Reviews with content warning for Blood - People Person

I read Carty-Williams' debut novel, Queenie, a few years ago when it came out, and I really enjoyed the messy, genuine titular character. So this sophomore novel was on my Tbr longlist as soon as I heard about it. I was actually able to grab an ARC copy from my library's "up for grabs for staff" pile sometime last year and I've finally gotten to it.

Dimple is an adult, living with her mother, and trying to make a career as an influencer happen. She has five half-siblings that she mostly doesn't know at all. She met them once as a child and hasn't seen or spoken to them since. But, when a dramatic and terrifying interaction when her (ex) boyfriend leaves her in a tough spot, she calls her oldest half-sister, Nikisha, for help. Nikisha, in turn, calls the rest of the half-siblings (Danny, a plumber and single father, Lizzie, a medical student, and Prynce, Nikisha's full-brother who is still trying to figure things out) and together they converge on Dimple's flat in the middle of the night to help her sort things out. Because maybe they only have an absent father and abandonment issues in common, but at the end of their day, they share blood - and that's a thicker bond than anything else.

I was really not expecting the dark humor in the set-up of this novel to be so strong, but honestly, I found myself fully amused the entire time I was reading this. Carty-Williams manages to take a number of truly terrible themes, like murder, blackmail, mistreatment by the police, and a number of dysfunctional/dangerous family and relationship situations, and really make them...humorous. I feel like I've never actually read something that, literarily, so fully embodies both "dark" and "humor" as well as it was done here. Obviously, this is in large part down to Carty-Williams writing. But also, the plot set-up of five half siblings that have objective connections (blood), but no real subjective connections (inter-relational), yet are thrown into this high-drama situation together, absolutely lends itself to the humorous aspects of the story, with vibes of absurdity in the hilarity.

Also, once again, the author tackles the "messy new adult life" characters. Each one of the siblings was a bit of a mess, in their own way, and they are so genuine because of it. This was a fascinating comparison of how different people handle the same life circumstances, even when genetics are in common, because of the surroundings they've experienced. it really kept my attention both in interest and in entertainment. Plus, if you love sibling relationships, and I've mentioned before that I really have a soft spot for well-written sibling relationships, this book brings it hard with the “I’ll do anything for you but annoy the piss out of you while doing it” style interactions. And I could not get enough of that.

The ending was a bit transparent, as far as it paralleled back to the opening chapter, but it is also a satisfying literary circle-back as a finale. I don't really have too much else to say - this is a fairly succinct review for me - but don't take that to mean I didn't enjoy this. I was really into these characters, they were gorgeously human (flawed but full, and loveable in that), which seems to be a particular talent of Carty-Williams. And the story held some real depth and room for reflection and growth, while remaining a primarily fun and entertaining reading experience. This is definitely one I'll be recommending!

“But what if you felt like you didn't have a choice? [...] What if you did what you had to do because you were scared?”

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znvisser's review against another edition

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reflective medium-paced

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

2.75

Really mixed feelings about this one… I did mostly love the writing and the sibling dynamics, so those made this read enjoyable. However, I had two bigger problems with it as well: first was the plot, which was really weirdly paced and yet somehow (or actually because of it) quite predictable. Adding the nine night to get the mothers together was not really necessary, it just confused me as to how thirty years later these women still get so emotional over a man who seemed to have not much more going for him than a bit of charm that fizzled out long ago. Second is the perspective: out of the five siblings, the main character was by far the least interesting one and she really got on my nerves after a while. The bad decisions, naïveté and her oversensitivity were so excessive they made me wish I was getting to know this family through ANY other character (it was overdone too, I mean she was already like this as a baby?? Come ON)

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gabriellejane's review against another edition

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reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.75

I loved Queenie, so I was interested to see what Carty-Williams would do in her sophomore novel. Unfortunately, the story fell apart in the middle in my opinion. You have this big event that happened in the very beginning of the book and then from that point to the 70% mark nothing really happened. I feel like the story could have been told in less pages with more meaning than that middle section that did nothing for the characters or the plot. I did read lots of pages as it was a semi-quick dialogue despite my qualms with the plot. I wanted more from the other siblings, and maybe that was a summary issue that focused on all 5 of the siblings, but when in fact it was really told from one sibling really. I'll probably read Carty-Williams next book and chalk this one up to a sort of sophomore slump.

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d0505's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-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

3.75

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agirlnamedellie's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-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

4.5

My second read of Candice's and thoroughly enjoyed. Thought the character development and the growth of the relationship between the siblings was so lovely to read about. Loved the humour within this book too and liked that each sibling was very well fleshed out, with their own histories and personalities being very well thought out and individual, which is why I think I enjoyed it so much. Found the traits of the siblings father difficult to read at times as his behaviour mirrored my own estranged fathers when I was younger, but thats more of a personal feeling to me, but my feeling didn't tarnish how I felt about the book.

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michaelion's review against another edition

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emotional funny medium-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

3.75

TW // British

Very funny. As an only child who grew up with a somewhat absent father, and knowing the secondhand experience my friends had of being one of many children, this hit home. The book is very real in many ways.

Dimple going off on Lizzie, then the next day everyone continuing on like nothing had happened. I imagine that's what it was like after I'd left my friend's houses.

There's something about it I can't explain that I really connected to. Overall, though, the message about family hit my soft spot.

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laurataylor's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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