A review by ravensandlace
Heartless by Maggie Alabaster, Jo Bradley

4.0

Title: Heartless

Author: Maggie Alabaster and Jo Bradley

Genre: Reverse Harem

Format: ebook

Series: Brutal Academy (#1)

Star Rating: 4 stars

tw: torture, blood, gun violence, murder, parental death, poisoning, hospital setting, sexism, human trafficking

This is one of the wildest books I’ve ever read and I loved every single minute of it. It had everything I needed in a book. It had a reverse harem, which I am a huge sucker for. It had a morally grey female main character and a few morally grey female side characters as well. It had so much spice and tension. And it had a pretty intricate storyline involving organized crime, which I did not expect but it was a welcome surprise. 

Also, I have to mention the setting and yes, it needs its own little paragraph. This story takes place at a school called Brutham Academy. For the life of me, I cannot tell you what this school teaches. But apparently, you are allowed to beat up, torture, and even kill students/teachers just because they bother you but you can’t do it too much or the people in charge get fussy. I had to laugh out loud because I thought this was ridiculous. Oh, and you can sleep with teachers too. This school is a whole mess but I loved it so much. 

I’ve also started to realize that I am slowly becoming a sucker for female morally grey characters. Lila was such a badass character. She took absolutely no shit but she had a soft spot for her boys: Hunter (who had a POV), Parker, and Slade. She would do anything for those boys and burn the world down if they got hurt. The duality of her character was lovely to see. 

Overall, this was a great book! It was a quick read. I think I finished it in a day. It has plenty of spice for those that want lots of spice but it also has a plot to it. If you enjoy the reverse harem genre with a morally grey female and a pretty violent school then this is the book for you! I can’t wait to continue with the series.