Reviews

Pretty Reckless by L.J. Shen

cindyc's review against another edition

4.0

3,5 stars

Loved the flawed characters and the difficult themes this book tried to tackle. The parent chapters even made me tear up!
Some of the more intimate scenes were a bit cringy though, more due to Penn’s thoughts and intentions than the description of the acts themselves.

Full review to follow

aichaa's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Physical abuse, and Violence

puhpearl's review

3.0

2.5 stars

The writing is terrible down but the plot and drama eats + daria is a queen

seferina's review against another edition

fast-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

3.5

i_dont_read_blurbs's review

5.0

I loved this book! I loved the writing, the characters, the story. It's such a nice change from all the books I've been reading lately. I just want to gobble up every book by L.J. Shen!

Daria, oh Daria, my little hulk: "My face is not stoic and regal; it’s traitorous and unpredictable. Some wear their hearts on their sleeves—I wear mine on my mouth.

Penn: "Adolescent hearts are trash and as loyal as a starving stray cat. They’ll take anything. Even scraps. I don’t want to feed my rusty tin heart junk."

I highly recommend this book.

marystuartsghost's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

ceena's review

5.0

I wasn't expecting to like Daria, nor her book, because from what we saw from her previously didn't make me like her. Well, I might totally like her still, but I understand her more now and I felt for her.

This book is AMAZING. I don't know what it is with this series that grips me and refuses to let go. The characters are so rough, there are some pretty big problems here, and just... wow, the drama.

I'm in love with the Sinners and now their children. Loved the brief interactions with Dean -- just showed again that the families are super close.
I'm very much looking forward to the next book!

jazmin's review

3.0

“There is nothing more poetically inspiring than loving the right person at the wrong place at the wrong time”

I should have learned my lesson by now but I didn’t expect this book to be nearly as sad and drama-filled as it was?

Daria… it was weird to have her as the main character because she was so different than all the past ones in this world. It was easy to love her and even easier to hate her. It’s hard to talk about her character without spoiling a lot of the plot because it revolves around her arc and relationships, but I can say she was anything but boring to read about.

This was the first time we met Penn, so all of my opinions on him were formed over this book. He’s one of my least favourites of the male leads, not because he was a bad character but because this story was in my mind, about Daria. He was always at the back of my mind while she was front and centre.

Honestly, I don’t think the romance was as prevalent in this book, because what sticks out to me were the familial aspects. Daria and her mom. Daria and her dad. Daria and her sister. That arc was the most important thing because it was something Daria deserved, and something she needed to want for herself.

And I haven’t said this yet even though I’ve been thinking it since the first book in this world: I love how each book follows a theme that is important to the characters of that book! (Like the ballet shoes in this book.) I also loved the poems at the start of every chapter in this book.

“I wish I could rewrite you out of my life
But all your pages are highlighted
Dog-eared and thumbed to death
I can no longer read you
But you are still my favorite poem”

My Pretty Reckless Playlist:
Cute Without the E by Taking Back Sunday

MY BLOG <3

MY SPOTIFY <3

deliciouslycarnalcourtships's review against another edition

5.0

All the feels

So many amazing things to say about this book. My heart definitely beat in time with these characters.

Review to follow-

lotusross's review

4.0

“I love you, Daria Followhill, and I think you love me, too. In fact, I think we fell at the same time. You, like rain, in drizzles, over the weeks. Me, like the fucking sky above my head, all at once, crashing without the faintest chance of stopping.”

4.25 stars.
Oh my marx!
Going into this, I was a bit weary what with the mixed reviews and all. At first, I absolutely couldn't stand Daria, she was annoying the bejeezus out of me, but the more I got into the book, the more I realized that Daria isn't your typical heroine, she is flawed, she is human, she doesn't necessarily always make the wise or best or even selfless decisions. She puts a wall on every time she feels threatened in any way by being cruel to other people, because that's the only she knows how to defend herself, how to protect herself. It's not to say that's a good thing, but that's her way of coping, which doesn't necessarily make her a bad person.. just misguided.

Penn, on the other hand, I absolutely adored from the start. He was out for revenge because he lost his sister due to something he, unbeknownst to him, helped Daria do. But, even when he thought he hated Daria, it wasn't really bone deep, he didn't actively seek to hurt her, no matter how much he tried, and instead ended up protecting her when she needed it.

I think their relationship is one of my favorites Shen has written in this universe. I honestly this is her best Hate to love book. Even when I was feeling some type of way about Daria (I love her now, in case that wasn't clear), I was rooting for them. Because you just can't help yourself. Their chemistry is THAT good.

As far as the side characters go, I'm absolutely in love with Knight, Luna, Vaughn and Bailey. Their loyalties is very reminiscent of the Hotholes', although I feel like it might be even stronger. And I can't wait to read their books, especially LunaKnight's and Vaughn's (hopefully Bailey gets one too).
Another thing I loved was the relationship between Jaime and Penn. He was so against him living with them at first or even being near his daughter, it was heartwarming seeing that develop into a father(inlaw)/son(inlaw) relationship of some sort. He was there for him before he knew about him and Daria, and was still there for him even after. I absolutely LOVED when they both went to avenge Daria together.

Something that might be controversial though, is the fact that I, unlike so many others, didn't really hate Melody. Sure, I disliked her at first, but when you get someone's biased POV, tainted by their feelings, you have no other way to see the situation from the other side, but something Shen did very well in this book, was give her a POV that just shows you Mel isn't really a bad mother, she just tries so hard to give her teenage daughter everything her parents didn't when she was one, that she got lost in the delivery and translation of her actions. But that in no way means she doesn't love her daughter.

All in all, I think this is absolutely one of my favorite books of Shen's. It has its flaws, but I adored it. And I can't WAIT for the next installment in the series!!