Chuyển đến nội dung chính

The Secret

The Secret

REVIEW: A Sky Painted Gold by Laura Wood

Hello all! Hope you're all enjoying the summer! I'm currently on holiday in a huge castle in the South of France and enjoying relaxing, playing games, and of course reading a lot!  Today's post is a review of a dreamy summer romance that's perfect for your holiday TBRs! Title:  A Sky Painted Gold Author:  Laura Wood Series:   n/a Pages:   356 Publisher:  Scholastic Date of Publication:  5th July, 2018 Source:  Publisher for review* Synopsis from Goodreads: Growing up in her sleepy Cornish village dreaming of being a writer, sixteen-year-old Lou has always wondered about the grand Cardew house which has stood empty for years. And when the owners arrive for the summer - a handsome, dashing brother and sister - Lou is quite swept off her feet and into a world of moonlit cocktail parties and glamour beyond her wildest dreams. But, as she grows closer to the Cardews, is she abandoning her own ambitions... And is there something darker lurkin...
Đăng nhận xét

REVIEW: Clean by Juno Dawson

Hello all! Hope you're all enjoying the summer so far!


My proof copy of Clean in all its shiny glory



Today I have a review of a super gritty and powerful read from Juno Dawson that I highly recommend.


CleanTitle: Clean
Author: Juno Dawson
Series: n/a
Pages: 400
Publisher: Quercus Books
Date of Publication: 5th April, 2018
Source: proof received from book club
Synopsis from Goodreads:
I can feel it swimming through my veins like glitter ... it's liquid gold.

When socialite Lexi Volkov almost overdoses, she thinks she's hit rock bottom.

She's wrong. Rock bottom is when she's forced into an exclusive rehab facility.

From there, the only way is up for Lexi and her fellow inmates, including the mysterious Brady.

As she faces her demons, Lexi realises love is the most powerful drug of all ...

It's a dirty business getting clean ...


My Thoughts:
I haven't read a book by Juno Dawson since Say Her Name which was published in 2014 so I thought it was high time to get back on it. Ever since I heard about Clean I was intrigued, however I tend to avoid books about drugs because drugs are bad and characters who take them make me mad. However, I couldn't resist the shiny cover and the glowing reviews so I decided to put my prejudices aside and give it a go.

Prior to reading this, I decided that I'd gone off contemporary fiction. I don't know whether it's whatever's going on in my personal life (there's some shite tbh) or whether I just am a bit bored, but I haven't enjoyed the last few contemps I've read as much as I was expecting to, but reckon had I read them this time last year, I'd have loved them. Anyway, despite deciding to read something that wasn't contemporary, this grabbed my attention and I gave it a go, and before I knew it I had read 100 pages.

The story starts with a bang as Lexi is 'kidnapped' by her brother and thrown into a rehabilitation centre on a remote island. At first, Lexi is rude and unstable and seemingly uncontainable. I was so ready to dislike her, but I soon realised I'd fallen into the trap that the book makes such an effort to challenge: that Lexi is more than just her addiction, her sickness. I wanted to hate Lexi because how could she do this to herself? But as the book went on I grew to like her more and more as I began to understand her. Juno does such a good job of making her seem so human, and it really blew me away.

The book doesn't shy away from anything. I'm not going to list all of the possible triggers because there are many and I don't want to miss one out, so I'll just say be careful going into it and no matter how good it is, be prepared to stop if it's going to affect you (pls feel free to ping me a message if you do want specifics). There was so much honesty in the writing and I have genuinely been changed by some of the things I read about in the book. I won't be so prejudiced now about drugs and the illness that is addiction. Any book that is able to do that, to influence and make readers more aware about very real issues is surely one to be celebrated.

Overall, I really loved Clean. I was so, so surprised by how strongly it pulled me in and I literally couldn't stop reading. I was late back from my lunch break at work because I was too engrossed (only by five minutes thankfully but still). It's gritty, it's raw, and I cannot recommend it enough.



What did you think of Clean? Have you read anything else by Juno Dawson? 





Nhận xét

Đăng nhận xét

Popular Posts

Monthly Round-Up: December

It feels a bit weird starting off the new year with a recap post, but hey! December was a pretty good month for me reading wise, and also in general because Christmas, though I didn't get any books. I did get the first 3 volumes of Sandman, though, so that should be fun to get into! So, yeah. Books Read: Skulduggery Pleasant: Mortal Coil by Derek Landy Drama by Raina Telgemeier Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta Bloodlines by Richelle Mead The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead Let It Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle Saga volume 1 by Brian K Vaughn  Frankenstein by Mary Shelley Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe A Face Like Glass by Frances Hardinge Books Reviewed: World After by Susan Ee Untold by Sarah Rees Brennan Let It Snow by    John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle Yeah, not such a good month on the reviewing month, but it was December so I was both busy with Christmas and busy making lists and preparing for the new year and making bad ex...
Đăng nhận xét
Đọc thêm

Vicious review

Vicious V.E Schwab 10th January 2014 (UK) Titan Books (UK) Victor and Eli, due to a research project gone wrong, become ExtraOrdinaries with supernatural powers. Ten years later Victor escapes from prison,determined to get his revenge on the man who put him there, while Eli has spent the years hunting down and killing other EOs. Driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the arch-nemeses have set a course for revenge... Vicious was a really interesting book that was kind of out of my usual reading comfort zone, I guess (it's an adult novel and I don't usually go there unless it's for college), but regardless of that it was book that I could not resist. I mean, science? Vengeance? Superpowers? Who could say no to that?! Not me, that's for sure. The real core of this novel is the relationship between Victor and Eli, how it all goes wrong and they are both sort of driven by each other towards this crazy path of revenge. From the start in college, their relationship is kind...
Đăng nhận xét
Đọc thêm

Dead Ends review

Dead Ends Erin Lange February 6th 2014 (UK) Faber (UK) Dane Washington and Billy D. couldn't be more different. Dane is clever and popular, but he's also a violent rebel. Billy D. has Down's syndrome, plays by the rules and hangs out with teachers in his lunch break. But Dane and Billy have more in common than they think - both their fathers are missing. They're going to have to suck up their differences and get on with helping each other. There are answers to be found. Powerful, funny, moving - the ultimate coming-of-age novel . I was a little surprised at how much I properly liked Dead Ends. I knew that I would like it, of course, because books about friendship are kind of what I'm all about a lot of the time. Don't know if I've ever mentioned that (I've definitely mentioned that I'm always going on about friendships I LOVE THEM). But I read it while I was having a bit of a Tamora Pierce thing and I thought I was only in the mood for 90s YA fantasy...
Đăng nhận xét
Đọc thêm

Free $100

Free $100