Toxic by Nicci Cloke

Toxic

Author: Nicci Cloke

Publisher: Bonnier

Release date: 29th August 2018

Pages: 291 pages

R.R.P: $19.99

'Thanks for letting me tag along.'

'Hey, any time, Novak. You've always been one of the boys.'

Sun, sand... and all the rest.

Hope, Dev, Nate, JB, Zack, Logan- friends together.

Hope has never been happier. She's on her way to Crete, as an honorary lad, with all her boy mates. One of them just happens to be her ex-boyfriend... but they're still friends and Hope's pretty confident it won't be too awkward.

But one morning Hope is woken up on the beach by two strangers and she can't remember anything about the previous night.

Where were the boys?

Shouldn't friends look out for each other?

As recriminations fly and the meant-to-be-perfect holiday unravels, Dev, Nate, JB, Zack, Logan and Hope begin to look at each other with new eyes.

After all, who needs enemies when friends are this toxic?

My Review

Thoughts on the book: Toxic is the latest hard hitting ya novel from Nicci Cloke, author of Follow Me Back and Close Your Eyes. Toxic tells the story of a Hope and her boy pals (who just so happens to included her ex-boyfriend, Logan) who head to Crete for a holiday of a lifetime. The first couple of days everything is going smoothly, Hope is just another one of the boys and they are all going out getting drunk and looking after each other. But then on their second last day they go on an amazing boat cruise to a private island and suddenly Hope is waking up on the beach the next morning not knowing how she got there or why? But as we read on we learn that so much more was happening behind the scenes than what everyone thought and the more we learn the more we discover that they might not be the tightnit group that everyone thought they were. But will we ever learn what really hallened that night?

A massive thank you to Allen and Unwin for sending me a copy of Toxic by Nicci Cloke to read and review for you. I read Close Your Eyes by Nicci Cloke last year and absolutely adored it so when I saw she had written another book I knew I had to read and review it. Nicci has a way of tackling large hard hitting topics that most authors don't tend to throw into their books or they are as a blimp in the story but Nicci puts them front and centre so that you are aware of it and can't think of anything else but that. In Toxic we see topics discussed such as teenage drinking, homophobic, depression, sexual assault and toxic relationships and each topic is discussed in a way that will leave a lasting memory on you and in a way that people can relate with. 

The story is told in three points of view so we get multiple views on what is occurring, we have Hope who is the main character at the start who most of the mIn storylines happen to, then we have Logan who has his own storyline and his own issues to deal with and then we have Daisy who is Logan's girlfriend who is kind of on the outside of things because she wasn't there when everything happened but yet is still dealing with everything that is happening. I loved all of the multiple points of view In the book and think that it helped the storyline along. But don't be fooled by the cutesy cover because it certainly isnt reflective of the story. Overall it was an amazing story and I can't wait to read more from Nicci Cloke.

Rating: 5/5