Blog Tour: In Bloom by CJ Skuse - Book Review

Today is my stop on the blog tour for In Bloom, the darkly comic crime sequel to Sweetpea, following girl-next-door serial killer Rhiannon as she’s now caught between the urge to kill and her unborn baby stopping her.

Title: In Bloom (Sweetpea #2)

Author: CJ Skuse

Published: August 9th 2018 by HQ Stories

Amazon | Amazon UK

Blurb: If only they knew the real truth. It should be my face on those front pages. My headlines. I did those things, not him. I just want to stand on that doorstep and scream it: IT WAS ME. ME. ME. ME. ME!

Rhiannon Lewis has successfully fooled the world and framed her cheating fiancé Craig for the depraved and bloody killing spree she committed. She should be ecstatic that she’s free.

Except for one small problem. She’s pregnant with her ex-lover’s child. The ex-lover she only recently chopped up and buried in her in-laws' garden. And as much as Rhiannon wants to continue making her way through her kill lists, a small voice inside is trying to make her stop.

But can a killer’s urges ever really be curbed?

Review: last year I was completely shocked with Sweetpea, the brutally honest diary of Rhiannon, a serial killer that gets a thrill every time she harms and kills bad guys. It was something completely unique and darker than anything I have ever read. Now we have its sequel, In Bloom, so I was a bit worried at the beginning as this time around there was no surprise or shocking factor, we know already what Rhiannon is capable of. But somehow, she managed to surprise me once again.

Rhiannon as a mother to be is quite the character. She stills makes her (hilarious) kill lists every day and her need to kill hasn't disappeared at all but there is a small problem, her baby doesn't want her to kill. During the whole story you can feel her frustration and you really wonder if she will just explode one day and be done with everything. 

Another thing I really enjoyed in this story was Rhiannon's new friendship with Marnie. It's really interesting to read about her trying to be a "good" friend and how their friendship evolved. I think we got to see a new side of Rhiannon that made me even like her (sometimes). I also think the ending of this story was very good.

If you enjoyed Sweetpea, definitely pick up the sequel as you won't be disappointed with Rhiannon's new adventures. And if you haven't met her yet and you enjoy dark humor and are looking for something completely shocking and outrageous, definitely pick these two books. I would definitely recommend reading Sweetpea before reading In Bloom though, as you need to know these characters and what they did to really understand and enjoy In Bloom. 

Rating: 4 stars

I would like to thank the publisher for sending me a copy of this book. This is my honest opinion.