side characters than I did the main characters. I found telling Liv and Clay apart very difficult. When both characters are the same gender, it’s more important than ever to ensure their voices differ enough, and more than once, I found myself going back to the beginning of the chapter to determine who’s voice I was reading from.

There’s definitely a spark missing from this one, and I almost feel like the author was pressured by readers/herself to get this right and unfortunately, it shows.

shantyreads's review against another edition

Go to review page

it felt like it was dragging on.. I really tried to finish, but couldn’t 😭

shanlaz's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

victorialeveillee1's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.25

1bookobsessionconfessions's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

5 Venom Stars!
This is a smart, sexy, super hot AND emotional story.
-Olivia is a kicka*s girl. She is smart, motivated and bucks the status quo. I LOVE her. She is mature for her age and seems to understand what’s important, the bigger picture.
Clay is a privileged debutante who has bullied Olivia for being openly gay, for being poor…but, really it’s her putting her unhappiness on an easy target.
They have a very intense relationship!
They even are competitive and aggressive against each other playing on the SAME sports team!
-Clay feels suffocated by expectations put on her. She is unhappy at home and with her life in general. She is fighting against parts of herself she wants to hide. She is bitter, unhappy and feels trapped so she lashes out.
Both of them have less than ideal home situations.
However, Olivia (Liv) has support and love from her older brothers who basically raised her. There’s a hint of resentment and guilt in the household, but they are there for each other(I love her brothers and their family dynamic!) Her brothers are interesting, funny and a great addition to the story.
Clay’s family has suffered a tragic loss and her parents are crumbling. She’s in a lot of pain.
She also feels pressure from her family to be the perfect southern society young lady.
-The two girls have great feisty banter. The hate lust vibes are combustible

More...