Reviews

I really enjoyed reading this story, it was such a wholesome read for a Bully romance that I was not expecting going into the story. S.J. Sylvis does something wonderful with her characters where even when they are acting in a way that you don't particularly like they are still likeable within the story. Case in point, one of the female bullies of the story ends up having her own book in the 3rd one of this series which I cannot wait to read and when she appeared within the story even though I disliked her I really wanted to learn more about her.

Now onto Piper and Ollie the two that are going to take central stage in book 2, I adored those characters. Piper was the best friend that I think everyone wished they had and Ollie brought so much joy and laughter during the scenes he appeared in.

But the main stars of this book are our two main lead characters, Hailey and Christian who I adored so much and their relationship was really well written. I loved how Christian owed up to his mistakes and how Hailey learned to trust and lean on people when she needed too. The character development was really well done!

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this story my only issue with it was that in places I felt the pacing was just a bit off as it got a bit slow in places, but that's it really I loved the story overall and can't wait to read the rest of the series!

basha's review against another edition

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which is worse, the cliché juvenile writing, or the exaggerated petulant narration? this is one of those stories where the male lead is a raging misogynist, uses women for sex and social clout without offering them any basic respect, but then plays the role of the noble feminist man because he doesn’t stand for rape. his entire romantic relationship with the female protagonist is “you’re not like other girls” vibes. Plus poor world building - the two fanciest prep schools in the country are in the same town? - and a social worker who doesn’t observe HIPAA rules! despite every single thing about this book being horrible, I was fascinated that it exists and had to finish it - so that’s on me i guess.

brevbrb's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful lighthearted mysterious sad 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

5.0

laurenowens_94's review against another edition

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1.0

I need to stop listening to booktok. This was like a very bad fanfic written by someone in the age range of 13-17.

mdb8199's review against another edition

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4.0

Decided to try the audio version of the series narrated by Nelson Hobbs and Stephanie Rose. I enjoy the dual point of view. This high school bully romance was good. Lately I’ve been on this type of genre kick and this book was perfect for it. Hayley and Christian were friends in middle school when Haley suddenly had something tragically happened to her. Since this was a YA book of course emotions are always all over the place during that time of a kids life and feelings are always misplaced and Christian blames Hayley for altering his life as well. Now since Hayley is back at English Prep academy he’s making it his life’s goal to make her life a living hell, but too late… her life is already one. The background of each character and the growing of each does brings the story together. I’m glad this is a 3 book series.

kem0514's review against another edition

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5.0

Wow, I don’t have the words for this book. I don’t always enjoy a bully romance but this one knocked it out of the park. It has the bully aspect but the MMC redeemed himself to make the love story believable.

Hayley and Christian were best friends until one fateful night 5 years ago that changed things dramatically for both of them. When Hayley returns to their school, she thinks Christian will be happy to see her but instead she sees hatred in his eyes. Christian blames Hayley for how things happened and tries to get her kicked out of school. But Hayley is a strong woman despite everything she has gone through. She needs to do well at this school if she hopes to get scholarships for college and she won’t let Christian stand in her way.

I loved how much secondary story there was beyond the will they or won’t they of Christian and Hayley. There was so much suspense and thrill that made this book hard to put down, I just needed to know what was going to happen. Christian changed a lot throughout this book. His anger softened and his love for Hayley grew. He definitely had a lot to make up for considering how he treated her at first but in the end he did everything he could to protect her and won her over.

I am excited to start the next book to find out more about the other characters.

shreeyasbookshelf's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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