WARNING: THIS BOOK IS A RIOT! IT WILL HAVE YOU LAUGHING OUT LOUD, SHOCK YOU AND MAKE YOU UNABLE TO PUT THE DAMN THING DOWN.

As soon as reviews started appearing on my Twitter feed about this book, I knew I had to have it. It sounded hilarious and although I have learned to be a little dubious about books that are marketed as “a cross between x and x”, in this case, it is totally warranted. Bridget Jones really does meet Dexter, and what a joyous combination they are!

Rhiannon, aka Sweetpea, writes about her life in a diary. She moans about her boyfriend, her weight, her friends who do nothing but talk about weddings and babies, her dull job and the array of off characters she has to work with. That all sounds rather normal, right? Well yes, except that Rhiannon always starts her diary entries with a list of people she would like to kill:

“People who chat at the cashier in the supermarket, even though there’s a queue behind them – I’m all for being pleasant when you’re packing your bag, but when the card’s been pulled out or the change has been given, kindly fuck off. Don’t linger and talk about your kid’s Easter play or your operation. AND DON’T THANK ME FOR WAITING. I DIDN’T HAVE A CHOICE!”

The above quotation is one of the milder comments from this book. There is dark humour and then there is black-as-coal humour and this definitely falls into the latter. Even I, who can F and blind with the best of them and am not easily offended, let out a slow whistle on the odd occasion. This book is dark, it’s crude, it’s shameless, it’s but it’s utterly and absolutely freaking hilarious!

Rhiannon is a psychopath and a serial killer. She spends her life reminding herself of “The Act” – how she has learned to be normal around other people so as not to raise suspicion – when in fact most of the time she is reminiscing about one of her kills or plotting her next one. But yet, despite this, I loved Rhiannon. Loved her! She is a riot of sarcasm, profanity and grumbles about much of the same things that annoy the rest of us (or is that just me?).

“1. Cold callers – I swear a circle of Dante’s Inferno is missing some inhabitants.

2. Those self-righteous people who brag about not throwing anything away for an entire year – how do you recycle your fanny rags? Seriously?

3. Whoever sits in my office chair when I’m not there and adjusts the height.”

line

“Bought an iced bun on the way to lunch but it turned out to be a depressingly bad iced bun. You would think there’s no such thing – it’s just a bun and icing, right?

WRONG.

For a start it was stale and there was a live fruit fly stuck to one end. And if that wasn’t enough, half of my icing was stuck on the bun next to it in the window and the bitch with the tongs never even scraped it off and put it back on mine. So rude.”

line

And then there are gems like this:

“Believe it or not, this is not the most awkward I’ve ever been around Jim and Elaine. I had food poisoning once at their house one Christmas – I was up all night in their bathroom, Jackson Pollocking the ceramic and letting off excruciatingly loud farts. At one point Jim came in and asked me if I wanted a cup of tea. My mouth tried to answer but my arsehole beat him to it.”

I don’t normally do star ratings on my blog but as I am required to on sites like Amazon and Goodreads, I initially thought I would give this a 4-star rating, purely based on my opinion that Sweetpea ended with a whimper rather than a bang and left me wanting. However, having thought about it, I am still going to go with 5 stars, as apart from that I loved every minute of reading this book.

Verdict:

Sexually explicit, graphic, stabby, and not for the feint of heart. Utterly brilliant!!!

Initially, I requested this book because of the title, there's a family joke behind the name 'Sweet pea' but I was not expecting this book! It's amazing to see it from the killers point of view, who, as we can all tell as been affected more by her past than others realize. The ending is such a cliff-hanger and I'd love to know what will become of 'Sweet pea'. Really well written and an interesting read!

I sort of hovered around the rating to give this book, I did enjoy it but thought the ending was a bit weak in my view, it had been building up for a while and I expected more as the book had been solid up to that stage. I can really see the book putting some people off as it is quite crass in places, uses a lot of graphic language and content but I think its actually needed as it is the inner thoughts and diary entries of a psychopath after all. Quite different from the other books about at the moment and I did enjoy it - but it won't be for everyone - bit like marmite - 4 stars from me

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for my review copy of this book.

I am going to be completely honest and admit that I gave up on this book at 25% or thereabouts. I missed the 'black comedy' tag and whilst I am an avid horror fanatic, I would definitely have passed on this book if I had noticed it was listed under humour as well as thriller.

Sorry.

Sweetpea by CJ Scuse

This book is aptly described as a black comedy. It is written in diary form with each entry commencing with Rhiannon’s death list where crimes against her range from ‘people who eat with their mouths open’ to the heinous crimes committed by Dillon on the checkout in Lidl (and incidentally include Donald Trump). However, Rhiannon really does have a kill list – in fact she is a serial killer. Her alter ego is the aspiring photo journalist who in reality was employed as a receptionist.

From the outset, the language employed is decidedly blue and the graphic images she conjures are more Pyscho than Sherlock Holmes but is it possible to demonise someone who loves playing with her Sylvanian Families – well to be more accurate ‘adores her Sylvanian Families?

Clearly there could only be one possible outcome, poor Rhiannon could not be allowed to continue, there had to be some sort of fracture. On the way though, what a brilliant, funny, clever book.

Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy – but not for the faint-hearted.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing an ARC via my Kindle in return for an honest review.

This is definately not a young adult read, which is what c.j.skuse is known for, I would say 18 plus, but boy what a great first adult novel.
Rhiannon is the main character in this book, she is 27 and tries to act like a normal everyday woman but fails...slightly. Rhiannon is a serial killer who knows how to use a knife, to feel happy she needs to kill. She lives with Craig who is having an affair with Lana so is too engrossed with covering up his wrong doings to pick up on anything weird about Rhiannon.
The book is set out like Rhiannon's diary so instead of a chapter you get the date and at the beginning of the day there is a list of who she wants to kill that day (but doesn't) and why which I really liked.
This book will make you go through a range of emotions, it's not your average read. You will find yourself laughing one minute and recoiling in horror the next or you may find its just not your cup of tea, which for some I could see that but I didn't, I liked it's quirkiness, it's ability to shock and the amazement of what she had planned right under my nose but I didn't grasp until 5 minutes from the end!! The down side to this is it's quite a long read and you spend a lot of time with Rhiannon so the ending made me a little mad but maybe that's what it was meant to do?!
I would like to thank netgalley and harlequin uk for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

Hilarious. Deliciously dark. Quirky. Bold.

Just a few ways to quickly describe this fabulous read.

In Sweetpea, the first adult novel from author C. J. Skuse, there is no holding back. From the very first page it is clear that this book is not for the faint hearted or for those offended by strong language or explicit sexual references. If you are easily offended then I recommend now that you don’t read this book because you won’t get on well with it. If you enjoy a bit of dark, twisted comedy then you will probably love this book.

Rhiannon is an outrageous character but I loved her voice and thought she was hilarious. Despite being unable to relate to her on most levels (I am not a serial killer) there were definitely moments where I found myself laughing out loud at her brutal honesty. That being said, I am not easily offended but there were a few moments in the book where I thought ‘Ouch’ and had a bit of a cringe at some of what was said. On the whole though I thought it was great to read a book that held nothing back and featured a female serial killer!

It goes without saying that Rhiannon clearly has her own emotional baggage and is damaged by events in her early life. Despite how cold-hearted she comes across, at the centre of her actions are real reasons to commit her crimes: killing paedophiles, sex offenders and so on. Her murders are bloody and unforgiving. She is a psychopath through and through.

I really enjoyed that this was written as her personal journal (a la Bridget Jones) and that each entry started with a list of things/people that she hates and/or wants to kill. There were so many of the things she mentioned where I thought ‘I get that!’ and that’s what makes this so great. Despite her fondness of murdering people, Rhiannon is also very normal. She loves her dog Tink, she goes out with friends, she has written a novel, she has a boyfriend (albeit a cheating one) and she dreams of her future in a little Welsh cottage. Mix that in with all the murder and sex that Sweetpea delivers and you have an idea of why I think of her as a Bridget-Jones-like character.

I’ve seen people describing this book as marmite and I understand what they mean. Some readers will LOVE this book and others will LOATHE it. Personally I really enjoyed it and would actually love to see what happens next for Rhiannon, I mean the ending was just a little frustrating!

Full of hilarious quips and deliciously dark, Rhiannon is the murderous Bridget Jones I never knew I needed in my life!

Oh my gosh this book is the most bizarrely dark thing I have ever read & I absolutely loved it!

Very different from my usual reads I was intrigued by the blurb & decided to give it a go. I seriously could not put it down. This book will make you laugh out loud & gasp in absolute horror but you will have to read on until you've finished.

The ending had me shouting & I'm praying there is a second book on the horizon. Fabulously dark & twisted, looking forward to more from this author

Rating 3.5/5

I was really excited to get into this one, I had heard a lot of good things about it and how many books boast a female serial killer as their protagonist.

At the start Rhiannon was brilliant, a breath of fresh air, she was so blunt and got away with saying all sorts of things that I couldn’t help but laugh at. What she says is sometimes provocative, sometimes that little thought that you’ve maybe had but would never say out loud and sometimes just really funny, even if she doesn’t mean to be.

Her interactions with her group of female friends she calls the PICSO’s (People I can’t shake off) I found hilariously relatable, I’d be surprised if we all haven’t met people like this. I also really enjoyed her kill lists because they were so changeable one minute someone was on it for doing something awful and the next they would be on it for doing something pleasant, you never knew what to expect from her.

However as I got further into the book this all got a bit repetitive, I was expecting there to be more of a focus on her being a serial killer, instead, the focus was more on her everyday life. I’m not sure if this next part would be considered a spoiler so I’ll just say now that you might want to skip the rest of this paragraph just in case…but her kills do become a little messier as she goes on and instead of using that to create some tension in the book it kind of just gets glossed over and back to the everyday.

I also would have really liked Rhiannon to be developed a little more, I mean she has a pretty interesting backstory but it left me with a lot of questions that weren’t answered. To me, it felt like there were a lot of hints towards things but then there wasn’t much follow up and I kept waiting for something to be revealed to tie certain bits together but it never happened.

I know a lot of people have been saying that it’s either a love it or hate it book, I think I’m a bit on the fence with this one I didn’t hate it but I didn’t love it either, if I’m honest I wanted more from it. As well as what is noted above it had some bad language and some pretty unconventional kinks in there, all of it intended to shock, but I think it missed out on a lot of its own potential and that’s left me a bit underwhelmed.

I can see why other people like it so I would still recommend giving this a read because it’s one of those books that people will be talking about and it can be funny. It maybe does deals with topics that some people might not be comfortable with reading though, so just be warned if you do decide to take the plunge.

A psycho serial killer has never made me laugh out loud so much.

Sweetpea is dark, shocking, witty and absolutely bloody hilarious. I loved it and cannot recommend it enough!

Rhiannon has a boyfriend, a dog and a job she hates. So far so everyone. She also makes a daily list of people she'd like to kill. Slow walkers, the guy in Lidl who bruises her apples, drivers with no manners, you know the types. (To be fair, on my own personal psycho days - we all have them - I can totally relate.) The main difference is that Rhiannon ACTUALLY kills people. And she loves it.

If you're easily shocked then perhaps this isn't for you, but if you like your humour dark with a huge dollop of twisted thoughts and quirky vitriol then you will love this as much as I do.

It's so cleverly written, you find yourself questioning how warmly you feel for someone you should probably hate. Extra bonus joy for cwtchers comes from the copious Welsh references, they are the chocolate sprinkles on this already delicious creamy killer latte. (That just got weird...sorry)

Get your copy here, you definitely won't regret it. A perfect five cwtches!

I have read some of C.J. Skuse's YA novels and was intrigued to see what she would do with her first 'adult' novel.

A hilariously dark tale, the story is written as Rhiannon's journal. She starts each day off with a 'kill list' which features everyone who has irritated her recently.

The quote 'Bridget Jones meets American Psycho' is probably the best description. It's rude, crude and very graphic so if you are easily offended probably best to avoid. For everyone else, I would urge you to read this brilliant book immediately.

Rhiannon is not your everyday serial killer and in fact not an everyday sort of person at all, she is very complex due to an incident in her past and although she hasn't killed for a while she seems unable to stop herself. The book has quite a few profanities and quite gruesome kill scenes but it also gives us insight into Rhiannon's gentler side or what counts as it after all she collects Silvanian Families figures and there are so many laugh out loud situations that you cannot help yourself from agreeing with her in places. I loved this book and can see that some might not but if you do decide to read it be prepared for a roller coaster of emotions that might be better dealt with at home and not on public transport.The kill lists that are at the start of every chapter make you realise that some of the people there you can see her reasoning why she would pick them.
I can't wait to see what CJ Skuse comes up with next as I for one will be waiting eagerly for the next book. Thank you to NetGalley for my copy of the book.

This is one of my most memorable reads of the year so far! I've heard Sweetpea described as Bridget Jones meets Dexter and that is the perfect description.

The dark humour and brutal, gory scenes written in Bridget Jones style diary extracts somehow worked really well together. The content was very graphic in every way, which may not appeal to everyone. For me, the honesty and brutality made the book feel authentic.

The voice of Sweetpea is very strong, with laugh out loud moments balanced with Rhiannon's struggles to control her urges and fit in.

I also thought the plotting was on point. As with CJ Skuse's teen titles, the plot takes unexpected turns and the truth is unravelled in tantalising pieces.

I really enjoyed reading this and I'm looking forward to seeing what Sweetpea gets up to next!

If you are looking for some thing different, pull up a chair you've found it.I loved this I thought the humour was fab I don't find many books that make me laugh out loud but this one did, great lead character,Rhiannon and brilliant if some what disturbing and dark theme.I love writers who think outside the box, this author didn't have a box in the first place.So original, cracking read maybe not for the feint hearted or those of a nervous disposition but great fun . Thanks to the Publishers and Netgalley for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Oh my giddy Aunt, what a cracker of a book this is. This really isn’t a book for the faint hearted but if you like dark humour and aren’t easily offended then this is the book for you. Also look at that cover, I love the colours and how it just jumps right out at you.

Written as diary entry’s we get to know Rhiannon and her thoughts and what a character she is. Honestly who’d have thought you could actually like a killer, well I did, should I be worried about that? Some of the entry’s start off with a list of people who rattle her cage (her kill list) like the guy in Lidl’s that squashes her loaf when scanning it and people who eat with their mouth open which really gets on my nerves too. I just couldn’t help agreeing with some of her choices.

Rhiannon’s a troubled character, slowly through out the book we find out about her past and it’s no wonder she has issues. Saying that though there is a softer side to Rhiannon, she dotes on her little dog Tink and loves to play with her Sylvanian family house. She’s not all bad.

Sweetpea really had me engrossed and I found myself picking my kindle up first thing in the morning so I could read a couple of chapters before starting my day. The way it’s written it’s like Rhiannon is speaking to you and it totally draws you in. It’s such a dark funny book I found myself laughing out loud so many times and then the next minute I was under the duvet saying “Oh my god”. This really is a book that will divide readers, it’s graphic, it’s gruesome, it’s honestly not for the faint hearted but it’s relatable in a way and its down right hilarious. I really think it’s just brilliant and so different.

After finishing Sweetpea I was curious to see who CJ Skuse was as I’d never heard of this author before and was surprised to find she is the author to a few YA novels. Sweetpea is definitely not recommended for YA but if you like something a bit different, don’t mind bad language, graphic scenes and have plenty of time on your hands with out distractions (you really wont want to put it down) then Sweetpea is the book for you. I can’t wait to see what others say about this book.

This book was extremely well written. It really gives insight into Rhinannon and her metal state. I would highly recommend anyone who enjoys dark humor and gore.

Hilarious and horrible! I loved this messed-up tale of a female serial killer and her life – it made me laugh and cringe and I was never sure whether I hated Rhiannon or wanted her to get away with it. It's as though American Psycho was rewritten as chick lit. Would love to read more from Skuse.

Rhiannon is a 27-year-old receptionist working at a local paper who seems happy in her life and domestic bliss with her boyfriend Craig. However, deep down Rhiannon is a bit of a psychopath who lists down the people on her Kill List everyday in her diary and has a flip that can switch a bit too easily. As Rhiannon's blood-lust grows and her anger deepens, it's only a matter of time before she snaps for good.

This book is crass, outrageous and just absolutely batshit crazy and I think anyone who likes You by Caroline Kepnes and/or The Girl in 6E by AR Torre should think about picking this up as it might be up your alley.

I did think I was really going to enjoy this book but unfortunately it did end up a being a bit of a dud. I'm not actually sure what it was that didn't connect with me - whether it was that my mood wasn't right which made me feel a disconnect with the character or whether i had read similar before and done better. I think what threw me off at first was just how angry Rhiannon was from the get go. She was so full of rage at everything and I felt like she was shouting at me from the pages, which I really didn't like. I started this after a long day of work and maybe my body and mind was just too exhausted to be able to handle a crazy character shouting her Kill List at me. I also just didn't understand how Rhiannon didn't get caught with the numerous murders she commits throughout the book - she gets messier and messier and while the slight twist at the end was good and made me go "wow", I do feel like the story was a bit unbelievable and scoff-worthy at times.

There was a twisty humour to this book though that definitely earned a chuckled from me a few times. Her Kill List is often full of all sorts of people that everyone encounters at some point during the week or another and people whom everyone has vented about.

This book is great for anyone wanting a bit of a shocking read and something that will keep them on their toes. Unfortunately for me at this time, it just wasn't what I was looking for.

Rhiannon seems to the people that know her to be a nice girl, she loves her boyfriend and her dog, collects Sylvanian Family toys and is always there for her friends.....but we know better as we get to read her diary and boy is she crazy. Behind her well practiced facade lies the heart of a killer, a killer who has a list of targets ranging from her boss to her boyfriend, the lad in her supermarket who isn't careful enough with her groceries to a local paedophile. Frankly if you make her angry or just irritate her she's considering your demise. She's a great character with a lot of the same irritations as you or me.....she's just more direct in dealing with them!

This has to be one of the best books I've read this year. Laugh out funny, quite shocking in parts it pulls you in from the first sentence then doesn't let you out of its grip until the final sentence. If you're easily offended do not pick this up. There's very strong language throughout and some pretty close to the bone situations that some might shy from. But if you like very black comedy you'll love this.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC for an honest review.

Sweatpea by CJ Skuse.
When she was good, she was very, very good. When she was bad, she was deadly.
Rhiannon is your average girl next door, settled with her boyfriend and little dog…but she’s got a killer secret.
Although her childhood was haunted by a famous crime, Rhinannon’s life is normal now that her celebrity has dwindled. By day her job as an editorial assistant is demeaning and unsatisfying. By evening she dutifully listens to her friend’s plans for marriage and babies whilst secretly making a list.
A kill list.
From the man on the Lidl checkout who always mishandles her apples, to the driver who cuts her off on her way to work, to the people who have got it coming, Rhiannon’s ready to get her revenge.
Because the girl everyone overlooks might be able to get away with murder…
Absolutely fantastic read with brilliant characters. OMG full of twists and plots. Rhiannon was a character I loved to hate. 5*. Netgalley and hq.