Thank you for providing me with an advance review copy of this book. Enjoyed reading, would recommend....

I'm so glad Malorie Blackman released this book. It's a fantastic addition to the noughts and crosses series and ties in more with todays modern world.

Thank you to Netgalley for a pre publication copy. In return for an honest review #crossfire #netgalley

Listened on borrowbox

This moves on to the story of Callie-Rose and Toby all grown up but also very much focuses on Troy, Sephy's son, and his good friend Libby as they navigate their way through school and working respectively. Will their life be exactly what they planned?


I previously read noughts and crosses the YA book when it first came out in the early noughties and enjoyed it. I saw on Netgalley this bookwas out. I applied and got it but when I started reading it didn't make sense because I hadn't realised their was quite a few books after noughts and crosses. So I decided to start the series again and here we are.

This book does exactly what it says on the tin! It is a YA book which covers some very emotional and important topics. Such as being captured, death, scandels in the community, terroism amongst other things. This is all done in a way which does not go into too much detail for a young adult but enough to make them think about nature vs nurture.

However this book waa very confusing to Begin with. You were introduced to Troy a couple or chapters in but didn't find out who Libby was until about 2/3rds in. Rather than being suspense driven I found it confusing and felt slightly like it didn't belong in the series. Furthermore the chapters chopped and changed from the past to now to the future. I found this again was disjointed and didn't feel smooth but also left parts very confusing. Instead I think keeping it in chronological order would have helped. Particularly as you hear about Jasmine's money given to Toby about half way in but actually it was the last part in the previous book.

Also It has left on "To be concluded." I feel like the series is being dragged out now and could have safely been left on the 4th or 5th book.

I found this book very hard to rate. What was given to the reader was solid and the books storyline had a lot of potential. However there remained parts where the reader is left confused and the skipping time periods chaptic Therefore I feel this book is a 3.5 Stars out of 5. As opposed to a solid amount stars.

I was intrigued to read this after reading the other four books in the series. I wasn’t sure another book was needed so quite skeptical going in to it. But as with all books in this series, it pulls you in and you become fully immersed as always! My skepticism was unnecessary as this book was as enjoyable as the others and the only frustrating thing was ending… now I want to know more!!

This is one of my favourite series and this book didn’t disappoint. I’m so invested in the characters and what happens to them. I love Malorie Blackman’s writing, and cannot recommend their books enough.

Another fabulous installment in the Noughts and Crosses series. Well worth a read. Thank you to Netgalley for the chance to read.

A worthy ending to the series that defined a generation – excellent to delve back into the world of Noughts and Crosses.

Hmmm, I’m not sure if it’s just me or not but I really struggled with the multiple POV’s and timelines and found it very confusing in places.

An ok plot (albeit a little slow) but the cliffhanger ending really annoyed me… just felt like half a book, a set up for the next one. Which was disappointing.

Wanted a little more character development, I struggled to feel connected to them at all.

This is number 5 in the Noughts and Crosses series by Malorie Blackman.

Crossfire is chilling in how it echoes the messed up world today.

Here we are back with Callie and Tobey, plus new characters Libby and Troy, both from a conflict riddled generation.

The story is told amidst the political car crash of Brexit, Windrush, immigration, the far right and fake news. This is reality and Crossfire mixes fact and fiction seamlessly
When Tobey faces serious charges and is facing a trial, he wants Callie to defend him and so this tale becomes a gripping thriller.

This is a tale of race, of family, class, prejudice and politics. The beautifully developed characters bring the tale to life. It’s a tense and compelling read.

I read the Noughts and Crosses books as a kid so I'm thrilled we're getting another set of books. It was great to get back into this world and I love the cross over with modern day politics. A really important message written in an accessible way.

I did not read this book but would like to in the future. Unfortunately for me, it was archived before I could download it.

Excellent book! A modern Romeo and Juliet with a happy ending, full of action, schemes and romance. When families business and politics go in the middle,

This is the latest book in the noughts and crosses series. Personally, i feel that this isn't a standalone and they should be read in order so that the reader has a feel for what's going on.

With a new nought prime minister, Tobey, were thrown into a world which is struggling from a windrush type generation, to a brexit style feud.

Libby comes from an impoverished background, while Troy a wealthier one.

Cally, now 30, is training to be a judge. She becomes involved in helping and protecting Tobey.

The best, but also the most frustrating thing about the book was the absolute cliffhanger it ended on. I felt like it was just reaching a climax when it ended.

I'll definitely be looking out for book six.

I can’t believe how long it took me to get to this series! I so wish I had read these whilst I was a teenager but also great that I didn’t have to wait for this as long as some have. Excellent writing, vision and empathy!

I'm not sure if this is as good as the original Noughts & Crosses series or it's just that i'm no longer the target age for this series either now, compared with when I read them originally but I did still think it was good.

I thought the new characters and their backstories were well thought out and developed , although I would recommend reading a couple of re-caps for the series or re-reading it entirely.

Looking forward to seeing what the next instalment brings

Always loved the Noughts and Crosses series and this did not dissapoint. The characters are incredible and the plot without spoiling is gripping! Definitely a 5 out of 5 from a big Malorie Blackman fan.

It is very difficult to review Crossfire, not only because it is the fifth book in a series but because it also feels like it only tells half of a story.

Crossfire follows Troy and Libby, who are the children of characters we meet earlier in the series, as they are kidnapped and trapped in a basement. It also has some chapters from Callie Rose and Tobey’s perspectives (the protagonists of Double Cross) dotted throughout, filling us in on everything which happened between the end of the last novel and the start of this one.

As is often the case with Malorie Blackman’s writing, this book has a non-linear narrative, skipping between Before and After the kidnapping, as well as jumping all the way back to when Callie Rose and Tobey were younger. It makes for a very intense read. The kidnapping happens right at the beginning and the blanks of who and why are filled in quite rapidly, making it easy to read this book in one sitting.

Personally, I feel as though this book is the strongest in the Noughts & Crosses series. Both plots are equally compelling. I couldn’t wait to see what happened between Tobey and Callie Rose, but I also wanted to get straight back to Libby and Troy. In the past I have found myself strongly preferring one viewpoint over the other (I loved Callum’s chapters more in Noughts & Crosses but found myself favouring Sephy’s viewpoint in Knife Edge, which meant the chapters following other characters ended up dragging a little bit) so it was a pleasant surprise that the new characters were just as interesting as the ones I already knew and loved.

However, this doesn’t feel like a complete story. It leaves off on one hell of a cliffhanger and, considering Crossfire has been out for almost a year and the next book doesn’t have a release date, title or a cover yet, it’s wholly unsatisfying. If I had been aware that the story stopped so abruptly I probably would have held off on reading this (well, if it hadn’t been on this shortlist…) because I feel as though I’m going to have to reread it to be able to appreciate the next installment fully. This was so close to being a five star (the other four books in the series have all been four stars, so it’s frustrating that I enjoyed this one the most and still couldn’t justify rating it any higher!).

I am finding myself a bit confused on how this has been nominated for the YA Book Prize, though. In their own words ‘Books published as part of a series are eligible but must work as a standalone title’, and I don’t think that’s the case with Crossfire. Not only is the story quite clearly unresolved, but it also seems impossible to read without previous knowledge of the series. Tobey and Callie Rose fill in the blanks between the events of Double Cross and Crossfire but don’t really recap things that actually happened in the previous book, and I think I would have had too many question marks floating around my head if I had read this without the context of the series so far.

I’m planning on doing a full series review of Noughts & Crosses at some point, as I reread all four previous books before reading Crossfire, but I will probably be waiting until the sixth and final book is released (whenever that may be!). However, I am so grateful that I’ve finally had the excuse to rediscover these books. I loved them so much when I was younger, and I love them so much now: I definitely won’t be leaving it as long before I reread them again.

Crossfire is the long-awaited follow up to Noughts and Crosses. I am admittedly late to the party with this series but Malorie Blackman was the forerunner for much loved dystopian titles. Crossfire is gripping and Malorie tackles issues such as racism and discrimination beautifully.

I adored the first four books in this series so was super excites whwn this one was due! I couldn't wait to carry on and find out what the future held....it's a great story and a great addition to the series :)

It was so great to be reunited with familiar characters.

A great follow on to a much loved series.

4 stars.