Shiirleyy's Bookshelf has migrated to Dear Shirley ! I will continue to post book reviews but there will also be a lot of personal and travel-related posts :)

Book Review: Rumour Has It by Ali Cronin

4 Nov 2012

Rumour Has It
by Ali Cronin 
Publisher: Penguin Australia
Release Date: October 4th 2012
Format: Paperback

This isn't gritty. This isn't glamorous. This is real life. Real sex. Real teens. Three Little Words is the irresistible new series of romances for teenage readers. There's always one page each book will fall open at. One scene that gets people talking. The sexiest, most romantic scene. The kind you don't want to read in public. Four girls. Three boys. They are turning 18 and in their final year at school... This book takes them from November to the New Year, with all the attendant parties - and pitfalls. Extra X-rated scenes exclusively available in this ebook edition.


Note: I wrote my review for this a while ago, but stupid Blogger automatically saved the post afterI accidentally deleted what I’d written. So, this is a second review, hopefully I didn’t get anything wrong… :S 


I didn’t like the first book. I won’t go as far to say I ‘hated’ it, but it was certainly very disappointing and the main character, Sarah annoyed the hell out of me. I therefore started Rumour Has It with very low expectations, but surprisingly, I ended up really liking the sequel! 

Ashley is a character I instantly liked. She’s witty, fun and I love how she doesn't care about what others think of her. She's a party girl, a ‘player’ ; she doesn’t have boyfriends, but rather has sex with well…to put it bluntly, whoever she meets at a party. Her non-commitment way of life is a result of her difficult family life – her father having left her, her mother, and 2 sisters when she was young and her mother has since been unable to forge lasting relationships with other men due to her inability to forget Ashley’s father- and I guess that seemed like an acceptable reason for Ashley’s way of life- no strings attached sex i.e. no commitment. I also liked how there was character growth present in this book; Ashley makes some pretty stupid mistakes but she’s able to realize where she went wrong and manages to change herself for the better. By the end of the book, I liked her even more! 

As for the other characters, I'm still having trouble warming up to Cass. I really hope she’ll mature and realize what a jerk her boyfriend is in the third book though. (Like, seriously, he's the Biggest.Jerk.EVER) I can’t get my head around Cass’s way of thinking - I mean, she’s willing to forgo her placement/potential placement at Cambridge University for a guy who…doesn’t even respect her. SERIOUSLY? *shakes head* . As for Dylan, the love interest, he's incredibly sweet! He balances out Ashley perfectly, and he has a really good influence on her , which I loved :) I really hope they appear in the third book- I want to know more about them!! 

It was a great experience being inside Ashley’s head; there were some laugh-out-loud times when Ashley made some really humourous remarks. While I have doubts about the third book, mainly because I don’t like Cass’s character and her decisions, I really hope Cass will undergo character growth like Ashley. But  let's hope the third book will take me by surprise :)

** There's also something I'd like to clarify: The blurb says "This is Real. Life. Real Sex. Real Teens". Umm yeah...but please note that not ALL teens are like Sarah/Ashley. So please don't think ALL teenagers are some obsessed, delusional or sex-loving party girls. Just something I thought I should clarify...


5 comments:

  1. Oh I'm glad the second book worked our a lot better for you Shirley, I've seen this series popping up quite a bit and it does sound like an interesting series. I hope you enjoy the third book too! Lovely review Shirley! :)

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  2. I am surprised you would read the sequel unless obligated, I pretty much don't read sequels anymore unless I really liked the first book, not enough time and too many books. I agree, not all teenagers are self centered sex fiends and I hate to see them characterized as such!

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  3. I don't know that I would like reading about a girl who just has sex with whoever, but it does look like she grows in this book. Glad you enjoyed it Shirley. Great review. :)

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  4. This is probably something I would not read since I don't like girls sleeping around with whoever they meet next, but at least you enjoyed it. That's the main thing. Lovely review as always!

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  5. Wow, that's a very... tangled, pretzel- like cover. Not quite sure if this book is for me, even though it's written by an Aussie and almost all Aussie authors are wonders. ;) Except I know that the idea of Cass being willing to forgo placement at her university for a jerk of a guy, as you say, doesn't sit well with me... But I'm glad you enjoyed it more than the first, anyhow! Phenomenal review :)

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