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A review by cait
Ruthless Crown by Amanda Richardson
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.5
I feel my chest constrict at the thought—at how they started as my worst nightmare but will ultimately be my saving grace. My worst enemies will become my biggest support system.
I honestly don't even know how to react to this book. It's the first in a reverse harem bully romance duology following 18-year-old Briar as she moves from California to the East Coast to live with her new step-father. She is still dealing with the aftermath of a sexual assault that has her traumatized, so when her new step-brother and his three best friends turn out to be the biggest bullies in school, she decides she has no choice but to stand up to them and fight back. But there's something about the darkness in their hearts that calls out to the darkness in hers and she soon wonders if what she feels for them is hate or lust.
This novel was kind of a mess, but the kind you can't seem to look away from. We have cringey dialogue, inner monologues that make no sense, and realizations that forget to fact check themselves. Briar realizes, at one point, that the boys are not bullies and she has never seen them mistreat anyone ... except they did bully her ... and something happened between them and a student named Micah that resulted in his suicide ... and Jack had his own story he didn't feel comfortable sharing the details of ... and Scarlett had reason to fear that Ash would get her parents' cafe shut down if she crossed him.
Ultimately, I found the relationships underdeveloped, the steamy scenes rather anticlimactic, and the whole situation more strange than sexy. (And I really enjoyed Credence by Penelope Douglas, so that's saying something.) With the abrupt ending and the total lack of understandable motivations for any of the characters - especially the big bad introduced at the end of the story - I do not plan to continue on with the sequel.
There is better smut out there and I would rather read that.
I honestly don't even know how to react to this book. It's the first in a reverse harem bully romance duology following 18-year-old Briar as she moves from California to the East Coast to live with her new step-father. She is still dealing with the aftermath of a sexual assault that has her traumatized, so when her new step-brother and his three best friends turn out to be the biggest bullies in school, she decides she has no choice but to stand up to them and fight back. But there's something about the darkness in their hearts that calls out to the darkness in hers and she soon wonders if what she feels for them is hate or lust.
This novel was kind of a mess, but the kind you can't seem to look away from. We have cringey dialogue, inner monologues that make no sense, and realizations that forget to fact check themselves. Briar realizes, at one point, that the boys are not bullies and she has never seen them mistreat anyone ... except they did bully her ... and something happened between them and a student named Micah that resulted in his suicide ... and Jack had his own story he didn't feel comfortable sharing the details of ... and Scarlett had reason to fear that Ash would get her parents' cafe shut down if she crossed him.
Ultimately, I found the relationships underdeveloped, the steamy scenes rather anticlimactic, and the whole situation more strange than sexy. (And I really enjoyed Credence by Penelope Douglas, so that's saying something.) With the abrupt ending and the total lack of understandable motivations for any of the characters - especially the big bad introduced at the end of the story - I do not plan to continue on with the sequel.
There is better smut out there and I would rather read that.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Child abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, and Death of parent
Minor: Miscarriage, Forced institutionalization, and Death of parent