Pretty Reckless

This is my first ever L.J. Shen read and I have heard nothing but great things about her books. Immediately after finishing this book, I truly didn’t know how to rate it. I didn’t LOVE it like I thought I would, but I also didn’t hate it either. This story is engaging and really had me on my toes. I didn’t know what to expect with any of these characters. Everything done in this book was to get back at someone so I got used to not believing anything they would say. The angst was there, the hate was there. Penn and Daria, our main characters, were interesting and unlike any other two main characters I’ve read. They are complex, vicious and have tons of walls and barriers up to keep what soul they have safe from everyone around them. The thing I really loved about this book was that every single character was flawed, but they were REALLY good at hiding it. As the reader you knew what they were hiding but the perception they were giving off to the others. For any young adults/new adults, life can be messy. And for this book messy is the best way to describe it. SO much is going on in this book, at times it was hard for me to keep up with what was going on. Overall, I really enjoyed this read and can’t wait to read more by L.J. Shen. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

the DRAMA omg

5/5 ☆ Holy crap. Where do I even start? One horrible thing about my reading habits is if the book has a cover of an attractive half naked man I am already making assumptions about it. BUT I really need to kick that habit because 9/10 times that book with the half naked attractive man on it becomes my favorite! This book was oozing teen angst and I ate it up, no crumbs left behind, will absolutely go back for seconds. The multiple layers and plot twists of this book made it impossible to put down. Sweet Daria, my heart hurt so much for our main girl. Despite her flaws and mean girl antics she’s just a broken girl that needed love. Don’t get it twisted, even though she’s broken and insecure she’s a bonafide bad bitch. Her character arc was written phenomenally. She absolutely flourished in the last few chapters. Jesus Christ Penn fucking Scully. Holy hell. He was deliciously written, I could not get enough of him. He’s broody, hard and out for revenge... But once those walls come down he is ooey gooey sweet and straight up kryptonite. AND SKULL EYES?! The backstory had me screaming/crying/laughing I was not ok. How the heck does one even come up with that?! Sigh, Daria and Penn were remarkable and I adored them both so very much. I even enjoyed Knight and Vaughns characters, despite their teasing they truly loved Daria like a little sister and that just about melted my heart. Getting the little tidbit of Daria’s parents POV was such a treat. I was honestly foaming at the mouth for more of Jamie because DILF. No idea what the man looks like, but actions baby, they were everything. This was my first book by this author and it truly was a delight. I’m so happy this is a series because I am ADDICTED to All Saints High. Enroll me a s a p. “ You are the fucking equation, I want to yell in her face. The riddle and the answer and the numbers within it. You’re math. You make sense. ”

I stayed for Daria. I absolutely loved that girl. I also loved Jamie, Baylie and towards the end Penn. Mel is still not in my good books.

I also love Knight, Luna, Vaughn and Blythe.

Now, Daria is such a strong girl and I absolutely love her so much. I love her when she was crazy and when she grew same.

I absolutely loved Jamie. He's such a good father and he always showed so much love to Daria. He's my fav character tied with Daria tbf.

Penn sucked for ¾ of the book until the end. Then his character development was really fucking good. He ended up becoming a top tier guy tbf. And honestly when his story unravels it gets good so that's there.

Anyways I'm rating this based on my favourite characters and not the plot. I don't even know what the plot was 💀

Just finished this book in one sitting. If you’re looking for a super drama and cliche-packed book to pass the time, this one is it. Man I don’t think there is a single trope or ploy this author left out of this novel. It was fun and way over the top crazy all the time. Not a book I would take seriously at all. Honestly I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone as selfish and bitchy as the main female character in my entire life. But I just viewed her as a caricature in a fairy tale... cruel evil teenager trapped in her tower writes a book filled with all the people who have wronged her and casually plots revenge on them for the rest of her life. Whatever no big deal. The guy penn is cute but he had way too much drama and baggage in his life for me to be actually attracted to him as a person and give me feels... a baby mama, a toddler, drunkard stepdad, twin sis who left him for a cult, junkie but now dead mom... I mean I felt like what all these teens needed wasn’t romantic love but real parental figures in their life. The only good characters in this whole book were Dad Jaime, sister Bailey, and her friends Vaughn and whatever the other guy’s name is. Either way I am 100% confused by the 4.25 star rating on GR... did I miss something? There’s even a mean girls scene in the middle of a fight club den where everyone tells a secret and keeps a secret like the Hannah Montana movie or something??? Did we read the same book? I’m totally on board with sappy romance novels but this one should’ve been closer to the fantasy shelves tbh. Great cover though. Very cool, even though smoking is totally out.

Pretty Good Read the blip for Pretty Reckless and was like hmmmm .... thought to myself that I enjoyed the movie Cruel Intentions so why not try this book? ::shrug:: I did however have reservations if I would like the heroine but I was like why not? Guess what ... I actually did. Her plight was something I could understand. The chemistry was fire. The story had me reading until I could complete the story. So many understandings and shenanigans that it kept me intrigued and up past my bed time. If you are a fan of young adult romance and enjoy books by Jen Frederick, Elle Kennedy, Sabrina Bowen, Erin Watt, and the like then you will probably enjoy this.

I have to say that I was kind of skeptical of this book. Why? Simple: I don't like Daria :)) I've never liked her, but I gave the book a shot because after I read the extended epilogue of Vicious and saw that Jamie and Mel kind of lost track of their daughter, I wanted to see how they see the picture with their teenage daughter. Well... Daria reminds me of Nesta [SJM character]. She's like a mini Nesta :)) but until the end of the book, I would say that I understand her behavior towards her mother and the entire world. Daria deserves a chance, and in the end, I'm glad I gave her one. It is true what people say... you really never forget your first love or first kiss. Well... they turned it into hate and then loved. I like the relationship between Jamie and Penn, how it began and how it grow into a father-son relationship. I also liked that even if the schools were rivals, Penn, Knight, and Vaughn developed a friendship and I hope I will see it through the next books.

So so so amazing. literally felt my heart break for daria and i just wanted to shower her in hugs

Oh my Marx, I loved this book! As we know, mature YA is my jam and this was no different. There were so many times when I wanted to cry for Daria, and Penn’s love for her, I loved it. I loved their relationship, how it was the one true thing in their lives. I liked how many moving parts there were to this story, but on the other hand, sometimes I found it hard to follow all the characters and remember who was whom. I felt like they were t really introduced well, so I got confused. I also found the dialogue hard to follow at times. Several times I had to flip back so I could see what the last thing that was said, was. But, this is a great book. Penn Scully is just gorgeous. Go ahead and pick this book up, you won’t be sorry.

Pensé que no iba a ser tan intenso pero si lo fue, odie la mayor parte del tiempo a Mel y a Jaime por ser unos padres de mierda, pero los perdoné al final

6\5 stars. Terrific read - the extra star is for the shout out to South Bend Indiana where happy endings happen because of Mayor Pete. The author didn't say that explicitly, but we all know it's true.

Penn and Via's arc was utter shit, are you kidding me

5 STARS, DEFINITELY! “I wish I could rewrite you out of my life But all your pages are highlighted Dog-eared and thumbed to death I can no longer read you But you are still my favorite poem” Honestly, this wasn’t what I was looking for, but Marx, am I happy I came across it. I loved this so much. It was beautifully heart wrenching. I was on the verge of tears so many times through the book. Daria’s relationship, and interactions with Penn were just— I’m at a lost for words. It was magical, in the best of ways.

the DRAMA omg

1.5/5

4.5 stars. The writing style of this book is BEAUTIFUL. taking that .5 points bc i didn't cry lmao. I cried hysterics in Bright Knight and Angry God so I was bummed that i didn't shed a tear in this one. Over all I do recommend this book.

I do like them a little effed up. Good enough book, very dramatised so if you move past that then it's grand

Keeping this short and sweet. What a roller coaster. I laughed, I cried, I laughed while crying... This book made me feel so many feelings. Holy cannoli

The storyline was the best part of the entire book. It was the only reason I didn’t dnf. There were so many modern terms such as “dafuq” written not even in an actual sentence said by the characters. But then there were other terms and sentences that stopped being used in the mid 80’s which made me think the author was trying to relate the book to teens but wasn’t fully educated on how we actually talk. As a teen from this generation I can say that most of us young readers don’t like when authors add Gen Z language to books because most of us can’t stand it. Other than the slang used the story was written like a cliche Disney movie with the way the characters interacted with each other. There would’ve been more emotion and suspenseful timing. Those were the only things I had a problem with while reading but otherwise the story was amazing and I understand the 5 stars it has.

okay i'm shocked at how much i enjoyed this book? i was hoping to hate this one and only read it for the luna, knight and vaughn bread crumbs because daria was never a fave of mine, but i guess after reading from her pov i can kinda understand where she was coming from all those times she was a bitch towards people. both characters here were awful and did awful shit to each other, but their development was really well executed. i also liked the portrayal of daria's broken relationship with her mom. that shit hit close to home, so maybe i'm being too personal when rating this, but overall i enjoyed the book, tho i'm not gonna lie, it requires a level of suspension of disbelief at like 100% because some of the shit that went down in this was straight up bullshit lmao fave hothole kid so far? knight, that dude was hilarious and i can't wait for his book.

“There is nothing more poetically inspiring Than loving the right person At the wrong place At the wrong time” Stars: 4/5 Characters: 5/5 Setting: 5/5 Plot: 5/5 Pros: great romance Cons: similar to other books

super basic enemies to lovers trope, but good for what it is

**4.5 stars

the most roller coaster ride of all roller coaster rides. so beautiful T_T