Book DetailsAges: 10+
Rating: 4/10
Number of Pages: 211
Plot: After leaving London to escape her past, Lila Murray arrives in Heartside Bay looking to make a fresh start and prove to her family she has changed. However when she meets Ollie, Heartside High’s football star, Lila makes an enemy of Eve, the school’s rich and popular Queen Bee. Eve will do anything to eliminate her competition and get Ollie, putting Lila’s hopes of a fresh start on the balance. As Lila tries to balance her new persona, her rivalry with Eve and a mysterious secret admirer, Lila is thrown into a world where she must decide whether love is more important than keeping the trust of her parents and new friends. A story of teen love and friendship, the Heartside Bay series is a great light-hearted read for any teenage girl.
Review: I bought this book, and a couple from the rest of the series, as a way to break the reading slump I suffered after taking my AS level exams in June. I had never heard of the series or the author and, being a massive fan of classics and dystopian novels full of action, had little experience reading the more light-hearted romantic comedy style novels. After buying the book I feared the worst – a book that lacked any action or had the eloquent flair of a classic piece of literature, I had little hope that this would appeal to me. However, I was pleasantly surprised. Despite the book not completely overwhelming me and changing my whole perspective of literature, the novel did manage to grasp my attention whilst slowly getting me back into reading after those long months of exams. The Heartside Bay series, despite lacking any real plot twists, has a range of characters that any teenager can appeal to and although the plots of each of the books may appear to be a little far-fetched in places, the books are an enjoyable read.
Having read Girl Online by Zoe Sugg (or Zoella) late last year, I feel that the Heartside Bay series contains similar themes and characterisation making it an ideal read for any of you who enjoyed Girl Online (the sequel to which is due to be released late this year). The book revolves around this whole idea of fresh starts and new loves, themes that are apparent in books like Girl Online, and Cole manages to present these themes in a way that they are not too cliché. Despite this, there are distinct moments within the novel that are extremely cliché, for example, the name of the town and the fact that it is the “love capital of Britain.” In addition to this, at points I felt that the plot was too dense and thus made the overall story feel unbelievable. This can be seen in the ending – which I won’t go into detail about in case some of you haven’t read the book or the series for that matter.
“I
want to be called Lila in Heartside Bay,” she said in a tumble. “Not Lil. If
I’m ever going to settle in around here, I have to start again. It’s time for
me to be someone else.” – Lila Murray
Overall despite the book not having the usual dystopian theme to it, the Heartside Bay series contains memorable characters and ideas that, although a little cliché, are light-hearted and so create a book that is a fun, short read. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys books like Girl Online or for any of you who are looking for a romantic comedy style of writing.
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