The Palacios family have escaped from Venezuela for a new life in Trinidad, but when gangster ‘bad-man’ Ugly and his henchmen show up unannounced to a family barbecue, the family begin a year they won’t forget. Narrated by Yola, the oldest and the smartest, One Year of Ugly is a fizzling firecracker of a book. Not for the fainthearted, but thoroughly enjoyable, the family’s travails at the hands of Ugly (including unremunerated work at a strip club) are lightened throughout by Yola’s frank humour and excerpts from the diaries of her dead and incredibly foul-mouthed Aunt Celia, her role model. I particularly enjoyed the hot and heavy romance between Yola and Roman, Ugly’s enforcer; this could have been cliched but the author writes so beautifully about desire, this was more than a stereotypical bad-boy fantasy. Reminiscent of Junot Diaz but smarter, One Year of Ugly is well worth a read.

This was such a well written book! It's an important one to look at the life of immigrants at present day.
I found it also very entertaining, there were times to laugh out loud. Brilliant family life and excellent story telling.

Thanks a lot to the publisher and NetGalley for this copy.

This book was an unexpected gem. It dealt with both grief and dealing with impossible situations.

The family of characters described was so vivid I didn’t want it to end.

Described as the 'most raucous debut of 2020' and 'told with raw, acid humour,' I was desperate to read One Year Of Ugly. I finished it just the other day and I can definitely say it lives up to its reputation! One Year of Ugly is sheer brilliance!

It tells the story of the lovable Palacios family, who having fled from their home country Venezuela, are now living as illegal immigrants in Trinidad. Told from the point of view of 24 year old Yola, the Palacios's appear to be settling into their new life under the radar.

But when Yola's Aunt Celia suddenly dies, the family are visited by a local crime lord called Ugly. Aunt Celia kept a massive secret - she owed Ugly thousands. But now Celia is dead, it is now the family that has to repay the debt.

This sounds pretty dark, but believe me, this book is far from dark. It is hilarious and refreshing. When writing this sensational read Caroline Mackenzie purposely used humour to portray the dangers, hardships and prejudices of being an illegal immigrant - and she does this to great effect.

And then there is Roman who is Ugly's right-hand man. Roman, a dangerous man is charged with keeping a beady eye on the family. Yet the sexual tension between Roman and Yola is explosive.

I really believe everyone is going to be raving about One Year Of Ugly. Everything about is brilliant. I think there is also talk about it being made into a Netflix series, which will be ace!

Thank you to Caroline McKenzie, Borough Press and Net Galley for the ARC of ONE YEAR OF UGLY.
I certainly expected a different novel bearing in mind the title but what I got was a roller coaster ride of family saga, criminal characters and a love affair of forbidden fruit. Set against a background of illegal immigration to Trinidad from Venezuela, blackmail and threatened violence, One Year of Ugly was very entertaining with some brilliant characters you couldn't help but champion.

A great read. Fun, quirky and entertaining, and full of interesting characters. You hope everything can work out for Yola and Roman despite what is happening around them.

I received a copy of this book via net galley in exchange for an Honest review.

i found it a very difficult book to get into, I restarted it at least 3 times and still had no idea what I was reading. The author says she was writing with humour , I can only say that our idea of humour must be very different as there was nothing remotely funny about this book. Illegal immigrants under appalling duress due to financial difficulty. Made to do things they would never contemplated. Attacked with iron bars and constantly under observance this is far from comical. I hated every minute of it and would not have continued had it not been for a challenge. I would gie it 0 stars if i could but as i cannot it will have to be 1. I won't be reading any more by this author and don't understand how such drivel gets published

There are very few books that kept me up all night, but with Roman and Yola’s sultry forbidden romance bursting from the pages against a backdrop of ridiculous gangsters and refugees, One Year of Ugly was well worth it. This book is worth its weight in gold, I cackled with laughter throughout and finished with a new life ambition – to ascend to the role of family b*itch. Highly recommend!

This was a truly surprising book, in a really good way. So surprising that I will not go into any details as I do not want to spoil your enjoyment.

Please take my word that a bunch of Venezuelan refugees smuggled into Trinidad can interact in some very curious, surprising and entertaining ways and that their story deserves you spending your money to discover what on earth I am on about. I will be very surprised if you end up feeling my advice was misplaced. Oh and watch out for the sting in the tail/tale.

A book a family I will not forget.A look at the life of immigrants in today’s world.This group of characters come alive they had me hysterically laughing as they jump from one problem to the next .This is so well written quirky entertaining.An author I will be following a book I will be recommending.#netgalley#harpercollinsuk

This was a great first book. There’s too much going on here, which got in the way of the heart of the story. This is my only complaint. It started off strong, I kept highlighting lines and laughing at the Aunt character. But the flow was off, as there was the love interest stuff and the writing, the huge family, them all getting different ‘illegals’. I liked learning about Venezuela- my goodness, I had no idea. It’s an interest back drop. And it picks up and runs at the end. But for the majority, nothing kept me reading or hooked. I would totally look into her next book!

This was a really fast-paced and fun explanation of a humanitarian crisis I had absolutely no idea about - the (mostly illegal) Venezuelan migration to Trinidad and Tobago. Following a family who fled the political crisis of Venezuela only to end up in a “grass isn’t always greener” situation, Mackenzie’s novel deals with gang violence and modern slavery with dark humour. A few people have compared it to My Sister the Serial Killer and I can definitely see why. My only criticisms would be that the protagonist is very fatphobic and none of her remarks add to the story so I can’t see any reason for her to have those views except ignorance. Secondly, the (late) character of Aunt Celia is supposed to be a strong woman who can stand up to any man but actually comes across as a domestic abuser in some of her tales even though she is most definitely portrayed as a “good” person in the novel. These didn’t make One Year of Ugly unreadable for me, and I did enjoy it overall, but only because I have privileges that allow me to disregard these things momentarily - not everyone is that lucky.

One year of ugly is a wickedly hilarious tale of a year in the life of the Palacios family. Full of dark humour with brilliant one liners,the author tackles a serious issue, that of illegal immigrants trying to live life under the radar of the authorities . Somehow despite the wit I didn’t feel the author was trivialising the subject and to bring the plight of this group of people to the attention of a wider audience in such an entertaining way should be applauded.
The Palacios family are illegal Venezuelan immigrants living in Port of Spain, Trinidad. They find themselves in huge debt to Ugly, a mafioso type, thanks to recently deceased Aunt Celia and are forced to repay this debt in a variety of ways, in particular housing other illegals. Featuring a wonderful cast of colourful characters this is one family I’d love to meet!! Ranging from a drunken uncle, alcoholic philandering brother and a nun like aunt turned Rambo their adventures had me in stitches.
Perhaps my only slight criticism is I become so engrossed in the lives of such vividly drawn characters and their hilarious antics that I had to keep reminding myself that this kind of life (though maybe not the escapades!) is reality for many.
It’s hard to pinpoint a favourite character out of this motley crew. Suffice to say the females in this novel are definitely the stronger sex. Yola takes centre stage but for me Aunt Milagros is a force to be reckoned with.
A special thanks to HarperCollins for inviting me to read this wonderful novel as it may have been a title I’d overlook whilst browsing in a bookshop. How much I enjoyed this took me by surprise so I urge people to pick up a copy or add to their tbr pile. Full of quirky characters, colourful language ,laugh out loud moments (strip club scenes especially) and oozing Latino charm this novel is hugely entertaining.
Thanks of course to the author and Netgalley for allowing me to read in exchange for an honest review.

I utterly adored this book. There lies at the heart of it a serious tale of exploitation and refugees but it is told as a comedic and incredible tale in the year of the Palacio clan, mainly focusing on daughter Yola but weaving in a lovable and diverse wider family. It’s rare that I laugh out loud at a book but did frequently at this gem. A little reminiscent of the superb My Sister The Serial Killer in terms of dark humour, I would highly recommend it.

With thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins for an ARC in consideration of an honest review. Reviews will be added to outlets closer to publication.