The Final Weekend by Neal Cassidy | Review | Book Tour

Hello everyone and welcome back to the blog! I hope everyone is staying safe during these uncertain times.

Today is the beginning of the Final Weekend Blog Tour hosted by Erik @Breakeven Books and I’m honoured to be the first blogger on the tour. Please don’t forget to check out the posts/videos of the other bloggers/booktubers.

The Final Weekend Book Tour Schedule 

July 19th 

BLOG – https://phanniethegingerbookworm.wordpress.com/ 

July 20th 

BLOG / INSTAGRAM – joshwhit@joshwhitworth.com
YOUTUBE – Hilary from Melted Books (https://www.youtube.com/channel/ UCOatzzc3q5iTsRZkDPUEZig) 

July 21st 

BLOG – Roro is Reading (http://roroisreading.blogspot.com/) 

July 22nd 

BLOG – Toya Reading Chemist (https://thereadingchemist.com/) 

July 23rd 

YOUTUBE – Ishi (https://www.youtube.com/c/IshiTime)
YOUTUBE – Kisti (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCb9_bh4ZOhnqpIdhxccMp_A) 

July 24th 

YOUTUBE – Bunny Cakes (https://www.youtube.com/channel/ UCizdf7dkhX35HjCrCEw_c6g) 

July 25th 

BLOG – Ross Jeffrey – https://storgy.com

I have a review planned so without further ado let’s start. A review copy of this book has been sent to me in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own!

Goodreads Synopsis:

In the last days before the real world, six college friends prepare to take a bow in epic fashion.

After Sunday there’s just Harry, the future business owner; Justin, the medical intern; Trent, the hapless wanderer; and Clarence, soon to don the badge and blues. But now they have years of memories to honor, all packed into one weekend. Will they grow into their new adult roles? Will they go out in style with the girls? Will the four of them even survive the sheer level of debauchery?

Living in an apartment paid for by the Grandma, an ex-hooker turned millionaire, Courtney and Ling-Ling couldn’t be more opposite, yet are completely inseparable. Courtney and Harry have been hooking up for years, neither able to commit, but their imminent separation is about to test that arrangement, and Ling-Ling’s never-ending reciprocated crush on Justin just might become more than that.

Their lives intersect with that of Professor Goodkat, their idolized instructor who never quite “left” college himself. In Goodkat, we find the consequence of getting to live out a hedonist fantasy, and the possibility for change in anyone.

Hilarious, raunchy and uninhibited, “The Final Weekend: A Stoned Tale,” captures contemporary society while chronicling the dreams, regrets, perspectives, and future after youth in an unbroken sequence of shockingly touching exploits. No longer armed with the excuse of college stupidity, these friends will go on a journey with higher stakes than a night out has ever had. Because there are things about themselves that blacking out can’t erase.

Add the book to your Goodreads to-read shelf

Title – The Final Weekend: A Stoned Tale
Author – Neal Cassidy
Publisher – M&S Publishing
Genre – Humour, New-Adult
Release date – July 25th, 2019

Trigger Warning – mention of the “n”-word, swearing, drugs(marijuana)
Version – ebook*
Pages – 294
Language – English

This is a story about six young adults that just finished college and have to enter the adult world. We follow their P.O.V’s and get to know more about whether they are ready to face the working life or not. However, we also get to read Professor Goodkats thoughts who still behaves like a college student himself.

I had some problems getting used to the writing style, which is why I gave it “only” a 3-star rating. Just to clarify some things: 3 stars is still a great rating for me as it means that I enjoyed the story but just had some slight troubles with other things. There are also some jumps in the storyline. Sometimes there are flashbacks, which are in italic so it’s easy to make them out. I have to be honest, I found these flashbacks to be unnecessary but again that’s only my personal point of view. All the characters were unlikeable in my opinion. I didn’t manage to connect with one of them. Constant talks about sex, drug usage, the way they talked and so on just made them really unlikeable. The typical stereotypes of college students. But I suppose that the author wrote them like that on purpose. It is a satire after all. In my eyes, it wouldn’t have made much sense if they were likeable. As I’m only having one semester left before graduating I could completely relate with some things mentioned in the book.

Like many other reviewers before me, I found the ending to be surprising as well. I wasn’t prepared at all for it. Which is why I strongly suggest all of you to read the book until the very end. You won’t be disappointed!

Overall, The Final Weekend is a strange and unique story about college graduates that have to move on to a whole other level of adult life. This is a story that makes you think. If you like satire and comedy books this is probably going to be your thing and I’d highly recommend The Final Weekend to you.

Amazon.com – Kindle: $8.49, Paperback: $11.31

Neal Cassidy is an American writer who grew up in Forest, Va. An ex-tennis pro, he also spent his winters competing in Big Air & Slopestyle competitions on skis. After many years of an undiscerning lifestyle, he decided to put his experiences into his first novel, The Final Weekend: A Stoned Tale. He does his best writing at home while listening to Tchaikovsky at a low volume, with a hot black tea, frozen chocolate fruits, and five pre-rolled blunts within reach

Social links:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/theNealCassidy

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenealcassidy/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theNealCassidy/

Website: https://www.thenealcassidy.com/

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What are your thoughts on The Final Weekend? Please let me know in the comments below!

*A review copy of this book has been sent to me by the author in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own!