Mini Review | Toxic by Nicci Cloke

Toxic by Nicci Cloke
Published On: July 26, 2018
Published By: Hot Key Books
Genre: YA, Contemporary
Pages: 304
Format: eBook
Source: Netgalley
Rating: ★★★

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Hope has never been happier. She's on her way to Crete, after a group of her friends have made her an honorary 'lad' and let her tag along on their boys' holiday. There's a slight complication in that one of those boys, Logan, is Hope's ex-boyfriend, but they're still friends and Hope's pretty confident it won't be too awkward. 
The next couple of days are exactly what Hope was hoping for - lazy days in the sun, and long, drunken conversations. She can't help but notice that Logan's flirting with her. Logan and Hope end up alone and Hope is horrified when, after she leans in to kiss him, Logan completely rejects her. Embarrassed and annoyed, Hope is on a mission to get drunk, and with the alcohol flowing, and the sun going down, Hope's starts having a great time. 
The next thing Hope knows, she's being woken up on the beach by two strangers. It's 9 o'clock the next morning and she can't remember anything about the previous night . . . what on earth happened?

*A copy of this book was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*

  This book was not what I expected at all. From the synopsis, this sounds like a mystery trying to uncover what happened to Hope after she wakes up on the beach while on a 'lads holiday' with no recollection of how she got there. However, there is a lot more to this book.

  It's split into three sections, each with a different narrator. The first follows this holiday that Hope goes on with her male friends, including ex-boyfriend Logan. This was a really fun storyline that really got me in the summer mood and made me want to go on holiday. It also featured the mystery aspect of what happened to Hope, as well as another mystery that is revealed throughout the book.
The second section focuses more on the aftermath of the holiday and how friendships have changed due to the events that took place. There are a lot of important topics covered in this section, most prominently mental health and asking for help. This was an incredibly important section and one that I found really struck a chord with me.

  The third section very much relates to the title of the book. This section really draws attention to toxic friendships, but it also deals with topics such as homophobia and sexual abuse. This is not the light and fluffy read the cover might lead you to believe, it deals with some really hard hitting stuff and this final section does go to some quite dark places.

  While I did generally enjoy this book, some aspects didn't quite meet my expectations. The characters were all pretty average and I didn't have a strong connection with any of them. I also found the mystery aspect to be anti-climactic and not really necessary to the story, other than to emphasise how awful certain characters were. I also found that the three sections, though not set out as three separate sections, were very distinct in their separation and so the story didn't flow as well as it could have. On top of that, things did start to drag a little towards the end and I found myself getting a bit bored.

  Overall, this is a good book with many layers to it. It deals with some difficult, hard-hitting topics, but important topics that need to be discussed. These topics were, I feel, handled sensitively and written well. Though there were aspects I found disappointing and I was bored at points, the main themes of each section were interesting and engaging for the most part. It was not at all what I was expecting, and definitely not the story the cover would suggest, but I did enjoy it and would recommend it to those who like darker contemporaries with a bit of summer fun thrown in.