#BlogTour Innocently Guilty by Ashling Bourke

It's my turn on the BlogTour Innocently Guilty Ashling Bourke.

About the Author

Ashling Bourke spent most of her childhood growing up in Malawi which is a central source of inspiration for her debut novel ‘Innocently Guilty’. 

She now lives in Scotland and is studying at university whilst developing her debut novel into a series.

Follow ashlingbourkebooks.com at Twitter or abourkebooks on Instagram

About the book

‘Innocently Guilty’ is a highly engaging and extremely entertaining first novel full of intriguing characters, international adventure, love and passion, secrets and a chilling mystery at its core. Lottie and Emily are best friends, who want more than anything to have the perfect boyfriend but when a boy is found dead and all eyes are on Lottie, an African adventure awaits that unexpectedly reveals the answers she seeks. This was so not part of the plan.

Review

It's party time for three best friends, but for one of them the opposite gender is more important than the friendship, which is the beginning of a nightmare for one of them.

Lottie has a crush on Robbie and is looking forward to spending time with him, unbeknownst to her someone has plans to make her evening one to remember. Meanwhile her friends feel a little forgotten, even to the point of wanting to make sure Lottie remembers who they are.

First person narrative generally works a little better when the 'I' remains the same person consistently, as opposed to changing who the I is referring to every chapter. At the very least a chapter heading alluding to who I is referring to would be easier. As it stands the reader needs to read at least a paragraph each chapter to figure which one of the three girls the I is referring to each time. It's confusing and disrupts the flow.

It's a YA story, a tale of petty jealousy and irresponsible actions, of the shallowness of teenage friendship. How one decision made in the heat of the moment can change lives forever, but it's also about a young girl reflecting on her actions. Being forced to confront her own privilege, stereotyping and bad attitude.

It needs more depth and more attention to detail when it comes to style and voice.

Buy Innocently Guilty at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher : The Conrad Press pub date 15 Feb. 2021. Buy at Amazon com.