This was an excellent return to the Noughts & Crosses universe. As with the books that have gone before this one it is gripping, thought provoking and entirely relevant. I was glad to revisit the characters I had known from the previous book and enjoyed meeting the new generation who take this new story forward. The book ends with a cliffhanger and I can't wait to see what happens next.

Growing up with Noughts and Crosses, I was super excited to meet the next generation in Crossfire. In Crossfire we follow Callie-Rose, daughter of Sephy as she defends the first Nought Prime Mister and old friend, Tobey, for murder.

We also follow Callie-Rose's half brother Troy and his semi-friend Libby. Both who seem more intertwined with each other as the events of the book are set in motion. And with each new turn, a new, dark secret is revealed.

Trying to explain the story without giving anything away is impossible. Crossfire is a tightly woven tale, that will have you on the edge of your seat and have you begging for more. Crossfire is a story about putting aside your differences and showing that together you are stronger than when separated.

My only criticism of Crossfire is that we ended on a huge cliff-hanger. One that had me throwing the book away in disgust. It actually ended in the middle of a very exciting situation. So while I cannot wait for the next book, it is with slight disappointment that the book ended so suddenly.

An excellent addition to the Noughts and Crosses series. I really enjoyed it, however if you haven't read the earlier books then this is going to be very hard going. Highly recommended but read the series in order... Its worth it if you haven't read them before anyway.

This is a stunning addition to the noughts and crosses collection. Blackman is able to engross the reader into her world and characters that we have all loved over the years. I would thoroughly recommend the whole collection as well as this

I love this series of books, I read them when I was a teenager and was excited when this book came out. Reading it took me straight back to being a teenager. The style of writing is brilliant, the pace of the story is great and I loved that the characters were still there but just older and with their own families.

However, there is no ending. You get half way through the story and is says to be concluded. This really annoyed me, especially as there isn't another book out yet to finish the story. It isn't like any other book with a cliffhanger, it just stops halfway through without answering any questions. Very frustrating. Which is why I have only given 3stars. I was in target to give 5 so it was a disappointing end.

This is the 5th book in the series. I personally enjoyed this book as much as the previous books, I have heard that other people are disappointed by it. But not myself. A great series of books.

Noughts & Crosses changed my life as a child, it was moving, educational and all round a really entertaining book. I read all the subsequent books growing up, so it was a strange feeling to return to that world as an adult. Generally speaking I found it really entertaining, there were plenty of twists and turns, and pretty much everything was a mystery waiting to be solved. Malaria's writing has always been very easy to read, and this was no exception. I loved the parallels that run along the main storyline, throwing light on some of the injustices in the current world we live in. The only real disappointment I had, was having absolutely no idea there would be another book, so a lot of the answers I was waiting for, never arrived. I do look forward to seeing what happens next, and how it all concludes!

Absolutely loved Noughts and Crosses so was thrilled to see there was a new edition to the series. This really did not disappoint and has led me to go back and read the whole series again from the beginning. Well worth a read, especially if you are a fan of Malorie Blackman's other work!

Listen, the Noughts and Crosses series was the first YA series that I've ever read. I remember doing my first book talk in school about the first installment, talking about how it addresses race and subverts reader's expectations at every turn. Callum and Sephy were my heart. I loved them to pieces.
Sadly, after reading this, I kind of wished Blackman would have just stuck with the original quartet.
The writing wasn't up to par with what I remembered about her immersive style. But beyond that, I just felt like the pacing was completely off, I was confused about certain plot points that made no sense to me (even though I feel like I still know enough about the world even after all these years) and the characters just weren't relatable. I also have to admit that I didn't know that this was going to be a series. I was irritated at the pacing, but obviously that makes sense because I thought the entire plot was spanned over one book instead of a series, so maybe that's on me. Generally though, this was not what I was expecting after loving the original series so much.

This series really delves into the nature of a diverse society. Before I read crossfire I had to binge-read the books previously in the series. They take you on an emotional rollercoaster where you want to fight for the main characters. It allows the reader to feel segregation and the true hate in the world, lingering on the edge of realism.

I follow Malorie Blackman on Twitter, so was aware of her growing unease around the election of Trump, the Windrush scandal and Brexit. The first i knew that this book was being written was her World Book Day story, so was thrilled to read it. As ever, this is so will written that it's hard to stop! Without any spoilers it does update the thread of the previous books, and is unmissable and not a disappointment to fans of the other books.

A fantastic continuation of the Noughts and Crosses series. We are introduced to the next generation of characters but find out they cannot escape from the past. The storyline follows the pattern set in previous books with us hearing the story with the voices of the different characters. We flip between the present and past and gradually the details are filled in. The book ends on a cliffhanger with the promise of a further book to conclude the story. Can’t wait!

Returning to the world of Noughts and Crosses was a treat I thought would never happen. It was a series that meant so much to me when growing up, easily up there in the five most influential reads I read as a teen. Whilst I needed a brief refresher course to start with (courtesy of Wikipedia) I was straight back into this world, which seems timely and more necessary than ever. Phenomenal!

Overall, if you loved the Noughts and Crosses series read this installment, if you've just stubbled across it, I'd recommend all the books that came before it in the series far more than this; "Crossfire" could definitely go amiss if you're not that in love with the series.

Malorie Blackman does it yet again, “Crossfire” is a superbly written novel with excellent characterisation and narrative structure - this book stands out both on its own merits and as a continuation of the Noughts & Crosses series. As always, Blackman addresses quite hard-hitting and real issues, which is something that has always made this series so grounded in reality. Focusing on the third generation, we now see Callie Rose as a high end lawyer and Tobey as the first ever Nought Prime Minister, but a suspicious death of someone from both of their past brings deeply buried secrets to the surface.
The second set of narrators are Callie’s half-brother Troy and Tobey’s daughter Libby, two old friends who now have to rely and trust each other to survive when they find themselves facing the consequences of older generations actions and mistakes.

Blackman writes all her narrators with such distinctive styles and voice and this was no different, with each perspective filling in gaps of the much larger story at hand and added real character to the plot. The narrative flows effortlessly between perspectives and the past and present, which made this a gripping read and - dare I say it, one of my favourite books of the series. Actually, this is definitely one of my best reads of the year.

Crossfire ended on a tortuous cliffhanger and will definitely leave any reader in suspense. Hopefully a release date for the sixth book is announced soon, the wait will be definitely worth it if this is anything to go by.

I tried hard to persevere with this book, but it was not for me.
Maybe you need to have read previous books by this author to fully understand the setting and characters.
But I just found it confusing and did not connect with either the storyline or the main protagonists

As Noughts and Crosses is one of my all time favourite YA series I was very excited when I heard Malorie Blackman was continuing the story. It was wonderful to encounter well known characters from earlier books and to find out what had happened in their lives. The series has always been exciting and thought provoking but this particular book mirrors problems in society even more , making it sadly relatable to real life. A powerful, fast paced story with a cliff hanger ending that will shock you - I hope Malorie writes the next book soon!

With the first Nought Prime Minister about to be elected, tensions are running high in the Noughts and Crosses world. However, what secrets will some hide to stay in power and at what cost?

Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman was one of the most iconic books I read as a young adult; it was one of those books made an impression that has stuck with me for a long time. When I saw a chance to review the ARC of Crossfire, the latest book in the series, I jumped at the chance and was really excited to read (what I thought) was the next instalment. Somehow, I had managed to miss 3 more book in the series though – this book is actually book 5!

Missing a few books didn’t hamper my enjoyment too much – this book is focused on a new set of characters – third generation if you will. However, there are bits and certain parts of the family tree I felt a little bit lost on so perhaps it is better to pick up the other three if you can. That being said, Crossfire is an assured story – Blackman’s world is just as enthralling and powerful as in her first book, with an engaging writing style that made it so very easy to read. I enjoyed reading about the characters of Libby and Troy as well as gleaned some backstory about Callie and Tobey as well. The chapters not only alternate narrators but also timelines as well with labels of ‘Now’ and ‘Then’. This mechanic never felt confusing and the story was clearly told throughout.

My main problem with the book was that it felt too much like a stepping stone. The ending was a massive let-down - it ends on a cliff-hanger so huge that it just felt like the author stopped dead rather than at least trying to wrap something up. None of the threads created came to any conclusion and there was a lot of set up for no pay off. I also didn’t like the repeated use of having a character being told something shocking which was then not revealed to the reader for a few chapters – it got a bit waring from time to time.

Overall I enjoyed Crossfire and it was nice to delve back into the Noughts and Crosses world which I had not read for many years. However, you do need to make sure you read the other books first to get a full understanding of family histories and be warned that the ending is a very disappointing cliff-hanger! Thank you to NetGalley & Penguin Random House – Children’s for a chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I still recall the excitement I felt when I first picked up Noughts and Crosses. Five books in, some familiar faces, and it still had me gripped. Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this before publication.
Crossfire focuses on some pretty hard-hitting events while also allowing us to get a little closer to our characters.
We have Callie, now 30, a lawyer preparing to be a judge. She still regrets her behaviour as a teenager when she let jealousy get the better of her. Her feelings for her boyfriend Tobey were complicated, but even more so now. Tobey is about to become the first Nought Prime Minister, but he is accused of murdering a well-known businessman thought to have underground links. He wants Callie to represent him.
Tied into this story are the characters of Libby and Troy. Libby has lived her life surrounded by hatred and contempt. She gets some rather unexpected news, but isn’t prepared for what that brings. Troy is Callie’s much younger brother. His family links also place him in danger. When the two students are kidnapped we can’t help but wonder how much family ties will bind people to a decision.
Set against a background of rising racist behaviour, we get a stark reflection of contemporary society. As always, this series tells some unpalatable truths.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC of this book.

I loved the first few books in the Noughts and Crosses series, especially the first. However, after reading this, I wish that Malorie Blackman had stopped after the initial trilogy. I was really disappointed.

I did not realise when I started reading this book that it was part of a new series rather than a standalone book, if I had known, I may have paused before reading this. It does the most frustrating thing that books in a series can do; it builds up the background, the plot and the characters slowly and just as you are beginning to get interested in the characters and the plot feels like it has actually got started, it just stops with a ‘to be concluded’. It’s like reading half a book and then just stopping. There is no conclusion, no satisfaction.

I don’t mind reading a book in a series if at the end of a book there are a few loose ends for future books to deal with but this book simply stops, there is no resolution to any of the plot strands. It feels like one book has been divided in two just to sell more books and make more money.

In addition to the ending, I didn’t feel like the rest of the book lived up to Blackman’s previous books in this series. I found it hard to care about characters I had previously liked such as Sephy and Callie and I really didn’t care for the new young characters like Troy and Libby. I’ve seen lots of reviews describing this book as a searing indictment of today’s society and the current political situation in Britain and America, but I just didn’t see that. It felt muddled, all the characters are really flawed and I couldn’t really tell what point the book was trying to make. Maybe if I’d got to read the second half of the story, it would have been clearer, but I guess I’ll just have to wait and see. I think the swapping of the races so that black people are the dominant race, which worked so effectively in the earlier books adds nothing to this book, and actually serves to confuse who we should be rooting for,

If you are planning to read this, I’d probably wait until the next book comes out to avoid the frustration of the ending.