Reviews

Cold Light by Jenn Ashworth

philippakmoore's review against another edition

3.0

I really enjoy Jenn Ashworth's writing. Cold Light is a dark, coming-of-age mystery which transported me back to 1995; the naivety, cruelty and self absorption of being 14 was captured so well it was both breathtaking and horrifying.

mellabella's review against another edition

3.0

I liked this book. I didn't love it. The description did it more justice than it deserved. I remember being 14. At that age, everything can seem like the end of the world. Especially fighting with, or the thought of losing your best friend. That being said Laura's character put up with far more than a lot of other 14 year old girls would have. Chloe was mean, cruel, and manipulative. Her character was unlikable almost from the very beginning. Leaving your best friend to get caught when you were the one who shoplifted? Laura's character doesn't change as she gets older. Sadly. She is still needy as the book goes between past and present. There is much more to it,of course. An older pervy boyfriend, a man with down syndrome who goes missing, a flasher, and another girl named Emma who is in awe of Chloe as much as Laura is. Laura is also dealing with parents who are a little older than everyone else. A fact that evidently brings her much embarrassment. I liked the ending ad all the secrets that came out. But it seemed to take a long time to get there. Especially with Laura being clueless. All in all it was a good read.

kdurham2's review against another edition

2.0

Check out the full review at Kritters Ramblings

A dark dark book that deals with depression, death and bad relationships - a hard read because at times I just wanted to rescue this character from this world and deposit her into something with sunshines and rainbows. Lola is surrounded by negative things from her home life to her school life to her personal life - the author paints this dark world for her to live in and try to survive. With a little too much whine to her, I fell more in love to her quirky best friend Chloe who had her moments also.

affyfe's review against another edition

4.0

The book centers around Laura (or Lola), and looks back on a tragic event that occurred when she was in high school. It goes between present and the time leading up to the accident and all the events and characters surrounding it. This book was not what I had expected, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it. From the cover and description I pictured a somewhat quick, almost YA book about a murder that had happened in a small town. But I was given a much heavier story with very interesting characters all with a very British feel to it. Since I thought this would be a much quicker read, things started off slowly, but as soon as I got into the bulk of the story, I was hooked. I could see myself in Lola and at times in the other girls, too. The plot took some unexpected turns which I was happy to see since some of it was predictable. I would recommend this to anyone who wants a good literary read with a little bit of a British feel. There wasn’t so much of a mystery so don’t come in expecting that, but you will get a good story with characters that are very interesting and surprisingly easily relatable.

For a more in depth and personal review see my blog:
http://explanniefyfed.blogspot.com/2012/09/book-review-cold-light-by-jenn-ashworth.html

jen286's review against another edition

1.0

I checked this book out of the library with a 3 week loan period, Normally I read a book a day or so, but this book took me the entire 3 weeks to get through. It was just not good. The only reason I read until the end is that I was curious what happened. I tried to look it up and see who did it, but couldn't find anywhere that told me. I kept picking it up and then getting bored and putting it back down again. And it is obvious for the most part what is happening so it wasn't really that shocking, though the narrator is more horrible that I originally thought, Really though I didn't like any of the characters and don't really understand why Emma still came over to Laura's in the future...they were all pretty terrible and it was...not good.

adw7984's review against another edition

4.0

I don’t know how to write about this book, and it frustrates me. I’ll start here: I was so excited to see that Jenn Ashworth had a new book coming out. I loved A Kind of Intimacy, and I was so eager for this new book. The cover looked amazing, and the description sounded dark and twisted - just like her previous book. However, as I began to read I soon realized that this one would be a little difficult to get in to.

This book starts out slowly, and the read has no idea what is going on at first. Also, the timeline is so wonky. Seriously, I had no idea what was happening and when it was happening. Perhaps chapter titles might have made this more clear.

The main story line revolves around two questions: 1.) What happened to Wilson? 2.) What happened to Chloe? Through a series of flashbacks, flash forwards and general random time jumping, Lola tells the story of a fateful Boxing Day night and how the events of that night affected those around them.

Then at the end of the book, a dark little twist popped out of nowhere. I can’t even say what happened, but my mouth just dropped and I thought “now that is f***ed up*…page 325-326 for reference. Finally, that dark twist made me appreciate the rest of the story. Also, Jenn Ashworth is really a fan of the dark,twisted lady character, is she not?

Overall, this book was very well written and very dark. It started out a little slow for me, but once I could kind of figure out the time jumps, I really enjoyed it!

*This book was provided for review on Confessions of a Bookaholic. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

andintothetrees's review against another edition

4.0

I like Jenn Ashworth's writing style, and thought she crafted the tension well here. I also had a good nostalgia fest as the novel centres on a group of teenage girls in the late 90s, when I was a teenager. Pretty much all the characters were unlikeable, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

romcm's review against another edition

5.0

I loved this just as much as A Kind of Intimacy. If not more. Three friends. Secrets are shared, but not everyone knows everything... until many years later.

brooke_review's review against another edition

4.0

A gritty, dark tale. One in which you don't really know what's going on ... and find yourself closing the cover with a lingering feeling of confusion. Definitely a show, not tell novel that keeps you reading just to see if the shadowy secrets will be revealed.

nicolebonia's review against another edition

3.0

Ashworth successfully elucidates the girls’ lives – especially Lola’s. They are fraught with the tensions and allure of dangerous older men, the peril of a flasher – whose crimes are escalating- on the loose, and their own semi-abusive treatment of one another. Lola’s life is further complicated by the delusions of her elderly father, hostile relationship with her mother, and a harsh mixture of guilt and defiance concerning her own actions the year Chloe died. With the mystery of the newly uncovered body in the woods, all the pieces are carefully placed for a tense read as the true nature of Chloe’s death is revealed. However the pacing is off, and the meandering plot of the novel exceeds plausibility, and proves too problematic to overcome. The transitions between past and present are frequently abrupt and confusing when overlapping each other. As interesting as the girls’ stories could have been, the sprawling narrative and numerous plot lines diffused interest in the fates of all involved.