Interesting premise but comes across as muddled. A good editor would have made all the difference. I was drawn in by the wonderful cover but the book didn’t live up to expectations.

Interesting POV of teen angst as described before in many books and novels.... writing style is good - switching between the two POVs in definitely helpful.

#kikideniswrites #NetGalley

This ARC file irreparably corrupted on me at about 60%, which I will take as a very welcome sign; up until then only sheer determination and awareness that I still owed a review for it kept me going. The one good thing I have to say about this novel is that its setting (small-town Greece in the 60s-80s) was intriguing and it definitely reads like it was written by someone who is familiar with the locale.

Apart from that, the characters are all pretty awful and the style is bizarre; the teenage protagonist tries to pass it off as a linguistic foible – essentially, using English but deliberately colouring it in Greek idioms and grammar while scoffing at translations – only to have it end up reading like a very bad translation anyway (also, everything was mega! Mega adverbs, mega adjectives, mega nouns, mega everything thrice a page). Add to that a whole heap of pretty gross sexist and homophobic language and I’m glad I’m out of there. Mega nope.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Sorry, but this book was too much of a struggle to get through that it's the first book I can remember giving up on.

OK story, but awful characters and awful writing.

While interesting, the nicknames and initialization of almost everything kept me confused and off track.

I actually put in for this book for the cover, it looks that great. Unfortunately, the book needs work and was published almost a decade ago. Did not follow, think needs editing.

I really struggled with this. I didn’t find any of the characters likeable & when the book “failed” at page 52 I wasn’t disappointed. It is written in pidgin English, and I know the characters are supposed to be Greek but it just felt contrived rather than fun (as it was billed).

I should give myself stars for getting as far as I did.

I struggled through this book as a promised an honest review in exchange for reading it. The narrator was one of the most irritating narrators I have ever encountered. The plot, if there was one, was buried deep in puerile humour about sex. This would have to be in my top 10 of most dreadful books ever read.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review, I fi could i would rate this 0 stars where the judges on drugs when they gave this an award. It is pure trash. If i was asked to saty what this book was about I would be unable to string a sentence together not an author i ever want to read again

An interesting concept – teenager Sunday grows up in a loving family until one day, her father leaves when he discovers that she is not his daughter.  The story continues with all the trials and tribulations of teenage woes.  
 
I loved the fact that this book was set in Greece.  And also how the ladies would congregate in her mother’s shop.  However, the book didn’t grab me at all.  I tried to persist with it, but just found that it continued on and on until I was glad to finish.
 
2 stars from me 🌟🌟

While I liked the writing, I found the plot too slow, unengaging and all over the place. I couldn’t get into it.

The core story is not bad: classic coming of age, triggered by family problems. But by Jove: the main character/narrator is beyond annoying. One of the most repulsing voices I've had to deal with. She is not only irritating, she is exasperating. She is crass. She is everything I don't want my teen to be lol. And the passage from first person narrative to omniscient narrator when you know she is just a irrelevant young adult girl is beyond frustrating and hard to stomach.

The only aspect of the book that was a tiny bit interesting was the exploration of Greek customs/ideas and the effect arbitrary practices can have on people's lives.

Denis' "The last day of paradise" is a coming-of-age novel that definitely feels both intimate and universal in its themes.

I have really struggled to get into this book, I have tried twice now and I have got less than 10% through each time, It is very rare for me to give up on any book, I will always try at least twice but I won't be giving this a third.

I found the writing style very difficult to follow, far too many mnemonics to try and follow their meaning and I would have expected there to be some kind of storyline coming through but there was nothing just a meandering dialogue that didn't appear to be going anywhere.

This is a pretty good coming of age novel about a girl coming to grips with learning that her whole life may have been a lie because her father isn't who she was told he was. The fallout and shift in the relationship with her family were realistically written.

I received an advance read copy of this book from NetGalley.

This is a story that is set in the 60's and the late 70's. Its about a girl who is telling the story of how she came to be in existence.

I am not a fan of this book. I felt that it was crass and the writer seemed to go there intentionally as when it wasn't being crass, it was quite intelligent yet the story line wasn't engaging for me and I feel like the ending didn't justify itself.

Thanks NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book. However, for the first time I did not finish reading it. I didn’t enjoy the style of writing and having read more than a quarter of the book I am still waiting for the story to emerge. It is supposed to be humorous but I didn’t laugh!! The write up about the book was great but the proof was not in the pudding!!

The Last Day of Paradise was an intriguing family-oriented novel. I really enjoyed that it went between the 'ancient' and 'common' era. Throughout the novel, the reader learned more about the characters and how their history and choices as young people affected their entire life.

One of the downfalls for me was that some of the terminology and stereotypes when referring to other races are very outdated and I felt uncomfortable reading them.

Overall, it was an interesting generational story and showed the complexity of the intricacies of family life.

Thank you Net Gallery for my copy of this novel. This is my honest review.
Firstly this book is not my usual genre. It is more likely suited to teenage or young adult readers. The language is colourful with an abundance of slang.
This book is set in Greece and is about the lives of the mother, Chrysa, and her daughter, Sunday. It was sometime disconcerting going from "Ancient Era" to "Common Era " but once the characters were sorted it was easier.
I can not really remark too much on the plot as it appeared to me to be a commentary on everyday life as it happens. That is the trials and tribulations of teenagers growing up in their respective generations.
However the book kept me interested enough to finish reading as it has enough tragedy and happiness to keep the readers attention.