Review: Bluff

Bluff by Julie Dill
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was immediately pulled in by the synopsis of this book, although I wasn’t really sure what I expected. It sounded interesting but I was unsure as to whether or not it would deliver an interesting read. Fortunately, I had a lot of fun with this one.

Whilst this book is somewhat slow at times, from quite early on the story grips you. You’re pulled into the life of the main character, wanting to know what comes next and where her choices will lead. There are many books out there on teenage addiction – you really don’t need me to name them, and if you’re unsure a simple Google search will easily help you – but off the top of my head I cannot think of any that deal with gambling, even rarer is for it to be a female with a gambling addiction. There were instant points in favour of the book right there – add in the fact that it was a lot of fun, and I didn’t care that the book was somewhat slow at times.

Our story follows Chelsea, somewhat of a cliché in the young adult world. She comes from a broken family. Her home is rather decrepit. Her father isn’t the man he should be. She keeps her living conditions away from her friends. Due to all of this, there was a bit of a groan from me at first. However, I plead you to ignore such a reaction if you feel it coming on. These things are actually important. They’re not around for the usual excuses of ‘it adds more depth’ (because we all know that excuse is very rarely the case), but rather these are important for the overall story. Remember how I said the story is of gambling – well, yeah, these things come into the story and play a part.

Whilst it does take a bit of time for the story to really get moving, once it does get moving you’re pulled right in. Lie after lie builds up, and we watch as Chelsea tries to keep her life moving in the right direction. In fact, what even is the right direction? This is something our character tries to deal with, a rather simple look at moral dilemmas. Honestly, it may seem like very little is happening but all these little things come together to create a wonderful depiction of gambling addiction. Wonderful in the sense of it being an eye opener, not in the sense of it suggesting you go out and take up poker to pay the bills and buy a few nice things.

Another cliché point that I should point out is the romance. It’s predictable from the start, and I’m not entirely sure how I feel about it. Although it does add something to the story, I’m not quite sure just how much it truly adds. It is necessary for some events – but as a whole, I felt rather indifferent to the romance element. This, however, is due to the fact that I’m rather picky with my romances. I don’t ship half the things other people do. I accept that some will enjoy the romance element of this one, but I wasn’t overly bothered by it.

I’m unsure about the ending, too. Not in the sense of I don’t know how I feel about it. I know exactly how I feel. I liked it. You’re made to believe one thing and then things are turned around. It’s great. I simply don’t know if it’s the case of a possible sequel or if it’s just a way to make people stop and think. A part of me hopes it’s the latter. I’m not entirely sure how a sequel would work. I feel as though it would work better as a standalone, with one of those endings that has a bit of a shock factor. If there is a sequel, though, I will be interested in reading it.

Overall, this was a great little read.

As a final note, I’d like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to advance read this.

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