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A review by mia_jojo
Start a Fire by Julia Wolf
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
4.0
Start A Fire is a Highschool Bully Romance written by Julia Wolf.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Before saying anything about the book, I'd like to speak a bit to anyone reading this about the "trope" or "genre" of this book. It's a Bully Romance. When reading, it's important that you know the difference between an Enemies to Lovers and a Bully Romance. The thing is, "Bully" might seem like the next step to an Enemies to Lovers and you might be thinking that it will be similar, but it won't be.
The main difference between the two tropes has to do with the characters. In an Enemies to Lovers, you'll expect banter, a badass heroine, a tough on the outside, soft on the inside guy- You know, things where the two individuals are on par with each other. But in a Bully Romance, there is no such thing as equality between the two individuals. One of them (usually, and in this book, the male) is the "Dom" or "Dominant" and the other is the "Sub" or "Submissive". The two characters' relationship will most likely start off as toxic, and if it's a series, it may end badly for them in the first book and they'll pick up things from the second book. You can expect a pushover heroine, an overly a$$hat and unlikeable hero giving off strong alpha male vibes and no banter. Just strict "Command And Obey" interactions. In this book- there isn't really a "Command And Obey," but we'll get to it later.
These two tropes have been confused a lot between beginners, and this is just a word of precaution if this is your first Bully Romance- Like it was for me.
{Me}*Takes a deep breath and sighs in satisfaction because they explained everything so well*
Okay, now that we have that little differentiation out of the way, let's get on with the review.
Starting off, I'd just like to say that there is a trigger warning for sexual abuse and assault in this book.
I found the book to be very well written. This was my first book from the author and it was quite easy to read and understand. It was entertaining, and honestly one of my quickest reads, ever. I was turning the pages to get to what happened next, and the book never disappointed me.
This is a good book for anyone looking for a little darkness in their romance but needs it to be "Not Fantasy". And if you want to get out of a reading slump and can handle the TW.
But I must say, if you're triggered by things like rape or sexual assault, please give this book a pass. You will not be able to get past it.
So yeah... That's it for my review. If you're looking to get into bully romances but don't want to start off with something as dark as this book, then I'd suggest "Things I Wanted To Say,But Never Did" by Monica Murphy. It's a little lesser on the darker side and has a more likeable and respectable ML. The one in this book comes off as a complete jerk to me, and he is- For almost half of the book. But Monica Murphy's book is still a bully romance and has all the classic elements, but I must say- it's about twice the length of this one at 604 pages. So... Yeah.
Anyway, hope you found this helpful!
IMPORTANT NOTE: Before saying anything about the book, I'd like to speak a bit to anyone reading this about the "trope" or "genre" of this book. It's a Bully Romance. When reading, it's important that you know the difference between an Enemies to Lovers and a Bully Romance. The thing is, "Bully" might seem like the next step to an Enemies to Lovers and you might be thinking that it will be similar, but it won't be.
The main difference between the two tropes has to do with the characters. In an Enemies to Lovers, you'll expect banter, a badass heroine, a tough on the outside, soft on the inside guy- You know, things where the two individuals are on par with each other. But in a Bully Romance, there is no such thing as equality between the two individuals. One of them (usually, and in this book, the male) is the "Dom" or "Dominant" and the other is the "Sub" or "Submissive". The two characters' relationship will most likely start off as toxic, and if it's a series, it may end badly for them in the first book and they'll pick up things from the second book. You can expect a pushover heroine, an overly a$$hat and unlikeable hero giving off strong alpha male vibes and no banter. Just strict "Command And Obey" interactions. In this book- there isn't really a "Command And Obey," but we'll get to it later.
These two tropes have been confused a lot between beginners, and this is just a word of precaution if this is your first Bully Romance- Like it was for me.
{Me}*Takes a deep breath and sighs in satisfaction because they explained everything so well*
Okay, now that we have that little differentiation out of the way, let's get on with the review.
Starting off, I'd just like to say that there is a trigger warning for sexual abuse and assault in this book.
I found the book to be very well written. This was my first book from the author and it was quite easy to read and understand. It was entertaining, and honestly one of my quickest reads, ever. I was turning the pages to get to what happened next, and the book never disappointed me.
This is a good book for anyone looking for a little darkness in their romance but needs it to be "Not Fantasy". And if you want to get out of a reading slump and can handle the TW.
But I must say, if you're triggered by things like rape or sexual assault, please give this book a pass. You will not be able to get past it.
So yeah... That's it for my review. If you're looking to get into bully romances but don't want to start off with something as dark as this book, then I'd suggest "Things I Wanted To Say,
Anyway, hope you found this helpful!