⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4 stars)
Genre: Young Adult / Contemporary Fiction / LGBTQ+ Romance / Coming-of-Age / Queer YA / Teen Drama

Thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury for the chance to read an early copy of Tart, a heartfelt story that blends messy relationships/friendships, identity struggles, and unexpectedly sweet queer romance.

What I really enjoyed about Tart is how it doesn’t shy away from the complexities of teenage emotions. Becki Jayne Crossley does a brilliant job of capturing that feeling of being stuck between who others think you are and who you might actually be. Libby’s inner conflict felt raw and real and the slow-burn connection with Neha was genuinely lovely to witness.

Synopsis: Libby’s life falls apart when a video of her ‘cheating’ on her boyfriend goes viral the same night he ends up in a coma. With her classmates turning on her and secrets starting to unravel, her only support comes from Neha, the new girl who’s been quietly crushing on her. As feelings grow and truths surface, Libby must figure out who she really is before everything slips away.

The story touches on grief, guilt, queerness, and forgiveness in a way that’s tender without being overly sentimental, how true friendships can appear in the most unexpected places, and how people you’ve only just met can end up seeing you more clearly than those you’ve known forever.

Tart reminds us that sometimes we hold onto people out of habit or fear, not truth, and that real connection often grows in the cracks left behind.

I’ve given this one 4 stars only because, although I was emotionally invested, some plot points felt a little rushed and I’d have loved a bit more depth in a few of the side characters. Still, it’s a meaningful, warm, and affirming read that I’d definitely recommend to fans of queer YA fiction.

When a video scandal and her boyfriend Dan’s tragic accident leave Libby isolated, her only ally is Neha, the quiet new girl with a secret crush on her. As Dan lies in a coma holding a life-altering secret, Libby grapples with her feelings for Neha and the fear of betraying those she loves. This tender YA romance explores the journey of self-discovery & queer love.

I enjoyed this book but I definitely felt it skewed a bit younger in tone than I was expecting. That’s more of an issue with the YA genre than this book though. I felt it was a sweet story with important themes but it didn’t quite grab me in the way I’d hoped for. I do however feel like I would have loved this book when I was around 14-15 especially with the bi rep showing that it’s not always glaringly obviously to oneself that you are in fact bi!

This was such a delightful read, and although not the most original, it had an air of nostalgia that I love in YA books. If I'd read this 8 years ago, Tart would have been a book that I would've read and re-read over and over again.

This book had both the best people and the worst people in it. Despite the bullying being extremely difficult and frustrating to read, I really enjoyed all the character dynamics, especially that of Libby and Dan's. I also came to love the flashback POVs, surprisingly. The romance was alright, but it wasn't the main focus of the story and rather it was the friendships that made the book for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bloomsbury Publishing Plc for providing a copy of this book for review. All opinions are my own.

TART 🍰🍓 4.5⭐️

“In a tiny village like ours, your business is automatically everyone else’s business” - I feel this so badly, coming from someone who also lives in a tiny village.

We’re introduced to our FMC Libby, in secondary school, really badly bullied her whole childhood at school, verbal abuse like slut, whore, slapper and even a Knick name that stuck called jammy tart because of her red hair. and there’s a secret video going around, but has a cool af boyfriend aka the spider rescuing Dan.

omg this is so hilarious! “Almighty god, our Heavenly Father, graciously comfort your child in his suffering”

Daniel king is a hero, saving Libby from a spider attack on her polly pocket rucksack and staring at her cheese sandwiches in primary school. “I decided there and then that I wanted Daniel King to be my boyfriend” yes, I agree. In fact that’s pure husband material.

Dans in hospital “suspended somewhere between life and not life” from the accident, Libby had no idea what she’s done. He’d been knocked off his bike on the road from a hit and run.

Then we’re introduced to Neha, she’s the new girl, joined the school halfway through the year. Recently moved to the strange, Christian, small village aka Chipping Hollow.

There’s a lot of jumping around with the chapters, we’re in “two weeks before it happened” which are from Daniels POV.

I feel like I’m taken back to school where we used to hate all the things like PE, UGH! but it’s written in the most funniest way. The thoughts and feelings I had but didn’t even understand them. Libby is thrown in the deep end with bullying and having to grow up so quickly with her boyfriend Dan in hospital. Libby and Neha are such likeable and relatable characters which I wasn’t expecting.

“The video that’s being used as ammo should really be her defence, but no one seems to want to see the way she’s completely out of her depth, control and the ability to consent both long gone”

Libby is having such a touch time getting attacked at school when potentially all we know so far is she could have been assaulted. I’m saying this right now, it’s not cheating if you’ve been assaulted

Wait, Nicole Kidman was in Moulin Rouge? Wow I need to now go and re watch that immediately.

This is so beautifully written, trying to capture the emotions of a student struggling with identity in school, coping with bullying and trying to even understand yourself.

Wow, I’m actually so annoyed at some of there characters judging without knowing, it’s honestly riled me up so much and I hope Libby gets her say and they start realising it’s not her fault

I do feel some bits of the book was a bit sluggish, I felt myself wanting more from the pages as I was reading - ok literally the next page till the end of the book I was SOBBING.

This is such an emotional story about finding identity, friendships and bullying in school. Becki has written this so beautifully and it NEEDS to be in everyone’s TBR.


Things I love

🍰RELATEABLE FMC’s
🍓EMOTIONAL
🍰HILARIOUSLY FUNNY
🍓MULTIPLE POV
🍰DISCOVERING SEXUALITY
🍓LGBTQ

Thank you so much Bloomsbury and Becki Jayne Crossley for the E-ARC via NetGalley, it’s a story I will cherish forever.

I struggle with enjoying this story to it’s fullest because it was pretty unrealistic. The severe lack of adult intervention in this story of harassment and abuse in school is not the reality in my opinion of the UK. I went to a notoriously bad school (actually notorious, with some very serious crimes happening during my time) and even there the teacher sand parents got involved more than in this story.

Plus, the ‘bully’ (who is actually just an abuser and criminal) faces zero consequences other than the MCs stop hanging out with her… It just feels like a really bad message and a not great handling of a pretty serious issue which in my option is worse when it’s in a YA book.

it has some good dry british humour and there are examples of positive relationships as well as being honest about the struggles of teenage queer life and things like bullying and racism, it just really falls short with what at this point is just child neglect and severe lack of consequences for abusers.

1.5⭐️✨✖️✖️✖️

Thank you to the author and publishers for allowing me an e-ARC via NetGalley! That has in no way influenced my review and all opinions are my own.

Let me start by saying that this is probably the best queer book I’ve ever read. A bold statement, yes, but it is absolutely true. And I’ll tell you why.
First of all, the characters. Every character is so different to each other, and they all invoke so many different emotions. The way that this book is written is amazing, as it feels new and refreshing without feeling ‘cringy’; it doesn’t try too hard to be a ‘modern’ book, and instead it feels very genuine. This makes it so easy to read that I finished it in 24 hours cause I didn’t want to put it down!

And the main event: the queerness of this book. As a bisexual girly, I often struggle to find books with bi characters in that aren’t just ‘token’ characters. The fact that the author themselves are bi just makes me so incredibly happy. I really felt that this book described how it feels to be a queer person, the guilt and the shame we can feel, the anxiety about ‘coming out’ to others and how they may feel about it. Everything is represented and described in a way that really hit home for me. I cried multiple times during this book, and it’s hard to keep this review spoiler free, but there were so many emotional moments in the book and I bawled like a baby - I cried on three separate occasions and now I feel like I need therapy (in the best way).
The other thing that really got me was how people treated Libby, and the awful hatred they were spewing to her. Again, it’s hard to keep the review spoiler free, but the redemption moments felt both fantastic but also completely heartbreaking. I really resonated with Libby and all of her feelings; the confusion of sexuality, the helplessness, the loneliness; I think this book also helped me think about my own experiences and feelings.

I am so incredibly happy that I was able to experience this book. It made me feel proud to be bi, and I just want to give the author so much love and praise because they really do deserve it. This book was spectacular and Becki is now on my list of ‘authors who could write a story about a dog going to the park and I’d read it’.

Rating: 5/5 stars (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

This was an easy to read yet heavy-hitting novel focusing on the impact of bullying, online and in person, and how social media can be used to skew real life events to fit someone else’s narrative. But it’s also a hopeful love story, and explores the different lives of teenagers who are discovering who they are.

I really enjoyed this book. It had a big impact, and is a great coming of age story that I think many teens would appreciate (and adults, of course, but this is YA). The characters were believable and I liked the little plot twist towards the end, which I wasn’t expecting at all. Definitely worth picking up!

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.