Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson (BOOK REVIEW) 5/5
Well, well. Ladies and gentlemen, she’s done it again. In this incredible sequel to A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, Holly Jackson has brought back the beloved Pip and Ravi and their gang of small town friends, and weaved another jaw-dropping mystery. I wanted to like this book less, as I am particularly hard on sequels, but I can’t- it fully deserves a 5/5 star rating.
Among the things I respect most about Good Girl, Bad Blood is the fact that it brings back all the familiarity from the first book, but without being a carbon copy. There’s true growth here, movement and progression masterfully done. New romance notes that give fluttery feelings throughout the novel are subtle but powerful, evoking the feelings we all can relate to. Friendships are shown both as a strength, and a weakness (looking at you, Ant-and-Lauren). Some enemies come around, and some only grow more easy to hate. There is a real ebb and flow in this novel, perfect pacing and enjoyable moments that only add to the story a sense of real life.
Admittedly, it might seem a bit odd: A young teenage girl, still in highschool, swept up in situations like Pip gets into. In the last book, she nearly lost it all- and in this one, BAM! It happens again, getting too deep and fighting for normalcy. I loved the aspects of obsession and PTSD within this novel, flawlessly pulled off. Some people might have assumed Pip, in the first novel, to have little personality besides being “the good girl”- but this book blows all that away. She struggles, she fights, she cares, and it shows.
The most powerful thing in this novel, as with the last, is not the actual mystery. While that is at the forefront, it is the characters that are so strong. The storytelling is incredible, the emotions you gain for these people are real, and the plot is both riveting and memorable. I loved this read, and I’m diving right into the third and final book: As Good As Dead.
Favorite part of this novel? Ravi. What a dream. Least favorite? Max Freaking Hastings.