Toxic is, as the name suggests, centred around a friendship group that becomes toxic. It touches upon incredibly relevant issues; alcohol abuse, male mental health, toxic masculinity, sexuality and sexual assault.
What was meant to be a fun-filled, boozy lads’ holiday (plus Hope, who tags along after the girls’ holiday was cancelled) begins to turn into a bit of a disaster. The boys keep secrets from each other; one still has feelings for his ex girlfriend, but still feels the need to brag about his conquests; two of them are involved in a fight with a man in an alley; and Hope is left, after having far too much to drink, passed out on the beach, only to wake up with her dress bunched up around her waist.
This book started out strong, and I thought I was gonna love it, but it sort of fell short towards the end. It was told in three different POVs; first Hope, then Logan, then Daisy (Logan’s new girlfriend). I think I probably would have preferred it if we’d just alternated between Hope and Logan because while I did like Daisy, I wasn’t really as invested in her as I was the others. Her story, however, is an important one, but I just wish we got more closure for Hope and Logan.
I loved the male mental health storyline; Logan struggles with depression, and despite struggling to get out of bed on a daily basis, he feels like he can’t tell his lifelong friends because “that’s just how it is with blokes”. In a world where struggling men are constantly told to “man up”, this was SUCH an important storyline.
What was meant to be a fun-filled, boozy lads’ holiday (plus Hope, who tags along after the girls’ holiday was cancelled) begins to turn into a bit of a disaster. The boys keep secrets from each other; one still has feelings for his ex girlfriend, but still feels the need to brag about his conquests; two of them are involved in a fight with a man in an alley; and Hope is left, after having far too much to drink, passed out on the beach, only to wake up with her dress bunched up around her waist.
This book started out strong, and I thought I was gonna love it, but it sort of fell short towards the end. It was told in three different POVs; first Hope, then Logan, then Daisy (Logan’s new girlfriend). I think I probably would have preferred it if we’d just alternated between Hope and Logan because while I did like Daisy, I wasn’t really as invested in her as I was the others. Her story, however, is an important one, but I just wish we got more closure for Hope and Logan.
I loved the male mental health storyline; Logan struggles with depression, and despite struggling to get out of bed on a daily basis, he feels like he can’t tell his lifelong friends because “that’s just how it is with blokes”. In a world where struggling men are constantly told to “man up”, this was SUCH an important storyline.