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awayfromthesun's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-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
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Grief, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment
eedle_cacleberry's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Classism
Moderate: Child death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, and Grief
Minor: Drug use and Pregnancy
itsmemiana's review against another edition
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
time to rant.....
okay so I wanna start by saying that if you liked this book, I totally respect your opinion and I honestly wish that was me because I wish I could like every book I read especially one that I've been wanting to read for so long. 🫶🏼
my face throughout the whole book was like this: 🤨😬😐
but anyways, I hated literally every single character in this book and SO MANY scenes gave me the ick.
these characters, both the main and the side characters had everything I absolutely hate about real life people... lying, faking and the worst thing of all.... bullying.... (and beyond).
I hated Ryen so much, I honestly didn't sympathise with her once over her constant explanations on why she was how she was..... I have zero sympathy for bullies and the dude she bullied is better than me because when she apologised, I would've given her the middle finger and told her to fuck off.
and Misha was annoying and a weirdo. obviously I sympathised with him over his sister, I can't imagine having to go through that but everything else... brother ewww... also, wtf is his problem with taking no's??? I feel like she constantly said "oh I don't wanna do this rn" and he would persuade her???? hello???? police????? and if I remember correctly there was even a moment where he threatened something (I just don't remember what LMAO).
I'm gonna admit that there is one thing Ryen pissed me off for but it's because I'm also guilty of that and I hate that about myself, which is choosing bad friends (HOWEVER as bad as I've chosen, I'd never let them bully other people in front of me, much less me joining them in the bullying).
and I think this is how I realise I do in fact have a limit on how much smut I mind in a book..... for me, it's the same if a book has smut or doesn't, I don't mind either way but now I know there's definitely something as too much smut. (or maybe it's because the rest of the book had a shitty plot, who knows). but I definitely thought this book had a bit too much.
also, can we talk about how this was set in high school?????? I know teenagers have sex (even tho I didn't LMAO) but come on....
this was my first ever Penelope Douglas book and I have Birthday Girl on my tbr but now idk if I should read it. but I guess I might give her another chance with that book, but we'll see.
okay so I wanna start by saying that if you liked this book, I totally respect your opinion and I honestly wish that was me because I wish I could like every book I read especially one that I've been wanting to read for so long. 🫶🏼
my face throughout the whole book was like this: 🤨😬😐
but anyways, I hated literally every single character in this book and SO MANY scenes gave me the ick.
these characters, both the main and the side characters had everything I absolutely hate about real life people... lying, faking and the worst thing of all.... bullying.... (and beyond).
I hated Ryen so much, I honestly didn't sympathise with her once over her constant explanations on why she was how she was..... I have zero sympathy for bullies and the dude she bullied is better than me because when she apologised, I would've given her the middle finger and told her to fuck off.
and Misha was annoying and a weirdo. obviously I sympathised with him over his sister, I can't imagine having to go through that but everything else... brother ewww... also, wtf is his problem with taking no's??? I feel like she constantly said "oh I don't wanna do this rn" and he would persuade her???? hello???? police????? and if I remember correctly there was even a moment where he threatened something (I just don't remember what LMAO).
I'm gonna admit that there is one thing Ryen pissed me off for but it's because I'm also guilty of that and I hate that about myself, which is choosing bad friends (HOWEVER as bad as I've chosen, I'd never let them bully other people in front of me, much less me joining them in the bullying).
and I think this is how I realise I do in fact have a limit on how much smut I mind in a book..... for me, it's the same if a book has smut or doesn't, I don't mind either way but now I know there's definitely something as too much smut. (or maybe it's because the rest of the book had a shitty plot, who knows). but I definitely thought this book had a bit too much.
also, can we talk about how this was set in high school?????? I know teenagers have sex (even tho I didn't LMAO) but come on....
this was my first ever Penelope Douglas book and I have Birthday Girl on my tbr but now idk if I should read it. but I guess I might give her another chance with that book, but we'll see.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Grief, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Addiction, Homophobia, Violence, Medical trauma, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Fatphobia, Pregnancy, and Outing
emptzuu's review against another edition
Penelope Douglas' books often feel like she has watched too many teen horror movies. I hated Corrupt and only picked up this book because it’s popular and was available at my library when I had nothing else to read. Despite having watched shows like Euphoria, Skins, and Shameless, which are known for their portrayal of teens doing "adult" stuff, I found this book's content disappointing. Many people seem to confuse horror for dark romance. This book is not romance. I didn’t make it past chapter three, and I’m glad I didn’t because the reviews indicate that it is extremely problematic and misogynistic.
The first chapter is all over the place, bouncing from writing lyrics to seeing his sister to watching a video, yet I feel like I learned more about Misha's sister than about him. The author employs heavy-handed telling instead of showing, keeping readers at arm’s length. When Misha saw the video of Ryen, it came out of nowhere and felt underwhelming instead of surprising. The author over-describes how people look and what they wear but doesn't add much emotion. A lot of the narrative is just “he did this, then did that, and then this happened.” Nothing feels connected.
Ryen feels like a whinier version of Misha. The characters are so poorly developed that I can't tell their voices apart. Nothing important seems to be happening, and I don’t understand how half of the events relate to the plot.
The first chapter is all over the place, bouncing from writing lyrics to seeing his sister to watching a video, yet I feel like I learned more about Misha's sister than about him. The author employs heavy-handed telling instead of showing, keeping readers at arm’s length. When Misha saw the video of Ryen, it came out of nowhere and felt underwhelming instead of surprising. The author over-describes how people look and what they wear but doesn't add much emotion. A lot of the narrative is just “he did this, then did that, and then this happened.” Nothing feels connected.
Ryen feels like a whinier version of Misha. The characters are so poorly developed that I can't tell their voices apart. Nothing important seems to be happening, and I don’t understand how half of the events relate to the plot.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny and Toxic relationship
essie__reads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
⚠️⚠️⚠️THIS REVIEW CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS⚠️⚠️⚠️
Minor critique - I hate the way she spelled both "Masen" and "Ryen."
Review:
When I started reading this, I couldn't put it down. Buttttt the more I thought about it, the less I liked it. For starters, I really wish these characters were college-aged and not in high school, but more on that later. 🥴 I could suspend reality for some of the plot lines, like the kid sleeping at an abandoned theme park and the constant vandalism at the school. But some of the plot just doesn't make sense. Like him getting a fake identity to come to a school 30 minutes down the road from where he lives...? 🙄 (Would his biological mom really not google his name and recognize him at all?!) The way she started vandalizing the school because her pen pal stopped writing her? Lmao...what? The fact that she was at an event to promote a local band at the beginning of the book and didn't know who the band was or who the band members were is also unrealistic. 🤦♀️
Misha's dad allowing his son to sleep outside his on a nightly basis and not freaking out and worrying about him also seemed very unrealistic. If Misha really came from such an affluent family, I highly doubt his go-to reaction at the loss of his sister would be to start acting like a homeless person. That was an unnecessary aspect of the book. It seemed like it was added so the cove hide-and-seek scene could play out.
My biggest qualm is the sex scenes. They're well written but extremely unrealistic for how inexperienced teenagers would talk and engage in sex. These sex scenes are written as if these are very experienced, older characters, and not horny teens. I also really wish they were older because it's cringey to go from sex scenes to petty high school events/drama and this is borderline a YA novel in my opinion, and I prefer not to read open door sex scenes about teenagers- ew! Also, Ryen, having the hots for "Masen" after knowing he broke into her house, seems unrealistic, too. That's borderline stalker behavior. The way the men talk to and about women is also unrealistic for teenagers and extremely misogynistic. The girls calling each other sluts and the way Ryen doesn't stand up for her friend Layla when she's being slut-shamed at school is not okay either. I know Ryen wasn't a genuine friend to Layla but still, that didn't make me, as a reader, like Ryen any more. I think Ten is the only likable and somewhat realistic character in this whole cast. She didn't hear from her pen pal for 3 months and despite being pen pals for several years and knowing his full name and address, she never once googled him?! Unbelievable 🫠
A student having a key to the high school and that not being investigated after weeks of consistent vandalism taking place? Also there were secutity gaurds at the school the night that Misha and Ryen fucked in the library. Where were those gaurds the night of the prom???
Okay not gonna lie I did NOT expect the principal to be Misha's mom, though. Penelope got me on that one lol. But Misha yelling at the principal for abandoning him and Annie and blaming her for Annie's death? That's ridiculous! Also the way this author writes about addiction is not the greatest. It seems like she uses it as a plot device, and the bit about Manny was so minor and felt unnecessary to the storyline. Douglas also doesn't include any content warnings or helpline info for readers who may be experiencing addiction issues, that seems like a basic courtesy that should be included at the beginning of the book when writing about the topic of addiction.
In a 10 month period he went on a short tour and recorded and released an album? His first album, that quickly? 🙄
Overall, I feel like Douglas couldn't decide how she wanted to write these characters, and due to that, they don't feel well fleshed out to me. I think this book could have been edited more, too. Hopefully, her writing has evolved as she has continued her career because she has a ton of potential. It just felt like too many ideas were thrown in. It wasn't edited well, and the character's identities/personalities were a bit all over the place. I'd definitely read more books by her, but I am not sure I would recommend this one.
Not her pregnant in the epilogue, too - bleh!
Minor critique - I hate the way she spelled both "Masen" and "Ryen."
Review:
When I started reading this, I couldn't put it down. Buttttt the more I thought about it, the less I liked it. For starters, I really wish these characters were college-aged and not in high school, but more on that later. 🥴 I could suspend reality for some of the plot lines, like the kid sleeping at an abandoned theme park and the constant vandalism at the school. But some of the plot just doesn't make sense. Like him getting a fake identity to come to a school 30 minutes down the road from where he lives...? 🙄 (Would his biological mom really not google his name and recognize him at all?!) The way she started vandalizing the school because her pen pal stopped writing her? Lmao...what? The fact that she was at an event to promote a local band at the beginning of the book and didn't know who the band was or who the band members were is also unrealistic. 🤦♀️
Misha's dad allowing his son to sleep outside his on a nightly basis and not freaking out and worrying about him also seemed very unrealistic. If Misha really came from such an affluent family, I highly doubt his go-to reaction at the loss of his sister would be to start acting like a homeless person. That was an unnecessary aspect of the book. It seemed like it was added so the cove hide-and-seek scene could play out.
My biggest qualm is the sex scenes. They're well written but extremely unrealistic for how inexperienced teenagers would talk and engage in sex. These sex scenes are written as if these are very experienced, older characters, and not horny teens. I also really wish they were older because it's cringey to go from sex scenes to petty high school events/drama and this is borderline a YA novel in my opinion, and I prefer not to read open door sex scenes about teenagers- ew! Also, Ryen, having the hots for "Masen" after knowing he broke into her house, seems unrealistic, too. That's borderline stalker behavior. The way the men talk to and about women is also unrealistic for teenagers and extremely misogynistic. The girls calling each other sluts and the way Ryen doesn't stand up for her friend Layla when she's being slut-shamed at school is not okay either. I know Ryen wasn't a genuine friend to Layla but still, that didn't make me, as a reader, like Ryen any more. I think Ten is the only likable and somewhat realistic character in this whole cast. She didn't hear from her pen pal for 3 months and despite being pen pals for several years and knowing his full name and address, she never once googled him?! Unbelievable 🫠
A student having a key to the high school and that not being investigated after weeks of consistent vandalism taking place? Also there were secutity gaurds at the school the night that Misha and Ryen fucked in the library. Where were those gaurds the night of the prom???
Okay not gonna lie I did NOT expect the principal to be Misha's mom, though. Penelope got me on that one lol. But Misha yelling at the principal for abandoning him and Annie and blaming her for Annie's death? That's ridiculous! Also the way this author writes about addiction is not the greatest. It seems like she uses it as a plot device, and the bit about Manny was so minor and felt unnecessary to the storyline. Douglas also doesn't include any content warnings or helpline info for readers who may be experiencing addiction issues, that seems like a basic courtesy that should be included at the beginning of the book when writing about the topic of addiction.
In a 10 month period he went on a short tour and recorded and released an album? His first album, that quickly? 🙄
Overall, I feel like Douglas couldn't decide how she wanted to write these characters, and due to that, they don't feel well fleshed out to me. I think this book could have been edited more, too. Hopefully, her writing has evolved as she has continued her career because she has a ton of potential. It just felt like too many ideas were thrown in. It wasn't edited well, and the character's identities/personalities were a bit all over the place. I'd definitely read more books by her, but I am not sure I would recommend this one.
Not her pregnant in the epilogue, too - bleh!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Sexual content, and Grief
Moderate: Addiction, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexism, Violence, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Stalking, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
maria_schnecki's review against another edition
2.5
why? Not gonna lie, it kept me entertained but I also kinda feel icky about that, so yeah.
I liked the premise - pen pals that are not sure their friendship would survive the switch from just communicating by letters to meeting in person. There was potential there. I also liked the idea of having a not super likeable mc that has a great personality development. However, that was just not it.
Why all the bullying? Why? I get it, insecurities are tough and lead to ugly behaviour in some people, but... that does not excuse what this story is portraying. Also, our male mcgoing the psycho route when finding out that said penpal is not a "nerdy loser" but a popular mean girl? Sorry, but whilst I might get being angry about being deceived for years (kinda), there is just no going back from that. The way Misha is overly possesive, brutal, mean and aggresive? Not something you can just have a good talk and be back to normal. But the author knows at least that, so what is the next best thing? Crime and very awkward hate-sex. Idk man but thats just not it. Also, albeit the not-so-great smut scenes, I did not hate this book by this point (mind you I also didn't enjoy it), but the ending??? What is going on? It would have been fine if Misha and Ryen had their happy ending, I get that, romance genre and all. But to have the audacity to assume the victim of years of bullying through the hands of Ryen (yes, standing by is, at the age of 18, something that you have to accept responsibility for) just joins their friend group for some fun times? Yeah no, you did the poor guy so dirty. At least leave him out of there. Most people deserve their happy ending, but not at the cost of other peoples well-being. Yikes
so yeah, yikes. Do not read if you get upset by bullying, aggressive behaviour, fighting ( both physical and verbal), sexual harassment and yeah like lots of bullying
I liked the premise - pen pals that are not sure their friendship would survive the switch from just communicating by letters to meeting in person. There was potential there. I also liked the idea of having a not super likeable mc that has a great personality development. However, that was just not it.
Why all the bullying? Why? I get it, insecurities are tough and lead to ugly behaviour in some people, but... that does not excuse what this story is portraying. Also, our male mc
so yeah, yikes. Do not read if you get upset by bullying, aggressive behaviour, fighting ( both physical and verbal), sexual harassment and yeah like lots of bullying
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment
valer1e's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Car accident, and Death of parent
Minor: Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, and Stalking
lamprini_xx's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, and Toxic friendship
sevendoteight's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Toxic relationship and Alcohol
Minor: Misogyny and Car accident
angeliquescollection's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
it’s been three weeks but I’m finally doing this review. Honestly I freaking love this book. I read it and four stars right off the bat but I’m switching it to 4.25 right now.
I’m over here filling out my digital reading journal, and as I was putting Punk 57’s picture in to my library, I was like I actually really liked this. I like this more than Magnolia Parks.
I feel like there was more depth to this book. I really loved Misha as a character. And although Ryen is in high school, she seemed so mature for her age.
I love the little messages on the walls I kind of guessed who was actually leaving them here earlier than I thought I would, but it was a nice little mystery for me to find out.
I love the dark morally grey characters. I hated Ryens friends though.
You know how sometimes you get letters or something in a book and you’re kind of like “i’d rather skip these,” i your head? I did not feel that way in this book.
I'm the type of person that will read the book and feel in the moment but once the book is over, I kind of forget a lot of the information but I remember the feeling that I got from reading. Since it’s been three weeks it’s kind of hard for me to bring up every single thing I loved, or hated so I’m not going to try. I just know I felt really good reading this book. and I read it so quickly, I think it only took about a week, which is quick for me. The spicy scenes were immaculate. I rated spice level 3 1/2 out of 5. I’m pretty sure it could’ve been way spicier but for high school romance it’s spicyyyyyyyy. Oh my gosh, I’m remembering the moments in the car when they went to the drive-ins.😮💨🫢🫢🫢
All in all 4.25 out of 5 stars.
This is my highest rated book so far and it deserves it.
🌶️🌶️🌶️ 1/2 /5
I’m over here filling out my digital reading journal, and as I was putting Punk 57’s picture in to my library, I was like I actually really liked this. I like this more than Magnolia Parks.
I feel like there was more depth to this book. I really loved Misha as a character. And although Ryen is in high school, she seemed so mature for her age.
I love the little messages on the walls I kind of guessed who was actually leaving them here earlier than I thought I would, but it was a nice little mystery for me to find out.
I love the dark morally grey characters. I hated Ryens friends though.
You know how sometimes you get letters or something in a book and you’re kind of like “i’d rather skip these,” i your head? I did not feel that way in this book.
I'm the type of person that will read the book and feel in the moment but once the book is over, I kind of forget a lot of the information but I remember the feeling that I got from reading. Since it’s been three weeks it’s kind of hard for me to bring up every single thing I loved, or hated so I’m not going to try. I just know I felt really good reading this book. and I read it so quickly, I think it only took about a week, which is quick for me. The spicy scenes were immaculate. I rated spice level 3 1/2 out of 5. I’m pretty sure it could’ve been way spicier but for high school romance it’s spicyyyyyyyy. Oh my gosh, I’m remembering the moments in the car when they went to the drive-ins.😮💨🫢🫢🫢
All in all 4.25 out of 5 stars.
This is my highest rated book so far and it deserves it.
🌶️🌶️🌶️ 1/2 /5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, and Sexual content
Moderate: Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Death