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annalovesbookss's review
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Bullying, Violence, Addiction, and Sexual assault
nikitanavalkar's review
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I honestly don’t remember how I felt about Jared when I first read Bully a couple years ago (I’ll go back and find my review once I write down my stream of consciousness thoughts here), but dude majorly got on my nerves this time around. Of course probably coz it’s entirely his POV, but it was really hard to be in his brain because instead of empathizing I wanted to smack him straight. I typically love bully romances and even more so an alphahole, and I did theoretically get where his issues are coming from, but I just couldn’t feel bad enough to forgive him easily. It just felt like most of the book was him throwing tantrums and hurting people (primarily Tate) and constantly justifying his bad behavior. And his reason for bullying Tate is flimsy AF looking back on it. I liked Madoc, his so called best friend, who he also treats like trash, so much more.
Now Tate? She on the other hand is my Bitch. Again I don’t remember much from Bully, but I loved her even more this time around. The author has a knack for writing real, flawed, but also aspirational girls and it was clear right from her early work. The slightly disturbing comparisons to blonde blue eyed perfect dolls does reflect that it’s their earlier work, and their writing has come a long way since then, but physically perfect or otherwise, Tate is one boss babe. And I couldn’t help feeling she deserved better.
However, the beauty of Pen’s stories is that you can b1tch and moan that one of the couple doesn’t deserve the other because they did so and so wrong in the course of their existence, but in spite of all of that BS, they just seem to fit together. I can give several examples from their work, but let’s stick to Jared and Tate and how no matter how obnoxious he is through like three quarters of this book, Tate loves Jared and his broken pieces no matter what, and accepts him even after seeing the ugliest parts of him. The connection is true, and the chemistry is fierce, just emphasizing that when it comes to love, there is no such thing as deserve. And he did score a few points from me with the grand gesture at the very end, and even more so the realization he finally came to. Okay also, is it just me or did someone else also kinda want a story for Tate’s dad James Brandt? Like, forget about these teens, I totally have a crush on him and would like to see more of that man in action.
Now Tate? She on the other hand is my Bitch. Again I don’t remember much from Bully, but I loved her even more this time around. The author has a knack for writing real, flawed, but also aspirational girls and it was clear right from her early work. The slightly disturbing comparisons to blonde blue eyed perfect dolls does reflect that it’s their earlier work, and their writing has come a long way since then, but physically perfect or otherwise, Tate is one boss babe. And I couldn’t help feeling she deserved better.
However, the beauty of Pen’s stories is that you can b1tch and moan that one of the couple doesn’t deserve the other because they did so and so wrong in the course of their existence, but in spite of all of that BS, they just seem to fit together. I can give several examples from their work, but let’s stick to Jared and Tate and how no matter how obnoxious he is through like three quarters of this book, Tate loves Jared and his broken pieces no matter what, and accepts him even after seeing the ugliest parts of him. The connection is true, and the chemistry is fierce, just emphasizing that when it comes to love, there is no such thing as deserve. And he did score a few points from me with the grand gesture at the very end, and even more so the realization he finally came to. Okay also, is it just me or did someone else also kinda want a story for Tate’s dad James Brandt? Like, forget about these teens, I totally have a crush on him and would like to see more of that man in action.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Bullying
Moderate: Child abuse
mollydollydoodah's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
‘Bully’ but in Jared’s pov. Super cute, there were new things that we didn’t know had happened.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Child abuse
Moderate: Drug abuse
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