Definitely lives up to it’s title- a compelling, crazy storyline. I enjoyed it, but found the ending quite strange.

Wow, this is a blast from start to finish! Alvie is the ultimate demented anti-heroine whose rude, lewd and crude voice brings this book to life. From getting sacked from her dead-end job for watching porn at her desk to stealing a Louis Vuitton suitcase off the baggage reclaim because she wants new clothes, Alvie does all those things that we might dream of but which are censored by our rational minds (hope that's not just me?!)

Visiting her 'good' twin in Sicily, things soon take a darker turn but the ever-resourceful Alvie is more than a match for the Cosa Nostra and soon finds she's a natural at killing... With sexy Italian men galore (and Alvie's not a girl to just look and admire from a distance) this zips along effortlessly. It's pure escapism, for sure, but is written with a verve and assurance that makes it stand out from the crowd. Alvie may not have gone to Oxford like her twin, but her literary references are spot on and don't you love a girl whose idea of upbeat reading is Siegfried Sassoon?!

This book certainly lives up to its title – it’s completely and utterly “mad”.

From the start you get sucked into Alvie's mind and carried along with her from one crazy, madcap episode to the next. I actually couldn't put it down and read it in a few days because I wanted to know what Alvie would do next, The plot is very far-fetched but great and left me open mouthed at several points wondering “did she really just do that?”.. Totally original and very cleverly written. Alvie is like the bad girl at school that your parents warn you against.

Alvie is certainly 'mad, bad and dangerous to know.' Am looking forward to reading the next instalment of the trilogy in the Summer.

Meet Alvina, twin sister to the perfect Beth. She's angry, feisty and maybe just a little bit bonkers.
Alvina isn't perfect, but she wants her life to be. So when Beth invites her to stay in Italy with her, she eventually buckles and goes.
I laughed myself senseless at the airport incident and it was like a joyride from then on in.
Hysterical, almost unbelievable, pick all the bad choices and you too could be Alvina, albeit a tad psychotic.
Not for the sensitive soul, it may shock, but it's hilarious and I cant wait for the follow-up.

Mad it most certainly is! It wallops you between the eyes from the first page and doesn't let off the pace until the last sentence. Alvie jumps out of the page, an absolute nightmare of a modern girl, full of zest, full of excuses and full of trouble. The story is just silly but entertaining. No holds barred, there are murders, sex and indulgence everywhere so hold tight if you want an escapist, raunchy, highly enjoyable ride!

I’m not sure what I expected when I first started reading Mad but I can definitely say I was surprised. I don’t think I have every hated and loved the main character of a book so equally before. Esposito certainly creates a unique but compelling story!

Only managed a few pages but there was so much bad language that I couldn't continue. I know a lot of people use bad language but I don't think it adds to the story at all and is uncomfortable to read.

Mad by Chloe Esposito is the first in a trilogy about Alvira Knightly. Alvira is living the wreckage of a life in London, chain smoker, drug taker, lazy and amoral she is given the opportunity to visit her identical twin Beth in Italy. Beth leads an apparently idyllic and perfect life, beautiful baby boy, handsome and wealthy husband and luxurious home and the total opposite of Alvira in terms of grooming and personality. However, once there, Alvira is asked to swap places with Beth for a few hours and then trouble begins and Alvira plunges headlong into a sequence of dangerous and murderous events. Whilst this is a romp of a novel, I loathed the character of Alvira for her unredeeming character and not sure I could read the further two books in the trilogy.

Not my usual sort of read at all, but I am so glad I read it. It's hilarious, shocking and raunchy in equal amounts. The story is based around twins - one has spent her life being told she's good, the other that she is bad. Only as it turns out, Alvie the bad twin isn't bad at everything, in fact she's very, very good at murder. Alvie is clearly mad - she's reckless and damaged and demands immediate gratification, the upshot of which is she ends up as a murdererous thief on the run from the mafia. I can see why the book is being made into a film and I for one am looking forward to seeing it - I just hope it lives up to the book. A perfect summer read and highly recommended.

What great fun! I absolutely loved #Mad and raced through it at breakneck speed this summer on holiday. It is such a crazy, sexy read that I just couldn't put it down. The setting was so real that I could almost step into those coveted sparkly sandals myself and I found myself totally wrapped up in the crazy adventures of Alvie and really enjoyed living vicariously through her daring and explosive adventures. Definitely not one for the faint-hearted or prudish but an excellent poolside treat for those who don't take themselves or their holiday-read heroines too seriously. I have definitely been recommending this book and can't wait to see what happens in #Bad and #DangerousToKnow. Alvie is a kickass, brainy, sexy maniac - and I loved her. Five stars from me - a perfect holiday read

I found this book too depressing and didn't engage with the story at all.

Alvinas life in the UK is a mess - no friends, no boyfriend and no job.... so when her twin sister Beth invites her to come and stay with her and her perfect family and life in Italy Alvina only goes as she has nothing better to do...

However, Alvina soon realises that Beths life is not as perfect as it seems. Why is Beth covered in bruises, is her marriage as great as it appears, what is Beth and her husband really up to?

Soon Alvina is drawn into a crazy world where she does not know who to trust but frankly she doesnt care as long as Alvina gets what she wants.

And here is the problem with this book for me - Alvina is just such a thoroughly unlikeable, selfish character its hard to connect with her or be interested in what is happening.

The book is only saved by the fact that Esposito is a genuinely funny writer and, despite Alvina, adds a wicked level of humour to the story.

MAD is not just mad, it's crazy! One of the most 'different' books I've read in ages. I really enjoyed it. Great humour too. A side splitting moment was the baggage search scenario at the airport. MAD encompasses a mixture of farce, Cinderella, the deadly sins and Mafiosi, not forgetting some interesting facts too. I'll never view an Angler fish in the same light again.
When some smug so and so says to you, "there's no I in team", after reading MAD you'll have a good put down!

Utterly incredible. Heart-pounding, page flicking, left-staring-at-the-wall-when-finished reading book.

The characters, the setting, the history, the writing. This is a startling debut that will want you craving more from the first word to the last. Alvira Knightley is the perfect protagonist representing the modern woman (if a little bit crazily and perhaps taking what life gives you a little too far - you know she does let her sister die and then go on a murder spree) but she definitely makes the most out of a tough situation.

Chloe Esposito has a way with words, a capability to create characters that are nuts but you totally get behind. Trust me when I say this series is going to be BIG!

Alvina Knightly: Uncensored. Unhinged. Unforgettable. 'There's something you should know before we go any further: my heart is in the wrong place. Now don't say I didn't warn you. . .'
Perhaps that's why nothing in Alvie's life has ever gone right?
Until now. She can finally abandon her credit card debt - and her fruitless three-way relationship with Tinder and Twitter - when fate gives her the chance to steal her identical twin's perfect life.
It's just a shame Beth had to die to make Alvie's dreams come true.
She may be an accidental murderess, but who can blame her for taking lemons and making lemonade?
Well. . . Beth's husband might, and the police, but only if they can catch her.
So begin seven days of sex, violence and unapologetic selfies - one wild week that sees Alvie break every rule in the book.
She never did have much respect for boundaries. It might be madness, but rules are meant to be broken. Right?
If you are able to suspend your disbelief this book is a riot.
I really can’t make up my mind whether I loved or hated this book. 3*

I really wanted to love this book, because honestly, I love a good anti-hero and I love female characters being given the opportunity to be kick-ass, make-no-apologies, do-what-they-want women. Alvina Knightly is definitely that, but she’s frustrating, irritating and completely vapid. Rather than being a credible woman, thrown into the unexpected and dealing with it (admittedly by murdering her way out of tricky situations), she is completely dependent on men, moving from one male character to the next – having sex with all of them – and doesn’t ever seem to be a really credible character. I was hoping for a character to match Rhiannon from C.J. Skuse’s ‘Sweetpea’ but was disappointed to find a mentally ill, nymphomaniac, anti-feminist.

Alvie Knightly is the main character in this book, this is probably THE only book I've read which is true to its title because my god is this a mad book.
The book starts off with you getting to know Alvie, living in London, jobless, broke, homeless the list goes on. Elizabeth her twin sister contacts her to come over to her villa in Italy. Alvie hasn't spoken to her sister in over 2 years but decides she's nothing to loose. The story is set over a week but don't think this is strung out because it isn't there is a lot going on, even if there are gaping holes in the plot you can't help kind of liking Alvie and wanting to find out what happens next. Most of the time this book is totally unbelievable but doesn't detract from the enjoyment. I can't wait to find out what's next in Alvies life!!
I would like to thank netgalley and penguin random house for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

Readable but found it a bit far-fetched. Started really well but then just got so bizarre, I thought it was be the just having a bad dream!

I absolutely loved this book. I'm going to try and avoid saying 'mad' too many times, but for want of a better word that really sums up this novel. It IS mad. It's also very funny, entertaining, fast paced and completely crazy.

Main character Alvie is actually a pretty awful person. You know she is, she knows she is, but she's just so unapologetic. She's selfish, mean and no doubt very annoying to spend any time with, but reading about her escapades and don't-care attitude was really fun. She's also very crude which only added to the hilarity, in my opinion.

The story is fast-paced and easy to read; I rocketed through it in no time at all. There are plenty of ridiculous moments and of course it's all very far-fetched, but I guess that's kind of the point. I loved that Alvie a British character but also that much of the story was set in atmospheric, gorgeous Italy. Some of the story is quite clever, too, and there were many parts I didn't see coming.

If you fancy a fun rollercoaster of a summer read with a main character you love to hate (in this respect it reminded me of SweetPea, another novel I loved - read my review here) then this is a great option. I will definitely be reading the other two in the trilogy!

Where to start? A book of three halves, perhaps? A quirky, surreal novel that starts well, with colour and depth to the central character and her complex setting. Humour is initially well-used to both set the scene and introduce a bit of Tarantino-esque murderous fantasy. From somewhere around half way, though, Ms Esposito really loses the plot, quite literally. What began as an intriguing and clever take on the trials and tribulations of a typical dysfunctional and disorganised loser slowly morphed into a sloppy and ill-connected series of increasingly implausible - and increasingly tasteless - killings. Tarantino's clever use of fantasy was long forgotten by this point, with unforgivable references that recall to readers' minds the savage murder of Ms Kercher and the notorious killer Fred West. By the end both Ms Esposito and I had clearly lost interest in the plot. This is such a shame as there could be a capable author lurking somewhere here; a bit of friendly advice, though, would be to lose the show-off references to various literary works and find ways of using this knowledge without using a crowbar to draw the reader's attention to how well-read she is.