There’s nothing I love more than a bildungsroman – a novel where the protagonist comes of age and learns some important life lessons along the way.
Celine Saintclare’s first novel, ‘Sugar, Baby,’ fell into that genre – and it went viral on TikTok. Agnes was a messy main character who you couldn’t help but root for, despite her flaws. And her latest offering is a similar model. It seems to be what she does best.
This time, it’s a little less dark and is likely going to be a lot more relatable for its target audience than ‘Sugar, Baby’ was, which will likely be women in their 20s and beyond.
I was thrilled to get my hands on an exclusive, limited edition holographic version of the book, but those hoping to read it themselves will have to wait until September this year.
Descriptive and delicious, this book isn’t necessarily about just sex, but it is very sexy. I do feel like that’s just Saintclare’s way with words, though. She manages to make the most mundane descriptions sound delightful, and the dullest interactions seem full of hope and excitement.
The story follows Sylvie, a former ballet dancer, who has been forced to take an admin job that doesn’t stimulate her in any way.
That is, until she meets her mysterious and handsome boss Jay, and they embark on a relationship together that’s all-consuming – but there are some red flags along the way which Sylvie willingly ignores to enjoy his company.
Young and naive, Sylvie then discovers the mortifying truth about Jay and decides to make it her mission to ruin him, his reputation, and his whole life.
She does this thanks to finding some diaries from her aunt, in which she spilled secrets about her life. Sylvie laps them up, following some of the information to the letter as she wants to seriously distress Jay.
But did she end up taking things too far? Only you can decide this, but one thing I can promise you is that the ending will leave you slack-jawed and in utter disbelief. I had to close the book in awe, shock, and horror in order to process the events of the pages. This is truly what you want from a book. To be so consumed and thrilled by it, that you have an actual reaction upon reading it.
This novel will take you through a rollercoaster of emotions, and you’ll feel everything as strongly as Sylvie would have thanks to Saintclare’s exceptional writing style.
Thriller may be the wrong word to describe it, as I do feel it was quite a gentle book. But it was packed so full of emotion, much like its predecessor, that I simply could not put it down.
I finished it in a couple of hours lying around sunbathing, and was so engrossed that I had to take it out while I had drinks with my partner that evening.
If you’re thinking about pre-ordering this book, I’d highly recommend it. It’s everything you’d want from a novel, and more. Sometimes I think I’ve got it all figured out when it comes to plot, but I couldn’t have guessed the final third of the book.
This was an easy 5/5 for me, and I hope that Celine Saintclare has something else coming very soon.