Hello fellow friends and bookworms! I’m here today bringing you my review of Just Like The Other Girls by Claire Douglas, which you can read the synopsis of on Goodreads here.
Overall rating – 4 out of 5 stars.
I had this book on my shelf for nearly an entire year before I got around to reading it and I’m honestly disappointed in myself that it took me this long to read it because it was really good!
The idea of the plot was a clever one, one that I’d not read before and it certainly had some eyebrow raising twists included that helped set Just Like The Other Girls apart from the rest. It would have been really easy for the story to get convoluted, given the different aspects that came flying from all directions, but the plot held its own and really made this book into what it was.
Second only to the plot were the characters, throughout the various parts of this book we were introduced to a few young women, each were developed and had their own personalities and characters that shone through the story. We also had two overarching characters that were present throughout the whole story, Elspeth and Kathryn, who were written so deviously that I was questioning every move they made!
It was clear to see that the author took the time to craft each character into their own being, something that only added value to the story.
P.S. everyone needs a friend like Courtney!
Between the plot and the characters, I was definitely intrigued by this one. Once I’d gotten my head around the parts and the different characters at least…
The writing, for me, was a bit of a letdown in comparison to the plot and the characters and the intrigue that the author built up, it just wasn’t on the same level.
Don’t get me wrong, it was good enough and it certainly got the story across and because the book was more about the plot and the twists and turns the writing didn’t need to be amazingly brilliant, it just had to make sense and weave together all of the different aspects without getting muddled, which it did.
The way the author addressed a few parts of the plot just weren’t in keeping with the rest of the book and it made me feel a bit meh about the writing. For one, the way we suddenly seemed to abandon part 1 and move onto part 2 without a proper conclusion.
At first, I did feel let down by the ending/big reveal, but the more I sat back and thought about the ending the more it made sense, and the more I came to enjoy it.
Overall, the aspects of the book individually were just OK but when put together, the characters and the plot came together to create a book full of intrigue and mystery, that couldn’t be put down because you NEED to know what’s going to happen next.
Let me know if you’ve read Just Like The Other Girls and what you thought!
Until next time, Em xxx
What Em's Reading 