Review: Clubland by Tara Jenkinson

Adelaide based author Tara Jenkinson's debut novel gives readers a glimpse into a glitzy, glamorous inner city nightclub and the life of a young woman who is a part of the club's privileged inner circle. By day, Lexie Perkins is a cadet journalist with loving parents, a circle of supportive friends and a devoted boyfriend. At night, she lives to dance and to party. Hard. And there's nothing wrong with taking a little something extra to help keep the party going, is there? And all of her friends are trustworthy ... right? As Lexie's life both on and off the dance floor begins to spiral out of control, she learns some harsh realities about trust and addiction.

This was entertaining read and a glimpse into the lives of people whose first years out of high school were very different from mine. Lexie is basically a nice person who has been led astray, and the dynamic between her and Tegan the toxic friend from hell was interesting to read about. Meanwhile, Lexie's relationship with Troy comes with a surprising complication--to the point that I was surprised that he was a passive as he was about Lexie's behaviour. Although the story was entertaining, I felt that the pacing could have been improved and that some situations could have been fleshed out a little more. (For example, the big event at Cosmic Gate is over within a few pages.) On the plus side, the way that Lexie gets an interview with Nick Morano, the organiser of Cosmic Gate left me with a big smile on my face. Clever!

Although this in no way altered my opinion or ruined my enjoyment of the story, the formatting inside my paperback copy is nowhere near as good as it could be and is something that the author will, hopefully, address in future print runs. 

On the whole this is a fun and entertaining read set mainly inside an inner city nightclub. Perfect for fans of Gossip Girl.

This book was read as part of the Aussie Author Challenge 2020 

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