Before We Were Innocent - Ella Berman

Two former best friends who were once suspects for their friend’s death are forced to confront their past, when a similar crime pulls them back together a decade later. As Joni becomes entangled in new accusations, Bess must decide whether to protect her old friend or finally face the truth about what really happened in Greece all those years ago.

Before We Were Innocent is nothing more than a three‑star read. I didn’t love it, but I also didn’t hate it, and there are a lot of reasons that led me to that middle ground. First of all, the beginning felt messy. Ella Berman wrote two parallel timelines: the present day in 2018 and the past in 2008. As you read, each story unfolds, but they don’t necessarily intertwine very well. This made it confusing to follow during the first chunk of the narrative, and that had me setting a low standard for the rest of the novel.

Though I felt this way initially - and it did sort of ruin the first part of the book for me - I think as the story went on, it started to make sense and was definitely necessary for the reader’s general understanding of what was happening. With that said, maybe Berman didn’t start the story in the right place, or perhaps it would have worked better with a prologue followed by the flashbacks starting at a later point in time. Some of the information in the first few pages wasn’t all that impactful and was extremely hard going.

Subsequently the story was quite flat, and because it wasn’t very eventful but very informational, it just wasn’t that exciting. Most of the book felt like it followed the rule of “tell, don’t show” rather than “show, don’t tell,” and that affected my attention span. When I’m reading, I want to be gripped from start to finish and while I was mildly interested in where the story might land, I wasn’t profoundly engrossed or on the edge of my seat at all. Its lack of exhilaration made it predictable, and I ruined the ending for myself by the midway point.

So, if you’re any good at solving murder mysteries, I’d steer clear of this novel because you won’t get the thrill you’re looking for. Yes, the narrative took some unexpected turns, but they weren’t jolting revelations; more like anticlimactic swivels in a direction not far from what I’d already predicted. Hence why it felt uneventful and a little boring.

Furthermore, losing myself for a week in a world that wasn’t mine was nice, but overall it’s a very fair-to-middling novel without much depth. However, despite all those negatives, there were some positives that I genuinely loved finding throughout the story. Before I list those, I want to make sure I state that Before We Were Innocent definitely succeeds when it comes to addressing societal issues, people’s behaviour, the media, and so much more. The story thrives on its underlying messages and themes to its audience.

Berman explores the complexities of toxic female friendships, the impact of adolescent trauma, the destructive power of secrets and memory, and themes of guilt, betrayal, maturation, and loyalty. This is where the book is both powerful and relatable. I mean, its relatability was the soul reason I kept reading. I was drawn in by relationships that reflected a lot of my own past friendships and romantic experiences. It highlights just how cruel girls can be, and subtly steers young women away from behaving that way; not just with female friends, but with anyone.

This was particularly good to me because as women, we sometimes forget there are healthier ways to communicate than through our insecurities and jealousy. It’s okay to have them, and feel it,  but it doesn’t excuse you from being nasty. Berman shows exactly what happens when we act when our emotions are clouding our judgment; it’s heartbreaking, immature, and silly. To see these interactions play out on the page, strengthened my connection to the characters. I knew exactly whether I liked them or not, and exactly why that was. And these themes need to be spoken about because they reveal the ugly truth to people who don’t want to believe they act a certain way. Whether that’s being petty, or rude.

To conclude, considering its core messages, I’d recommend this book because you might learn something from it. Even if you don’t, you’ll definitely find some aspect of it relatable, even if the writing and story aren’t as strong as they could be. And if it really doesn’t tickle your fancy, then rest assured, you wouldn’t be missing out.

Buy your copy of the novel here:

https://amzn.eu/d/dqLE75g

Blue Sisters - Coco Mellors

Three very different sisters—still grieving the loss of their fourth—are forced back together to save their childhood home, and in doing so confront grief, secrets, and the chaos of their separate lives. Their reunion becomes the catalyst that helps them rebuild themselves and rediscover connection.

As a sister myself, this novel is held very close to my heart. It was breathtaking from the very beginning with its opening sentence, “A sister is not a friend.” In fact, the entire opening paragraph grabbed my heart and caught my undivided attention like no novel has done before. The complexity of the sisters’ lives astonished me, and their delicate yet strong relationships with each other plucked at my heartstrings as certain feelings and events between the three of them unfolded. Not only did I find their bonds relatable, but the conflict within their intertwined lives was incredibly compelling.

I’m a massive fan of domestic and urban fiction, and family sagas—one of my favourite books is Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid, after all—and Coco Mellors’ attempt at this genre was mind‑blowing. I will forever hype this book up and recommend it to all the girls out there who have a sister or sisters, because this is a novel that should be treasured and read with care. A close friend once told me she felt she could eat certain books, they were that good. And it wasn’t until I read this, after she said that, that I truly understood what she meant.

I felt this story in my bones; it was that powerful and genuinely exhilarating. I just wanted to consume it—not only with my eyes and mind, but I wanted to eat it and have it live in me, because the words on every page hit harder than the one before. Mellors has such a beautifully illustrative way of describing everything that I’m a little jealous of all her metaphors, similes, idioms, analogies, and the different ways she uses objects or ideas to represent deeper meanings. It was a truly inspiring read, and I hope every single person who picks it up finds those same aspects just as striking as I did.

Mellors’ Blue Sisters is a five‑star novel and you can disagree with that all you want, but don’t dismiss it until you try it. I didn’t find a single fault as I read, and because every page felt like perfection to me, attempting to put this novel down for the night was like trying to remove a limb. I got attached very quickly and was saddened every time I had to set it aside because I didn’t want any of the sisters’ journeys to end. And though I felt this way throughout, the ending was satisfying and didn’t leave me wanting more. If you’re a bookworm and you’ve experienced the pain of needing to know more but were being told this is the end forever, then you’ll know how rare and delightful that is. It’s disappointing otherwise; like ordering a cup of coffee only to take the lid off and see it’s half full. A story that starts in the right place and finishes in the right place is a story definitely worth reading.

So if you want a story that’s unpredictable, humorous at times, and ready to take you through a storm of emotions, then Blue Sisters is for you. It’s the kind of book that confirms ones love for reading, and if you don’t enjoy reading, or simply don’t read, I hope this book gets you in the mood and inspires you to pick up more. Even if it’s not your jam, Mellors’ other novel Cleopatra and Frankenstein might be. I can’t vouch for it as I’ve never read it, but if it’s written anything like this one, it’s probably an absolute banger too. Or maybe other novels in this genre will tickle your fancy, who knows? But one things for sure, you’ll never know unless you try.

Buy your copy of the book here:

https://amzn.eu/d/7e2DN5c

Exile - Aimée Walsh

Fiadh has lived in Belfast her whole life. She’s got friends, plans for the future, and most of all, she loves to party. But when she moves away, everything changes. She doesn’t fit in, she drinks all the time, and her friends back home have moved on – or at least that’s how it feels to Fiadh. So when she comes home for Christmas, a night out with them goes horribly wrong. There’s just one issue… she can’t remember what happened…

With only the aftermath to help her piece together the events of last night, Fiadh begins to spiral. She’s bruised, achy, bleeding, tired, hungover, and nobody seems to care. Will Fiadh ever come to terms with this, and will she be able to turn her life around to start over? To that, I say: read it. Read immediately, quickly, and right now, because I can say without a sliver of a doubt that you’ll find it too intriguing not to.

Aimée Walsh has written a knockout. This is a great novel, and I couldn’t recommend it enough. It’s an extremely gripping read, and so wonderfully poignant that I didn’t know what to do with myself each night after reading it. It left me worried for Fiadh. It left me excited for Fiadh. It left me sorry for Fiadh. And it left me angry for Fiadh. Let’s just say it was one heck of an emotional rollercoaster.

Walsh implements short sentences to maintain a thrilling narrative that is fast-paced, shocking, disturbing, and exciting. These traits are what make the plot so compelling. It’s punchy, and really quite frightening but this approach works well with how Walsh has structured the story. Though the horrific night out isn’t introduced until around page 100, which was slightly bothersome. Despite that, the choice of sentence structure ensures that every word before it matters, making this a profound page-turner. It’s the build-up that kept me reading, eager to discover how the protagonist ends up in this so called awful situation. I’ll say it now and keep saying it: every word, phrase, and clause is worth reading.

However, if I were Walsh, I would have started with the night out in chapter one to immediately hook the reader. Initially, I was teased into thinking that was exactly how the book would begin, but the night out in the first chapter wasn’t the one mentioned in the blurb. While this was a bit disappointing, each page offered a tense build-up of events that kept my eyes glued to the page. The blurb certainly enticed me, and it is in fact what many people judge a book by. In this case, it did a good job of convincing me to make the purchase, and I hope it has the same effect on you.

I didn’t anticipate the story unfolding as it did, and I appreciated the unexpected turns. That’s what makes a good book. Predictable novels are boring. I want to constantly be asking, 'What happens next?' and piece together the story myself, guessing the outcomes of events and questions that arise. 'Who did what?' and 'What did he or she truly do?' I want to wonder if the next chapter will offer explanations, but I don’t want to know everything in advance. Walsh has executed this balance nicely.

I’m captivated by her writing style too. She’s descriptive, with cool similes that have inspired me when writing my own. And while the use of short sentences might be quite abrupt, the way she’s incorporated this is perfect. Her characters feel so real that I experienced the emotions a close friend of Fiadh’s would have. I wanted her life to be good and for her to be happy. At times, I questioned her morals, but that’s acceptable because she had flaws, which give characters a relatable human complexity. Every attribute in this book, from the plot’s structure to the minor details of each character in Fiadh’s life, fits seamlessly with the mood of the story and the genre of her novel: a coming-of-age story unlike any other.

I'll warn you now though, it's dark and frankly repulsive at times, but it's a story that felt so real that I was angry for most of the last half. Honestly, it’s a whirlwind of goodness, a devastating whirlwind of goodness, but I’m so glad I read it. It was satisfying and “visceral,” as author Colin Walsh also states in his review. It wasn’t tediously long either; it was the perfect length for a quick week long or few day read, depending on how much time you have to spare. So, if a deep dive into consent, friendship, and alienation is something you wish were written about more and would like to read, then I think Exile is the novel you need to get next.

Buy your copy of the book here: https://amzn.eu/d/gOwfPiw

The Truants - Kate Weinberg

Jess Walker’s life gets turned upside down when she’s sucked into a friendship group like no other. They bend the rules, bringing out a version of Jess that she never knew existed. And when their lives at university begin to darken; secrets spill, lovers cheat, and devastation strikes. The death of her friend is only the beginning.

This is a novel with a complexity that builds suspense, keeps the reader guessing, and causes utmost destruction to the emotions of the reader and the unpredictable lives of the characters. As the New York Times book review says, it certainly is the “Hypnotic…an uncommonly clever whodunnit’ novel that they claim it to be.

God, it’s perfect. From the characters to Weinberg’s plot, it’s so intricately detailed and well written that there is nothing like it. It’s original, fresh, a real page turner that never ceases to amaze. I never once guessed where the story was going - but perhaps that’s because i’m not much of a detective - and I was delightfully surprised by each revelation got described. For a murder mystery that referred to the genius author Agatha Christie quite a bit, this is a truly astonishing book. Her characters annoyed me, but I also fell in love with them, their flaws were realistic and their character traits grew on me over time. Much like with people we meet in our day to day lives. Weinberg’s characters were so raw and meticulous that I never once had to question their actions or dialogue; and it gives me great joy to say that. She deserves the five stars I’m going to give her for it.

The writing too was spectacular, effortless, easy to read and to follow. I really felt like I was being carried from one scene to the next without getting lost in between. The well planned structure helped it move smoothly. It’s a plot perfect for the genre, it made sense, and left me satisfied which is all I ask for in murder, mystery, suspense, and psychological novels. It’s creepy, weird; extremely bizarre, but in such a brilliant way. You’ll hate Weinberg’s characters, but you’ll also care for them, and question what they’re doing and what they mean, and that in itself is a special thing to be able to do to a reader in writing. It’s what makes The Truants such an unstoppable page turner. Each phrase and clause keeps you interested with its suspicious characters and their wild yet endearing behaviour which inevitably takes them on the adventure that Weinberg tells.

I loved it and I hope you murder devotees enjoy it too; if this is something you’d be interested in reading of course. But with that said, I recommend it - among a lot of other novels in this genre - but for a good and compelling start, this is the book for you. I mean, it hits its audience well, if you’re the right reader for it you’ll know. It’s coming-of-age aspects are relatable beyond belief, especially when one is put in the circumstances that poor Jess Walker gets put in…but I won’t speak too much of that, you’ll have to read it yourself! So go on, take a gander, you just fall in love with it.

Buy your own copy using the link below!

https://amzn.eu/d/hWPoh1K