Wow!
Just friggin wow!
Visceral, chilling and absolutely downright thrilling - I wish I had read it sooner!

This is definitely a marmite book, you will either love it or hate it. Unfortunately I hated it. Maybe it was my humour or lack of it at the moment but I just couldn’t take to this book.

A couple of years ago, I read Monster by CJ Skuse. It was a fast-paced, YA thriller/mystery that kept me guessing until the very end and I really enjoyed it. Sweet Pea is Skuse’s first adult novel and when I read the synopsis I knew I had to pick it up. I have been really craving an exciting psychological thriller recently and Sweet Pea really satisfied.

We follow Rhiannon, a 27-year-old underappreciated editorial assistant at a local gazette near Bristol. When she was a child, she was the sole survivor of a terrible crime which earned her a degree of sympathy and local celebrity with the public. Since then, she has gone on to lead a seemingly normal adult life but Rhiannon has a kill list. How far can she go before everything catches up to her?

Most chapters opens with a kill list. Skuse injects plenty of humour into an altogether dark, twisted novel and she is great at confusing our feelings towards Rhiannon. Our narrator goes from dishing out the same casual criticism of her friends, colleagues and celebrities that we all do to submerging us in a scene of cold-hearted vicious violence. Several times I was actually concerned about how much I could relate to her or how many times she made me smile. Skuse is incredibly clever at writing narrators who play with our emotions constantly.

Rhiannon is not a random killer. She seems to have a preference for killing men who prey on women and children, which could paint her as some kind of local hero in the eyes of some. She certainly sees it as a duty and that she is doing society a favour. However, we’re then reminded that there are a few cases where we see that she is capable of killing anyone for who she summons enough motive.

There were points where I could understand Rhiannon and what she was doing. Yes she does terrible things and sometimes her voice chills you to the bone but she also has a past full of loss and grief and fear. She doesn’t have a close-knit loving family. She doesn’t feel that she has anything in common with her friends. She is under-valued at work and her boyfriend is a lying cheat. Not that any of this is grounds for becoming a serial killer but there was so much in both her past and present that I could literally see how her urges had developed. I found myself wanting her to be OK and even championing her so many times that I actually came to the conclusion that anyone could do what she does. Despite her past, she isn’t predisposed to murder because in the right (or wrong) circumstances, anyone could be Rhiannon.

Sweet Pea literally races to its finish. The last 30% or so was jam-packed full of revelations and drama that I was totally caught up in. Then it dropped me hard and fast with an ending that I certainly didn’t see coming at all. I never suspected that Rhiannon would change her ways. It always seemed a little too late for that but the twist really… well, twisted me! In fact, I didn’t really twig what was happening until I was RIGHT THERE, full of a feeling of repulsion and total astonishment.

I’ve never had so many questions for myself or had so much concern for my own status as a decent person, as I had while reading Sweet Pea. It has been compared to American Psycho but I don’t ever remembering liking Patrick Bateman. I don’t ever remember laughing at a casual bitchy remark that he made or fully understanding his motives or where his feelings really stemmed from. I felt all of that with Rhiannon. I liked her. I saw myself in her. She made me wonder whether I could be her if my past were also full of tragedy coupled with a present full of unfulfilled dreams and people who don’t treat me well. She scared me but mostly because she represented an evil twin that I never knew existed.

5 Words: Dark, murder, panic, justice, brutal.

First up, this book is dark. Seriously dark. It starts with a very grisly, graphic scene that had me just about choking in shock. But it's also wickedly funny, full of the blackest humour. It had me laughing as much as it had me curling my toes with a y i k e s.

Sweetpea is definitely one of those marmite books. I absolutely loved it but I can absolutely see why it's not for everyone. It's graphic and gritty, with violent crimes and bad language.

I found this book impossible to put down, I was delving back in to Rhiannon's mind at every opportunity. She is an incredibly deep and complex character, who does some pretty abhorrent things. Yet I was still rooting for her, always.

The second I finished reading Sweetpea, I bought and downloaded the second book. I couldn't wait to see what would happen next.

If you are in the UK you may have seen or heard of a TV programme called Fleabag - well this book reminded me very much of the main character in that show - although I doubt Fleabag is a killer! The book also has the same narration, breaking the fourth wall as it is known in TV, by talking to the reader.
This is a dark book. At the beginning I was pretty scared what was going to happen to Rhinannon as she was out late one night on her own. That was until I realised she can look after herself, in fact more than look after herself. That was my first shock, and yet the chattering dialogue of the book made me forget it until something happened again and again and left me with my mouth hanging open each time.
There is not much to endear you to Rhiannon, and yet the little lists of who she would like to kill, did on occasion resonant with me. I laughed out loud, gasped out loud - a shocking book but oh so good with it. At times I began to think maybe I shouldn't be finding this amusing - was I becoming like Rhinannon? This book has taken me longer than usual to read because every page is dense with words - mainly the outpouring of Rhinannon's mind. You can't skim read it because you will miss the essence of it and some gems of humour too.
Don't read this book if you are not broad minded - there are some graphic descriptions of all manner of things including her sex life and there is also bad language.
It's certainly original. I'm giving this book 5 out of 5 stars. My thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

I’ve been lucky to read a lot of books over the years - even more since I started reviewing books. Predictably the books I’ve read have run the scale from good to bad. Unfortunately for me, my first read of 2019 was a disappointment given how much I was looking forward to it.

Sweetpea is the first book written for adults from YA author C.J. Skuse. It is written in the form of a diary, belonging to Rhiannon, an aspiring journalist who lives with her boyfriend Craig and chihuahua Tink. She hates her job, and is becoming increasingly fed up that her first novel only garners rejection after rejection and finds her group of friends irritating more often than not. She even has a fantasy “kill list” at the start of her daily entries - those who have most annoyed her on that day that she would love to snuff out. She is a seemingly ordinary, if disgruntled, young woman trying to navigate life.

But she hides a dark past that has lead to an even darker secret - Rhiannon is a cold, brutal killer. Granted, most of those she has killed are horrible people, tormentors, abusers, rapists and paedophiles. But she has taken it upon herself to play the role of judge, jury and executioner. She hides behind her normal, mundane life by day that allows her to take down those that attract her eye.

On paper, I really liked the sound of this book and had been looking forward to starting it. Sadly, I felt like it was the first book for adults written by someone used to addressing a much younger market. I felt as if the author had a sense of throwing off the shackles and being blunt and unrestrained. The language was colourful in the excess at times, with needlessly over the top insults and frequent swearing. I have no problem with swearing in a book, I feel like it adds realism when used correctly, but this was a whole new level. Certain elements felt like a desperate attempt to dive into the deepest, darkest and more depraved parts of humanity purely because this book was not a young adult story. Add to that, I could not engage with Rhiannon on any level. She struck me as having little humanity, and is overpoweringly self-indulgent. Everything came across as me, me, me and oh woe is me - it made her detestable and not in a good way. I will not be in a hurry to read the follow up to this book.

Say hello to my favourite book of 2018 so far! This book is insanely good, I can't believe I've put off reading it for so long. It's dark, gruesome, funny, and exciting. Rhiannon is one of the best characters I've ever read about, what an amazing book to read as the last book of my holiday.

I'm not sure what I really expected from this book, with a quote on the front (of my copy) saying "like Bridget Jones crossed with American Psycho" I honestly didn't have high hopes. I find most big claims like that make the book a letdown, but this one was totally accurate and I'M SO GLAD!

The story follows the deranged, but at the same time loveable, Rhiannon who is hilarious, relatable, but also... a serial killer. In some moments, I almost thought that Skuse had wormed her way into my brain and written her 'kill lists' based exactly on my own annoyances... eg "people who pronounce 'h' as 'haitch', "Iron Man", "People who leave doors open so they bang incessantly" etc. Other than the whole killing thing, Rhiannon is a very relatable and down to earth character that I think a lot of readers will resonate with.

Not to mention, she's one funny bitch. Honestly, this book had some real laugh-out-loud moments. I find it so hard to comically relate to books, usually, I enjoy the book but not for any of the comedic aspects. This book, however, really tickled me and I was chuckling along all the way through to the end. There are definitely some un-PC moments in this book, but that's totally my humour, so none of it bothered me.

The plot in this novel isn't exceptional. It's definitely exciting and fun to follow through. However, it's not particularly clever or unique, but none of that matters! Rhiannon and the humour make up for anything else that's lacking, yes, even to the point that this is still a 5-star book! That being said, the ending is shocking and what a cliffhanger! Thank God In Bloom is out in just a few days.

I don't really know where else to go with this review other than if you like dark humour, READ THIS BOOK! I've already recommended this to my dad, my friends & a work colleague, it's so worth buying.

Thank you SO MUCH to HQ for sending me this a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This was an interesting book. At times I was flipping the kindle faster but others I wanted to not read on. The language in it is too much and the use of sexual assault associated words is over the top and doesn't add to the story. I did enjoy it and didn't see some of the twists and turns coming. I'm looking forward to the second book.

Thanks goes to net galley and the publishers for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Well I found this book very weird it was very dark and graphic in places but I just couldn't stop reading.

I loved how the book was set out and left me shocked was not expecting what happened.

This book is unusual in interspersing murders with very genuine humour. Many chapters start with a short list of Rheanna's "hate list for the day" which is invariably an eclectic mix of the bizarre and the ominous. What's for certain is Rheanne has been psychologically damaged in her childhood and commits dreadful crimes in order to temporarily find peace from her demons. It seems strange to acclaim this novel as an genuinely enjoyable read as the subject matter is, as times both gory and unpleasant, but I suspect you'll laugh more than you wince. So give it a try.

I'm sorry but only 2.5 Stars in my Sky!

Even months after I first read Sweetpea I can honestly say that I'm not entirely sure what to think about it. One second I loved the black comedy elements, the next I really disliked them.

I'm not the biggest fan of journal style stories but I had to move past this when reading Sweetpea. The good part of the diary style narrative is the insights we get into Rhiannon’s twisted mind. Needless to say some of her thoughts are hideously shocking. Not all the time though because sometimes she's unintentionally funny, but she really does come out with some shockers!

The details! Boy does she go into detail with her murderous intensions. If black comedy and explicit descriptions are your thing then you'll probably love her warped and twisted thoughts.

I really wasn't sure what to make of the ending or the entire book to be honest. I did find myself laughing at some of Rhiannon’s antics - I'm not sure what this says about me. I have to admit I did find her particularly irritating for a lot of the story and although I've always liked darker stories I'm not entirely sure Sweetpea was for me.

I received a copy in exchange for an honest review!

What a weird weird book. And thanks to netgalley for the opportunity to have read such an entertaining read. I could not decide, from page to page whether I liked it, and then changed my mind at the next page! It is really a black comedy and not for the fainthearted!! Highly recommended.

Brilliantly dark and twisted . This was my first butbit won't be the last I read bybthis author

I'd downloaded Sweetpea some time ago and so had forgotten what it was about so I got a big shock very soon in. The whole book is outrageous and shocking, very violent and sexually explicit. Not my usual thing at all, but I kept reading because I wanted to see how it played out and I wasn't disappointed.

Plot: Rhiannon seems like a normal person. She lives with her boyfriend and her dog, she has a pretty average job, she has a group of friends who she doesn’t particularly care for that much, but she sees them occasionally and keeps up a relationship with. But she also has a kill list and likes to get revenge by murder.

My thoughts: Now this was an odd one! I’ve never read a book quite like it before, from the murderer’s point of view in journals and with no apparent sense of remorse. I guess what struck me as so odd about it was that I couldn’t understand the mindset of it all. In fact, this made it more readable for me in that it was unexpected. And strangely enough funny in a lot of parts – a black comedy, I’ve seen it described as.
It wasn’t a favourite read, but for something quite different to the usual books I pick up, it was enjoyable and fun – if a book about murder can be described as such!

This is one of the best books I have ever read. I suppose you would describe it as a black humour thriller. I congratulate the author on her first adult book. Rhiannon is a serial killer. She lives a quiet life with a nine to five job and lives with her boyfriend Craig. Her diary, written every morning, lists people she would like to kill and HER reasons for doing so. Please read this book, I didn't want to give away too many details of the story, as its such a brilliant read!

What an outrageously good read! The "kill lists" at the start of most chapters contain enough humour and one liners to justify buying the book, and I'm tempted to read it again just to note some of the wickedly hilarious comments. But then you have to read it all to discover this wild, at times crass and very dark character created by the author.

Whether we are treated to a follow up or not, I will certainly be looking out for other books by C J Skuse.

Rhiannon was an absolute scream. This book was so laugh out loud funny and so engrossing that I read it in a day. The violence could be a bit much, but it fit with Rhiannon's personality.

Wow! This book introduced me to the best anti-hero I have ever met. I defy anyone to not engage with Rhiannon and agree with her kill list at least once.

Skuse gives readers a murderer who is both skilled and completely normal. Her rage towards the bloke in Lidl squishing her bread had me weak and there were so many times whilst reading this book that I actually laughed out loud.

I loved the characters, I loved the plot and I loved Skuse’s writing. Although this is her first adult novel, I sincerely hope Skuse will be writing many more – as I for one, am a big fan!

Absolutely loved it! Read it start finish in a day I couldn't put it down. I thought the ending was quite abrupt I wanted to read more. I grew to love the main character even though she was a sadistic psychopath, at times the writer had you feel sorry for her. Would definitely recommend!