please note that the trigger warnings and topes/themes may contain spoilers
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
HEA: HEA
POV: dual 1st person
spice: a few open-door spicy scenes
TWs: assault, birth control tampering, blood play, bullying, cancer, cheating, death of a parent (recounted), dubcon, fugue states, homeless shelter, knife play, OW drama, PTSD, stalking, violence
Kinky Content: biting, blood play, car sex, degradation, dirty talk, dubcon, eyes on me, finger licking good, fingering, hand necklaces, irrumatio, knife play, manhandling, marking, one more, oral, outdoor sex, praise, pushing it back in, unconventional sex toys, teach me, virgin
standalone: yes
final thoughts: okay so I need to preface this review saying that when I first got this book, I didn’t realize it was a bully or high school romance and those are 2 genres I don’t typically read… so I’m trying to keep that bias out of my review as much as I possibly can! PS. Both MMCs are of legal age when the romance aspect begins so at least there’s that 😅
This very much read as if it was a college romance in both location and characters- the private school has a campus where the students live, they have a dining hall, all the typical college campus spots which made it easy to age these characters up in my head. Yes, the characters made some dumb moves (especially during the prank wars) but overall, their behavior wasn’t very “oh that’s so high school of them” which is refreshing.
Listen- I know this was a dark bully romance, but I was expecting groveling, and I got almost none (cue the crying from me). The over the top jealous, possessive, obsessive behavior was really well written, and his character stayed really consistent throughout the whole book while giving some surprises along the way. His character was great, his obsession was intense, and his growth was realistic to the character. I love the “soft only for you” trope and he definitely fits that bill.

read this book if you love

😆 banter
🤝 bet
😠 bully
💞 childhood crush
🖤 dark romance
🥵 dirty talk
📅 dual timeline (in linear order)
🏝️ forced proximity
🤜 friends-to-rivals-to-lovers
😎 good girl/bad boy
🛁 he washes her
🏫 high school setting
🩹 hurt/comfort
🧠 “it’s always been you”
🛏️ “it’s just a fling”
🤐 miscommunication
😜 over the top, jealous, possessive MMC
🙏 praise
👦 she falls first, he falls harder
🏒 sports romance (hockey)
🤓 “teach me”
💔 third act breakup
☠️ “touch her and die”
☠️ “touch him and die”
💳 virgin
👕 wearing his jersey scene