A Girl Called Malice (Facing the Music, #2)
It’s not easy being the Queen Bee.
Alice Taylor should know.
You know that girl. The one that the whole school’s social life seems to revolve around. Alice used to be that girl until she decided to quit sixth form college. Suddenly her ‘friends’ aren’t so interested in following her around and her attention-grabbing behaviour is about to get her kicked out of home. With nowhere to go and no one to turn to, her world starts spiralling seriously out of control.
Only new friend Zac Newton seems to believe in her. Lifeguard and poolside hottie, Zac is quite literally her lifesaver. But then, he’s never met ‘Malice’, her mean-girl alter ego, and Alice wants to keep it that way. She knows this is her last chance for a fresh start until her sordid past catches up with her at the worst possible moment.
As everything Alice has worked towards comes crashing down around her, she realises that the hardest thing of all is being yourself…
Alice Taylor should know.
You know that girl. The one that the whole school’s social life seems to revolve around. Alice used to be that girl until she decided to quit sixth form college. Suddenly her ‘friends’ aren’t so interested in following her around and her attention-grabbing behaviour is about to get her kicked out of home. With nowhere to go and no one to turn to, her world starts spiralling seriously out of control.
Only new friend Zac Newton seems to believe in her. Lifeguard and poolside hottie, Zac is quite literally her lifesaver. But then, he’s never met ‘Malice’, her mean-girl alter ego, and Alice wants to keep it that way. She knows this is her last chance for a fresh start until her sordid past catches up with her at the worst possible moment.
As everything Alice has worked towards comes crashing down around her, she realises that the hardest thing of all is being yourself…
Theme song...
"...Rowl's writing is brilliant, her characters are very well-developed, there are moments that will make you sigh wistfully, lots of bits that will make you laugh, and twists to keep you on your toes. If you haven't read Popping the Cherry, go away and do it now. If you have, and you liked it, then order A Girl Called Malice immediately!" 5 stars, Escape Into Words |
"If you like contemporary romance I can't recommend this book enough! This story doesn't meekly unfold from its pages. It pours from it with a fast pace that holds you until the very end." 5 stars, Naughty Bits' Book Reviews |
"Even though Alice is wild and promiscuous, she is tough! I really do love a strong heroine and malice Alice is definitely my kind of bad girl heroine...I highly recommend A Girl Called Malice in the Popping the Cherry series as a must read." 5 stars, I Heart YA Books |
Teasers...Teasers to be released daily from September 24th so keep checking back...
Excerpt...I pulled the bathroom door to behind me, leaving it ajar, then pressed my cool hand against my burning skin. With my chewing gum still in my bag on the bed, I had to raid the emergency nicotine supplies I kept hidden in a toiletry bag in my bathroom. A poor substitute for the real thing, but I could indulge in as many cigarettes as I wanted once Charlie was tucked up in bed.
For now the gum would have to do so I popped two of the white tablets into my mouths and chewed, wincing at the movement. I took out my contacts before jumping under the blistering shower. Five minutes later, I was scrubbed free of makeup—along with all traces of Hayden—and as ready as I’d ever be to brave the world again. Charlie had stayed exactly where I’d left him, only he was now surrounded by sheets of sketch paper: drawings of hills, old cotton mills, and lots of pictures of him. He was so engrossed he didn’t notice me pottering around and getting dressed, so I squatted down beside him to see which drawing had held his attention for so long. Big mistake. ‘I like this one best,’ he said, holding up the pencil sketch of me and Mum. ‘Thanks.’ I wedged my hands behind my knees, trapping them against my calves to stop me from snatching the picture out of his fingers. ‘It’s you and Mummy, isn’t it? When you were little?’ ‘It sure is.’ I’d copied it from a photograph I’d found being used to prop up the wonky leg of our old table. Folded into a small square and badly damaged, it fell apart soon after I’d finished drawing my own copy. ‘Do you have any other sisters? Or brothers?’ he asked. ‘Or is it just Mummy?’ White lies like not knowing any Spanish were one thing but I couldn’t lie to him about the big stuff. Since it wasn’t my place to tell him the truth, it left me stuck in an awkward limbo. I must have made some kind of weird sound because Charlie turned his head to look at me. ‘Are you OK, Aunty Alice?’ ‘Me? Yeah, of course I am!’ ‘But you’re crying?’ I am? ‘No, no, I’m not crying.’ I freed a hand from my behind my knees and wiped my fingertips across my cheek. Sure enough, they came away wet. ‘Oh. I er... I got some shampoo in my eye when I was in the shower. It made my eyes sting, you know what that’s like.’ ‘Does it hurt when you turn your blue eyes off?’ he asked, far too observant. ‘No, not at all.’ ‘Is everything blue when you look through them?’ ‘No. It’s just normal.’ ‘I like you with green ones better.’ ‘So do I,’ I admitted. Unfortunately, Charlie and I were in the minority. The fact he’d already picked up on the two different sides of me and made the connection with the eye colour left me wanting another shower. How much longer did I have before Charlie learned the truth of what I did? ‘Why don’t you keep the green ones switched on then?’ Good question. Too good. ‘I um...’ While I might despise the girl with the blue eyes, she was strong and fearless. She got noticed, unlike the real me. The guys couldn’t get enough of her and no one dared to confront her—except for Virginia and her posse—so she was the perfect front to hide the shy, frightened green-eyed girl behind. Charlie waited, staring up into my eyes. Would he understand that I only behaved that way to protect myself from any more hurt? Would he still love me and stick around or would he too disown me? Without him to keep me grounded, the green-eyed girl would surely be gone for ever. |
Where to buy...Series: Facing the Music, #2
Genre: New Adult Publisher: Carina (Harlequin UK) Release date: 3rd October 2014 ISBN: 978-1-474-00755-9 
If you haven't read book 1, Popping the Cherry, you can pick it up here:
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