Mad World by Hannah McBride | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Title: Mad World (#1)

Author: Hannah McBride

Format: eBook (Kindle Unlimited)

Pages: 520

Publication Date: 10/14/21

Categories: Bully Romance, New Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Alpha Male, Prep School

I’m Madison.
I spent the last seventeen years in a trailer with my mom as she rolled from one addiction to the next. All I wanted was to survive high school and get out of this place. Finding out I had a long lost twin sister on the other side of the country seemed like something out of a movie.

Too bad I didn’t realize it was a horror movie.

Now I’m Madelaine.
We were only supposed to switch lives for a summer. But then the unthinkable happened and now I have the chance to be my twin for the rest of my life. I get the fancy house, the rich father, and the elite school.

But all of those things come with a price I don’t think I can afford.

Maybe taking over my dead twin sister’s life isn’t as easy as I thought it would be.

Mad World is the first book in a new series by Hannah McBride . It contains dark themes (including bullying) that may be triggering for some readers.

Well this was unexpected and I borrowed this book on KU because of the cover – I went in knowing nothing but came out pleasantly surprised.

This is a bully romance – it has many triggers, it has a few alpha males but compared to other bully romance I’ve read in the past (and took a break from reading) this one is pretty tame. I wish more bully romances were as mild as this one!

I enjoyed the plot – twin sisters, separated at birth, find each other. They swap lives for what is supposed to be only the summer, but when Madelaine doesn’t come back…Madison continues to impersonate her because there are some business deals on the line that would affect her dad’s wealth among other things. Her dad has also agreed to take care of her mother who has a drug problem. But it’s not easy impersonating the twin she barely knew – when she reaches Pacific City she finds out Madelaine is reviled, and hated for very good reasons. Madison also learns some crazy dark, f’ed up secrets that Madelaine was keeping. The story isn’t original but it was very entertaining.

The small circle around Maddie is her ex best friend, Bex, and her fiance, Ryan and his friends. I actually liked seeing this group come together. Bex is there for Maddie when she finds out the truth, and out of Ryan’s friends, my favorite is Linc who is that goofy, funny guy who can’t keep his mouth shut. Ash is intriguing too but only because you don’t know much about him. I liked getting to know all of them.

Ryan is an alphahole but so mild compared to some other bully romances I’ve read. And this is a new adult so if you want heat, you can find it here. Ryan can be a jerk, jealous and possessive but you can tell Maddie is his soft spot. I liked seeing them do the fake dating, even more so when he knows she’s not Madelaine and they really get to know one another. He has his issues though, don’t these alphas all have them? This is the kind of bully romance I can handle because it’s enemies to lovers with just a tiny slight edge, and I’m addicted to enemies to lovers romances.

Content Warnings: sexual abuse, bullying, drug abuse, physical abuse, sexual assault, attempted rape, pedophilia

Bully romances are dark – it’s why I tend to stay away from them but I was intrigued by the synopsis and I usually don’t like twin stories either but I wanted to see if Maddie could pull off the switch. And engaged at 17? What is THAT about? I had to know. I do wish they were just all in college because she is underage and engaged to Ryan who is 19 I believe? Of course in bully romances they defy all rules – usually the alphas are so filthy rich that they can do whatever they want. I always think it’s crazy in these romances that these rich kids rule their little worlds with money and power. And they are barely even legal, it’s a bit ridiculous but super entertaining!

So much abuse – drugs, physical, sexual – it’s all there. Some of these characters are vile. But I’m going to continue reading the series just to see Maddie get revenge (I HOPE). I think she needs to gain a little bit of Madelaine’s ruthlessness to survive this though…will she toughen up? I hope so. And take these guys and some girls down. 😠

There were some typos in the beginning of the story so I hope it’s more cleaned up in the sequel.

Why you should read it:

enemies to lovers romance, and you like to see an alpha male fall in love
entertaining as heck – if you like chaos, rich people drama, school drama
to see if Maddie can pull it off

Why you might not want to read it:

bully romances turn you off
dark topics – see content warnings

My Thoughts:

I needed to get out of my reading slump so I read something out of my comfort zone and it worked. I was entertained by this story a lot and I was invested to see if Maddie would pull off being her sister. There are so many ways I think the sequel could go after that cliffhanger of an ending and I’ll be here waiting patiently for book two.

📚~ Yolanda

Book Review: Broken Trust (Dark Legacy Book 2)

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️

Authors: Tate James & Jaymin Eve

Format: eBook

Pages: 278

Categories: Bully Romance, New Adult

Book Blurb:

They think they own me now. They think they’ve won, and that I’ll be their good little soldier.

Four dangerous, damaged, messed up boys. There used to be five, but one of them died, and I’m starting to suspect he was murdered.

I didn’t ask for this. No one would ask to be played, manipulated, seduced and betrayed. But that’s what happened, anyway.

It wasn’t enough for them to break me. Sebastian Beckett has decided that he can’t let me go, but I refuse to forgive and forget his betrayal so easily. His fixation is bordering on obsession, but when we begin to suspect a spy within Delta, there’s no time to deal with his feelings.

Someone is selling us out, and it’s having a dire impact.

It’s life and death hiding behind corporate greed.

Let the battle begin.

MY REVIEW

The first book of the Dark Legacy series started off good and was exciting. This is a bully romance series and it is dark with lots of sexual themes. Book one had a cliffhanger ending that made me want to read this next installment.

This book was okay until a certain scene and then I decided it was not for me but I did finish it. I have a big problem with Beck, Riley’s lover/boyfriend. And yes, I’m in the minority here 🤷🏻‍♀️, Riley can so do better 😅. I understand he’s under the control of Delta, but he messed up, again. The characters are ALL broken people, I get that too, but after they betray her in book one, he wants her on their side so they publicly reject her. Just, no.

Riley is in a state of shock and feels betrayed after what takes place in the first book. The Delta guys are slightly remorseful but still arrogant. Beck is super possessive as usual but Riley had a right to be mad after what they forced her to do. I felt like some revenge on her part would have been perfect but nope. Nada. I wanted her to teach them a lesson. And these Delta guys that had her back supposedly, still threaten her (even after their betrayal), and publicly reject her. They leave her isolated at school and she is attacked, horribly. Honestly, it pissed me off so much and I blame Beck, since he’s their leader and he’s the guy she’s in love with it. Riley is right: they are not okay and they all need therapy.

I was also tired of Riley’s conflicting feelings about Beck (because I’ve cut him off in my mind 😂). She wants him, she hates him, he betrays her, he breaks her and then he’s sorry about that. Eventually the desire wins out and they continue to hook up. Apparently it’s easy to forgive guys who force you to murder someone. These Delta guys struggled too, I admit, they messed up and they know it. I just wanted a little more severe punishment for them, not just broken trust issues to deal with.

And this story is just unbelievable. I don’t believe these guys who are in high school (well Beck isn’t but he’s always hanging around there) have power to rule the world. They are rich and drive expensive cars. They talk the talk but nothing about them convinces me they are the most powerful high school boys in the world. Beck keeps mentioning that this is all a game for power, but I didn’t see much of the plot moving towards any power play until the ending which was a bunch of twists. The one new aspect in the story was the introduction of a Huntley (their nemesis) at the school, but it was predictable that she was there to cause trouble.

The ending is another twist, another cliffhanger, but one that made me cringe so bad and I don’t want to dive into that mess. 😂

So, if you like dark romance with lots of twists and turns that shock you, definitely read this series. It’s a quick read, it has the hot possessive rich guys, steamy (and even rough) sex, lots of bullying and angst. It’s not for someone who is easily triggered by traumatic events though, so fair warning there. I wish Riley was given a chance to kick someone’s butt in this book (Beck’s 😂) but that’s not going to happen.

Get it here: Amazon

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Click here for the review I wrote on the first book in this series: Broken Wings

Book Review: Pretty Reckless (All Saints High, #1)

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Author: L.J. Shen

Format: E-book

Pages: 338

Categories: Bully Romance, Angst, Enemies to Lovers, Revenge, New Adult

Book Blurb:

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.

MY REVIEW

I have read only a few books by L.J. Shen and each time I am left saying “whoa, what did I just read?”. Same goes for this book, but maybe even more so. I read her books because I know it will be intense, hot, full of drama, and out of the realm of what I read on a weekly basis. Sometimes I just need a book to break up the monotony of reading the same thing over and over – to cleanse my palate, so to speak. This book did just that.

I can’t say it’s my favorite book from this author. I did keep reading well into the night after 2 a.m., so I can undoubtedly say it is riveting. But I had to process this book afterwards for a bit.

Where do I start? I didn’t read all the Sinners of Saint series, so I don’t know Jamie and Melody’s story just that it was a teacher/student affair but that whole trope is just not my thing.

Daria Followhill is Jamie and Melody’s daughter. She’s a mean girl, a Queen B, and though I didn’t like her I did feel for her because she was crying out for attention and approval. Daria carefully constructs her outside persona to hide what’s goin on the inside. She believes she is unloved and worthless which makes her become an ugly person towards others. So she doesn’t start off as an unlikable person, she has her moments of thoughtfulness but then it’s drowned in jealousy and pain. Penn Scully, is the boy from the other side of the tracks but he’s a survivor despite his circumstances. Penn and Daria make a mistake as kids – Penn did it unknowingly, but Daria was all in on what was happening. The consequences of that mistake come back to haunt them horribly.

This is set in high school, so cue the angst, lots of cursing, sex and drama. There is plenty of it! I like Daria and Penn’s verbal sparring but sometimes she can stoop to being so petty. And Daria has this thing going on with the school Principal 👀 which made me feel yucky, even if the rumors swirling weren’t true. It came close. Daria’s pain and the depths she thought she needed to sink to atone for her sins just made me want to look away. Not even her romance with Penn, which is dysfunctional in itself, could make me feel happy about this story.

I like how Daria’s character develops and when she is at the end of her rope, on the verge of being exposed – thank goodness she finally opens up. Daria needed help. I was mad at her parents, I was mad at Daria, the principal and Via. It was so frustrating. The strained mother/daughter relationship was written well also. It’s so real. Penn’s journey is fairly predictable. He’s the alpha male, he’s poor, falls for the rich girl (in this case, the alpha girl) and he comes out okay. I felt like this story was mostly about Daria and I’m so glad she got some chance to heal at the end.

L.J. Shen is good at what she writes – she pushes the angst, sex, boundaries and her characters are flawed to perfection. They are human. This book was intense and if you like bully romances with an alpha male and an alpha female – then this is definitely a book to pick up. It was just a bit too much for me with the whole punishment thing but still a good story. Now I’m ready for that Followhill family therapy session, because they so need it!😩😅

Book Review: Broken Wings (Dark Legacy – Book One)

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Authors: Jaymin Eve & Tate James

Format: Kindle E-book

Pages: 325

Categories: Alpha Males, Dark Romance, Bully Romance, Major Cliff Hanger, Car Racing

Book Blurb:

They rule my new town, my school, and with more money than God, there’s very little out of their reach.

Four gorgeous, perfect, scary boys. There used to be five, but one of them died, leaving a fifth position that I now fill.

I didn’t ask for this. I didn’t want to be part of this billionaire-boys-club. But no one cares about what I want.

Sebastian Beckett is the worst of them. Their leader. He draws me in, and strips me of every defense I have. He calls me Butterfly, but it’s not a pet name, it’s a threat. Beck wants nothing more than to break my wings, pin me to a board and watch me writhe.

He wants to see me broken. Body, heart and soul.

And what these elite want, they get.

Only they’ve never met Riley Jameson.

Let the battle begin.
**This dark romance features four sexy, dangerous boys but is NOT a reverse harem.**

MY REVIEW

Broken Wings was, WOW. It is the first book in what looks like a two book series. The story takes place in a high school but this reads as a New Adult novel. It has alpha males and steamy sex. If you do not enjoy dark romance/bully romance novels, this book isn’t for you. What is it about bad boys who are bullies at first? It’s those guys we love to hate, who come off hard but has some issues to deal with inside. All it takes is that one girl that penetrates their wall and makes them fall in love, hard. It just makes for a juicy tension filled story. But I did grow up with four alpha male cousins, and I know that bully romances in real life sometimes just do not end very well. Thank goodness this is fiction though!

I will note that although there are four main alpha males this is not a reverse harem, which made me happy because I’m not the biggest fan of reverse harem quite yet. I’ve found a few I liked though so I’m working my way into it. But I’m a big sucker for a soul-mate connection.

In Broken Wings, we meet Riley Jameson who is in a car accident, loses both her parents and finds out the life she believed was all based on a lie. She is not a Jameson, but a Deboise and her real parents brings her back into the family again – with an agenda. Riley finds herself thrown into a world of the rich and powerful. But with riches come power and with power comes sacrifice and a multitude of dangers as Riley comes to find out immediately.

Riley is no push-over, which I love. She stands up to Catherine, her cold biological mom (did that woman really birth her? Because my goodness, the hate from that woman), she loves to race fast cars, and she can handle herself among the alpha males even when they scare her. Then there’s Sebastian Beckett, the leader of this little group of four alpha males she’s tied to through the family business. The tension between them is strung tight and yes eventually they have some very amazing sex. Sebastian is a typical hot alpha male, but trained in extreme survival skills no twenty year old has business knowing. He was born into this life but a life that was void of family love, so he’s not all bad, or is he? But why was my heart sort of pining for Riley to hook up with Dante, her best friend? I know she’s crazy about Beck (Sebastian) but Dante is awesome too.

Dante has been there for Riley since before she became a rich girl. He’s got her back. I love him! Hot, rich, powerful, sexy Sebastian Beckett? Or hot, tatted, got his own connections, best friend Dante? What’s a girl to do? And Riley does find a female friend among this sea of alpha males. A girl needs her girlfriends, right? Her new best friend Eddy, sister to one of the alpha males, is a cool chic that welcomes her right away. Thank goodness for Dante and Eddy for keeping Riley grounded.

This book was a fast read! I could not put it down. I will say though that some things about the story made me pause: The unprotected sex scene – I get it – it happens in real life, but I was rolling my eyes like Riley, you’re going to get pregnant at seventeen! 🤦🏻‍♀️ And Beck (Sebastian) is 20 but it’s crazy to think he’s not even 21 yet with all that financial power – I felt like I was reading about a 30 year old! I know they live a fast lifestyle because of their status and position but at some points I had to remember Riley was only 17 and so the boys had to between 18-20. To think these boys would rule the world? Yikes…

Other than those minor things this book was a fun, exciting, intense read. There is sex, violence, high school parties, car racing and that cliffhanger ending! Oh my! I’m ready for book two because I have to know what happens, that twist in the end. Like, WHAT? How dare they…oh it’s so good. I’m so glad I don’t have too wait long for book two to come out. I’m ready to fall back into Riley’s world again.