Tourmaline Harris is the daughter of the leader of the town’s infamous biker club known as the Wardens. She’s got a good home life, a good relationship with her father. But at 15 she unintentionally sent her mother to prison. Virginia Campbell was ‘sold’ into the service of Hazard – a sleazy but powerful (&criminal) attorney. Virginia is sent to infiltrate the Wardens under the orders of Hazard because he wants them gone. Virginia has every intention of going through with her orders, but after meeting Tourmaline, she starts to have second thoughts. The two girls friendship blossoms, each gaining strength and confidence from each other.

Done Dirt Cheap is a novel about friendship and the girl’s defying the expectations placed upon them. Done Dirt Cheap is a refreshing read in the sense that it offers something a lot of books don’t really offer – an authentic and complex female friendship. Both Tourmaline and Virginia are fully formed, messy, and contradictory female characters. They would seem like unlikely friends, complete polar opposites, but they make it work and while they don’t always get along, they know they need each other and they help each other navigate the complicated and dangerous landscape of their lives.

“We’re friends because when girls – women – are alone in this world, they’re easier to pick off.” …“When girls stick together in this world, they’re harder to pick off.”

One thing I loved about Tourmaline and Virginia is that they subverted the typical female character tropes that we often see in YA. The ‘good girl’ and the ‘bad girl’. Tourmaline has always tried to be likeable and good, but that isn’t who she really is. Tourmaline was placed into her dangerous drug dealing life, it wasn’t one she chose. But each girl wants something different, and they help each other to get it. So there was some really great character development.

I absolutely adored the romance. If you love age-gap romances I do highly recommend this. (Don’t worry, both Tourmaline and Virginia are 18). Tourmaline’s relationship with Cash was my favourite – it was a forbidden romance and fantastically written. Virginia’s relationship with Jason felt a little rushed and insta-lovey but I loved it nonetheless.

If you are looking for a feminist and female empowered book, with a complex and central female friendship where they always try to uplift each other and not tear each other down, then I do highly recommend Done Dirt Cheap.

Also, Biker Girls, need I say more?

RATING: ★★★★★

I'm not quite sure what to think. OK, on the one hand, I liked seeing these two women who were very much opposites follow the same path and become friends. On the other hand, I spent a lot of time really confused and feeling distant from the characters rather than in invested in their lives. I feel the same way about the writing. I both of bed the writing style, it was wonderfully written and almost philosophical in tone at times. Yet, I also felt very confused and had to reread parts of the book because the phrasing of a sentence made me think I'd missed something which in fact hadn't been mentioned. I even felt the same about the story and plot. I liked the story and what happened it was interesting. Yet, I also didn't like it as it was confusing and seemingly unnecessarily complicated.


I will say it was a wonderfully written book which had me thinking on it often and the story and friendship of Virginia and Tourmaline was a good one. I mean, sure I felt their friendship progressed slowly and then all at once but the way they were both opposites and yet very much the same was really interesting. The pair were the driving force of the book up against everyone trying to block their way. This is not an easy book to form an opinion on but it is a book which stays with you long after you've finished it.

I was hesitant about this book when I first started reading it but I ended up really enjoying it.

The plot was complex. We follow Tourmaline who’s been haunted by a choice she made at 15 which sent her Mom to jail. In her efforts to make up for it, she meets Virginia and their lives intertwine in crazy ways. The beginning of this book took me off guard, I wasn’t really sure what to expect and it threw me off a bit. The writing style took me a little bit to get used to as well because while it was easy to read, it was much more lyrical and poetic than I was expecting. I began to appreciate it as the story went on and there are a lot of beautiful lines that were impactful. There’s no real linear plot in my opinion, there are various situations going on that somehow merge together but the most important thing about this book is the characters. The development that the main characters go through is one of the main focal points of the story and it’s intensive. Each protagonist grows by leaps and bounds from the first page to the last. I found it really interesting to see how each girl had different things to learn and how they managed to support each other in ways that were really genuine and real. This book also focuses a lot on feminism, on girls fighting for what they want and on them saving themselves and on looking out for each other and sticking together. Honestly, I just loved the friendship that built between these girls. It’s absolutely stellar and the most important part of the book (yeah, I’ve said this already but I don’t really care). It reminded me a lot of the relationships I feel I have with my girlfriends and the kind of relationship that I feel needs to be represented a lot more in the Young Adult genre. There’s also a lot of focus on family relationships and how they shift the way you view the world. Both characters have a coming of age journey where they decide the way they want to see the world and what their “fate” or “destiny” really is. I think it’s so important that these kinds of relationships are explored in Young Adult books and I think it’s the reason why I ended up enjoying this book much more than I originally thought I would. To be quite honest, every time I think about this book, I feel like I love it more and more. The author just did so many amazing things in such a powerful way and looking back it’s much more intense.

Tourmaline kind of annoyed me in the very, very beginning, specially because of the first scene. She’s really naive and doesn’t really grasp the way the real world works. As the story goes on, you definitely see why she is the way she is and how her pseudo-family has fostered this sheltered life for her. For some reason I find her development to be the most compelling of the two because I love to see quiet girls become their own bosses and to see them take the reins of their life unapologetically. I really enjoyed her determination and her devotion to her family even when she learned things that made her question her relationship with them. She’s definitely my favorite character in this book.

Virginia burst into the page and blew through the book with no regard for what she was doing. I don’t know if that makes any sense but that’s the way I feel her personality is. She’s rough and tough and she’s used to pushing through life and surviving basically. There was also a very vulnerable side to her, that was what was developed throughout the story and it was so beautiful. Honestly, her development and progression is just endearing. She’s always had fake confidence outside but a very soft, scared inside and to see her grow and become as fierce as she’s always portrayed herself to be was amazing.

Last thing I wanted to mention was the romance. It plays a small part of the entire story but there are two separate romances for each of the main characters. I feel like they were both developed slowly and with care. One of them is interracial and the other includes an age gap. Both of these had the delicate manner that I would want when they were being developed. They were sweet and respectful and they both had me swooning a little bit. One of the things I really enjoyed is how the author made it a point to talk about the affects of not only the interracial relationship but also the life of the black male love interest in where they are living which is Virginia. It felt genuine and important to read about even though he was a side character and it was only a little part of the story.

Overall, I was surprised with how much I ended up enjoying this book. The plot revolves around the character development and while it took me awhile to get into, the writing style was beautiful. I am a now a fan of this author and of these characters and the more I think about this book, the more I love it.

I tried getting into this book on more than a handful of occasions and each time I was met with the same thought. There is simply too much going on for me to understand. From the very beginning we are bombarded with way too much information. The biker gang thing was really interesting but there was so many characters and side plots and information I felt you already needed to know to figure out how it all fit together. I DNF (did not finish) this at about 35% the farthest I got trying to get into it.

I almost don’t want to rate this because I appreciate the story, but this book wasn’t for me. I thought I could get past a few things (primarily the motorcycle gang stuff I don’t care to read about) but I wasn’t ever able to settle into this book. The first 30% or so was confusing; I couldn’t figure out the motorcycle gang stuff, needed more background, and it just never clicked into place. This continued in various scenes throughout the book too.

I liked the characters a lot. Virginia and Tourmaline had an interesting friendship built on mutual -but somewhat different - need. They were able to come out of a male-dominated environment and take control.

There were some pretty crazy reveals during the story that I really didn’t see coming. I liked watching everything play out and wondering what was going to come up next. It was a slow read for me, but there was a decent amount of action and revelations. I forced myself to keep reading because I was vaguely curious about how it’d all end. I liked the girl gang vibes and the strong friendship that developed. If the premise intrigues you, I’m SURE you’ll love it. Even if the premise doesn’t intrigue you that much and you love strong friendships and solid romance, you’ll probably also like it. I don’t know why but I just couldn’t connect with the story and the writing, while also appreciating it so much.

Done Dirt Cheap was one of those books I had heard so many great things about from fellow reviewers, that I was determined to read it from the start. But somewhere and somehow, things didn't go as planned.

I kept mixing up characters. I kept forgetting about certain minor characters. I was confused about what exactly was going on. I somehow even managed to mix up te 2 main characters.

However, I am still determined to fall in love with this book, just like everyone else. So, I'm going to try again. In the near future, I am going to pick this book up again, read it from the start, and fall in love with it. And you'll get a new review from me then.

Done Dirt Cheap was a wild ride from start to finish. It is a story of desperation, friendship, hopelessness, and change. I loved every minute of it, from the complicated lady friendships to the hot hot motorcycle riding men they love. If you like your ladies of the badass variety, your lawyers and police officers corrupt, and your pasts coming back to haunt you, pick up Done Dirt Cheap. You won't be sorry!

Not only does Done Dirt Cheap have one of the most unique book covers I've ever seen, the phenomenal writing alone makes it a novel worth picking up.

Tourmaline has an unconventional home life, her father is the president of the Wardens, a local biker club and her mother is currently in prison, and Tourmaline blames herself. Virginia, on the other hand, is indebted to Hazard, a lawyer who goes outside the law to make a small fortune. Virginia's assignment is to investigate the Wardens for Hazard. As Tourmaline and Virginia's lives get increasingly tangled, their outside circumstances seem to not matter as much as their friendship. This powerful debut novel is a true masterpiece.

I really loved the friendship between Tourmaline and Virginia. While the novel did not start out with their friendship, I think seeing Tourmaline and Virginia's friendship develop really added to the novel in a unique way. The setting also played a huge role in the novel and the descriptions of it were just extraordinary. As I mentioned above, the writing is phenomenal. Despite the 3rd person POV, readers can easily relate to the main characters and picture all the settings vividly.

Overall, Done Dirt Cheap is a great novel rooted in friendship and excellent writing. I highly recommend it.

Done Dirt Cheap was a refreshing read! It is so different from anything else I have picked up.
It's about two very unlikely friends and let me tell you I was here for that friendship!
Tourmaline is our more sheltered character who lives with her dad. Her dad is the president of a biker crew called the Wardens. Tourmaline starts the book off thinking she knows everything about her family (the wardens). It sets her on a journey to finding truth and herself in the process.

Virginia is the opposite of Tourmaline. She has lived a rough life where no one has her back. She is content in this life until her job becomes learning about the wardens. Befriending Tourmaline changes everything for Virginia. She starts to find hope that there is value to her.
Their friendship makes zero sense to the people around that but perfect to them. I loved the strong bound the form and the fact that they are ride or die for each other. These are some bad ass women!

SEXY ALERT the men these girls get allied with you guys! I could have read the sexy scenes in this over and over! I wanted more. They were sexy but also deep. I loved seeing the progression of each relationship throughout the book.

This was a fresh, gritty, fantastic read.

Favorite Quote
"When girls stick together in this world, they're harder to pick off"

There were so so many moments I loved in this story - great main characters with complex motivations and histories. Around the last third of the novel things did feel slightly disjointed, and the immediate&long term goals of the girls were not as clear, but overall this was a fantastic read. I'd love to read more about these characters.

<i>Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.</i>

<b> TW: Ableist language, i.e. "crazy" used a couple of times and "fuckt**d" used once.</b>

I'll be honest, I didn't know a damn thing about this book except that it was a debut novel, but the cover and it's premise had me intrigued so I requested a copy. Often times I am hesitant to check out debut authors because I have no frame of reference for the author's style. However this time I can tell you it worked out superbly for me.

The books revolves around two strong female protagonists. Tourmaline is the daughter of the president of a biker gang called the Wardens, and is struggling with her mother being in prison (for which she blames herself). Virginia was "sold" by her mother to a skeevy lawyer when she was unable to make good on her debt, and the sleazebag uses Virginia for his money making schemes. Now he wants her to investigate the Wardens so that he can dismantle them, so Virginia connects with Tourmaline in an attempt to infiltrate the gang.

I'm a sucker for badass women, and you can bump that up when you have badass women becoming friends. This isn't a conventional friendship or an instant one, and I loved watching it slowly develop through the course of the book. Both characters are flawed, and that has an effect on the events that occur as well as their relationship. They are both very strong and come from vastly different backgrounds. They are also often at odds with each other's thought processes and methods, the only thing drawing them together is that they're alone in their worlds dominated by men, which is the foundation of their solidarity. Lemon's message shine through the both of them: being a woman is not easy, it is a struggle to be taken seriously and claim autonomy over your life.

I knew nothing about biker gangs prior to this book, and I loved that it was woven into the story without feeling like I had a bunch of information dumped on me. It felt like an entire world of its own, and it was interesting to learn about it from Tourmaline's POV, because she's the bystander who has all the knowledge from growing up around it but isn't a part of the group as a member. Lemon also beautifully addresses class differences and its intersections with race. There's a black character in the book, and at various points has commentary on how the hierarchies and rituals of the club have different implications for a black person in a predominantly white group. She also does a good job highlighting Tourmaline's class and white privilege that gets called out in some of the dialogue. There's also an element of romance which doesn't overwhelm the main plot, a forbidden romance, which was predictable but I liked it.

There was some ableist language (couple of characters refer to women as "crazy" in a scene, and one of them uses the slur "fuckt**d" in reference to himself) which I had issue with, so keep an eye out for that.

All in all, this was a fast-paced and gritty read exploring some complex issues surrounding being a woman as well as female friendships. I really enjoyed reading it and I'm looking forward to reading more of Lemon's work in the future.

This was one of my anticipated reads of this year and I thought it was pretty good. The premise of these two biker chicks and their friendship is what sold me, along with their stark differences and tenacity with every situation that comes their way. Although it was as good as I was hoping it would be, it is still good and worth a read. These chicks don't play around.

I couldn't get into this book since the beginning is so jumbled. I gave up half way through.

This book opens with very little set up so it takes about a third of the book for even the basic plot to get started. The two characters are appearantly constrained by a ton of rules, but I have no clue what they are so all the plot twists seem out of nowhere. I didn't understand or relate to the characters so clearly this wasn't for me.

This is one of the more intriguing YA books I have read in a long time. Initially I selected it for the cover image but found the writing style, characters and plot woked together brilliantly. The writing style is somewhat jarring at first but when I became more attuned to it as I read and it has a great rhythm and vividness. I particularly enjoyed the descriptions throughout the book of the mountainous landscapes and of the town resting in the wilderness. A lovely reminder that a place can seem so peaceful and yet be so noisy and fierce. The setting connected the dual components of the location to this story of order and chaos, delicate relationships and blunt brutality.

The book centres on the two female characters, Tourmaline and Virginia. Tourmaline is the daughter of the president of a local biker gang, who she insists are just a club. She keeps her distance from people while working very hard to make her life looks perfect. While looking forward to starting college in a few months, Tourmaline is struggling with the events that resulted in her mother's incarceration. Virginia is working for a local lawyer, a man uses his knowledge of the law to break it, after her mother 'sold' her into his debt to repay legal fees. Hazard, the lawyer, wants Virginia to infiltrate the biker gang and she chooses to do this by befriending Tourmaline. Each girl wants something from the other but their experiences change things and the beginnings of an authentic friendship develops between the two. A friendship that is often tested and bruised in the course of the book.

Virginia's character is tough but vivid and bright, Tourmaline is more murky, twisting. I struggled to get a grasp on her character at times, she pushed so hard to be a certain way so it made sense that she hid things from herself as well as us. Portraying the loss of an innocence can be hard to write but it was done very well by Lemon. Her motives are not clear to us or herself, she is however very clear on her boundaries. Virginia is a young woman whose focus is survival, with one eye on what failing at it would entail. It struck me that the end goals weren't laid out clearly but the underlying desire of two different outcomes were clear in both girls' minds. I really enjoyed how this relationship developed throughout the book. Virginia's romantic entanglement was more complex and compelling than Tourmaline's but both rang true. The unfolding of the plot was given good balance with the development of relationships and the ending of the novel was ultimately very satisfying.

The following line needs including in this because it works perfectly in a devastating scene it also say something that is important to emphasise in YA literature:
'We're friends because when girls - women - are alone in this world, they're easier to pick off.'

For fans of: Blake Nelson, Laurie Halse Anderson.

Sometimes when you request an e-galley you really don’t know what you’re going to get, especially if it’s by a debut author or an author that you’re not familiar with. Done Dirt Cheap was a book that fit that criteria for me, but I felt drawn to it with its sassy cover and gritty synopsis. I’m happy to report that Done Dirt Cheap has 100% renewed my faith in trying out new authors and diving into unfamiliar plots, because it was a truly engaging and utterly fantastic read that I wish I could completely purge from my brain so I could have the pleasure of reading for the first time again.

Done Dirt Cheap revolves around two very different but very strong female protagonists. Tourmaline Harris is the daughter of the president of a notorious motorcycle club, who’s family has been ripped apart by her mother’s imprisonment and the role she played in it. Virginia’s mother essentially sold her into indentured servitude to a sleazy lawyer who leverages her for money making schemes from participating in pageants to drug dealing. Their two paths collide when Virginia is given the assignment to essentially infiltrate the Warden’s inner circle to assist in dismantling them, and she targets Tourmaline, a classmate, as the best way in.

What truly makes Done Dirt Cheap stand out is its portrayal of female relationships. Tourmaline and Virginia never have a conventional friendship, and are often at odds with each other’s desires and methods. Yet they keep gravitating toward each other for the solitude and safety that can only be found by standing with another woman in a life dominated by men. They draw their strengths and personalities from very different backgrounds (Virginia from the terror of an abusive family, Tourmaline from the comfort of being a loved daughter), but at the core of the novel is the overarching theme that it is still very difficult to be a woman and be taken seriously, and be given the autonomy to run your own life, even in 21st century, modern day society. Tourmaline often refers to herself as a “paper girl,” an outline to be filled with the wishes and expectations of others, and though privileged in many ways where Virginia is not, it really resonated with me, as it reinforces the

The biker club element never feels cliché or like it’s trying too hard. I really enjoyed how their motives were convincingly portrayed as morally gray, and how they were sort of a modern day vigilante group. This was my first time really engaging with any media featuring biker clubs, and I found reading about the complex code and rules really interesting, especially as Tourmaline, who’s grown up on the periphery of the club her entire life, learns to navigate them and manipulate them to her benefit as an adult. Lemon has done an incredible job of fleshing out an entire social system in less than 400 pages.

This novel also showcases upper YA romance done right for a book that’s not specifically being marketed as a romance. The romances were slow-burn and had a touch of real-world angst (AKA serious relationship boundaries such as age, ultimate goals in life, past emotional trauma, etc.). The relationships are built on the tenuous foundations of the teenage to adult transition, but are deliciously swoon-worthy when the wait does pay off.

Overall: If you like strong female characters who don’t always seem like heroines, complex social dynamics that will split your head and heart, and stories about the struggles that are still faced by being a female, this is a story for you. Gritty, complicated, and achingly accurate in its portrayal of balancing on the age of eighteen, I cannot recommend Done Dirt Cheap enough.

I gave this book a shot because I love contemporary, books about bad ass girls, and also because my favorite book, All the Ugly and Wonderful Things, followed a motorcycle gang. Unfortunately this book was not for me, and I was bored out of my mind. After about 25% I started skim reading, and I don't regret it. Just wasn't for me.

I was kind of doubtful from the description and the cover that this was going to be "my type" of book, but what do they say don't judge a book by it's cover! This was well written and had just the right amount of tenseness throughout. It touched upon some dark themes but never felt overwhelming. Great for fans of sons of anarchy.