The Dark Days Club (Lady Helen #1)

The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman

Age: Young Adult
Category: Fantasy, historical
Rating: 5 stars

Marta Thinks: If there’s one thing I can appreciate, it is originality, and in “The Dark Days Club”, Alison Goodman delivers in spades. Pitched as a Georgette Heyer Regency romance fusion with Buffy (which is astonishing accurate description, by the way), the book is set in the 19th century, against the backdrop of the upper-class English society. For our heroine, Lady Helen Wrexhall, parties, marriage and respectability are not her priority. Lady Helen desire one thing only: independence, which she does not have under the authoritarian eye of her Uncle.

Not only that, though: Lady Helen must protect her reputation and tainted heritage. Her mother and father drowned at sea, and were declared traitors to the crown soon afterwards. Lady Helen longs for her parents, though she must hide her feelings, and the only thing which remains of her mother is a pendant. It is this very pendant that will change Lady Helen’s life and allow her to discover the darker and more dangerous side of society, the one with the answers behind the disappearance of London girls.

What makes this an exceptional book, and distinguishes it from the other historical/fantasy books out there, is the witty dialogue, the strong and real female friendships and Lady Helen, who is thoughtful and kind, but also desires a life of her own without endangering others. The only downside? The sequel comes out next year.

Daughter of the Gods

Daughter of the Gods: A Novel of Ancient Egypt by Stephanie Thornton

Age: Young Adult
Category: Historical
Rating: 4 stars

“The fear of losing each other is always stronger than the pain we cause.”

Marta Thinks: Hatshepsut was one of greatest rulers of Egypt but her role was very nearly wiped away completely when almost every reference to her time as a pharaoh was erased. She was previously thought to have been murdered by her stepson Tutmose III, but her mummy revealed that she died of natural causes at the age of fifty – and archaeologists uncovered proof that showed that Tutmose III had very likely removed evidence of her rule not to seek revenge but rather to consolidate the succession of his heir.

Hatshepsut is an ideal historical character to take on: she has a vivid role in a history that has largely been lost, allowing room for experimentation and imagination. She must have been a force to reckon with – easily charming and charismatic but ambitious and ruthless and calculating. She’s a hard act to top and she’s a hard task to undertake. Hatshepsut probably would have been handled unsuccessfully in anyone else’s hands but Stephanie Thornton finds the perfect balance and allows Hatshepsut to become relatable (or at least, as relatable as an ancient royal can be), likeable and admirable.

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Staff Picks: Best of Erotica

Real (Real #1) by Katy Evans

This book is firmly in my guilty pleasures category! I knew it got to be pretty trashy at times, but I still enjoyed it. It follows Brooke and Remy. Remy is a champion fighter with hordes of women lusting after him, yet picks Brooke to come to his hotel room. The last thing Brooke expects is to be offered a job traveling with Remy as his physical therapist.
Recommended by Rosie




Bared to You (Crossfire #1) by Sylvia Day

If you liked Fifty Shades, this book'll be right up your alley! Although it does feature some similarities, it is distinctive enough to stand on its own and I found it a much better read than 50SoG. From the instant Eva and Gideon meet, sparks fly. But both have their own issues and troubled pasts, which might prove insurmountable for the pair.
Recommended by Rosie




Willing Victim by Cara McKenna
Laurel meets Finn, though it’s anything but a typical rom-com meeting. Rather, the first night she goes up to his apartment, she watches him have a BDSM scene with another girl and is then offered the opportunity to try it out for herself. It makes for a captivating book, with a likeable heroine, interesting love interest and clever writing. With it being barely longer than a novella, it’s a quick and fun read. Warning: it contains a consensual rape-play scene.
Recommended by Marta

The Fifth Favor by Shelby Reed

A classical erotica book, if you’d like to put it like that, with a classical plot: that of a male escort and the woman who will revolutionise his life. Regardless, it’s an engaging read. It flows easily and smoothly, as the romance is backed up with a plot that manages to add depth to both characters. The sex scenes are, perhaps, mild in comparison to current books, but they make up for it by being exquisitely sensual.

Recommended by Marta

Rough Riders series by Lorelai James

This is a series that follows the younger generation of McKay’s; a ranching family from Wyoming. Each novel is filled with beautiful romantic moments, sweet family moments as well as scenes of hot, knee buckling sex scenes (that should really come with a NSFW warning!). James allows us to fall in love with the entire family as we watch them fall in love and battle with themselves as the days of the bad boy, bed hopping McKays slip away and they become parts of their own families. With it being a series, your favourites from previous novels pop up and James entices this with novellas that allow us future glimpses. James’ writing makes me forget about the days where I wanted Prince Charming and find myself wanting a silver-tongued cowboy.
Recommended by Helen

Addicted to You (Addicted #1)

Addicted to You by Krista Ritchie and Becca Ritchie

Age: Adult
Category: Contemporary, romance
Rating: 3 stars

“The fear of losing each other is always stronger than the pain we cause.”

Marta Thinks: Addicted to You is set in Pennsylvania which is where its two main characters, Lily Calloway and Loren Hale, go to university. They are rich and immensely privileged (it is thanks to their parents, after all, that they attend such a prestigious school) and their lives would be easier than everyone else’s if it weren’t for one thing…they’re both addicts. Loren is an alcoholic, who jealously guards his bottles and drinks himself into oblivion every night, due to the influence of a father who encouraged him to drink ever since he was young. Lily, instead, is a sex addict who medicates her insecurities and anxieties by hooking up with strangers. They both crave for a release: just in different ways.

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Ink and Bone

Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine

Age: Young Adult
Category: Fantasy
Rating: 4 stars

“Books will never be just a business to you."

Marta Thinks: Finished with Ink and Bone, I was left with the feeling that the book could easily be compared to Harry Potter. As I looked through over Goodreads reviews, I can see that I certainly wasn’t the only one and it’s not hard to figure out why — we begin with an outsider (a young boy called Jess) who is introduced to a whole new world, as he passes the exam that will allow to study at The Great Library in Alexandria. From there, the book plunges into an immersive world with vivid characters. However, Ink and Bone manages to stand well on its own and there is no sort of feeling that it comes secondary to Harry Potter or that it is a rip-off in any way.

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The Fountainhead

The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand

Age: Adult
Category: Classic
Rating: 3 stars

“My dear fellow, who will let you?”

“That’s not the point. The point is, who will stop me?”

Marta Thinks: Howard Roark is a young architect who believes modern architecture is the intellectual culmination of architecture and vastly superior over classical and traditional architecture. This viewpoint goes against the opinion of the both the public and professionals and The Fountainhead therefore follows Roark’s struggle in exposing his artwork to a world where it is largely scorned. Alongside Roark, there are four other essential characters: Peter Keating, a vapid architect who moves up the social ladder due to his sycophantic nature; the mercurial and passionate journalist Dominique Francon; Gail Wynan, owner of a famous newspaper who yearns to be more, and Ellsworth Tooheny, who seeks to undermine Roark at every step. Each character meets Roark and each one is deeply and profoundly disturbed by him because, according to Ayn Rand, he is the ideal man. Indeed, Roark fully embodies her philosophy of promoting individualism and selfishness (which Rand believes is a virtue, while selflessness is a vice).

The Fountainhead itself seems to mirror Roark’s architecture: neat and straight-forward but almost coldly impersonal, detached from the reader, almost as if going, “This is how I am and I don’t care what you think.” It leaves you a bit reeling, a little overwhelmed, though not emotionally moved. But this is exactly why I think it is worth recommending — because it makes you think. You might not end up agreeing with Ayn Rand’s views or find Roark admirable (I, personally, did not) but that hardly matters. What matters is that a book has violently challenged you and you’re going to have to defend yourself. So while The Fountainhead might not the best book I’ve ever read, it has certainly been the most interesting.

The Picture of Dorian Gray

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Age: Adult
Category: Classic; fantasy
Rating: 5 stars

Marta Thinks: When Oscar Wilde was asked to name his hundred favourite books, he said he could not. When asked why, he replied, “Because I have only written five.” Witty and outrageous, Oscar Wilde was one of the best writers of the 19th century, if not of all times. Hyperbole? No, not a hyperbole, every word is deserved. A factual description then, of an irresistibly mesmerising and intelligent individual whose artistic ability is disputed by none. His most notable novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, does not propose a new plot (reminiscent, perhaps, of Stevenson’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, where there is a duality associated with a single human being), but Wilde is indisputably original, unrestrained as he explodes with outrageously clever ideas.

This is largely due to the fact that Wilde was part of the aesthetic movement, which encouraged writers to break free from the restraints and limitations society imposed, even in terms of moral etiquette. Wilde went even further and introduced the idea that an artist’s life holds more importance than any work he produces, i.e. his life is to become his most important masterpiece. This idea can be seen in The Picture of Dorian Gray, where Dorian’s life and portrait are inextricably linked, and their individual significance is questioned. Dorian trades his soul for the immortality of his beauty and his portrait is a mirror of how his own life degrades into nothing.

A relatively good amount of the novel is summarised in the preface, in which Oscar Wilde poses statements related to art, such as “The artist is the creator of beautiful things” or “There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all.” Of course, these statements can be challenged and debated ad infinitum, which reflects rather neatly the novel itself. The first quote brings up the most implications: does art have to be beautiful? What can we define as beauty? Is Basil no longer an artist once his painting is ruined by Dorian’s crimes? Oscar Wilde’s response to this is also in the preface: “Diversity of opinion about a work of art shows that the work is new, complex, and vital.”

Critic Roland Barthes wrote in 1967 an essay, The Death of the Author, in which he argued against including the artist’s biographical and social context into interpretation and that the creation must be separate from the creator, e.g. It does not matter whether the author intended for the red colour of the curtains to symbolise death; what matters is that they represent death. Ultimately, it does not matter what Oscar Wilde believed or did not believe; what matters is how The Picture of Dorian Gray becomes a mirror for own lives, allowing us to answer the ubiquitous questions concerning human existence.

Jenny Pox (The Paranormals #1)

Jenny Pox by J.L. Bryan

Age: Young Adult
Category: Fantasy
Rating: 3 stars

“She felt the skin on her lower face bubble and pop as bleeding sores formed on her lips. Pustules cracked open on her face, extruding curls of pus like tiny white worms.”

Marta Thinks: Jenny Morton inflicts a deadly plague on everyone she touches: the so-called “Jenny Pox”, which is as far from an original name as you can think of, but considering it was coined by Jenny’s nemesis, Ashleigh, at a young age, I can let that one slide. The novel begins from Jenny’s childhood with an especially horrifying image: Jenny holding a deadly snake in her hands, believing it to be a rattle toy, and it sets the tone for a dark story.

The plot itself is nothing extraordinarly original: Jenny, for example, meets Seth, a boy who is resistant to Jenny’s fatal touch and is, also, Ashleigh’s boyfriend. However, J.L. Bryan diverges from the usual path by not presenting these aspects in the usual way, and not shying away from the ugly details either. Jenny, for example, is bullied at school and is poor and her hardships are not pushed aside, but dwelled upon carefully. This allows Jenny herself to become a likable character -- one that is trying to survive despite the circumstances yet tries not to engage in endless pity parties.

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Shadow Lover

Shadow Lover by Anne Stuart

Age: Adult
Category: Romance
Rating: 4 stars

Marta Thinks: Anne Stuart has more than thirty years of experience within the romance genre and is the winner of Romance Writers of America’s prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award. Clearly, she’s somewhat of an expert - and it shows. Her novel ‘Shadow Lover’ is a near-flawless adult romance, dealing dexterously a complicated relationship as well as dramatically mysterious family secrets.

In a small town, the gorgeous MacDowells are facing a familial loss, that of matriarch Sally MacDowell. But she refuses to pass away before witnessing the fulfillment of her dying wish: that of seeing her long-lost son, Alex. When Alex appears again, conveniently acquiring a hefty inheritance, Sally is thrilled and welcomes him with uncontained joy. Only Carolyn, foster daughter, knows that this isn’t the real Alex, not after what she witnessed eighteen years ago when he ran away. As she puts it: ‘Here were a million reasons why he could be Alex MacDowell, and only one reason why he couldn’t.’ What follows is a novel full of drama and intrigue, alongside snobbish secondary characters, all desperately greedy and arrogant, eager for a share of money.

What was refreshing about this plot was the heroine, Carolyn. She was surprisingly likable, a rarity when it comes to 90s romance stories. It’s easy to see things as she perceives them and behind that cool facade she has perfected so well, lies a girl who was in love with her adopted step-brother and who is hungry for Sally’s affection. Her reaction to Alex’s reappearance is perfectly reasonable and the various tests she poses in order to prove that the man is not Alex, show her determination and cleverness. Additionally, Anne Stuart is well known for producing well thought-out gamma heroes (described by a blogger as a man who - unlike alpha or beta heroes - is ‘one who is indifferent and is never possessive of the heroine...and who sometimes never admits their love until the very end of the novel...’). While that may not necessarily be the most flattering illustration of a character, I do believe it is extremely accurate. Alex - or at the very least, the man who claims he is Alex - doesn’t hide his desire for Carolyn, but neither does he see it as his duty to protect her or reassure her of his sentiments. This made him the perfect foil to Carolyn, and I believe made their relationship more credible as it gave them equal roles.

Ultimately, while this book may not be Anne Stuart’s most famous or best novel necessarily, I do think it is a good introduction into the romance genre, and gives a reader a good idea of what to expect if they are to read future books by the author.

The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender

The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Lesley Walton

Age: Young Adult
Category: Historical
Rating: 5 stars

Marta Thinks:“And that might just be the root of the problem: we’re all afraid of each other, wings or no wings.”

Leslye Walton’s debut novel reminds me a bit of Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s books: the dreamy descriptions, the lulling magic realism, the continuous thread of yearning that is strung throughout the story. But — and I may be committing a sacrilege here — this is so much better. (Is it really sacrilege, though, if you know it’s true?)

Ava Lavender is a girl born with wings, born into a family of women who have foolishly and foolhardily fallen in love with the wrong men. More than half of the book is devoted to Ava’s grandmother and mother: their individual stories, each with their own strange and beautiful sorrows. Her grandmother, Emilienne, decides to enter a loveless marriage after a series of failed infatuations, and her daughter, Viviane, falls in love with a man she knows will never return to her. These personal histories read like long character portraits, but they’re not a monotonous list: they are a sweeping tale of devastation and broken hearts and fleeting hopes, some of which could have been avoided, some of which were beyond any form of control.

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Touched with Sight (Shadow Thane #2)

Touched with Sight (Shadow Thane #2) by Nenia Campbell

Age: Adult
Category: Fantasy
Rating: 4 stars

Disclaimer: I received a free copy from Nenia Campbell but this has not in any shape or form affected my opinion and likewise, this review. 

Marta Thinks: I’m betting my (non-existent) money that this is a series that gets better with every new installment. Black Beast was an exciting read, but Touched with Sight tops it; edgier and action-packed, and donned growing sense of dread and terror, it defied my expectations. No longer can Catherine lay low: she is propelled right into the midst of the impending war and has haunting visions of the Shadow Thane who never fails to inspire a feeling of doom, claiming: ‘I am the rightful ruler of this world. And now that I, too, have awakened, like my dragons, I have come to take back what is mine.’ His eerie presence demands Catherine give him the magical book she has found - or face death and his physical appearance is described as ‘repulsive’, distorted by darkness. He is sure to play an even greater role with each following book, much to my delight (and Catherine’s horror).

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Delancey: A Man, a Woman, a Restaurant, a Marriage

Delancey: A Man, a Woman, a Restaurant, a Marriage by Molly Wizenberg
Age: Adult

Category: Contemporary
Rating: 3 stars

Marta Thinks: In her deliciously fun and earnest memoir, Delancey, Molly Wizenberg talks about the creation of her husband’s pizza restaurant and how the process of opening it was anything but easy. The format is fairly simple and straight-forward (chronological chapters, photographs, recipes); there’s nothing ground-breaking about it but perhaps that’s what makes it so appealing. The book gives a sense of warmth and comfort, the sort of atmosphere you’d expect from a cosy pizza-place. And it helps that Wizenberg’s voice shines through her book, frank and introspective, charismatic enough that you want to keep on reading. All night. (Yes, I speak from personal experience.)

I loved reading about the small details the most, most probably the part where the search for a name is not at all easy: from Avenue Q to Midwood, nothing seems to work, until Brandon, Wizenberg’s husband, sees the Delancey Street subway station sign. Thus the christening of Delancey. The connotations held with such a name are described gorgeously and are a testament to Wizenberg’s writing abilities: “It felt classy and old-fashioned, like a pub lined with dark gleaming wood and frequented by old men with tweed suits and cigars.” If Brandon cooks as beautifully as Wizenberg writes, then the food must be very savoury indeed.

However, while the uncomplicated presentation does bring some advantages, it poses the disadvantage of lacking an innovative style which might have given the book a higher quality rating. If you’re looking for something out-of-the-world, something that will give you a lasting, inspiring impact, then this isn’t the book for you. But if you want a sweet, comfortable read that will leave you a warm feeling, here’s a winner.

Persuasion

Persuasion by Jane Austen

Age: Adult
Category: Classic; romance
Rating: 5 stars

Marta Thinks: What would you consider your favourite Jane Austen book? Pride and Prejudice: ‘…light, and bright, and sparkling…’? Or Emma: ‘…a heroine whom no one...will much like…’? Maybe Sense and Sensibility, or Northanger Abbey, or even Mansfield Park. (The latter which, by the way, I have never been able to finish.) But what about Persuasion? The story of a woman who has ‘…a second spring…’, a second chance at love. Jane Austen’s last novel, and there’s a tinge of bittersweetness to it.

Eight years before the story begins, Anne Elliot, our protagonist, was betrothed to a naval officer, Frederick Wentworth, but broke off the engagement after her mother’s friend, Lady Russell, voiced her disapproval. Now twenty-seven, Anne Elliot seems doomed to perpetual spinsterhood, until Wentworth comes back, wealthy and in search of a wife. The plot may initially appear deceptively simple, but with the introduction of Mr. Elliot - distant cousin and heir to Anne’s father’s estate - and widow Mrs. Smith, there is a backplot with an element of mystery.

The best version of this novel is the Oxford World Classics edition, in which the introduction is a wealth of information. Particularly noteworthy point is that ‘the speed with which Austen recounts the story [of Anne’s past courtship] and arranges for it to reach its close is remarkable. It almost suggests...that storyline of youthful romance feels to her slightly dull - as if what interests Austen now is how people who have pasts do their loving.’ I think that sums up Persuasion rather elegantly. Austen makes it clear that what we are reading now is a delicate new love story, completely divorced from the ‘youthful romance’ and that its characters must find a new way to love and appreciate each other.

And One Last Thing

And One Last Thing by Molly Harper

Age: Adult
Category: Romance; contemporary
Rating: 3 stars

Marta Thinks: Chick-lit is often underestimated. Yes, there is romance, and yes, it can be superficial at times, but arguably, you could apply that to a book in every genre. Take my word for it: chick-lit can be good. ‘And One Last Thing…’ is a perfect example of this. Molly Harper begins her novel by introducing Lacey, a woman who finds out her husband is having an affair via a drunk florist. After a number of events, Lacey decides to move to a remote cabin by a lake where she meets Monroe, her only neighbour. And what a neighbour! He’s gruff and reluctantly honourable, a famous author who spends half his time writing and the other half avoiding lonely and desperate divorcees. He warms up to this divorcee though. Lacey has that effect on people. 

As aforementioned, you can’t have chick-lit without romance, so obviously there’s some here. It’s so well done. It’s smart and honest, real and utterly engaging. It subverts your expectations too: you expect Lacey to wear Monroe out, or for them to be complete antithesis of each other, but it’s not like that at all. Not really. I won’t share more about their relationship - the different aspects of it are fun to read about, and are not to be spoiled - though I will say that it was refreshing to find the man in the relationship who wants to take it further, rather than the female. That was unique, at least in my experience.

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Hard Time

Hard Time by Cara McKenna

Age: Adult
Category: Romance; contemporary
Rating: 4 stars

Marta Thinks: Thanks to ‘Hard Time’, I’ve started to see a typewriter as a terribly romantic object and love letters have gained significance. I’ve never seen much of a point of love letters; they’ve always seemed over-the-top, trite and essentially meaningless despite declarations of grand sentiments. No longer is that the case. If anything, I want my own love letter. Now if only I could find the right person…

Annie Goodhouse doesn’t have that problem. She has Eric. They start out as a perfect example of forbidden romance. Eric is in prison; Annie is the librarian who comes in to do sessions with the convicts. What follows is an exchange of heartfelt (and dirty) letters: “Darling, I missed you since our last visit. A few minutes a week with you is almost more cruel than it’s worth...I think about your mouth, and about kissing. And other things.” It’s easy to see the relationship slowly growing. And then Eric is released from prison and Annie has to decide whether to pursue what they have commenced.

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Black Beast (Shadow Thane #1)

Black Beast (Shadow Thane #1) by Nenia Campbell

Age: Adult
Category: Fantasy
Rating: 4 stars

Marta Thinks: Nenia Campbell. An ex-fictionpresser, member of the now dissolved Plagiarism Haven, indie author, book reviewer active on Goodreads. Yes, she is all of these things - true - but she is also something else. A very, very good writer. Her prose is gorgeous (‘…it was a golden skeleton key…it was the benediction of pristine predigree…’) and I would even go so far as to claim that it’s practically impossible to not gain pleasure from her words. She has the ability to string phrases together and create a beautiful painting, vivid and lush.

But what are words without a plot? Not much. So here’s the deal: Catherine Pierce is a shapeshifter. And there’s no problem with that. But shapeshifters are meant to settle into one animal form after puberty. Catherine hasn’t. Crown Prince Phineas Riordan notes this error in the record book and follows Catherine in order to fix the mistake: he finds something else instead. And all the while Catherine finds a magical book, has terrifying dreams about the eponymous Shadow Thane and Slayers are infiltrating the school. Fabulous.

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And Then There Were None

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

Age: Adult
Category: Mystery & Crime
Rating: 5 stars

Marta Thinks: Agatha Christie, most commonly called ‘The Queen of Crime’, has an extremely vast and prestigious repertoire of novels, such as ‘The Murder of Roger Ackroyd’ (whose unexpected plot twist earned her reputation) and ‘Murder on the Orient Express’, which was later produced as a movie casting stars such as Ingrid Bergman and Lauren Bacall. Her novels vary - some have no detective (such as this one), some include Tommy and Tuppence, many others have Miss. Marple (my personal favorite), an elderly spinster who uses her small town anecdotes to solve mysteries and of course, Hercule Poirot, Belgian detective with a remarkable mustache and stunning insight into human psychology.

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1984

1984 by George Orwell

Age: Adult
Category: Classic
Rating: 5 stars

Marta Thinks: In order to read this masterpiece, you need to appreciate the history behind it. In 1917, civil war broke out in Russia and eventually the Bolsheviks gained power. By 1921, their Communist party was established, though its leader, Lenin, died, leaving two candidates: Trotsky and Stalin. Stalin was the underdog, only the General Secretary, but by 1926 he removed all former members of the government (his position as secretary allowed him to move his friends to influential positions), created trials to dismiss men with power and exiled Trotsky, who would later be described as a ‘Capitalist spy’ in history books. Stalin soon found himself in a position of power and the secret police and the cult of his image allowed him full control, which also spread a feeling of fear and uncertainty throughout the USSR. No one knew who to trust, no one knew what to do. Some people were tortured beyond pain imaginable and begged for the end to come, others were sent to concentration camps in Siberia, forced to work under harsh winter conditions and then left to die. At times, a person had committed no crime but was arrested nonetheless in order to fulfill a certain quota. Because of this, Stalin is responsible for 60 million deaths. To illustrate this point, there is an anecdote in which Stalin meets with a leader of an African nation and this leader asks: ‘How many people did you have to kill in order to establish your rule?’ Stalin tells him and this leader is astonished because it’s more than the number of people who live in his country.

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Confessions of an Angry Girl

Confessions of an Angry Girl by Louise Rozett

Age: Young Adult
Category: Contemporary
Rating: 3 stars

“Bad things happen whether you're scared or not, so you might as well not bother being scared. It's a waste of time.”

Marta Thinks: The angry girl in question is Rose Zarelli. As the summary states, she’s angry for three reasons: (1) Her family is a mess after her father’s death: her mother is barely-there and her brother deserts them for university; (2) Regina, popular and gorgeous cheerleader, is out to get her blood. Why? Easy - Rose kissed her boyfriend (or semi-boyfriend. High school is confusing), Jamie; (3) She feels as though her best friend, Tracy, is a stranger. She has nothing to say to her. Oh yes, Rose Zarelli is feeling enraged.

Despite some features I didn’t exactly appreciate (Jamie’s whole ‘Not good enough for you’ speech and Rose’s falling in-and-out friendship with Tracy), this was actually an extremely fun read. I think it touched on important issues that are most commonly present during high school - dating, popularity, bullying, sex, drinking - and Rose’s personal growth in facing these topics was interesting to see. There was also a touch of humor here and there (courtesy of Angelo) which managed to stop the book from sinking into non-stop drama. Initially, there is some confusion as to whether Rose can be properly deemed an angry girl, and to be honest, at the beginning, she is not. She’s quiet, brutally honest and frustrated and there’s an increasing build-up, but anger is not her defining quality. Only at the end of the book we see a true demonstration of rage, but that’s something you’ll have to find out on your own.

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