The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
kfriend's review against another edition
3.0
Kudos to RE Bond on a solid debut! Pretty Lies is the first in the Watch Me Burn series, a dark reverse harem, bully/street gang story. The first book is jam packed with story action- introducing us to several flawed, perplexing, and emotionally volatile characters who quite frankly can’t figure each other out- which makes for lots of good, fun relationship dynamics. This story is loaded with triggers, sex, violence, partying, secrets, and twists. Truly a wild ride.
Our characters are hella interesting- albeit still a bit of a mystery to me. We know Aurora, Rory, the best- but much of her characterization is around her vacillation between anger and fear as it relates to her traumatic past. This was a huge part of the action of this story AND the relational arc, so this felt like the right call, but I’m hoping we get some additional emotional layers from her in book 2 as we explore other aspects of her identity- including some big decisions she makes at the end of this book. I did feel like her coping mechanisms to her trauma gave me a bit of whiplash- but I think this could be true for anyone who has suffered what she did. She’s definitely a character of contrasts- she’s tough but vulnerable, strong but fragile, independent but emotionally needy. My conclusion is that she really doesn’t know who she is- she’s spent so long being a victim of others, that she spends most of this book trying to reclaim control over her own destiny. And I think she does- although it’s hard for me to tell if that is a rationale and explicit choice in embracing an inner darkness or an emotional one she’ll regret later- clearly that is a question for book 2. And, I imagine with the resolution of some loose ends in this one, we’ll also start to see who she really is now that she has space to explore that.
Our guys- well, jury is still out on them for me. I see so much emotional potential in them, but I don’t feel like we know them. I trust them, or at least I think I do, but most of the book I’m disappointed in them- we have two grade a jerks and two cowards in the harem- and given how long it takes for them to exact some damage, it make me dislike them even more because at that point they had every reason NOT to harm Rory, and still did. I’m not sure they fully redeemed themselves here- or earned Rory’s love. I hope that is a function of there being some major action and we get more of that in Book 2- I think I need it to really trust them and their intentions. Since this is book 1, I know we’ve got a lot to learn still about our characters- which is exciting, because I’m not sure we yet KNOW them as humans either- just as romantic interests, so I’m looking forward to getting more complexity in them- especially Tyler and Jensen. I also really hope Skeeter sticks around romantically- he’s the most interesting of the men to me at the moment.
RE Bond clearly has a passion for complex reverse harem relationships...because this harem is messy, and that’s putting it lightly. The steam felt a bit concise to me early on, but once we got into the poly-scenes the steaminess really ramped up- and it was hot. Like our characters themselves, the harem situation is grey and constantly changing. I suspect this is by design- we’re still figuring this out, as is Rory- not only who she is connected to, but what she is willing to compromise on AND who she can trust. This didn’t bother me- in fact, I appreciated it. This character has suffered greatly as the result of trusting male relationships, and these men HURT her. Intentionally. I like that Rory is unabashedly just going with her confusing emotions, without fully understanding or labelling anything. It makes everything exciting and unpredictable, and also completely on her terms. A control that she’s rarely had when it comes to physical and emotional intimacy. The harem still has a bit of a toxic flair to it- which I always dig, although not sure if this is just the result of the earlier bully themes or if that is the longer term vision for the relationships. We’ll see in book 2!
The story- relationships and action- both move at a fast and furious pace. At first, I was craving a bit more exposition, but then I realized that is the tone that RE Bond is seeking to set for this story. Our characters are volatile, unpredictable, and rash- and, the action mimics that tenor. This is a very dialogue driven narrative- and since the characters are interesting and the character voices are unique, that worked for me, although I normally prefer a bit more of a descriptive style in my prose- but the story is very action packed, so it flowed well. A LOT was achieved in this book- some authors would have dragged it out for several, and I’m glad she didn’t- because this leaves book 2 to be open for more of a focus on working through these relational dynamics which are still being developed- and, to me, are more interesting than some of than the action.
All in all, an exciting debut. I know many will love this series- it is dark, our heroine is unique, and there are some interesting themes that RE can play with- question is, what will she? For a debut novel, this is a strong start- and as she continues to refine her voice, the thematic focus, and hits her stride in terms of her narrative style, I know this series will attract more and more traction! Excited to see more from this author!
PS: If you have triggers, please take caution. There is definitely some sensitive material in this book- both traumatic and violent-and some drug use. The treatment of it all is pretty casual (though not fully explicit/described)- not disrespectful- just that’s what this world and characters are.
Our characters are hella interesting- albeit still a bit of a mystery to me. We know Aurora, Rory, the best- but much of her characterization is around her vacillation between anger and fear as it relates to her traumatic past. This was a huge part of the action of this story AND the relational arc, so this felt like the right call, but I’m hoping we get some additional emotional layers from her in book 2 as we explore other aspects of her identity- including some big decisions she makes at the end of this book. I did feel like her coping mechanisms to her trauma gave me a bit of whiplash- but I think this could be true for anyone who has suffered what she did. She’s definitely a character of contrasts- she’s tough but vulnerable, strong but fragile, independent but emotionally needy. My conclusion is that she really doesn’t know who she is- she’s spent so long being a victim of others, that she spends most of this book trying to reclaim control over her own destiny. And I think she does- although it’s hard for me to tell if that is a rationale and explicit choice in embracing an inner darkness or an emotional one she’ll regret later- clearly that is a question for book 2. And, I imagine with the resolution of some loose ends in this one, we’ll also start to see who she really is now that she has space to explore that.
Our guys- well, jury is still out on them for me. I see so much emotional potential in them, but I don’t feel like we know them. I trust them, or at least I think I do, but most of the book I’m disappointed in them- we have two grade a jerks and two cowards in the harem- and given how long it takes for them to exact some damage, it make me dislike them even more because at that point they had every reason NOT to harm Rory, and still did. I’m not sure they fully redeemed themselves here- or earned Rory’s love. I hope that is a function of there being some major action and we get more of that in Book 2- I think I need it to really trust them and their intentions. Since this is book 1, I know we’ve got a lot to learn still about our characters- which is exciting, because I’m not sure we yet KNOW them as humans either- just as romantic interests, so I’m looking forward to getting more complexity in them- especially Tyler and Jensen. I also really hope Skeeter sticks around romantically- he’s the most interesting of the men to me at the moment.
RE Bond clearly has a passion for complex reverse harem relationships...because this harem is messy, and that’s putting it lightly. The steam felt a bit concise to me early on, but once we got into the poly-scenes the steaminess really ramped up- and it was hot. Like our characters themselves, the harem situation is grey and constantly changing. I suspect this is by design- we’re still figuring this out, as is Rory- not only who she is connected to, but what she is willing to compromise on AND who she can trust. This didn’t bother me- in fact, I appreciated it. This character has suffered greatly as the result of trusting male relationships, and these men HURT her. Intentionally. I like that Rory is unabashedly just going with her confusing emotions, without fully understanding or labelling anything. It makes everything exciting and unpredictable, and also completely on her terms. A control that she’s rarely had when it comes to physical and emotional intimacy. The harem still has a bit of a toxic flair to it- which I always dig, although not sure if this is just the result of the earlier bully themes or if that is the longer term vision for the relationships. We’ll see in book 2!
The story- relationships and action- both move at a fast and furious pace. At first, I was craving a bit more exposition, but then I realized that is the tone that RE Bond is seeking to set for this story. Our characters are volatile, unpredictable, and rash- and, the action mimics that tenor. This is a very dialogue driven narrative- and since the characters are interesting and the character voices are unique, that worked for me, although I normally prefer a bit more of a descriptive style in my prose- but the story is very action packed, so it flowed well. A LOT was achieved in this book- some authors would have dragged it out for several, and I’m glad she didn’t- because this leaves book 2 to be open for more of a focus on working through these relational dynamics which are still being developed- and, to me, are more interesting than some of than the action.
All in all, an exciting debut. I know many will love this series- it is dark, our heroine is unique, and there are some interesting themes that RE can play with- question is, what will she? For a debut novel, this is a strong start- and as she continues to refine her voice, the thematic focus, and hits her stride in terms of her narrative style, I know this series will attract more and more traction! Excited to see more from this author!
PS: If you have triggers, please take caution. There is definitely some sensitive material in this book- both traumatic and violent-and some drug use. The treatment of it all is pretty casual (though not fully explicit/described)- not disrespectful- just that’s what this world and characters are.
hunterslibrary's review against another edition
1.0
I dnf’d this one. There was so much going on in this book, it was a mess and didn’t make any sense. The characters also didn’t make any sense, there was no depth to them and the relationship they had with each other developed way too fast and was all over the place. I wanted to like this one as the storyline was a good idea, but it just fell flat for me.
megath92's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
regular_degular_shmegula's review
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.5
jumana_megahed's review against another edition
2.0
Honestly, it's all over the place, the characters arent given time to fully develop and I dont understand how some of the relationships got to where they did, not to mention the events. The one relationship I liked was her relationship with Skeeter and that ended and the FMC decided to go back to the guy who joked about her having been raped by his dad. Its fucked up and I dont see how they ended up falling in love. It also reads like a wattpad story and that's really not a compliment.
I might continue the series because I read that there's a MxM realtionship later on, but we'll see.
The one good thing was the emphasis on consent during the book, so theres that, I guess.
I might continue the series because I read that there's a MxM realtionship later on, but we'll see.
The one good thing was the emphasis on consent during the book, so theres that, I guess.
lindsaylacher's review against another edition
2.0
This was the dumbest thing I’ve read in a long time, yet it was so amusing that I just kept flipping pages. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again and again, smut can be well written…this is NOT an example of that though. Poorly written and absolutely ridiculous, this book has next to no redeeming qualities. I think my biggest issue is that the characters are set to be high school aged. Like make them college aged at least, things would make more sense in the stories timeline than it currently does.
I’d call it trash but that would just be an insult to garbage everywhere.
I’d call it trash but that would just be an insult to garbage everywhere.
ptatum77's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
ashleeboldingreads's review against another edition
5.0
raw & gritty
This looks like your typical stepbrothers crew, dark academia, bully/E2L whychoose series but it is seriously so much more than that!! Our FMC, Rory, is broken, but not on the other side like our more common ones. She is battling with her demons always & it gives this series a real, raw & gritty air about it that just makes it sooooo…messy (for Rory), seemingly on a path of no resistance finally making the choices that have always been taken from her! Please check your triggers but this is dark & dirty & SUPERRRR spicy & I loved every second of it!!!
This looks like your typical stepbrothers crew, dark academia, bully/E2L whychoose series but it is seriously so much more than that!! Our FMC, Rory, is broken, but not on the other side like our more common ones. She is battling with her demons always & it gives this series a real, raw & gritty air about it that just makes it sooooo…messy (for Rory), seemingly on a path of no resistance finally making the choices that have always been taken from her! Please check your triggers but this is dark & dirty & SUPERRRR spicy & I loved every second of it!!!