3.43 AVERAGE

dark mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated
dark reflective slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
mysterious fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated

Something all women have in common? Depression, an alcohol problem and a need for a big dog to feel safe. Don’t get the rave reviews...
challenging dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
mysterious reflective fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

5 stars

Oh this book is BEAUTIFUL.

Disclaimer before going into it blind though -this is not psychological suspense, nor a thriller. It will leave more questions unanswered than it answers and it reads closer to literary fiction. It's sometimes confusing as it jumps between characters (there's a lot of them) and you'll get invested in one character only to never hear from them again. BUT if you can look past these flaws this is a beautiful, haunting book.

Nothing Can Hurt You is an exploration of how one tragic event (the murder of Sara by her boyfriend, Blake) affects a host of different people in different ways, even decades after the event.
I'd initially given this 4 or 4.5 stars, but after a few weeks of reflection I've jumped the gun and given it the coveted Sophia 5/5 stars because I cannot stop thinking about it. Nicola Maye Goldberg is an incredible, underrated writer and I look forward to reading everything she has ever written, ever.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bloomsbury Books for an ARC of this captivating novel

“She was a sweet girl, until she wasn’t.”

“I kind of think he took me to see a horror movie as like a test, to see if it would scare me. It didn’t.”
dark reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes