Book Review: No Such Thing as Forever by Ali Cronin.

Product details:
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd.
Release date: June 7th 2012.
ebook, 200 pages.
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Ages: 14+
Source: Purchased.

Real love. Real lives. The real thing . . . Girl Heart Boy is the irresistible new romantic series for teens, combining the romance of The OC with the realism of Skins and the sexiness of E L James' Fifty Shades of Grey - for a teen audience. Girl Heart Boy is perfect for fans of Twilight and the Hunger Games looking for their next must-have read.

Four girls, three boys, turning 18. Get set to follow their eventful final year at school . . .

Cass is Ms Monogamy. Ashley is a player. Donna is a party girl. But what about Sarah? Her friends tease her for being uptight, but she's waiting for The One. Now she's found him, but is he forever - or is Sarah just his summer fling?

Perfect for fans of Sugar Rush and Skins, No Such Thing as Forever, the first book in Ali Cronin’s Girl Heart Boy series, is an addictive read that will add a whole lot of sizzle to your summer!

Sarah’s group has been best friends all through school and they share everything with each other. There’s Ashley, who loves them and leaves them, Donna, the all-night-party girl, and Cass, who’s been in a relationship with Adam for what seems like forever. And then there’s Sarah. She’s the sensible one, the one that ‘doesn’t do men’, the only virgin in the group.  Until now, that is.  While the girls were broken up for the summer, Sarah met older guy Joe while on holiday in Spain. So now she’s got stories to tell and secrets to share with the girls. But what if Joe isn’t all Sarah’s cracked him up to be?  What if he’s just using her? What if he is just in it for the sex?

Ali Cronin doesn’t hold back in this book.  It’s definitely one that’s at the mature end of the YA scale with themes that are raw, gritty, real, and, oh yes, steamy! Sarah and Joe spend a few stolen weekends at his student digs in London, and let’s just say they don’t sit around staring into each others eyes and whispering sweet nothings to each other during that time. No Such Thing as Forever is just not that kind of book! Instead it’s a whole lot of fun with its realistic portrayal of teens and the situations they find themselves in as they attempt to navigate the rocky path of first love, or at least first lust, and all the hopes and fears, and heartbreaks that come with it.

 No Such Thing as Forever is narrated by easy-to-relate-to Sarah as she tries to maintain her long distance relationship with Joe, who is at Uni in London.  She falls for Joe fast and is not ready to write him off as just a summer fling. She wants them to be something special, something that matters.  But Joe seems distant. He takes ages to reply to her texts, never calls her, and when they do meet up, it’s just for sex.  And then there’s the problem of his friend Mimi, who hates Sarah on sight. Is Mimi just a typical run of the mill bitch? Or is there something more behind her behaviour?  Sarah’s friends give her advice on Mimi, they tell her that Joe’s not the one for her, that she’ll only get hurt in the end, but like all true addicts, Sarah can’t give Joe up until she finds out the ugly truth for herself.

No Such Thing as Forever is a great start to this new series. Its fun, fast-paced plot along with Cronin’s witty and engaging writing style meant that I read it in one sitting.  I can’t wait for more fun and frolics when the next book in the series Rumour Has It releases soon!