Review - The Girls I've Been by Tess Sharpe

 

 

 

 

Title: The Girls I've Been

Author: Tess Sharpe

Pages: 336

Publisher: Hodder Children's Books

Release Date: 26th January 2021

 

Blurb from Goodreads: 

Nora O'Malley is a lot of things. A sister. An ex. A secret girlfriend. Kind of crooked, but reformed... somewhat.

Nora O'Malley's been a lot of girls. As the daughter of a con-artist who targets criminal men, she grew up her mother's protege. But when mom fell for the mark instead of conning him, Nora pulled the ultimate con: escape.

For five years she's been playing at normal. But she needs to dust off the skills she ditched because she has three problems:

#1: her ex walked in on her with her girlfriend. Even though they've all been inseparable for months, Wes didn't know about her and Iris.

#2: The morning after, they all have to meet to deposit the fundraiser money they raised together. It's a nightmare that goes from awkward to deadly.

Because #3: right after they get in the bank, two guys start robbing it.

But they have no idea who they're really holding hostage.

The robbers are trouble. Nora's something else entirely.

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My Review:

*I received an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to Hachette Children's Group and NetGalley*

Nora O'Malley is at a bank with her girlfriend and ex-boyfriend when two men pull out guns and start a robbery.

Nora will have to use her past as a con-artist's daughter and all the different girls she's been to make it out alive and save her friends.

The premise for this book intrigued me so I decided to give it a go, especially as I'd been meaning to read a book by the author for a while.

The majority of the book is set during the bank robbery and I enjoyed the thriller aspects of this. There are also flashbacks to the different girls Nora was forced to be by her mother. These flashbacks were interesting and made me feel sorry for Nora who didn't get to really have a childhood. She'd been through a lot for someone so young.

Nora was a likeable and relatable protagonist who I enjoyed getting to know.

Other than Nora, my favourite characters were Lee, Nora's sister, and Iris, Nora's girlfriend, who were both pretty badass.

I liked the representation and thought the dark themes were handled well.

The plot held my attention throughout and while I wasn't gripped, I was interested to keep reading and find out what would happen. However, I wasn't invested enough to be shocked or on the edge of my seat.

The writing style was easy to follow and I would be interested in reading another book by the author.

Overall, this was an enjoyable, unique read.