PRETTY RECKLESS BY L.J. SHEN

L.J. Shen has started this series with a bang and you don't want to miss it! If you enjoy angst, bully romances between highschoolers this is your book! While these kids are technically teens, I consider the novel to be New Adult!

Rating: ★★★★
​Release Date: April 21, 2019
Genre: New Adult. High School. Bad Boy Romance. 
Series: All Saints High #1
Pages: 362 pages
Format: eBook. Borrowed from Kindle Unlimited. 

From USA Today bestselling author L.J. Shen comes an intense, high school enemies-to-lovers romance with a twist. 

Penn 

They say revenge is a dish best served cold. 
I’d had four years to stew on what Daria Followhill did to me, and now my heart was completely iced. 
I took her first kiss. 
She took the only thing I loved. 
I was poor. 
She was rich. 
The good thing about circumstances? They can change. Fast. 
Now, I’m her parents’ latest shiny project. 
Her housemate. Her tormentor. The captain of the rival football team she hates so much. 

Yeah, baby girl, say it—I’m your foster brother. 
There’s a price to pay for ruining the only good thing in my life, and she’s about to shell out some serious tears. 
Daria Followhill thinks she is THE queen. I’m about to prove to her that she’s nothing but a spoiled princess. 

Daria 

Everyone loves a good old unapologetic punk. 
But being a bitch? Oh, you get slammed for every snarky comment, cynical eye roll, and foot you put in your adversaries’ way. 
The thing about stiletto heels is that they make a hell of a dent when you walk all over the people who try to hurt you. 
In Penn Scully’s case, I pierced his heart until he bled out, then left it in a trash can on a bright summer day. 
Four years ago, he asked me to save all my firsts for him. 
Now he lives across the hall, and I want nothing more than to be his last everything. 
His parting words when he gave me his heart were that nothing in this world is free. 
Now? Now he is making me pay. ​

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Read my Book Review

Release Date: April 21, 2019
Genre: Young Adult, High School Romance. (Bully Romance)
Actual Rating: 4 stars

Pretty Reckless is the first standalone in the All Saints High series. Fans of bully romances and books filled with angst and that slow burn are definitely going to want to check this one out if you haven't already. This is an original romance (the heroine is one of a kind- she is mean, vindictive, and self sabotaging), one that is certain to get your blood boiling! For the most part, I really liked this one. As I mentioned I found the characters to be wholly original (we basically have 2 bullies pitted against each other), and the plot to be extremely angsty. However, I did have two issues with the story that I will explain below.

First, the heroine (Daria) is VERY unlikable in the beginning. She's the quintessential mean girl and has no problem walking over other people in order to get what she wants. I think of her as Regina George from Mean Girls. However, the author really saved it by SHOWING us why she is the way she is (family issues) and it starts to make sense. So while she was unlikable in the beginning, I started to warm up to her as I watched her life unfold before my eyes. L.J. Shen is one of those authors that is able to make it feel and look real to her readers. 

My second issue is that the book FELT a little long to me. I can normally breeze through a book that's around 400 pages in a day or two but wasn't able to with Pretty Reckless. This could be because of my partial dislike for the characters and the fact that I wasn't jumping at reading it at every chance. In any event, it felt like a slower read for ME. I'm sure not all readers will feel the same. 

Now on to the hero. Penn is a BAD boy from the wrong side of the tracks. He's dark, serious, and has a chip on his shoulder that no person can fix. He has his reasons for his attitude of course, and this is what makes him the man he is. I truly loved his character. I love boys turned to men with darker souls. They make my reading experience so much better. L.J. Shen SLAYED his character and I felt my self slowly falling for him. He's not always nice- he's actually quite an ass, but it's hard not to love him because he's so swoony! I think many readers will feel the same. 

Considering all of this, I went ahead and gave Pretty Reckless 4 stars. Sure I had a few problems with the novel but the overall execution of the story is fantastic. I'm really excited for the next book in the series and have plans to read the Sinners of Saint series to accompany these novels. This book is the story of Jamie and Melody's child. They can be found in Defy (https://amzn.to/2Yqtz0t). ​

★★★★

Pretty Reckless Collage