Under My Skin by James Dawson

Meet Molly Sue. Once she's under your skin there's no getting rid of her...

Seventeen-year-old Sally Feather is not exactly a rebel. Her super-conservative parents and her treatment at the hands of high school bullies means that Sally's about as shy and retiring as they come - but all that's about to change. Accidentally ending up in the seedier side of town one day, Sally finds herself mysteriously lured to an almost-hidden tattoo parlour - and once inside, Sally is quickly seduced by its charming owner, Rosita, and her talk of how having a secret tattoo can be as empowering as it is thrilling. Almost before she knows what she is doing, Sally selects sexy pin-up Molly Sue, and has her tattooed on her back - hoping that Molly Sue will inspire her to be as confident and popular as she is in her dreams.

But things quickly take a nightmareish turn. Almost immediately, Sally begins to hear voices in her head - or rather, one voice in particular: Molly Sue's. And she has no interest in staying quiet and being a good girl - in fact, she's mighty delighted to have a body to take charge of again. Sally slowly realises that she is unable to control Molly Sue... and before long she's going to find out the hard way what it truly means to have somebody 'under your skin'.

This review will be coming to you in a series of bullet points, because my thoughts won't arrange themselves into proper sentences.

• Sally is entranced by Molly Sue - she speaks the truth about guys, and dressing for yourself, and being brave. Until Molly Sue takes control and does something a little unforgivable 
• Molly Sue isn't scared to do the things that Sally won't
• what I loved about this was that Molly Sue wasn't just bad, she was bored and lonely, plus she did take care of Sally with her image and how to get the boy and gain confidence. It was just that Molly Sue was stuck as a tattoo and, understandably, fed up with being powerless. Having a villain that you can relate to is a great accomplishment.
• truly terrifying in the loss of control, and Molly Sue's control over Sally, both literally and emotionally. As Sally continues to black out and Molly Sue uses her body for fun and terrible things, Sally is driven all the more desperate to be rid of her

Published 5th March 2015 by Hot Key Books. Thank you to the publisher for my copy in exchange for an honest review.