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How Hard Can Love Be?

(The Spinster Club #2)

Holly Bourne (Goodreads Author)

4.14 · Rating details · 6,172 ratings · 780 reviews

Amber, Evie and Lottie: three girls facing down tough issues with the combined powers of friendship, feminism and cheesy snacks. Both hilarious and heart-rending, this is Amber’s story of how painful – and exhilarating – love can be, following on from Evie’s story in Am I Normal Yet?

All Amber wants is a little bit of love. Her mum has never been the caring type, even befor ...more

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Paperback, 480 pages

Published February 1st 2016 by Usborne Publishing Ltd

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Sep 18, 2015 Warda rated it it was amazing

Shelves: re-reads

REREAD!! *HUGS BOOK INTENSELY*

Initial review:
I loved this book so much, my heart wants to burst. This book had the perfect balance of humour and addressing some serious topics! I love how Holly Bourne infuses feminism and self-discovery into her work. Her characters are flawed and real and I can't help but empathise with them strongly!

I can't recommend her books enough. Though bare in mind that her books are aimed for teen years, so the language does reflect that. But by no means does it take aw ...more

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Jun 09, 2017 Jiana rated it really liked it

I've been in a slump since last week basically, and I decided to start my only owned contemporary book as an attempt to get out of this slump. I think it worked??? However, the book was just what I needed at the time.

Like book 1 (Am I Normal Yet?), How Hard Can Love Be? had the good balance between cute and serious. This is Amber's book, and when I read Am I Normal Yet?, I was wondering what her story would be about because we were barely given any clue about Amber's life, except how shaky her I've been in a slump since last week basically, and I decided to start my only owned contemporary book as an attempt to get out of this slump. I think it worked??? However, the book was just what I needed at the time.

Like book 1 (Am I Normal Yet?), How Hard Can Love Be? had the good balance between cute and serious. This is Amber's book, and when I read Am I Normal Yet?, I was wondering what her story would be about because we were barely given any clue about Amber's life, except how shaky her family is, so I was curious to delve deeper into that and that's exactly what I got. It dealt with pretty deep subjects: alcoholism and abandonment. Also, just like in Am I Normal Yet?, the book discussed feminism, but in my opinion, it was more discussed in Am I Normal Yet? and I honestly love Holly Bourne's take on feminism.

“Failure is never getting hurt. Because that means you've not done anything you cared about.”

I actually really liked the book, although at times it really dragged (it's almost 500 pages - for a contemporary, that's too much for me!!). Amber was fairly good MC, yet she felt younger than she really is. She's 17 years old but at times I felt she acted like a 14 or 15 year old. I was sometimes able to connect and relate to their thoughts and sometimes I couldn't. However, that's what I like about Holly's characters: they're flawed. They're real. They're not cardboard cutouts. They make mistakes, they feel jealousy, they make bad decisions, they're not 100% good or 100% evil. You could see the effects Amber's mum's abandonment on Amber. Her internal struggle of what she should do/say and what she actually wanted to do/say and what she actually did/said. It was very well done. ALSO, she's a huge Harry Potter fan, and the book was loaded with Harry Potter references!!! I was LIVING.

Amber's relationship with Kyle is absolutely adorable! Kyle is a great male MC, and I'm glad because he's GOOD. He's not a bad guy turned good, he's not a jerk. He's genuinely nice. He's a walking cliche though, but he's aware of that. Kyle has depth. He does things he's expected to do and he doesn't know who he really is. I liked how he and Amber had discussed that over the course of the book. In addition to that, they discussed feminism. They discussed deep issues. It wasn't a shallow relationship.

“Maybe there in a set amount of crying your body needs to deal with any trauma. There’s a certain water-level of tears you need to shed until you can find acceptance or move on or whatever. And, if you don’t cry them out, they just catch up with you.”

Amber's relationship with her mum was one of the big points of this book. It's strained throughout the entirety of the book and is kinda resolved by the end of the book. However, I like how things were left off. A relationship like that isn't solved in one heart-to-heart. I liked how deep the talk on alcoholism and selfishness was and it made me think of things a little differently.

Of course, Lottie and Evie make an appearance, but it was all via emails or video chats, because Amber was in the USA and they were in the UK. I love how supportive they are of each other and how caring they are for each other. I loved the feminist issues they brought up and I quite found myself learning more and it opened my eyes to new things.

I originally gave this book a 3.5 star rating, but after writing the review, I realized it should be a full solid 4 stars, so here we are! I definitely enjoyed Am I Normal Yet? more, but this was really good too! Can't wait to get to Lottie's book. ...more

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Sep 02, 2016 April (Aprilius Maximus) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2016, to-reread-and-annotate, favourites

1.) Am I Normal Yet ★★★★★
2.) How Hard Can Love Be? ★★★★★
3.) What's A Girl Gotta Do? ★★★★★
*.) ...And A Happy New Year? ★★★★.5

--------------------------------------------------

WELL THAT WAS ADORABLE. ...more

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Sep 16, 2015 Mara rated it really liked it

Holly Bourne writes incredibly realistic, cute, funny and educating YA, all at the same time. Highly recommend her books to anyone. Is there anything better than feminist YA? I don't think so! ...more

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Oct 31, 2017 Emer (A Little Haze) rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed, read2017, young-adult, 3stars, contemporary

My third Holly Bourne novel in two-ish weeks and I still love her. I do. Her writing style is brilliant. It's incredibly accessible and she writes the most fantastic female lead characters. But I'm beginning to see a formula to the writing style, too many patterns are emerging for my liking.

So this is the second book in The Spinster Club series following on from Am I Normal Yet? That book focused on Evie as the leading character whereas in this one one of Evie's best friends Amber takes the spot ...more

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Sep 03, 2019 Aj the Ravenous Reader rated it it was amazing

Shelves: auto-buy-authors, contemporary, romance, lol, mental-health, physically-owned-books, easy-read, reality-bites, young-adult

4.5 stars
When I want to read a book and be guaranteed zero disappointment, I go for Holly Bourne’s books. That’s how much I trust her and I’m glad my trust is in the right place. How Hard Can Love Be is the second installment of the Spinster Club Series following I Am Normal Yet (which I really loved). This time, the story focuses on Amber( the tallest and angriest of the three friends, the girl who relegates herself as the cast-aside sidekick to her more beautiful friends) as she visits Calif ...more

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Sep 30, 2017 Kate (GirlReading) rated it really liked it

Shelves: contemporary, young-adult

Ooh this was so lovely. It was adorable, funny, heartwarming & breaking, had a wonderful cast of character and delved into topics not always discussed in YA AND it was set in a US summer camp. What more could you want?

I absolutely love the way Holly Bourne writes. Her writing style is so easy and comfortable to read. I always find myself flying through her books and How Hard Can Love Be? was no exception to that. I loved all of the characters (I kinda hate myself for essentially going against e Ooh this was so lovely. It was adorable, funny, heartwarming & breaking, had a wonderful cast of character and delved into topics not always discussed in YA AND it was set in a US summer camp. What more could you want?

I absolutely love the way Holly Bourne writes. Her writing style is so easy and comfortable to read. I always find myself flying through her books and How Hard Can Love Be? was no exception to that. I loved all of the characters (I kinda hate myself for essentially going against everything the spinster club stands for...) he was utterly adorable and perfectly imperfect, which was so annoying, that it wasn't even annoying (this sentence makes sense to me, okay?...) I adored Amber's character, she was feisty, vulnerable, insecure and confident all at the same time. She was a well rounded, imperfect human being and although she was a little irritating at times, I almost liked her even more for it.
The topics discussed (alcoholism, family break ups, first love etc) were really great to read about and I thought Holly approached them in a very accessible way. I loved the relationships portrayed, not just between Kyle and Amber but also Amber's friendships both old and new (although I'm really hoping that Whinnie isn't totally forgotten by Amber, I loved her and her wonderful philosophies!)

My only issue with this book was the occasional comment from characters or descriptions I wasn't the biggest fan of. For example, there were a few occasions of ableist language and discussion of race but from what I can remember, it wasn't an overwhelming amount but I was so caught up on the story I'm 100% aware I may have not picked up on everything.

Am I Normal Yet? was one of my favourites when I first read it, for so many reasons and I'd been putting this off because I was worried that it would disappoint me in comparison but it didn't, at all. In fact, I loved it for so many totally different reasons. It wasn't so difficult or heavy for me to read and it combined so many things I love in a book (give me all the US road trip and summer camp narratives please!)

If you're looking for a highly adorable, funny, contemporary with depth and discussion, How Hard Can Love Be? is definitely one I'd recommend! ...more

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Jan 05, 2016 Sophie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 5-stars, read-in-2016, 2016-releases, arcs-read

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher. This in no way impacted on my view.

After reading Am I Normal Yet?, I was so happy to have a copy of book 2 to read asap. Unfortunately life and exams got in my way, and I couldn't read as much as I wanted to. It was a nice way to reward myself once I got some of my exam results back (2:1's! Get in!!) and I'm simply in awe of Bourne's books.

In How Hard Can Love Be?, we follow Amber's story this time, as she jets off to California to spend the I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher. This in no way impacted on my view.

After reading Am I Normal Yet?, I was so happy to have a copy of book 2 to read asap. Unfortunately life and exams got in my way, and I couldn't read as much as I wanted to. It was a nice way to reward myself once I got some of my exam results back (2:1's! Get in!!) and I'm simply in awe of Bourne's books.

In How Hard Can Love Be?, we follow Amber's story this time, as she jets off to California to spend the summer with her mam, whom she hasn't seen in over two years. All she wants is to reconnect with her mam, and get some sort of an apology for being abandoned to live with her dad, and evil step-mother and -brother. Instead, her mam has organised for her to spend her summer as a camp counselor in the camp she and her new partner own, and basically spends as much time as she can apart. As Amber struggles to come to terms with her mam avoiding her, she gets close to fellow counselor, Kyle, who embodies all the old American cliches, and he was Prom King to boot. Amber never thought a lad would ever fancy her, but she finds herself falling hard, even though she'll be flying back to England in a few short weeks, and will never see him again.

I really liked Amber, but not on the same scale as I had loved Evie. She was a bit more brash, but that made it all the more realistic. The book was dark at times, and dealt with the real issue of having an alcoholic parent who isn't there for you. We got to see flashbacks to what Amber's life had been like when her mam was living with them, and how much the alcoholism effected the whole family. No matter how well Amber had coped over the years, she still felt the loss of her mam fiercely, and just wanted a relationship with her - is that so much to ask for?

The answer is, simply, yes. I'm probably going to annoy someone here, but I hated Amber's mam. I understand how hard alcoholism can be, for the person suffering, and their loved ones, but I felt like Amber's mam always had an excuse, or would blame someone else. The main reason she didn't want to see Amber for so long was because it could push her over the edge, and she treated Amber like crap when she was in California. She knew how much Amber hated her step-family, but she was content to let her suffer as long as it didn't effect her. Not the best example of parenting. The only time I really liked her was at the very end, and even then it wasn't much.

I adore the whole feminist aspect in this series. It's completely retaking the word, and the word 'spinster' for that, and that's what this generation of teenagers need. Feminism is such a 'dirty' word, which is ridiculous when it means 'equality'. I can't recommend these books enough for today's teenagers, with the hope that, someday, being a feminist will not be something so controversial.

I enjoyed the romance aspect, and did like Kyle. I felt like he and Amber clicked well, and suited each other. She needed someone who wouldn't push her, and understood her insecurities, and her beliefs - like the feminism. Their whole relationship, from the very beginning, made me swoon, and I only wish the book hadn't ended so abruptly. Maybe we'll hear more about them in Lottie's book, out in August.

Speaking of Lottie's book, I'm dying to get my hands on that. I feel like she is my favourite of the Spinsters, even though I haven't read her PoV yet. Out of them all, Amber has been my least favourite so far, but I still adored her. Bourne just can't help writing amazing characters!

All in all, How Hard Can Love Be? was a wonderful companion/sequel to Am I Normal Yet? If you enjoyed that one, I think you'd like this, maybe even more than I did. Even so,
this is a series I think should be read by everyone, and should even be on school curriculum's, in order to try and get rid of the prejudice against feminism and all it entails. Holly Bourne is quickly becoming a new favourite of mine, and I think you'll feel the same. ...more

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Nov 25, 2018 Tatiana rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2018, ya, romancelandia

3.5 stars

Like the first book in this series, this installment wasn’t exactly what I’d expected. Again, I wanted British humor and dating disasters. What I got is was a cute romance with a sensitive Prom King, a road trip across America, and a heartbreaking relationship between a teen girl and her recovering addict mom.

I keep enjoying conversations about feminism among the girls in this Spinster Club as well. So much more entertaining and deeper reaching than in “Moxie” I’d just recently read.

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Nov 13, 2017 Abbie (boneseasonofglass) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: cute-contemporaries

I just finished this on the tram to uni and it was wonderful!
Holly has done it again
I’m just mad that it wasn’t longer haha
I want more of Amber and Kyle ❤️

More people need to read Holly’s books! Such amazing ya contemporaries 😍

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Dec 27, 2016 K. rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: to-buy-in-hard-copy, 2019, setting-usa, 2016, audience-young-adult, contemporary, own-it-kindle, difficult-topics

Trigger warnings: alcohol abuse, alcoholic parent, shitty parenting, vomit.

9/2/2019
Boy howdy, Amber is an angry character. I mean, a lot of her anger is very justified. But it's not the easiest reading experience, being inside her head for almost 500 pages. That said, the feminism and the female friendships that flow through the story are fantastic.

27/12/2016
I didn't love this quiiiiiiiiiiiiiite as much as I loved Am I Normal Yet. I found Amber more difficult to relate to - she's so full of ang ...more

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Jan 06, 2017 Inge rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, 1to-reread, contemporary, mental-health

4.5 stars

It was always going to be very hard to top Am I Normal Yet?, because I loved that book so much. It had such a great main character, and pretty damn accurate portrayal of anxiety and OCD, that I couldn't help but enjoy it.

Thankfully, though, its sequel didn't disappoint. Amber was just as likeable as Evie, old characters shine as brightly as they did before, and the setting was a month-long summer camp, which I always kind of love. On top of that, the Spinster Club comes back in all its ...more

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Aug 06, 2020 Amy rated it it was ok

Upon reflection I’m rating both this book two star as it’s feminism is absolutely terrible. This is a rant review.

1. Amber and Lottie both CONSTANTLY hate on other women throughout this book, but especially amber. There’s this big thing in this book with Amber hating this girl Melody for legitimately no other reason other than the fact that Melody likes a boy that amber likes, a boy amber has known for a day. Great feminism.

Amber keeps trying to justify her hate for Melody, but it comes down t Upon reflection I’m rating both this book two star as it’s feminism is absolutely terrible. This is a rant review.

1. Amber and Lottie both CONSTANTLY hate on other women throughout this book, but especially amber. There’s this big thing in this book with Amber hating this girl Melody for legitimately no other reason other than the fact that Melody likes a boy that amber likes, a boy amber has known for a day. Great feminism.

Amber keeps trying to justify her hate for Melody, but it comes down to this. : she hates her because she happens to like a boy that amber has a bit of a crush on and so she takes it upon herself to slut shame Melody for pretty much everything that she does.

It’s a common theme in this book. Any time a cheerleader is mentioned it’s in a negative light. Amber is literally “white feminism” in one character who uses the idea of feminism only when it’s convenient for her. This is shown blatantly whenever she asks herself why she’s not bothered by her own friend (Lottie) acting sexually but hates when Melody does it (hint hint Amber, it’s because Lottie is your friend and Melody likes the boy you like who you have none for A DAY.)

What does this have to do with Lottie you may ask? Whenever Amber FaceTimed her friends so that they could reassure her that hating Melody was perfectly ok, Lottie did this whole monologue essentially saying that Melody is sexual to appease the patriarchy..... huh?? So women can’t be sexual towards men now for their own enjoyment??? Jesus.

2. The ableism and fat shaming in this book was astonishing. There’s one scene in which a man in this book was listing off reasons on why having a crush on Erik from The Phantom Of The Opera was weird and wrong and his NUMBER ONE reason was that Erik is disfigured, do I need to say anymore? As for the fat shaming, there’s a kid in this book who’s fat and his fatness is literally mentioned almost everytime he’s in a scene in ambers mind and it’s not in a positive way. So Amber, why’s it okay for you to think these things about this child? Because you befriended him out of pity and somehow that makes it ok for YOU to fat shame him? Yikes.

3. This book did a very piss poor attempt at Native American representation. The character is literally introduced as having “Olive reddy skin”... when did Holly Bourne miss the memo that it’s not ok to refer to native Americans skin color as “reddy”?

4. This is a complaint with the book series as a whole btw, There’s absolutely no intersectionality. The book series is about a group of three friends and each book follows a different girl as they navigate feminism and what it means to them, but all of the feminism for each girl is basically the same since all of the girls are straight, cisgender, and white.

5. The main love interest did, like, at least 2 speeches on how rough it is to be a “nice guy” and my butthole clenched each and every time without fail. Fitting that his name is , I kid you not, “Kyle”.

6. The main character Amber is 17 going on 18 and yet she reads more like a 13 year old girl.

7. I gave this 3 stars when I read it less than 10 days ago, which just goes to show that I’m unreliable in ratings lol.

If you read this far, thank you for reading my rant review lol ...more

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Jul 24, 2016 Maddie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

THIS BOOK. I didn't think it was possible for a sequel to be just as good as the first book, but IT WAS. This was definitely more about love, expectations and coming to terms with your feelings. It was extremely easy to love Amber and Kyle. Plus, the American setting was a hoot. Now I NEED to get my hands on the next one, asap! ...more

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Sep 11, 2015 Cora Tea Party Princess rated it it was amazing

5 Words: Friendship, family, first-love, America, responsibility.

When you read it in one sitting because it's THAT GOOD.

Review to come. ...more

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Nov 16, 2016 Melody (theliteraryowl) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: books-i-badly-want-to-read, tbr

More like a 4.75/5 stars. Changed my rating to 5/5 stars because I loved this book too much *.*
Review will -hopefully-come later

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Apr 25, 2017 Zara Shepherd rated it it was amazing

Oh my nuts

I didn't think I'd like this book as much as the first one because I related to Evie so much and I didn't really think much of Amber in the first book. However, I really loved this book and I love Amber. As someone British, I can completely understand her attitudes towards being in America (even though I've never actually been, I can imagine what it would be like). I also didn't realise how different Americans are to the Brits with some of the things that they didn't understand, like, ...more

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Sep 26, 2017 Lia rated it really liked it

Shelves: contemporary

Another brilliant contemporary by Holly Bourne. Her books are a combination of addictive, relatable, funny, feminist and overall just amazing.
The only thing I missed was Evie and Lottie I NEED EVEN MORE OF THEM
4.5 stars.

ALSO LAS VEGAS HATE YESS (seriously, Las Vegas is the worst)

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May 27, 2019 Becky rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favourites

This book was funny, heartbreaking and just perfect! Loved every moment reading it!
This one was much more cute than the first in the series - which is understandable due to the different focus, but there was still such amazing representation in this!
Holly Bourne is so good at writing about mental health & making her work so relatable- honestly can’t wait to read the next one and dive into some of her other books out of the Spinster Club 😊

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Nov 29, 2016 Julia Sapphire rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2016, romance, series

3.75 stars out of 5 stars

This was lovely. It took me a bit to get into this and to get used to Amber as a narrative compared to Evie. It was more about romance than mental illness. Though it does deal with addiction and a dysfunctional family. Though thag part was really real and raw to me. Amber was interesting and i liked following her as a character .

I love Holly Bourne as a writer , her characters are great. Her books discuss feminism and feel very real. Not to mention i read this within a ...more

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Jun 20, 2017 Saphire rated it it was amazing

Shelves: contemporary, yound-adult

After reading three of her books, I realized that Holly Bourne cannot disappoint. She writes great complex characters, fast paced plots and at the same time she talks about important issues without forcing her ideas on the reader. This book was no exception. I loved the way Amber, our main character, handled her relationship with her mother and I definitely saw her grow in this book. I think this my favorite book yet in the Spinster Club series. I'm looking forward to reading the next one! ...more

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Aug 25, 2016 Kate rated it it was amazing

I adored this sooo much. The thing I love most about this book and Am I Normal Yet? is the fact both the story and characters are so relatable—especially Amber, she really struck a chord with me. This trilogy is quickly becoming one of those 'I'll-shove-it-in-your-face-and-insist-you-read-it' trilogies for me. ...more

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Apr 28, 2020 Sabine rated it really liked it

LOVED this whole book, however the ending felt a bit rushed and I need to know more about the relationship between Amber and her mother!

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Nov 23, 2017 kory. rated it did not like it

Shelves: 2017, nope-nope-nope, fiction, series, 1-star, young-adult, contemporary

#1 Am I Normal Yet? ★★☆☆☆
#2 How Hard Can Love Be? ★☆☆☆☆
#3 What's a Girl Gotta Do? ★☆☆☆☆

I didn't have high hopes going in because of how disappointing Am I Normal Yet? was. And, oh boy, did this book fail in every single aspect. I did not enjoy this book. At all. The fact that it took me so long to get through it speaks to that. I can't be bothered to go through all my thoughts and organize them. So, I'm leaving them in the format they were in as I jotted them down while reading. This is pretty m ...more

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May 27, 2018 Atlas rated it liked it

Shelves: ya

* * *
3 / 5

~mini review~

The second book in The Spinster Club series focuses on Amber, the long-legged ginger who has never kissed a boy. Year ago her father left her mum for another woman and her mother got with her counsellor from the rehab centre, not exactly a picture perfect family. Clearly, Amber has some issues. This summer is the first time in two years that she will see her mum, who has moved to America with "bumface Kevin" to run a kids summer camp, where Amber will be working.

As you ca ...more

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Apr 09, 2017 Kayleigh {K-Books} rated it it was amazing

Shelves: contemporary

How Hard Can Love Be? Review on K-Books

"Failure is never getting hurt. Because that means you've not done anything you care about."

I've been a major fan of Holly Bourne ever since I read her debut Soulmates, which totally blew me away. The first book in The Spinster Club series, Am I Normal Yet? was one of my favourite books of 2015. I am really kicking myself now for not continuing this series sooner. Amber's story was amazing. I loved every single moment of it and I can't wait to read Lott ...more

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May 12, 2016 Sanne (papierplanet) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: contemporary-ya

I found my fictional self. It's Amber. Being sarcastic and constantly pissed at the world? Yep, that sounds like my life. Also, I hope Holly Bourne never stops writing books. Ever.

I loved "Am I Normal Yet?" in which Bourne created a heartfelt story with feminist messages to it, which I absolutely adored. For many it could be a little too direct or "too much" but that's why I liked it. She wasn't afraid showing the feminism, explaining how it works and why it's a good thing. But also a hard thing I found my fictional self. It's Amber. Being sarcastic and constantly pissed at the world? Yep, that sounds like my life. Also, I hope Holly Bourne never stops writing books. Ever.

I loved "Am I Normal Yet?" in which Bourne created a heartfelt story with feminist messages to it, which I absolutely adored. For many it could be a little too direct or "too much" but that's why I liked it. She wasn't afraid showing the feminism, explaining how it works and why it's a good thing. But also a hard thing, about which she opens up in "How Hard Can Love Be?"

Amber was already a character in the first book, one of Evie's best friends, but now she's the protagonist. She travels over to America to spend time with her mum, who left her two years ago. I loved how Amber was very different from Evie. Both struggle with anxiety and I could relate to Evie, but I could relate to Amber a little bit more because her struggles seemed SO REAL to me because I experienced them myself. I love her sarcastic and straight-forward attitude. I loved how Bourne handled her relationship to her mum and how Amber reacted to falling in love. It seemed to genuine and authentic, and generally, the book is written in a way you can't stop reading, the pages were flowing under my hands, and ahh! Absolutely wonderful.

The feminism in this book takes a step further. While you could see "Am I Normal Yet?" as an introduction (because Evie herself wasn't familiar with feminism), this book treats the topic of how YOU yourself act on feminism. Because let's be honest, even if we try to be feminist, there are often un-feminist thoughts. Amber fights against internalised sexism when she figures that she dislikes another girl for sexist reasons. Again, we are educated on how this is called and how you can un-train yourself from this. But it didn't feel like a lecture, more like enlightenment. I love the idea of teenage girl reading this and reflect on their behaviour or the ones of others.

I can't wait for the third book in this series, where Lottie gets to be the protagonist! I SERIOUSLY recommend to anyone the Normal series by Holly Bourne, especially if you like feminist, contemporary literature with wonderful female friendships and heart wrenching romances! ...more

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Feb 28, 2019 Nicole rated it it was amazing

Omg I've missed Holly Bourne's writing. Why did I wait so long to pick up this book?

This is the second book in the spinster triology. A YA contemporary series that follows three best friends , Evie, Amber and Lottie in their feminism missions.

So even though this is a sequel I think it stands on its own just fine. I read the first book years and years ago and didn't reread it before starting the second book and if I'm honest it never felt like I left.

That's the beauty of Hollys writing, it's the ...more

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Jun 30, 2016 Holly Sparks rated it it was amazing

Another wonderful book by Holly Bourne! I'm seriously such a big fan of her books...not just because they are some of the most entertaining and funniest stories imaginable...BUT because they are so deep and meaningful that I end up wanting to go fight the feminist war!

Holly Bourne sets the perfect scene and the perfect characters.

I fell in love with Evie in the first book 'Am I Normal Yet' and now I'm in love with Amber. I just hope the third book will be about my ALL TIME FAV CHARACTER LOTTIE ...more

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Sep 20, 2016 Paloma Villasenor rated it liked it

I really liked this, but I still didn't like Amber that much, she was like ''oh you know I have worse problems than you, you can't feel bad or angry about your life problems or feelings''. And I was like nope, just because you THINK your problems are worse, doesn't mean that you get to tell how they may feel, or the problems they may be facing.
3 stars because I think it was okay, and I really liked Kylie. ...more

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YA Buddy Readers'...: How Hard Can Love Be? (The Spinster Club #2) by Holly Bourne - Starting August 22nd 2017	28	18	Sep 09, 2017 01:23AM

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About Holly Bourne

Holly Bourne

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Holly started her writing career as a news journalist, where she was nominated for Best Print Journalist of the Year. She then spent six years working as an editor, a relationship advisor, and general ‘agony aunt’ for a youth charity – helping young people with their relationships and mental health.

Inspired by what she saw, she started writing teen fiction, including the best-selling, award-winni ...more