I really wanted to like this book. The synopsis held so much promise, but the book failed to deliver as much as I hoped for from it. I enjoyed it well enough, but with a few tweaks it could have been an even more enjoyable read.

I don't know if I should be angry or disappointed. The story blurb had so much potential and I just didn't feel that the writing did any justice to it. I tried so hard to like this book, but, alas, I just couldn't. The writing was not what I expected and it was slightly disappointing and it just didn't do the story any justice. It felt juvenile and incomplete and underdeveloped. All in all, this story could have been so much more.

Dark, yes. Very dark. This book takes a dark, DARK turn. So the title gets that part right. The comedy, though. The comedy is missing.

Find me a character to like in this book, and I will find you an unwrapped Almond Joy from my home. Both are impossible. We have a brute who emotionally abuses his girlfriend and the weak girlfriend who sticks with him because of the future he offers her. We have a cruel and psychopathic young man who feels entitled to everything he wants to take. We have a college kid so willing to be a part of the big frat that he sells his soul. We have two guys who are as vile as you will find.

And we have Mallory, who is determined to live down to the root of her name: mal. Bad. Evil.

I did appreciate Mallory's complete belief in her own agenda. She is unrepentant, in fact, in her own vituperative nature. No one, regardless of how much they support her, is immune from her hatefulness. Okay, I'll admit: there is a moment at the end when I kind of like her. So I'll go find an unwrapped Almond Joy.

Graham, Mallory's erstwhile physio, is not a gem, either. Most of the time he's gross. But, again, there is a moment at the end when I kind of like him. So I guess I'm weak in the face of Merricat Mulwray's attempt to make Mallory and Graham people to root for.

This book is hard to read because you can't figure out why you keep turning the pages. Is it that you want to see Mallory fail? You want to see her and Graham fall in love? You want happiness and peace for them? The way Merricat Mulwray, two sisters, write this book doesn't really lend itself to you cheering on Mallory or Graham. You're too busy thinking they're awful people.

And yet I will give it 3 stars because I had to know what happened to Mallory. I just wish I'd liked it--and her--more.

I loved Sourpuss, first and foremost, for being so daringly and wickedly original! With its darkness and wit it was a wonderful treat.

The well drawn characters were deliciously terrible, some rather nefarious and often making me laugh-out-loud, so caught up were they in their own in their selfish lives. The tale was certainly not formulaic and it was completely unlike anything I've ever read before.

Very much a contemporary novel, it was a quick read, with a fair sprinkling of badness, negativity and redemption. Take a plunge into the unknown and read this for yourself!

I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel, at my own request, from Haigh 38 Press via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

I don't know if I should be angry or disappointed. The story blurb had so much potential and I just didn't feel that the writing did any justice to it. I tried so hard to love this book but I couldn't. The writing was not what I expected and it was slightly disappointing and it just didn't do the story any justice. This book could have been so much more. With that being said, is it ironic to say I loved the main character and her whiny and bitchy attitude? Well maybe.. But the relationship is what made me read the whole book. Not a good enough reason, but I am a curious person, so it helped!

Detailed review will be up soon !

Maybe I am just not this novel's intended audience.
Regardless, I can only speak for myself.
The book is described as a dark comedy, though I did not find it to be dark or comedic. The writing was confusing, the storyline even more so and the characters involved were so self obsessed and whiny that I couldn't become invested in any of them.
The reason I ultimately put this down is because there were numerous times that I couldn't make out who each action was attributed to, due to a confusing use of pronouns.
It just wasn't for me but I hope the right person finds it.

Fun book. It was a pleasure to read. .

I love.....no.....LOVE this book! The dark comedy will have you rolling on the floor laughing. I couldn't and did not want to put Sourpuss down and I can't wait to read it again
This book is for anyone who loves dark humor with a little nostalgia.

One of two things happened for this sorry and me...
Either it was clearly it’s not me but the book OR it’s me and not the book.
The main character was so over the top in your face I often cringed a lot, the male was rather a jerk whom I couldn’t root for either. Yes it has its closure and what not but the journey to it just was a total “can I get off the ride now?” For me I just didn’t care.

I tried, I really did, but I couldn’t get into this book. I get that the protagonist was supposed to be unlikable, but it went too far for my to enjoy the rest of the book.

Really didn't like this one at all. I know a lot of it was meant to be intentionally shocking or vulgar, but it was so over-the-top and completely offensive in places (and I'm hard to offend). I frequently enjoy books with unlikable protagonists, but every character in this book took that to the extreme - there were no redeeming qualities or reasons to root for any of them. Not a fan of this book.

Sourpuss is the story of Olympic track hopeful Mallory and fraternity president and resident hot guy Graham. What starts out as a way for Mallory to keep Graham training her and helping her recuperate after an injury turns into a real relationship embroiled in campus scandal.

This book....oh this book. Friends, I do not know where to start. Let's start with the things I was not so fond of so we can end on a positive note, shall we?

Mallory is supposed to be an unlikable ice queen. This comes across so well. Really, really well. I do not have a problem with anti-social, attitude riddled females. Give them all to me so we may commiserate. No, my problem with Mallory was that there was nothing redeemable about her. There was absolutely nothing to grasp on to or like to make me actually care about her. This is the case with most of the characters. Every single one of them is a giant dumpster fire of a human being and that's....okay I guess? I suppose for me, if I can't find a character I like or care about it doesn't really seem worth the read.

The entire plot is a bit choppy and the further into the book I got the less sense it made. The book switches from POV's, which I normally don't mind. But it was hard to follow here as there was no clear way to tell whose eyes we're looking out from until I'd already been reading for a paragraph or two in some cases. I did not so much mind the horrific ending (I'm here for dark books and mentally unstable characters), just that it felt unsatisfying and abrupt.

Okay, but here's the thing. Just because I don't enjoy a book doesn't mean someone else won't LOVE this book. SO. The positives. The writing was really beautiful in some spots. The authors obviously have a way with words and visualization. The description was done really well when regarding the minutia of the setting, it was just the big picture that was a little lacking.

This book was not so much for me. But I would not be opposed to reading something else by these authors, as I can tell the writing definitely has potential!

Sourpuss, a new novel by Merricat Mulray (which is actually two sisters), is a bleak look at the underbelly of college life. It's billed as dark comedy, but it's not very funny. The story centers on track star Mallory, who is expected to run in the Olympics. After an injury, she is assigned a student trainer, Graham, a fraternity president whom she abhors, but who will help her rehab. Of course they fall in love. But both of them are such miserable jerks that the reader is never convinced that they aren't just manipulating each other.


Both Graham and Mallory are self-centered, unlikable jerks. Actually, every character in this story is completely unlikable. The other frat members, Mallory's teammates, her coach, her gay roommate, and on and on. It's like they're living in the world of the despicable. Every character is a caricature. In fact, the whole book is a caricature of college life. I don't know if the Mulray sisters went to college. Either they didn't, and they take every college life stereotype and blow it up larger than life, or they did go to college and created this story to lampoon every person they hated.


Just as I thought the story would redeem itself a little, that maybe some of the characters had grown through the tough lessons they learned, and just as I thought the story might have something positive to say about reforming the misogynistic, debauched frat culture, the story abruptly ended in a most unsatisfying way. I know they're going for satire, they're going for dark comedy, but the overall result is overwrought, disturbing, and unenjoyable.


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

This novel reads like a straight-to-DVD movie my friends and I would NOT have rented at Blockbuster in 1997. It’s touted as dark satire, and sure it IS a caricature of campus life, but it tries too hard to be outlandish. It’s not even funny. To me, for satire to be effective, it should be witty and intelligent. This undoubtedly is neither. And the writing is very basic. According to my Kindle, the name “Mallory” appears over 1K times in 300 pages. Can I get a pronoun or varying sentence structure, please??

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book!

I'm not thrilled to have read Sourpuss. I disliked the story for the inappropriate sophomoric content it contained. It left me wondering what exactly I read? Was there some message I didn't get? I don't recommend this one. You'll just be offended I swear. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Billed as a black comedy, unfortunately Sourpuss left me with a sour taste in my mouth. I thought the idea of following a potential Olympian during her day to day life on a college campus had a lot of potential, especially with regard to encouraging and inspiring young women. However the character of Mallory Wahl, while certainly living up to her sourpuss tag, was completely unlikable, in fact there was not a single likable or appealing character to be found in the entire book. The plot was all over the place and full of holes, and this combined with very irregular pacing meant that the book was not fun to read, and in fact I only finished it because I was committed to leaving a review. Juvenile, puerile , saturated in misogyny and definitely in need of trigger warnings for sexual assault, I can find no redeeming features , nor any of the satire or humor I had expected from the publisher's blurb.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

So when I saw "a dark comedy" on the cover for this one, I was expecting just that. Unless you find graphic depictions of rape (serious trigger warning!!!!!) along with homophobia and racism hilarious, I wouldn't classify this one as a comedy. It says it's supposed to be a commentary on current college culture and . . . maybe it is? but to me it was difficult to finish. The beginning reminded me a lot of The Hating Game (which I loved!) with its enemies to lovers sort of banter. But then it took a really dark dive and I felt uncomfortable continuing to read it. I don't think I would call this a comedy . . . even a dark one. It just made me feel sad and made my heart ache.

Sourpuss comes out next week on January 20, 2019, and you can purchase HERE. Hopefully you have better luck with this one than I did!

James was so happy he didn't even care he was drinking the watered-down urine that is Natty Ice. The more he thought about it, the more the beer reminded him of his younger days, how it was when all the brothers were under his full charge and command. He didn't think that things could be like that ever again. But now he realized they could! There would be many things to do before they all left at the end of the week.

Thank you NetGalley and Haigh 38 Press for an ARC of SourPuss by sisters Merricat Mulwray.

I admit the title and blurb, "a blistering satire of the depraved and entitled culture that pervades college campuses" caught my eye, and made me want to read this book. Unfortunately, there was nothing blistering or clever in these pages. This was truly some of the most awful writing and storytelling I have come across in a very long time.

Mallory Wahl is an Olympic hopeful who only needs to get through her senior year of college in order to qualify for the US Olympic team. When an injury leaves her on the sidelines, her coach suggests working with a college intern from the sports rehabilitation department. This pairing which at first is met with resistance leads to a romance, which leads to a scandal. Complete rubbish!

There was a story waiting in these pages but the execution was juvenile and amateurish. At least they did deliver on the promise of depravity.
I hate to pan a book but this fell short on so many levels.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a huge disappointment. The premise sounded very promising, but there wasn't so much dark humor as just plain dark. The main character was arrogant and unlikable. She complained about everything and never took responsibility for her own actions. I lost interested after a few chapters. Well, at least they got the title right!

I mean....huh?!?! There were some really good parts of this book. I thought that many of the characters, while unlikable and quite gross, had a level of believably about them that made parts of this book seem like it was telling an important story. But, there were quite a few places where you had to suspend your belief-I mean, the entire basis of the story doesn't seem too likely (an Olympic contender training with a student after an injury?!?!). And, then there is the end. I really thought that this book would have an ending that would provide redemption and make those cringe-worthy moments worthwhile. Boy, was I wrong! Just don't do it to yourself.