Trisha is a fighter. She lives for the gym and training. Living with her mom while her dad lives in Trinidad and visits infrequently. When he is in town, abuse and fighting ensues at her home. Trisha tries to avoid this be being away as long as possible. When Trisha’s dad dies unexpectedly, Trisha’s mom seems at peace with what happened. But it doesn’t all add up. Can Trisha figure out what’s going on and learn who she is in and out of the ring? Excellent story, page turning, and characters you are invested in by the end of the story.

I liked the premise of this book, and I really wanted to like Trisha, but found myself more annoyed than empathetic with her character. I think the writing style pulled me from the story and I often felt like I was being preached at. I wanted to love this one, but between Trisha, the meandering plot and a lack of depth, this wasn't one I enjoyed. I did like seeing a girl in the ring tho, and that cover drew me in right away!

I'm so disappointed with this book because I wanted so badly to love it. It had so many things that I usually enjoy in a book - mixed martial arts, a female protagonist devoted to her dreams, and a thriller subplot - but something about it just fell short for me. It's possible that it was just due to the length, as 272 pages is fairly short to accomplish all of these elements, but it's more likely due to the disordered eating that such a sport involves. For me personally, that's a trigger and I wouldn't have read it if I'd known it would be treated in this way.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for the ARC in exchange for my honest review*

I wish I could say Fight Like A Girl was enjoyable. The main reason why I didn’t like this book was the author’s writing style. Maybe because it’s a debut? I don’t know. I didn’t really like the main character either. Overall, this book just wasn’t for me.

Thank you netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my opinion.

Fight Like A Girl is a quick read about a young fighter who is dealing with the loss of her Dad. Trisha is no stranger to violence and dysfunction in the family. Trying to be different and not follow down the same path she devotes her self to her local gym as a fighter.

This story is not something I would normally read and though it was not my favorite read it was still good. I think mostly is was okay for me was because I can't really relate to her. I have a very traditional family and I've never had to worry about single parents, or physical or mental abuse from family figures. I've never had to find an outlet to take my anger and aggression out in a constructive way. I will also say that the romance aspect of the book even though its small is probably the most annoying part. Jumping into a relationship is not a device for broken people to be better and to heal. They need support yes and clearly that was something Trisha was lacking but what about a good strong friendship?

I was a huge fan of this book. I thoroughly enjoyed the familial relationships and how they were presented. I thought this book handled some heavy topics really well. I also loved that I was able to connect with a different culture in a new way. I thought Trisha was one of the strongest heroine's I've ever read.

Fight Like a Girl is the story of Trisha, a promising Muay Thai fighter who is no stranger to violence and toxicity. With her abusive father in and out of her life, Trisha has enough scars to go around. When her father dies under mysterious circumstances, she is met with a brief reprieve, only for events to start spiralling even more out of control.

Fight Like a Girl is a unique book with a story that I can't say I have read anything like before. Trisha is a complex main character who deals with a lot, yet channels the worst of everything into her fighting. Her family is the definition of complicated, and the book chronicles the cycle of abuse in it's own distinctive manner. The book is very brief, and while the entirety of the plot is interesting, I felt like many parts could benefit from more time and development. Fight Like a Girl is a good debut, and I'm curious to see what the author writes next.

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Random House Canada for this ARC; this is my honest and voluntary review.

I think that this was a really quick read but ultimately, I didn't find myself connecting to the characters.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4. Very quick read, with realistic problems, and Trish is life!! I would recommend it if the synopsis intrigues you.

I thought the book was fairly decent. It was fast paced for a short book so if someone is in a reading slump and wants some mystery novel, this would be the book I’d recommend. I thought it was interesting watching a character deal with the death of a not so loved one and how it affected them. Even though you want to feel empathy for Trisha, it’s hard when she could do so many things to fix the mistakes of her family. I enjoy mystery books but this one was a tough pill to swallow since you really don’t get closure, more of an ambiguous ending that makes you feel bad for Trisha that she may never deal with her emotions.

This story genuinely took me by surprise with its fast pacing and dark story. I expected this to be a standard contemporary tale about grief and how we process it differently. However, I got a thriller, and I could not be more pleased. This book is dark, and bloody, and still raw in an emotional way. Kamal did a fantastic job of addressing several different issues, without ever making the plot lull.

Overall, this book took me by surprise. My only criticisms was that because it was so fast paced, there was some overall plot parts that got confusing. It was hard to always know what was going on and when, especially with the illustrative paranormal happening. I enjoyed it greatly and appreciate that things weren’t wrapped up with a shiny “everyone learned a lesson and is a better person now” bow.

Full review will be posted on my blog on November 12th, 2021.

This is a very unique read. Trisha is a very special girl. She is an individual. She is a fighter. When Trisha finds herself questioning her family and her life she draws strength from her training in the ring. This is a coming of age that I haven't experienced before and I won't soon forget it.

I really enjoyed the writing of this book! It kept me turning page after page! I found myself originally drawn to this book because of the fighting aspect, but found enjoyment in the other struggles going on in her life. This was a wonderful book, and I would recommend it to anybody!

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, this book just wasn't for me. I did not like the main character of the book and couldn't not relate at all with her. I also found the story to be a bit choppy and hard to follow at times.

Sheena Kamal is an excellent story teller and I look forward to reading more books from her in the future. This book just didn't resonate with me like it might someone else.

I always enjoy Caribbean inclusion in books and the mystery plot that weaves throughout the story kept me wanting to know what will happen. I wasn’t a fan of Trisha, the main character. Her personality was not likeable, in my opinion, as she tried to act tough in her actions and speech.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for allowing me to read this book!

I’m going to be honest: I didn’t like this book when I first started it. I thought the main character, Trisha, was bothersome. She was rude and standoffish, which turned me away from wanting to read this novel. However, as the story progressed (about halfway through—a relatively long time for a shorter book), I started to understand why she acted the way she did. From the death of her father, to a multitude of things falling apart in her life, her reactions were understandable.

As time went on, I began to feel Trisha’s anguish. Her pain seeped through every page until it became nothing but numbness. Towards the end I, too, became numb to the tragic things happening in her life. This psychological aspect was interesting to me. I wasn’t necessarily expecting the author to touch on these kinds of subjects (childhood trauma combined with the loss of a not-so-loved-one), but they did it in a way that wasn’t super obvious. Some writers tend to point them out as a way to make the main character realize things need to change in order for the resolution to come about. In this story, however, the main character used it to fight whatever was happening, whether it be good or bad. She kept on pushing, just like a fighter would.

Although I wouldn’t recommend this book to everyone I know, I would definitely recommend it to those I thought would enjoy it. It’s not my typical read, but I enjoyed it more than I expected to when going into it.

This was a sports novel about a girl and her mother, as well as how she processes the death of her father. Trisha is an interesting character to read about/who's mind is interesting to be in. It was nice to see a consensual relationship between Trisha and Jason, and I wish we knew more about Kru. I recommend reading other reviews.

While the book had an interesting premise and a lot of potential, I found the writing to be very choppy and confusing. Although it could be argued that the choppiness reflects the fierceness of the heroine, it made the book difficult to get through.