Reviews with content warning for Violence - Bully

is this book all bad? no. but like… it’s really not good. first and foremost, i really think there should be a trigger warning page or at least be listed at the bottom of the online book description. Also, it’s a high school romance with detailed spice so that in-of-itself was kind of an ick for me and im an avid smut reader.

so to problems with the actual characters/story. starting off with the petty: there are so many music references that really didn’t age well and just gave such hard cringe. the “not like other girls” vibes are soooo strong. meanwhile the FMC’s bestie is objectively a shitty friend. the redemption arc for both the MMC (and his best friend) are lacking to say the least. the MMC feels so entitled to forgiveness when he gives not even the barest of crumbs to earn it. i mean the bar is in hell and he still couldn’t reach it with a 20 ft ladder. it’s just really. it good. i’ve read books where the MMC straight up tortures the FMC and i still thought his redemption arc was more earned than this. just. i don’t recommend… like at all.

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hannaspages's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted tense fast-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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michelleub's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense 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

1.5

This book is the reason why i dont trust booktok, i also never trust anyone who recommends anything by penelope douglas. I get that when you read this book it isn't for the plot, but damn her writing style is really bad, it gives so much wattpad vibes, I don't even know how I finished the book. I also really hate the from bullies to lover type because it definitely isn't the same as enemies to lovers, it just reinstated the belief that when a man is mean to you it means that they like you, which is why so many women associate violence with romance. Just plain toxic.

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saoreads's review

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dark emotional funny reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

It's a big cliché and dramatic, which led to a plot story that really is predictable, yet that's on me as I wanted to take a breather from reading high fantasy books to school setting ones. What made a huge impression on me was Tate's monologue. I had to read that twice. That part was both soothing and painful because of the sort of way their friendship ended up. It felt like a last call and a voice indeed to express how she felt from the duration she was made to suffer over trauma dumping and incidents in school from bullying and pranks. It had a lot of messed up scenes to the extreme, but it was fiction for a reason. Anyway, that monologue definitely saved the book for me.

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