Summary (I used the one from Sari's website: https://www.saritaurez.com/): Tiana is your typical pampered young blonde with a love for expensive shoes, hot guys, and murder.
After Tiana is cut off from her family’s riches, she takes advantage of her talents and becomes a killer for hire. It’s a lucrative business in her country, where a call to the police can cause a lifetime of debt.
Her first client: Julia, a lower-class IT genius, lesbian, and devout Catholic. When the orphanage Julia volunteers at is targeted by the infamous brothel-owner Bobby Nails, Tiana is excited to take the job. But when she discovers Bobby Nails has a full army of mercenaries at his disposal, Tiana wonders if she may be in over her head.
Tiana and Julia face an unexpected adventure as they seek vengeance against the elusive Nails. On the way, they employ the help of a pyromaniac ex-prostitute, a mysterious acrobatic fugitive, and the elderly members of the local convent. In the end, will it be enough to stop Nails and the chaos he has created?
First, this book has an amazing cover. It's simple, aesthetically pleasing, and shows exactly what you are going to find in this book: a badass, feminist, hot, rich, murder-loving woman.
I was a little apprehensive about reading this since the first author that reached out to me, I ended up disliking their book. However, Bubblegum blew me out of the waters. It was a unique, interesting, addicting, and diverse read. As I have read more and more, I have noticed there are so many books with similar plot patterns or are so predictable that I end up barely remembering what happened. Sari's book is one that I will never forget though.
Tiana is an anti-hero without question. She is not the most ethical in her actions and does not deny that she enjoys the feeling of killing. Julia is her conscious and helps guide her actions into things that are more constructive and/or will help people more. However, Tiana still only accepts jobs if she's getting paid. Bobby Nails is their big bad guy to take down and you'll want him dead just as much as the rest of them.
The dystopian elements were interesting because it didn't seem too far from our current society. There were many allusions to pop culture, but the class differences are much more prominent in Bubblegum. The higher level that you are, the better your life will be. It's almost too similar to our society when you think about it. For example, the police don't care nearly as much when something happens to a lower level than they do for an upper level. This happens way too much today. The government did not care about Flint, Michigan's situation nearly as much as it would if this occurred in a predominately white neighborhood. They just don't want to put in as much of an effort or invest as much money for non-white and low-income areas.
It deals with many other heavy concepts while still keeping it light. The book succeeds for the most part. I only had one iffy spot that didn't feel the most realistic to me, but it was also something I've never experienced so I don't know how it should go. I'm keeping this purposefully vague because it would give away spoilers.
The character dynamics are great, for they are interesting and complex. Nobody is a perfect person in this book, they all have something of their own to overcome. They were each important in their own way. The ending was enough of a cliff-hanger that I think there will be a sequel (I hope!) so I look forward to seeing the progression of the characters and their relationships with each other.
I loved this book because of its positive diversity and the fact that each character had something you could relate to. I loved the character of Julia especially and thought she was the most realistic at times.
Female friendship is prominent and also the importance of religion to certain characters. The content could be really dark at times, but I appreciated the character's commitment to their faith. It's not often covered and kept as an emphasis, but I thought Sari had an amazing balance in religion and in the cruelties that occur way too often.
If you want an action-packed diverse feminist novel, pre-order Bubblegum now!
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