Gain ...And A Happy New Year? (The Spinster Club, #3.5) Assembled By Holly Bourne Softcover
totally missed the opportunity to read this just before NY last year, and I wasn't letting that happen again, I loved And a Happy New Year! It was a pleasure to reacquaint myself with the Spinster girls, and this novella was such a great end to an already wonderful trilogy.
For me, every year from now on is going to be the Year of the Spinster,.I WANT MORE. I NEED MORE. WHY DOES THIS HAVE TO END! :
If you're looking for a book that portrays female friendships in the most honest and real way, the Spinster Club books are the one.
Buddy read with sitelinkEmer.
This isn't my first rodeo with a Holly Bourne book, and I've previously expressed with the likes of sitelinkAm I Normal Yet, sitelinkWhat's a Girl Gotta Do and sitelinkIt Only Happens in the Movies how much I love Holly Bourne's stance on feminism, friendship and mental health.
However, after having read so many of her novels including this, and her adult debut sitelinkHow Do You Like Me Now you begin to pick up on things: on flaws, repetition.
And all these flaws and repeated plot lines / character qualities are all present in sitelink, . . And a Happy New Year,
I don't know whether it's me just getting fed up with seeing the same things in all of Bourne's books one dimensional or shitty ass male characters, crappy parents, etc but this seemed to have lost it's spark.
What I was hoping for was these girls, who have lost each other, to come back together on New Years and discuss their futures MATURELY and to know that just because you might not talk / see each other everyday doesn't diminish your friendship.
Instead all I got was tears, more tears, tears, more tears, screaming, shouting, pointless POV chapters, stupid side plots that weren't properly fleshed out three/four different side plots wrapped up insufficiently and then a somewhat resolution at the end where the girls ended up on the same bench that they started at.
. . yet, despite everything, I didn't really feel like the characters had changed,
This just relies too much on the other books to give it heart, and for me at least, that failed,
Oh how I do want to see how Lottie's interview with Cambridge turned out, . .for the nostalgia, because I bloody loved everything about this book! I'm also constantly on a Christmas mood, which is why I picked this up in the first place, and that never happens to me!
I adore Evie, Amber and Lottie and revisiting their characters was exactly what I needed.
I am so grateful the author did not attempt to sugarcoat their lives, friendship and romantic relationships and rather gave us characters we already cherish, but are flawed.
I mean, the girls were a mess! But then again, who isn't
What mostly resonated with me: The consequent of adulting, how friendships are affected, how one has to find a balance between the life they want to pursue and the life they already have.
Trying to get the best of both worlds will not work forever, so make a life with all of what you want, love and need.
I am sad, but cest la vie, Messy and realistic A great ending to such a perfect series! It was so nice to see what happened to Evie, Amber and Lottie after the end of sitelinkWhat's a Girl Gotta Do and to finally find out where Lottie went to university.
I just really wish this book had been longer I knew before buying it that it was a novella, but I do think it could have benefited from being longer than it was.
sitelinkFull review and some cosy, wintry photos on the blog! Another version of this review can be found sitelinkhere
Received in exchange for an honest review from Usborne Publishing.
It's the Year of the Spinster!
The Spinster Club series follows the journey of Evie, Amber and Lottie in what's undoubtedly one of the most trying periods of their respective lives.
We meet each of them in the three books as they deal with whatever life throws at them, while also being fiery advocates of feminism.
In this novella, we meet these three girls as they get together for the first time since they leave college, Are things the same between them Are they the same as before or have they changed beyond recognition We find out all this and more in.
. . And A Happy New Year as the Spinsters meet up at Amber's epic New Year party,
The story is told in the POVs of Evie, Amber and Lottie, and if you thought they were each relatable and fanfreakingtastic n their respective books, you have no idea just how awesome it is to read in alternating narratives of all three of them in one book.
They each have very distinct voices, so it was a very welcome, refreshing change, Sitting down and picking this book was the best thing I did in so long it made me feel instantly nostalgic and I absolutely loved being in their heads.
We left Evie, Amber and Lottie in their books wanting to
know more about what's in store for them in the future, and in this Spinster Club special, we get to know all about them.
How Evie is coping with her OCD, how Amber is faring in her long distance relationship, how Lottie is managing to hold onto her feminist beliefs as she adapts to a new environment we get to catch up that happened to this trio as we spend the time leading up to the New Year with them.
The author's writing is as fabulous as ever and the intense, crisp narration helped the story to flow along at a comfortable pace.
The characters are just the same as ever but oh, how they've changed! Sprinkled with ample drama, secrets and twists, this book certainly had me glued to its pages.
We meet Kyle, Oli and Will again, and they each surprise us in their own way, Not all the surprises were welcome though I still haven't recovered from certain things which I will not mention but, oh, will you look at that.
ONE OF MY SHIPS HAS SUNK!!! Let's just pretend my heart is not in pieces and have some cheesy snacks, shall we
Apart from my sunken ship which we'll never mention again, this story was just perfect.
We see how time takes its toll on even the strongest friendships, and we see how they get through everything together, . . OR DO THEY This beautiful, beautiful book is simply a must read if you're a fan of the Spinster Club series, and if you haven't read this brilliant series already, what are you even doing with your life
This series will always be one of my most favorites.
Evie, Amber and Lottie taught me a lot, they helped me grow as a person and were such fun people to be with.
I'm just not ready to say goodbye to these fantastic characters yet and I downright refuse to accept this as an end to this series.
I need more, more, MORE, please!
Thank you for bringing these girls into my life, Holly Bourne! They will always be with me.
Always.
The story idea:/
The realization of the story:/
The characters:/
The cover:/I simply adore the cover to bits!
Enjoy factor:/
Final Rating:/
What better way to endthan by reading .
. . And a Happy New Year I adore the Spinster Club girls Amber, Lottie and Evie and I read all three books in the series last year, so it just seemed right.
In this festive novella, we hear from each of the girls as they struggle with the events of the past year: broken friendships, new university lives and old boyfriends that is, except Kyle, because Kyle is American and adorable and perfect.
It's Amber's new year's party and the first time they've hung out together since leaving college and they all have a secret, But how long can they keep secrets from their best friends even if it might tear them apart for good
.
. . And a Happy New Year was a wonderful end to the Spinster Club trilogy, It wasn't as lighthearted as I thought it would be gosh, being a first year at university is hard, but I love Holly Bourne's energetic, relatable writing and admirable feminist characters I'm a cross between Amber and Evie, if you ask me.
If you're looking for some fun yet important UKYA, pick up this trilogy!
I also reviewed this book over on sitelinkPretty Books.
So this was the first book I read in! I stayed up till midnight to read this because I thought it would be fun to ring in the new year in my world at the same time as the girls in here rung in there new year.
After the amazingness that the other three books held I was sooooo excited to read this installment, I thought I'd love it, that it would make me happy, and it would be the perfect end and finish to what is was now one of my favourite series of all time.
WELL HAHAHAHA GUESS HOW WRONG I WAS YOU GUYS, Here's just a few quick list thoughts on how I felt about it:
First reaction upon finishing the book was: W.
T. F. BECAUSE WTF WAS GOING ON HERE,
I know this is technically only a novella but it'spages long!!PAGES LONG IS AN AVERAGE BOOK SIZE.
Definitely long enough not to drag out the story over stupid, stupid, stupid shit THAT JUST DIDN'T NEED TO BE THERE OR GONE OVER OR BROUGHT UP.
Evie, Amber and Lottie, who used to be my precious babies, TURNED INTO BITCHY AWFUL ARSEHOLES, I'm specifically talking Amber here, who's behaviour and attitude during the whole book made me nauseous, Of the three girls, I think Amber is my least favourite but just because I didn't love her as much as Evie and Lottie didn't mean I didn't like her! But jesus, Amber was so nauseating in here I could not actually read her chapters without wanting to throw something.
Lottie was so disappointing and annoying but I felt she was only that way because the other two had let her down.
Reading Lottie's POV made me SO sad as she's only a pale shade of the girl who was such a bright rainbow throughout the whole trilogy but especially in her own book.
Evie I don't even know she felt like a piece of cardboard tbh, I would've felt more sorry for her but I was so frustrated that of ALL the girls, Evie who is so sensitive to other peoples emotions didn't pick up on Lottie's unhappiness.
EVERYONE IN HERE WAS A TERRIBLE FRIEND BASICALLY AND IT MADE ME SAD,
WHAT was up with the relationships in here Kyle made me mad, I was so frustrated that we didn't see more of Ollie, and Will HEY MATEY I NEED ANSWERS.
I found sooooooo many other problems with this book but I'm too tired, angry and sad to list them,
I was so angry when I finished this book but most of all I'M sad, Sad that this book has ruined and tarnished my love and regard of the other three books, That I so desperately don't want to feel this way but I KNOW I'll never be able to read any of the three books again without remembering how awful this installment was.
I'm sad. Angry. Most of all sad. It was a REALLY shitty way to ring in the new year and I'm so pissed off that my first read ofwas an awful one.
My advice: Read the other three books in the series!They are so good, words don't begin to describe them! But really approach AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR with caution because it wasn't a happy experience for me.
Honestly, I loved all three of the Spinster Club books, but Im super disappointed with this one, A bit like Pretty Little Liars:Years Forward in the way it had built everyone up to their happy ending, only to wreck things for the sake of drama, but by the end I was pleased that the girls got to live their lives happily, even if it meant losing and rediscovering their friendship.
tähteä
Olen suhtautunut usein melko skeptisesti trilogioiden jälkeen julkaistuihin lisäosiin ja vielä varsinkin niin sanottuihin väliosiin, Onko tarinaa vielä pakko jatkaa, kun trilogioissa yleensä päätös on jo taputeltu Otin kuitenkin ilolla vastaan tämän erikoisosan, joka jatkaa Holly Bournen vahvasti feministishenkistä Normaalitrilogiaa.
"Kivoja juttuja ei tapahdu uudenvuodenaattona, Uusivuosi ei tarkoita kivoja juttuja, Se ei tarkoita uusia alkuja tai elämän parhaita iltoja tai sitä, että menetetty suuri rakkaus etsii sinut käsiinsä juuri kun lasketaan sekunteja vuoden vaihtumiseen kertoakseen, että on tehnyt kamalan virheen kun on jättänyt sinut.
" Amber, s.
Ja onnellista uutta vuotta kokoaa Evien, Lottien ja Amberin vielä kerran yhteen, kun Amber suosikkini näistä kolmestaa järjestää uudenvuodenbileet kotonaan yhdessä amerikkalaisen poikaystävänsä Kylen kanssa.
Amberia jännittää, miten kaikki tulee menemään, sillä hänellä on salaisuus, jota hän ei ole vielä uskaltanut paljastaa muille kolmikon jäsenille.
Se tulee musertamaan muut. Kyle on ihanana tukena ja kannustajana, kun hermostunut Amber odottelee ystäviään juhliin,
Eviellä on vaikeuksia päästä juhliin, sillä hänen poikaystävänsä Oli ei haluaisi päästää tätä mihinkään.
Oli on toipunut aiemmin pahoista mielenterveysoireistaan, mutta nyt ne olivat tulleet takaisin aika ajoin, eikä Evie oikein tiedä, mitä tehdä, Ystävilleen hän ei ole rohjennut kertoa, Eviellä on myös hyvin tympeitä ajatuksia Olia kohtaan, vaikka hän kuinka yrittää ymmärtää poikaystäväänsä, Pääseekö Evie juhliin ollenkaan Hän rakastaa Olia hirmuisesti, mutta haluaisi tavata ystävänsä juhlissa,
"Miksi sä olet niin hyvä tässä"
"Missä"
"Siinä ettet saa mua tuntemaan itseäni häiriintyneeksi paskiaiseksi.
"
PAHA AJATUS
Koska en sano, mitä oikeasti ajattelen, . . Oli amp Evie, s.
Lottie on antanut ystävilleen sen kuvan, että hänellä menee tosi lujaa Lontoossa, eikä hän ole sen tähden ehtinyt pitää yhteyttä.
Todellisuus on kuitenkin eri. Kämppäkaverit eivät ole oikein ottaneet Lottieta huomioon, vaan kyräilevät hänelle, ja poikaystävä Will on käyttäytynyt oudon torjuvasti.
Lottie pitää yhä yllä feministiajatuksiaan, kuinkas muutenkaan, mutta onko Will sittenkin kyllästynyt hänen siihen piirteeseen, johon alussa rakastui Lottie päättää juoda itsensä Amberin bileissä känniin, ja sillähän ei luonnollisestikaan ongelmat helpotu, vaan ilta huipentuu melkoisen ihmissuhdesotkujen vyyhtiin.
Will nostaa katseensa, ja sydämeeni sattuu, Minulla on ollut häntä ikävä, Minulla on todella ollut häntä ikävä, Rakastan hänen pientä naamaansa, Vaikka se näyttääkin vittuuntuneelta, tai ehkä minä vain kuvittelen, Lottie, s.
Vaikka kirjan lopussa on surullisia tunnustuksia ja päätöksiä, tyttöjen ystävyys syvenee entisestään tai juuri siitä syystä.
Kirja kokoaa mukavasti tyttöjen tarinat yhteen ja on mukava lukuvälipalasivun pituudellaan, Välillä tarina intoutuu ehkä liikaakin draamailuun, joka saa minut pyöräyttelemään silmiäni, Kirjan loppuun on koottu lisämateriaalia, kuten kirjailijan haastattelu ja vanhojenpiikojen parhaat palat, suosikkihetket jne, .