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A review by reeyabeegale
The Bully by Sophie Lark
5.0
I love this book, it's definitely one of my favorite books of the year.
I didn't finish the first book, wherein most of Dean's history was discussed (no, I'm not DNF-ing it completely, it's just on hold for now because I'm not really interested in that storyline), but I agree when others said this is Dean's redemption. I've obviously spoiled myself about the first book so I know why Dean needed a redemption story.
Did my incompletion of The Heir hinder my appreciation for Dean and his character arc? NO.
I may not have a complete picture of how he was before all this, but I love him all the same. His raw emotions and anger were still present and as evident in this book, but there was also yearning, which tugged into my heartstrings. I wanted him to have everything good in this world because he deserved it, especially living the life that he did -- isolated and full of hatred.
I'm not into dark kinks and extreme BDSM, and maybe I just have an unrealistic notion about it, but I didn't find the sexual acts in this book dark. It was sexy and based on the characters' personalities, you'd understand why they are into that type of kink. I enjoyed it, I saw it empower Cat as she grows into herself and the life in Kingmakers.
Of course, I love Cat, I've been rooting for her since The Rebel and she's definitely one of my favorite characters. I love the romance and affection between her and Dean. Out of all of Sophie Lark's books that I've read, this is by far the most romantic, in my opinion. And I loved every minute of it.
The plot wasn't as political or as haunting as the two books but there was still some action here. I actually liked that this had more meat in its plot than just covering the history of Kingmakers and the lifestyle within the island. I don't know if I just don't have the same level of perception as other people but I don't know what to expect with the mystery surrounding the next book, The Spy. It's intriguing but I didn't catch a lot of clues as other people did, I have a few guesses but I don't think I came even close to connecting the dots.
I'm super excited to continue on with the series and I don't know how I'm going to hold myself over until the fifth book, The Savage, comes out this March.
I didn't finish the first book, wherein most of Dean's history was discussed (no, I'm not DNF-ing it completely, it's just on hold for now because I'm not really interested in that storyline), but I agree when others said this is Dean's redemption. I've obviously spoiled myself about the first book so I know why Dean needed a redemption story.
Did my incompletion of The Heir hinder my appreciation for Dean and his character arc? NO.
I may not have a complete picture of how he was before all this, but I love him all the same. His raw emotions and anger were still present and as evident in this book, but there was also yearning, which tugged into my heartstrings. I wanted him to have everything good in this world because he deserved it, especially living the life that he did -- isolated and full of hatred.
I'm not into dark kinks and extreme BDSM, and maybe I just have an unrealistic notion about it, but I didn't find the sexual acts in this book dark. It was sexy and based on the characters' personalities, you'd understand why they are into that type of kink. I enjoyed it, I saw it empower Cat as she grows into herself and the life in Kingmakers.
Of course, I love Cat, I've been rooting for her since The Rebel and she's definitely one of my favorite characters. I love the romance and affection between her and Dean. Out of all of Sophie Lark's books that I've read, this is by far the most romantic, in my opinion. And I loved every minute of it.
The plot wasn't as political or as haunting as the two books but there was still some action here. I actually liked that this had more meat in its plot than just covering the history of Kingmakers and the lifestyle within the island. I don't know if I just don't have the same level of perception as other people but I don't know what to expect with the mystery surrounding the next book, The Spy. It's intriguing but I didn't catch a lot of clues as other people did, I have a few guesses but I don't think I came even close to connecting the dots.
I'm super excited to continue on with the series and I don't know how I'm going to hold myself over until the fifth book, The Savage, comes out this March.