I love a good YA contemporary that shows me a teen experience that is different to what my own was. That’s why I was so excited to pick this book up but it actually ended up being much closer to my own life than I ever imagined it could be.

After trying and failing to have sex with her boyfriend of two years, preacher’s daughter Monique’s boyfriend breaks up with her. Even Monique never would have guessed that it would be goody two-shoes church girl Sasha and the rebellious Reggie, who would help her search for answers. During the mission, Monique learns about true friendship, healthy relationships and the power of living for yourself.

Monique feels under immense pressure to live up to the expectations that her parents set for her. She feels compelled to make her relationship with Dom work, purely because her parents have been together since their teens. She is desperate to give herself to Dom and only Dom for the rest of her life. It made me think about how many other teens from religious families grow up with these same ideas and how dangerous that can be for teens whose first relationship is toxic.

A lot of the humour in the book is within the dialogue between Monique and Sasha. Sasha’s talent for switching personalities depending on who she’s talking to is hilarious and I thought she was a fantastic character. I need to show Joya Goffney a huge amount of appreciation for including vaginismus in this book. I can honestly say that I’ve never read about it in a YA novel before and I wish I had when I was a teenager. I don’t think it’s an uncommon condition, so hopefully this book will help so many young girls understand their bodies much better than I did at 17.

There is a lot of discussion on the glaring differences and hypocrisy surrounding virginity and sex between boys and girls. There is an age-old idea that girls are property, that they belong to their parents until they’re married when they become the property of their husbands. Monique finds that the same attitudes exist around virginity and believes that she will have ‘lost something’ once she has had sex. I loved how the book explored these notions and managed to shun them through Monique learning that she alone is completely in charge of her body and her life.

Reggie is a boy who is considered to be a risk to society. He comes from the wrong side of the tracks and isn’t expected to amount to much. Monique’s father is trying to introduce Reggie to a better way of life, which is why he ends up hanging around the house a lot. I loved the slow burn of watching Monique realise how sweet he is and that he is so much more than the image and gossip that precedes him.

'No woman should have to go without care. Especially not because some power-hungry man thinks he knows what's best, when he doesn't know diddly-squat about women's bodies.'

There is a scene where Monique finally gets some treatment for her vaginismus and this comment from the nurse particularly struck me, especially in light of what has happened with regard to women’s health in Texas recently. This is a very bleak but sadly very true statement on where the future of women’s bodies and health issues lies. It’s terrifying to think about but talking about it will hopefully trigger change one day.

Confessions Of An Alleged Good Girl is a funny, uplifting coming-of-age story about love, acceptance, courage and friendship. I cheered for Monique for the entirety of her journey and I was genuinely elated by the end of it. Joined by a host of fantastic, authentic side characters, it depicts the differences between healthy and unhealthy relationships, which is vital for young adults to learn about. It’s also full of empowerment, so would make an excellent summer read for YA rom-com lovers!

This is an incredibly important contemporary YA novel, it's the second book by Joya Goffney and is just as fantastic as the author's debut. Confessions of an Alleged Good Girl focuses on Monique as she struggles under the pressure to have sex with her boyfriend of two years. Through an unlikely friendship she discovers she has a condition called Vaginismus, which physically prevents her from having sex. Monique's story is heartfelt and full of humour with a very important message regarding peer pressure, the value of friendship and loving your body. It's definitely a novel I'd recommend to both young and old adults and everyone in between!

4.5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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Thankyou #netgalley #joyagoffney #bonnierbooksuk for the arc copy of this book for a honest review.
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⚠️ If you are very religious person, probably you might want to skip the story to avoid frustration.
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Coming of an age story of ‘mono’ or Monique about her mystery problem about herself, figuring it that not s*x is the reason to get a boy back, and also some love triangle going on.
— I’m laughing so hard where the part that momo, reggie and Sasha going around to find a certain toy for momo. Reggie is hilarious.
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The whole story was not just about how s*x is. It’s about to overcoming fear and how to be more open on this time of age.
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The only thing that loses a .5 on me is I’m quite not sure about the ending, quite rush but overall it’s an amazing story. I just hope it ends a little more detailed.


❤️Shaye.reads

DNF I really struggled to get into this. Usually I love this kind of book but I just couldn't get into it. I tried twice read others and came back to it but still no hope

This book gave me all the good feels, I felt so connected with Mo and what she was going through. Such a sensitive topic was dealt with beautifully and I really hope this makes everyone feel they are amazing no matter what. I really recommend Joya's beautiful work and cannot wait to see what they do next.

Headlines:
Sex positive
Growing up in church
Confidences and friendships

This is one of the best examples of a sex-positive story I've ever read and this is hugely important in contemporary YA. Goffney crafting an impactful story that was also threaded with lightness so that it didn't feel heavy. I blasted through this book in a day and I loved it.

Monique found herself under significant pressure to have sex, while also wanting to, but not being able to. There's a physical condition afoot that was really good to see amongst these pages and while there were characters that were shady (hello Dom, I did not like you) there were a bunch of great characters in Reggie, Sasha and Aunt Dee. There was a whole layer of complication to this story about being brought up in a straight-laced church household where the parents were hugely unrealistic about life, sex education and natural adolescent development. I couldn't decide if I really hated these parents but I guess it just diluted to dislike.

Reggie, the man of young men, I loved this guy on the page. His understanding, his humour, his respect were everything. I loved how these two brought great character growth in one another.

Confessions of an Alleged Good Girl was a YA read of the year for me and I highly recommend.

Thank you to Hot Key Books for the early review copy.

Arc provided by netgalley
I fell in love with joya fresh and delightful writing style reading excuse me while i ugly cry that i also received as an e-arc!
Her new novel didn't disappoint! Even though it's still a young adult novel, i found it more mature with more intimate issues, such as discover their bodies, religion, sex and vaginismus. im really happy that joya wrote about it, I think this topic should be more discussed, especially for young girl questioning themselves!

Books whose stories revolve around growing up in a strict religious household will always have a place in my heart. I would read it with precaution because I know it will get me triggered but I will always take them with open arms. (eg Summer and Smoke T Williams)

Confessions of an Alleged Good Girl is a coming of age book which shows a side of growing up in a super strict religious household and its psychological impact on its women. I appreciate how the author weaves the story in a way that is casual, light, humorous while also in discussion of a medical condition. It gets a bit too much info in part but if it would educate the readers more, especially readers in the same age range as our characters, I am all for it.

My favourite character is the bad boy, problem kid of our story. His comebacks were top marks.

Giving this a four star and highly recommending this for everyone.
Also, yey for BAME authors and characters.

ARC REVIEW

I didn't know all that much about this book when I started reading it, and it was so much more than a romance story.

It follows a seventeen year old girl as she deals with struggles with her family, her boyfriend, and her sex life.

I think this is a really really important book, and I think it will be really helpful for a lot of people. The book overall just has so many wonderful messages, and encourages you to unlearn what society (and your parents) have taught you.

I loved the romance, I think that it was really great that she finally had someone who cared about her, and showed her how good love could be. I also loved her friendship with Sasha, but I I wish that Sasha's character was developed a bit more. The female characters in this book were wonderful and were all so different, I genuinely would read a book about every single one of them, especially the mom.

This book did make me cry, the main character's relationship with her parents was really well-written. Overall I think this is a really really important book and it does a lot of really good things.

4 stars.

How to review this book? I went in with no expectations having never read this author before and left with a new favourite! The character development really shines in this book and it deals with the topics in a thoughtful and understanding way.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a free ARC in exchange for a review!

I really enjoyed the overall arc of this story. Monique is a really likeable, fun main character, and I think her struggle to understand her own body is somethign a lot of teens would relate to. Sasha is also amazing, and I totally want to be friend. Reggie grew on me, but as an elderly person in their 20s, I did find some of his antics really exhausting and off-putting, but I can really see how it would feel freeing for Monique and exciting to be around someone like him.

I did find Monique's parents to be sort of insane? I didn't grow up in a religious house or around any super devout religious people, but I found it really hard to want Monique to have any sort of relationship with people that <spoiler> tried to pack up and send away both of their children, and were just fine cutting off a child for years. </spoiler> I really was sort of rooting for her to go and live with her aunt and uncle because her mom and dad just seemed nuts. Her mom <spoiler> did have a sort of 180 turn around which was great, but I wish knew why? Other than plot convenience. </spoiler>

Monique and Reggie were a really lovely portrayal of a healthy, supportive relationship, and I really enjoyed how they dealty with intimacy together.

I think this is a great book for young people, especially those dealing with any sort of intimate issues or relationships. As a non-teen, I had moments of "oh god" like when the phrase "old Ariana Grande song" was used, ouch, but again, there is a lot to love here. Four stars from me!

I must admit that I don’t read YA much nowadays, but really wanted to give this arc a try when I saw it advertised on Netgallery and boy am I glad I did! I think one of my biggest gripes when reading YA books is that I don’t see or believe in the growth of the characters, but I loved how Monique grows during this story- it wasn’t just a drastic change either. I could see how Monique grew within herself where she went from defining herself solely as Dom’s girlfriend whose worth was defined as her purity and virginity to seeing herself as capable, strong and courageous.

Before coming into this book, I did know about vaginismus, but I will admit that I didn’t know the full extent of the condition. Joya Goffney exploration of such a sensitive subject was raw and brave, especially considering this was something the author also experienced. I am grateful Joya wrote this book because this is something that needs to be discussed and while Monique started out dealing with her vaginismus for admittedly the wrong reasons, I could understand them. Monique’s conflicting emotions (anxiety, shame, fear, guilt) surrounding her body and sex will resonate with readers currently facing similar experiences, and hopefully encourage them to seek help.

I feel this book deals well with the idea of perception- people are not always who they appear to be. Dom the Dick (was it intentional that I could name him as such!) as I will forever remember him as- I haven’t disliked a character in such a long time but I hated his guts! The lies this boy told, the lies! Please let me join the lengthy punch Dom in the face line!

I liked how the relationships were dealt in this book, at first, I was very apprehensive about the parents and how they were first shown and you’re thinking that they're “those types of parents" but as the book goes on you see that they're also not who they seem. This is also true for Sasha, who despite Monique’s initial distrust, turned out to be pretty awesome. See perceptions are very important!

I loved how supportive Reggie was as a character- where can I find my own Reggie!! He started off as a bit of a troublemaker, but he was also goofy and lovable- he knew when situations called for him to be serious, but I generally loved his carefree nature it was refreshing.

The unlikely friendship formed between Sasha, Monique and Reggie was wonderfully done, I enjoyed all their scenes together!

There was not one but two LGBTQ+ representation in this book and the inclusion of it felt very naturally which I truly appreciate as sometimes I feel like its seen as a checklist authors feel that they must include to be inclusive, but it didn’t feel like that this was the case for this book.

Overall, I found this book refreshing and heartfelt, I can’t wait until I can add a physical copy of this book to my collection and read Joya’s backlog.

Thanks to Netgallery, Bonnier books UK and Joya Goffney for this ARC to review.

Just like Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry, the author did an amazing job of drawing you in, building up the tense until finally all the juicy moments are revealed. Definitely a go to author for me as both books have been consistently great.

Also love how the story is personal to the author and raising awareness!

5☆ Top Read for 2022!!! Unputdownable Must Read!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Confessions of an Alleged Good Girl i was completely hooked!
It was everything I love about YA Reads. There was strong Friendships, important topics covered, it was fun, humorous, a good dash of Romance, Mischief and a lil bit of Mayhem along the way!

I'm not really going to go into detail regarding the plot line as I don't want to risk ruining what this story is all about as it shines a light on female health and the anxieties young girls go through when thinking about having sex for the first time.
But what I will say is that I learnt a bit about a medical condition I had never heard of before called Vaginismus, and in my eyes that means we need to be educating younger people more on sexual health and conditions.

This story was memorable and Unputdownable I loved the characters they were very relatable, ( not Dom of course as anyone that makes someone feel not good enough for not being able to have sex in my eyes is a scumbag! )
I loved watching Monique grow in confidence and self worth.
I loved the trios unlikely Friendship and how they supported each other, but I really liked Reggie's Character he stole my heart!!... Monique's too 😏

The Romance was lovely to watch blossom, sometimes the person who you least expect, to be the most supportive, turns out to be the rock you never knew you needed!

There is mention of religion as it is a part of the storyline but it is well written and very relevant, especially as the main character Monique is the preacher’s daughter so thinking of having sex is a no no especially before marriage!

I could go on and on and on as this book is so, so good!... I highly recommend you just go pick up a copy for yourself!
It was a very quick read and the chapters were nice and short.
Confessions of an Alleged Good Girl is
a Heart-warming, Uplifting, Poignant, Fun and Enlightening Read which I couldn't put down!
This book is definitely on my Top Reads for 2022!!

This is a lovely Feel Good YA romance funny and heartwarming. The issues dealt with in this book are done so well and I learnt so much from reading this. The characters are so loveable and I can't wait to read more from this author.
Thank you to Netgalley and Bonnier Books UK for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was amazing to read it has amazing characters you love a love triangle story you love. I love that there good friendship between characters you love. The writing style beautiful written. I loved it. The story deals with topic of sex body positivity. Loved that the story deals with love and friendship wanting more from it and how to deal with it. The Story covered topic about young sex very well in relationships. Everyone going to love this book.

After reading Joya first novel I couldn't wait to read this one because I enjoyed every moment of 'Excuse me while I ugly Cry' so if this one was anything like that I'd be hooked... And I was. I fell in love all over again.

Such a great topic which is covered dealing with vaginismus because it is something i actually deal with myself and seeing a book which covers it really made it feel more 'normal'

I would have really loved this book when I was younger. While on the surface it was all about sex, it wasn't at all salacious. There was so much in it about not being pressured, about the different faces people can present to the world and how judging people without knowing them isn't nice.

Our main character learns a lot about who she wants to be, about her family and about who ultimately gets to decide how she will live her life.

There were similarities between this story and the author's previous novel - parental expectations weighing on the main character, her getting to know two new friends who she might have misjudged, a night out dancing. Ultimately, I think I enjoyed this novel more than Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry but I can say that I am a fan of Joya's novels and will read whatever she writes next.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Confessions of an Alleged Good Girl is a fantastic YA romance book with a enemies to lovers kind of vibe. I devoured this book in one sitting, or several cups of tea, biscuits, you get the point only the need for food n drink dragged me from this story.

This book is written fabulously, the characters are fully developed and so relatable, although as an adult I’m not the intended audience this resonated with me so much, I loved the focus on female empowerment, the emphasis on body-positivity, self growth and sex, in a world where female health is so often overlooked it’s so good to see it highlighted, as well as Mo’s journey to get rid of the shame , stigma and worthlessness she (and women) feels. Mo is such a fantastic character, so well rounded, as are all the other characters I just really loved Mo.

Another focus I really enjoyed were the friendships, I loved watching Mo prioritise and enjoy her new friends Sasha and Reggie, who challenged and support her, but also help her change her preconceived notions of people and I just loved watching her grow and learn. This is such an emotional read, but also humourous too, it’s not all seriousness and growth there’s lots of fun too, but overall this is a wonderful story about learning to love and accept yourself.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

I. Loved. This. Book. It was amazing, I have previously read a book by the author, Joya Goffney, called Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry which is now one of my favourites and this book lived up to expectations. There was incredible character development, perfectly approached delicate subjects and really represented what it could be like to be seen as something you’re really not. It was easy to read and i actually found myself laughing out loud at several moments. It was sweet, cute, romantic and I’ve already started reading it for the second time this month!