Reviews with content warning for Toxic relationship - Good Girl, Bad Blood

ok unpopular opinion: i preferred this book over the 1st one.
I like the mystery in this one a lot more, I felt like it played out in an interesting way.

Kinda slow in the beginning but once it really got going it was a great time.
I liked Pip's character development throughout. I wish Ravi did a bit more! I kinda miss their duo energy, he felt a bit like an assistant in this.

Lauren and Ant can go suck an egg.

WHEN PIP POURED A DRINK ON TOM, PUSHED ANT INTO LOCKERS AND VANDALISED MAX'S HOUSE AFTER LEAKING HIS CONFESSION... QUEEN SHIT I TELL U

Charlie's plan is ruined if Child Brunswick is happily married tho

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mishasbooks's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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strawberrycookies's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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ong's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

those last few chapters? i was there with her. that was fucking scary. incredible. never wanna go through something like that again.
happy i was able to guess who they are 191 pages in. never fully trust people who are kind for no reason. they also just groomed her to do bad things and just fully let her anger out. did pip go to therapy after the last book? she def should go now.
i hope max dies next. or go to jail forever, then immediately die bcs they beat him to death.
wish i could tag the cw for betrayal bcs fuck ant & lauren.

the beginning of the book was not as catchy as agggtm. found it kinda hard to pick up, but i'm glad i pushed through, because once i hit the 20%-something mark i really couldn't stop. especially the last 40% of the book. holy shit. she's done it again. completely blew me away by the last few chapters.

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librarymouse's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This novel is a fantastic continuation of the series. The main story line wraps up very neatly in A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, but Holly Jackson did such a fantastic job planting the seeds of future mysteries to be unraveled as the plot developed, that Good Girl, Bad Blood felt like a natural progression of the story. Just now, after finishing the book, it's hit me how short the timeline of the story is. Pip is still a high school student in this second book.

She discovers her best friend's dad (a second dad to her) is the man who murdered his oldest daughter's best friend, solving a five year mystery that the rest of the town had believed to be solved, and nearly dying in the process. In this novel, during the same school year, Pip is forced to reckon with who she has become, beyond the good student she's always been, while searching for her friend's missing brother in a town that thinks he just ran away.

In the prequel novella Kill Joy, Jackson plants the seeds for Ant to show his true colors. He's an asshole, poking fun at the murder of Andie Bell multiple times throughout the murder mystery birthday party they're attending and prank scaring his friends, disregarding his friends' feelings when they ask him to stop. In this novel, he is so wrapped up in his relationship with Lauren and he believes online comments, that he disregards Connor's pain, as does Lauren. He mocks Pip the day Max Hastings is pronounced not guilty, provoking her into attacking him by joking that she's hidden Jamie for more internet clout, calling his disappearance "convenient". I hope they're dropped from the friend group in the next novel.

This sets the stage really well for Ant's dad to be one of the people who protest the funeral. Jackson does a fantastic job depicting the negatives of small towns - the bigotry, and the closing of ranks. Ravi is the blueprint boyfriend, and his willingness to be there for Pip, supporting her through everything, is really beautiful. He understands what she's going through more than most. I'm also glad Pip was able to repair her relationship with Nat DeSilva.

I guessed the killer was Pip's neighbor, about 3/4 of the way through the book, but it was a feature of the clues peppered through the writing, and I'm not disappointed that I was able to guess it. The twist was still satisfying to read. Pip's suffering because of Charlie's actions, killing a man in cold blood, in front of her, is thoughtfully written. Her tenderness for a man she barely knew, and who most would say didn't deserve it, whether it be for his past and apologized for racism, or his part in his father's crimes as a child, juxtapose greatly with the reactions of the townsfolk who new and loved Stanley before his identity was revealed. Pip cares about the truth and the preservation of life, and her coming to terms with her new perception of right and wrong, and who she is as a person make for a very compelling subplot to this novel.

I'm excited for the next book, but I'm sad I have so little time left with these characters.

Great story if you love to read about feminine rage.

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