Everyone dreams of going back to high school, right?🤨

Synopsis

When Ali, Blake, Charlotte, and Grant sign contracts to star in a Back to School reality TV show, LOVE is the very last thing on their minds:

Ali flies to the UK from New Zealand, intrigued by the golden opportunity to advance her amateur social media influencer career.

Blake carpe diems the moment with both hands after a constant flurry of bad luck.

Charlotte jumps at the chance to relive her sporting glories of the past – and take a hiatus from her humdrum marriage.

And Grant is just relieved to get away from his failing second-hand music shop.

But once the advances hit their bank accounts, it soon becomes apparent that producer Jock’s Pied Piper-style offer to change their lives is distinctly lacking in sherbet fizz!

In fact, the only sweet thing about this gig for the former students and the rest of their Bubblegum

and Blazers competitors, may just be the packet of candy in their pockets.

Re-enacting their past is a rollercoaster of revelations, retaliation, and unlikely romance in a gold-fish bowl of mayhem where Raphael (Agony Uncle of the school sweet shop) and his rhubarb and custards reign supreme…

My review

Ali, Blake, Charlotte and Grant are a few of the stars of a new reality show. It’s a total new concept, the contestants are going back to school and while trying to win challenges, the ultimate goal is to win the competition and go home with the grand prize.
But going back to school is not only a blast from the past, but quickly some competitors are falling back into their behaviour as teenagers. And producer Jock is pulling more tricks than a magician!
Not only is this an adventure full of revelations, opportunities for a fresh start, but also a little bit of romance and a sweet shop seller with an agenda of his own…

If someone would ever offer me to go back to high school, well my answer would be: HELL NO!!!
Not because I had a hard time, but just because the woman I am now, is so different from the girl back then, and I totally have no interest in going back to the time where I was rather invisible…
However, if the characters would follow my reasoning, there would be no story at all!

I loved to read how some characters were falling back to their teenage selves rather quickly, while some other were adamant to show a new, improved version of themselves.

Ali and Charlotte were the contestants I quickly had an opinion over, they were also the characters I had to change my mind over.
While Ali seems very superficial and only cares about her social media, Charlotte wants to grab this opportunity to do something for herself once.
But when the show is really rolling, we see the true nature of these women. And let me say that my re-adjusted opinion in the end wasn’t the same as when I started this book.
Someone made a change for the better, while someone else just kept falling down to a point I found that her ending was more than deserving.

Blake and Grant are the male contestants I had my fingers crossed all the time. Blake is surrounded by bad luck, and I truly wished that this show would turn his luck around.
And for Grant I just wished he would be able to have a more successful career.

Of course reading a story of this author, is a standard recipe for several twists and turns, and big surprises.
Again she managed to write a story where the reader is left sometimes flabbergasted by the true nature of some characters.
However this story surely entertained me and left me wondering when all the different truths would come out and how they would affect our characters.

I loved to see how old patterns were easily picked up again, but also seeing how this absurd reality show would be the start of something new for characters, in a surprising way.
Oh, and one last warning, after reading I surely needed a boost of sugar!!!