Reviews with content warning for Chronic illness - Things I Wanted to Say, But Never Did

i personally loved the book, the drama meant i couldn't put it down; yes some of the characters are bitchy like some episode of Gossip Girl but it's fitting for the universe/world/place where the story takes place - exactly what i think a rich boarding school would be like

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thenovelbookshelf's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Fall down the BookSmutTok hole where 50 Shades meets old money senior school at Lancaster Prep, where enemies turn to hardcore lovers despite their families' objections.

Dark with darker sub-storylines, Monica Murphy builds the characters quite slowly as they show themselves to each other. Lots of adult themes and situations that are quite unrealistic yet fantastical to read and daydream about.

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ladylaurenexplorer's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

When you need to read something with a dark and possessive hero, just think of Whit! He gives me intense Carter vibes but a sort of lite version.

This is heavy on the sex, but I loved it. At first it’s just nothing but lust. This isn’t like a love story I think it’s a lust to obsession to the brokenness of two people merging together.

The only reason I didn’t give us a five star is because I really wanted a definitive resolution between his sister and Summer.

Like was her friendship and ask for real or did she decide to be the way she was in the end because of her mother.

But other than that this is a great toxic love story, and I will be rereading this again. Definitely will recommend!

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glden13's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No

2.0

It tooks forever to read it.
I would have stopped in the middle, it’s very long.

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lilyemmaaa's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

3.0

Bare with me as I try and recall my thoughts on this book and all that occurred about a week after I read it 😂

I’m typically not a fan of the bully romances, but here I am now reading a few of them. This book was basically just all smut while still having a decent plot.

My feelings on Whit are hard to explain. I enjoyed reading about his character, but I also hated him in so many moments. He’s a genuine asshole who only cared about himself and I HATE those types of characters. But that is the point of this story. I liked how towards the end he actually succumbed to his inevitable feelings and became just a little bit of a softy, but everything before that was a little hard to read sometimes if I’m being honest.

Summer was a complete submissive and while it was intriguing to read, it also had me wanting her to just stick up for herself at many points. I cringed hard after what happened at the abandoned house prior to the party, I cringed when he called her a whore at the age of 14 where she truly wasn’t, and I cringed when she let him do whatever he wanted all because of blackmail. But she was also so strong. With the mental Ternopil he put her through, the trauma her early teenage years caused, and the mother that she had. I have to give her props because how she got through all that is a little unbelievable to me.

The third act conflict was so hard to read because of all that Summer was put through. I hate Whits mother and the things that she did. I hate how mean Whits sister was to Summer for no reason other than her feeling hurt. And I hate how Summer was abandoned by everyone she basically loved because of it. And then when she got back to her mother, she finds out the truth about the night of the fire? That was a turn I did not see coming and it broke my heart when she realized what it all meant.

But, the way that there was a decent amount of time for her to process everything before Whit came back, felt just a little realistic. And the way he came back had me smiling.

You would think that with all that I wrote I’d have rated it badly, but I love Monica Murphy’s writing and I love the way she wrote this story. It was enjoyable and made me set all my premade opinions aside. A book will barely ever be perfect for me, so a good story and an enjoyable whatever, makes a book good for me. And at the end of the day this book was just that. A good read.

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