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A review by geoblockreads
Bully by Penelope Douglas
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Again, I didn't hate it. I feel like Penelope Douglas is a staple for smutty, super American contemp romance novels. I didn't have to engage my brain to drag through it, it was a nice simple read, with moderately successful Wattpad author vibes. I tend to find all of Douglas' MCs are exactly the same blonde girl who 'doesn't know she's pretty', so you could pretend it's all happening in the same cinematic universe or whatever.
My only critique is the constant and gross slut-shaming and 'I'm not like girls'ing all throughout this book. It's one of her older ones, so I'll give her the benefit of the doubt. But the MC is different because she can drive stick, she criticises other women for liking shopping and make-up, and she constantly describes other women as vapid, stupid, and slutty. At one point in the book she literally thinks about how she'd rather be called a bitch then a slut. Yucky. If I want some internalised misogyny I'd read my diary entries from when I was 13. But it's what I expect from an MC who is unironically described as wearing Avenged Sevenfold tank top.
My only critique is the constant and gross slut-shaming and 'I'm not like girls'ing all throughout this book. It's one of her older ones, so I'll give her the benefit of the doubt. But the MC is different because she can drive stick, she criticises other women for liking shopping and make-up, and she constantly describes other women as vapid, stupid, and slutty. At one point in the book she literally thinks about how she'd rather be called a bitch then a slut. Yucky. If I want some internalised misogyny I'd read my diary entries from when I was 13. But it's what I expect from an MC who is unironically described as wearing Avenged Sevenfold tank top.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual harassment