Funny thing is- I find it so difficult to write a review for this book.

Here is a bit from the blurb:

Seventeen-year-old Mercedes Ayres has an open-door policy when it comes to her bedroom, but only if the guy fulfills a specific criteria: he has to be a virgin. Mercedes lets the boys get their awkward, fumbling first times over with, and all she asks in return is that they give their girlfriends the perfect first time- the kind Mercedes never had herself.

So… the blurb gives away the root of Mercy’s behaviour. Anyone can read in between the lines there.

And Mercy’s first time isn’t the only issue she has. Apparently she has a  really crappy life! She can’t stand her mother due to her flighty lifestyle and her father took off when she was young.

After an overheard pregnancy issue in the school bathroom Mercy finds yet another reason to take it upon herself to start “schooling” virgin-boys. That includes tips on how to set up the perfect night for their girlfriends, how to act and how not to act, and to always bring an effing johnny! Johnny is an international slang for a condom, right?

Anyway, Mercy is a very black&white kind of person. She loves chemistry (haha, ironic!) and everything has to have a formula, a reason, a box everything can fit into, with a label.

So, let’s see who else do we have starring in this novel, shall we?

Mercy’s chem lab partner Zach is also Mercy’s Wednesday fuck-buddy! Kind of like a routine check-up. Or you know, in between virgins, she still has her needs?! Zach obviously develops feelings towards Mercy but he doesn’t know her secret, and Mercy keeps brushing him off. Will they be together in the end? Who knows, who knows…

Anyway, the plot thickens. Enter Mercy’s best friend Angela, with whom Mercy attends the Prayer-group! Yup, the perfect cover for V-Card thief! It’s hilarious, really.

Angela’s boyfriend is Charlie. Also a prayer-group member. These two have vowed not to get “active” until they’re married, but one of the most major twists revolves around Charlie, the oh, so holy! I won’t say more, that would be a major spoiler! Shit will hit the fan big time!

Let’s not forget Faye! The new girl at school. Mercy for a little while thinks Faye is flirting with her, and gets curious, I guess. I won’t disclose if there’s action in between those two. 😉

Faye is confident, pretty and comes with her own secrets. A secret for which she is the perfect person to guide and support Mercy when things get bad.

So, you can see, there’s a lot going on. Everyone is involved in one way or other and everyone has their own dilemmas or take on things.

I finished this book and I thought- Gosh, that poor girl is so screwed.. Mentally and literally! How does one dig a hole such as this and not expect it to come back and bite one in the ass?! Another thought that entered my mind was “Do teenagers really act so rashly?” And, yes. Yes they do. So, I found it in no way suprising for a girl who has mommy/daddy issues and a bad experience to top it all off, to go and make a decision to “save the world”.

It’s a book of high-school drama, major personal issues, delusions, decisions, self-esteem, awkward moments, regrets, friendship and life-lessons that could teach many a youngster to think before they act. So no, I wouldn’t pick this book up to get tips on how to improve your sex life. It doesn’t get proper steamy, so get your mind out of the gutter and focus on the real issues here! 🙂

Book Source: Thanks go out to NetGalley and St Martin’s Griffin

Rating: 4*