Translate

Search this blog

Saturday 10 October 2015

✍ The Queen B* Strikes Back: The Queen B* [2] - Crista McHugh

Genre: Teens & YA, Coming Of Age
Published by Crista McHugh
Number of pages: 189
My rating: ★ ★ ★ I liked it  
purchase from Amazon.co.uk purchase from Amazon.com

The Queen B* Strikes Back
Review | About the author | Teaser | The Series | Confessions of a Queen B* |


"Alexis Wyndham isn't quite sure what to think about her "friendship" with star quarterback, Brett Pederson.  Sure, he has more brains than the entire football team combined.  Not to mention that fact he's a great kisser.

When he asks her to help him with his college admission essay, she isn't sure if he's doing it to spend more time with her or if he's just using her for her intelligence.  But after her nemesis, Summer Hoyt, makes it clear she's not finished chasing after Brett, the war is on, and the head cheerleader will find out that hell hath no fury like a Queen B*."


"The Queen B* Strikes Back" by Crista McHugh is the second instalment in the Queen B* series.  It picks up exactly where Confessions of a Queen B* left off, and once again the story is written in the first person from the point of view of Alexis Wyndham, who has to remind herself more and more that she is the Queen Bitch.  The narration continues to focus on her relationship with the quarterback Brett Pederson, and the host of questions and insecurities brought on by it, and two weeks in their lives are covered.  Alexis has a lot of growing up to do...

The main characters, Alexis and Brett, continue to be very well developed, especially considering that across the first two books their journey has only spanned one single month!  Brett in particular shines, he breaks the mould; his interactions with Alexis could not be written better, and are full of chemistry and fireworks.  The peripheral characters (a selection of typical tropes in the high school setting) also continue to be developed, especially Alexis' two best friends: Richard, the gay guy, and Morgan, the sexually emancipated goth.

Having said that, I did find the first part of this books rather boring and repetitive as it spent a fair amount of text recounting events that had taken place in the previous book.  I do understand that, when it comes to series, it is important for authors to ensure each book can be viewed as a stand-alone piece, however I feel that a short catch-up section at the beginning of the volume would be much more effective, as it would bring new readers up to speed whilst not boring existing ones and detracting from the current narration.

There were also other sections that felt repetitive, and could have benefited from being presented using different wording / phrasing, for instance, Alexis keeps on remind herself that she is the Queen Bitch and of the situation that led her there.

After the first third, the story did however pick up and once again this was overall a fun, light-read, which also addressed some very serious topics well.  This series is definitely well worth a read, and its characters and situations feel very true to life.

I am looking forward to the next chapter in Alexis and Brett's romance, The Queen B* And the Homecoming King, due for publication on 24 November 2015.

[ARC received via Rockstar PR]

About the Author

Crista McHugh is a NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY BESTSELLING author of fantasy and romance who writes heroines who are smart, sexy and anything but ordinary.

She currently lives in the Audi-filled suburbs of Seattle with her husband and two children, maintaining her alter ego of mild-mannered physician by day while she continues to pursue writing on nights and weekends.

She is an active member of the Romance Writers of America (including the Greater Seattle Chapter and the Seattle Eastside Chapters), and Romance Divas.

Just for laughs, here are some of the jobs she’s had in the past to pay the bills: barista, bartender, sommelier, stagehand, actress, morgue attendant, and autopsy assistant.

And she’s also a recovering LARPer. (She blames it on her crazy college days)

Follow Crista McHugh:

Visit the author's website Visit the author on Facebook Visit the author on Twitter Visit the author on their Amazon page Visit the author on GoodReads

No comments: