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4.09 AVERAGE
4.09 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
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
The tension in this book, insane! I flew through reading this book. If you love a true enemies-to-lovers, this is it. The hatred the MMC has for the FMC is so palpable, you truly don’t know what he will do. There is also the heir of mystery and wondering who is doing all these things to the FMC. I didn’t want to put this book down, and I literally only did so that I could sleep. I devoured this book just like I did the first book I read from her. I will definitely be looking into reading more of her books in the future.
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Complicated
I'm gonna start this by saying New Adult is not my usual jam - but Heartless Monster was fan-fricken-tastic!!!
We've got Bully, Enemies to Lovers, Stepsiblings, forced proximity, virgin FMC.
I think me and Elodie would totally be besties back in high school. She was a such a good girl, a rule follower and yet - she ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time.
And it's also a MUST for me that if I'm going to read a bully romance I NEED an "I hate her, but I'm the only one who can torment her" vibe - and Ms Rachel Leigh totally had me covered with this one.
The angst was top notch, and had me in a chokehold until the very end.
We've got Bully, Enemies to Lovers, Stepsiblings, forced proximity, virgin FMC.
I think me and Elodie would totally be besties back in high school. She was a such a good girl, a rule follower and yet - she ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time.
And it's also a MUST for me that if I'm going to read a bully romance I NEED an "I hate her, but I'm the only one who can torment her" vibe - and Ms Rachel Leigh totally had me covered with this one.
The angst was top notch, and had me in a chokehold until the very end.
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
One dark park at night, one girl’s desperate plea, one dark prince to save the day, and one of many bad decisions may just be the start of the story, but it also sets the tone for the rest.
A night that she will never forget wasn’t in Elodie’s plans when she was in Willow Creek and running into trouble was never on her radar because she is the responsible one, the studious one, and she never thought this would happen to her, but when a mysterious guy steps in to help her she is more than thankful and never thought she would have to deal with this night again. She was very wrong. When Elodie’s mother decides to remarry and move their family to Willow Creek, she wasn’t thrilled and add in the mix new step brothers, she really wasn’t happy, but the hostility rolling off Rome was more than she bargained for.
Rome has been through so much heartbreak in the last year,now with a heart full of anger and resentment he has the perfect target to direct it all to and it’s the girl that ruined it all for him. Rome intends to make Elodie’s life incredibly difficult and the more he tries to ruin her, the more she shows how resilient she really is and when real feelings start to shine through, wrongs made right, and a healing of sorts starts to begin these two start to wonder what feelings are real and what’s not. With someone out there angry at both of them will they be able to set aside their anger to figure out what’s going on?
This story gripped me from the start and I devoured every second of it. It was intense, full of angst, and so many great characters it was easy to fall in love with. So so so good!
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Overall, I enjoyed this book and the characters were great. I am not big on high school romances because of certain aspects but overall it was a good book. The characters were interesting and it is a step-sibling romance so the forbidden aspect was awesome. Rome was very protective of Elodie from the beginning when they first met in the park but you soon discover that his protective stance of her that one night wasn't the best and he had a lot of things taken away from him. This led to him becoming a bully in her life but she stood up to him every step of the way and eventually they found common ground and started working together with each other. overall, great book and I enjoyed it.
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“My heart feels complete and without her, I have no doubt I’d go back to being the heartless monster I used to be.”
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶🌶🌶
This angsty bully romance had me in a chokehold. We all love the angry bad boy football player who is king of the school and falls for the feisty nerdy girl. This book has all the angst and I ate it up.
One night changed the course of Rome Cromwell’s life. “I owe you” were the last words he heard from her. He saved her, but ended up losing it all. Elodie never knew who her knight in shining armor was, until she moved into the town she once visited. Now, she has a step brother who hates her and her knight turns into her nightmare.
Elodie is the type of girl who likes to study for fun. She’s also feisty, strong willed and stands up for herself. Rome on the other hand is the type to uncover all of your secrets and manipulate you to do his bidding. Don’t fuck with Rome Cromwell,he can be heartless and cruel, which makes him even more intriguing when his walls start to crumble. The chemistry and attraction Rome and Elodie had was hot. I always love when the good girl tames the monster in the bad boy. This book had it all. I’m excited for the next book. The breadcrumbs have me intrigued.
Tropes: sports romance, football, step siblings, bully, dark, virgin, enemies to lovers, forced proximity , revenge , boy obsessed
Thank you so much Rachel for the arc 🤌🏼 ❤️
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶🌶🌶
This angsty bully romance had me in a chokehold. We all love the angry bad boy football player who is king of the school and falls for the feisty nerdy girl. This book has all the angst and I ate it up.
One night changed the course of Rome Cromwell’s life. “I owe you” were the last words he heard from her. He saved her, but ended up losing it all. Elodie never knew who her knight in shining armor was, until she moved into the town she once visited. Now, she has a step brother who hates her and her knight turns into her nightmare.
Elodie is the type of girl who likes to study for fun. She’s also feisty, strong willed and stands up for herself. Rome on the other hand is the type to uncover all of your secrets and manipulate you to do his bidding. Don’t fuck with Rome Cromwell,he can be heartless and cruel, which makes him even more intriguing when his walls start to crumble. The chemistry and attraction Rome and Elodie had was hot. I always love when the good girl tames the monster in the bad boy. This book had it all. I’m excited for the next book. The breadcrumbs have me intrigued.
Tropes: sports romance, football, step siblings, bully, dark, virgin, enemies to lovers, forced proximity , revenge , boy obsessed
Thank you so much Rachel for the arc 🤌🏼 ❤️
adventurous
dark
tense
4.5⭐️
I loved this book. I didn’t even realize that it was a step brother romance until I started reading it. I ate it up! The bullying was so good too. I highly recommend check TW/CW!
I loved this book. I didn’t even realize that it was a step brother romance until I started reading it. I ate it up! The bullying was so good too. I highly recommend check TW/CW!
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Heartless Monster had me on a roller coaster. Is it enemies to lovers? Hell yeah it is! We have Rome the star quarterback whose life was almost perfect. Until he was arrested for assault and the key witness who could defend what he had done gone. Then we have Elodie whose mom reconnected with her high school love and married him. Rome became her new stepbrother and she was the girl that he saved from a bad situation, only she doesn’t know he’s the one who saved her. He makes it his goal to destroy her. And boy does he do everything in his power to break her. This book and some amazing twists and turns with suspense mixed in, that just added another layer to the plot. I love all Rachel’s work but this book is up there at the top of my list.
dark
tense
medium-paced
Please check CW and TW before diving into this one! I'm not a huge reader of step sibling romances but this one hit just right. Add some bullying into the mix it just made things even better. Rome where do I start with Rome. He is that guy you want to melt for one minute and kick him in soft places next lol. And Elodie kinda did that for us lol. I enjoyed the mystery that was woven into this story because I was not expecting some of the reveals!
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Heartless Monster follows Rome and Elodie through their senior year of high school, and all the drama that lies within.
If you are new to the bully or step sibling romance, this one will ease you into those tropes a bit without the somewhat common theme of including a super dark romance with them.
That being said, there are some triggers here and they happen early in the book and then return later in graphic detail. If you need to, please check those out! I don't warn triggers often but I think I probably should here.
Our main MMC has had his future football career stolen away from him, and the one person he can blame just moved into his house. Still upset over his mother's death, Rome takes out his deep-seeded hatred on Elodie when his father finds love with her mother. His main goal: drive her out of town and ruin her future like she did for him.
I won't lie, there were times that I just didn't know if Rome had any redeeming qualities and I really just wanted Elodie to kick him in the jugular for how he was treating her and move on.
Then again, looking back into the story, Rome is exactly how a high school senior would act. Elodie is the same, a high school senior just trying to make it by at a new school with a new 'family' has her typically introverted personality just wanting to stay under the radar.
There are things I really didn't like with the story; however I did overall enjoy the plot and characters.
Will I read book two, yes! If it's the plot hinted at within this book.. I'm sure it's going to be an epic story with major drama!
If you are new to the bully or step sibling romance, this one will ease you into those tropes a bit without the somewhat common theme of including a super dark romance with them.
That being said, there are some triggers here and they happen early in the book and then return later in graphic detail. If you need to, please check those out! I don't warn triggers often but I think I probably should here.
Our main MMC has had his future football career stolen away from him, and the one person he can blame just moved into his house. Still upset over his mother's death, Rome takes out his deep-seeded hatred on Elodie when his father finds love with her mother. His main goal: drive her out of town and ruin her future like she did for him.
I won't lie, there were times that I just didn't know if Rome had any redeeming qualities and I really just wanted Elodie to kick him in the jugular for how he was treating her and move on.
Then again, looking back into the story, Rome is exactly how a high school senior would act. Elodie is the same, a high school senior just trying to make it by at a new school with a new 'family' has her typically introverted personality just wanting to stay under the radar.
There are things I really didn't like with the story; however I did overall enjoy the plot and characters.
Will I read book two, yes! If it's the plot hinted at within this book.. I'm sure it's going to be an epic story with major drama!