A review by lotusross
Pretty Reckless by L.J. Shen

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!!