Two years ago, I unwittingly ruined his life. Now, he will take his revenge.
Tristan Kane was an unassuming nerd. At least until I said something that got him arrested and made him lose his scholarship.
I thought nothing more of it. But then I get accepted to a prestigious university, only to find that Tristan is there too. And he is no longer the quiet nerd he was back in high school. Now, he is muscular, covered in tattoos, and a member of the notorious White Serpents.
He has never forgotten what I did, and he intends to make me pay for it by shattering my perfect life. But maybe, just maybe, that is what I secretly want as well.
Raven Wood is an author of dark bully romance books. She loves writing beautifully messed-up relationships between dominant possessive men and strong intelligent women who refuse to back down from a fight. She is a firm believer in delicious spice and happily ever afters. To find out more, visit: www.authorravenwood.com
I was hesitant to start this book because the blurb mentioned that the characters meet again after the h ruins the H’s future. I usually don’t like second-chance romances because of the OWD they often have, which I usually avoid.
But this one surprised me. Tristan, the H, is focused on his studies and never gets involved with anyone else.🥳😌 His relationship with Elle was interesting, and even though he can be harsh, he clearly cares for her, especially when she’s in danger.🤭 His love for her is undeniable, even if it takes him time to realize it. But overall, I really enjoyed this book.
Safety info:
There’s no OWD or anything like that, and we don’t get any info about his past, but he doesn’t give me any manho vibes since he had never felt pleasure before being with the h. He was always studying instead of partying because he wants to become an engineer. The author even confirmed that he hasn’t been with anyone since meeting the h.🥳
Ugh, I wanted to like this book, I really did. But knowing that Ms Woods can write her heroines strong, and then being dished Elle was really hard to swallow. And know she can make her hero’s morally grey but swoon worthy made Tristan look really mediocre
I was disappointed in this one, almost 2.5 stars I think. I've loved every Raven Wood book I've read and even had a reminder for this one on my phone, but it just didn't work. I did like the initial plot, the back and forth between them at first was very entertaining, unfortunately the H and h had no chemistry! There wasn't much of a connection either. They were such different people, that disliking each other would have only been the first hurdle they would have gone through and honestly would have been the easiest. First, there would be the social and financial class hurdle, secondly, there's the fact that they share no common goals or interests, just both feeling trapped is the start of a possible friendship, but certainly doesn't explain the love. Just saying that the felt "lightning bolts" when they touched or kissed isn't really enough to convince me that there's anything between them. The dialogue was cheesy to the point of cringe, it seems like a different author all together. The sex scenes in a vacuum would be good, but they didn't really fit the characters. Then we have the ridiculously convenient plot ending. They'd be more likely to land in a swimming pool jumping off the international space station than having a crime Lord give them a discount for not snitching. 😂 Not snitching is the bare minimum, you don't get bonus perks for that 🤦🏼♀️ Well, whatever, they can't all be winners I guess, hopefully this is a blip and the next book will be better.
A little sad because I was very excited for this book! I really enjoyed Raven’s Kings of Blackwater series, Rico was chef’s kiss!
Elle was very difficult to like and it was hard to read her continued helplessness. It was giving Colleen Hoover type FMC, if you know what I mean. Both characters went from unhinged and weak to in love and now a drug dealer in what felt like a couple pages. Conflicts were wrapped up very quickly and overall the end felt rushed. This won’t discourage me from reading future work, this just wasn’t the book for me.
Tropes: Bully/Revenge Enemies to lovers Dual POV 🌶️🌶️🌶️.5
I think Raven Wood is losing her creativity when it comes to crafting interesting characters and a captivating narrative.
Honestly, I devoured all her previous books, so my expectations were high.
This book is, at the very least, disappointing.
One word for Mr. Tristan: accountability. What a ridiculous plot was that? He's blaming Elle for his own choices as if it's her responsibility to take the fall for his youthful mistakes. For goodness' sake.
And for Elle: she lacked so much personality. Where are the strong, fearless female characters I read about in her previous books? She's incredibly dull.
I also found their chemistry very weak. Elle had nothing to offer, and suddenly, he's all about her. And him? After that roofie scene, I began to despise him. It's unacceptable to condone that kind of behavior... even in a wildly exaggerated fiction, I have my limits, and this crossed that line hard.
After that, all I could see was how deeply troubled Tristan really is.
And in the end: hooray for impunity, as everyone is rewarded for keeping criminals free and not taking responsibility for their actions. CONGRATULATIONS... utterly disappointing.
1.5 ⭐️ , 0.5 only because of the first sex scene, which really delivered.
Raven wood is one of my favourite authors, because she wrote my favourite book. I am rushing to finish all her other books before this one is published.
I just know she isn't going to disappoint with this one (she never does).
DNF at 77% Frustrated. This had lots of potential, but it fell super short. I liked Elle for quite a while, but I actually preferred her when she wasn't this "fiery" girl, I liked her vulnerability. Tristan was meh, at first he was more interesting, but then he kept crying about how she was to blame for his life's mistakes and I just couldn't stand him anymore. The first few sex scenes they had were good, but they fell down. I don't get why the author tried to blame it all on Elle when Tristan was clearly the one in the wrong. I never understood why they were so attracted to each other, even less when it went beyond sexual chemistry.
If you want to know one thing about Raven Wood, the books this author writes will never disappoint. This book is no exception. I loved every second of this story!! Elle is supposed to be this preppy girl, daddy's perfect princess. But inside herself there is this fire that only comes out when she is with Tristan. I adored Tristan's character, he was a broken boy that needed to get his life back. Elle matches Tristan's craziness like no other, they are perfect for each other. The plot twist was amazing, the banter was great, the spice was fireeee. I'm amazed by everything Raven writes, she quickly became my favorite author. YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS THIS ONE!!
I like the first half of the book, but then by the 50% point it went downhill for me.
I think I compared this book to other books by this author where the FMC is just as crazy and just as unhinged as the MMC and L in this book just did not hit.
Tristan wasn't as unhinged as I would've liked his revenge plot and brilliant product seem really like juvenile and really petty And childish just wanted to expel her from university and like I said compare to other MMC's that this author has written he was underwhelming…… Now saying that the spicy scenes Tristan top marks the dominance the passion was all there.
With bully romances I love when the FMC matches the MMC's energy. I feel like L didn't match his energy.
Firstly, he planted drugs in her sorority room. Secondly he planted a knife in her clothes that got her arrested by campus security again thirdly he got kicked out of sorority.
He put three dead rats in her dorm room. He got her arrested by by police. Lastly, he drugged her kidnapped her for a week so that she would miss her exams and get expelled from university.
In response to all of that, the FMC through the three dead rats in his face as retaliation to everything that he's done, it just doesn't match the energy here.
Frustrated me with the spice in the book, it just seemed really childish. you like me more so I'm gonna make you come first Kinda energy
And being kidnapped in that week they have sex and she seems to forgive him really easily for everything that he's done to her because he's hot.
And I think where it went downhill for me was the explicitly describing that actually they come from different backgrounds but they're going through the same challenges and that's the thing that they have in common , I was just like oh I roll, and lastly the thing that brought it down a star was the ending was so rushed and perfectly tight together and finished, from them getting arrested for having drug possession to them getting free to them getting him out of being under the gangs Lead leadership to them live happily ever after all happened in the space of 20 pages.,
Review: “Because now, I finally know that I don’t have to be perfect. I can just be me. And the world will still keep on turning.”
When one of your favorite authors publishes her next book and you finish it in two days .. 💅🏻 This book was a bit different since it was mainly focused on the pair and less on the worldbuilding or side characters. We met Tristan and Elle at College, where both see each other after some years and a fallout -she didn't recognize- again. The story now focuses mainly on him getting revenge for the fallout and her finding her way throughout.
I have to say that in the beginning, i missed the world building a bit just because it picked my interest with the whole white serpents/college themed setup. We see a bit of details from both their pasts and what their daily life's are now, but it stays a bit superficial. It's nothing bad, but sometimes i wished for more depth outside of their relationship.
Tristan was a nice character because he wasn't the typical bully, even tho his methods were sometimes quite questionable. His main focus is his studies, which felt like the red string through the story. It defined his past, his motives, his dilemma he was in. He did make me swoon sometimes, too. Elle was a bit difficult for me to like. Frist she came off as very stiff and forced and her change to this confident woman was a bit to quick for me but I liked how she stood up for herself and how her growing changed the dynamic between her and Tristan. The relationship between these two was passionate and I loved seeing their growth from enemies to lovers.
I missed side characters a bit, and the plottwist was a bit foreseeable, but overall, i liked this book, and i couldn't put it down!
Check TW's before you dive into this book! If you crave a good dark romance/bullythemed book, this one's for you 🖤
Tropes: ♡ bully themed ♡ he's poor x she's rich ♡ enemies to lovers ♡ second chance romance ♡ HEA guaranteed
You really can’t go wrong with any of Raven Wood’s books. I started with the Kings of Blackwater series and was hooked since then.
This wasn’t as dark as her other books but it was still a great read. I wouldn’t even consider this dark in my personal opinion. I just have a biased view on what I consider is a ‘dark romance.’ Raven does the bullying trope right in all of her books this was no different.
I will admit, Elle was not it for me at first. As the story progressed, she ended up being a loyal and strong willed FMC. She definitely had redeeming qualities but she isn’t my favorite.
Tristan Kane… geez this guys is hot 🥵. I loved him from the very beginning of the book. Broody, lethal, and manipulative. Just how I like my fictional men 🤣.
If you want a quick entertaining read that could be considered dark with true enemies to lovers and bullying done right, read this or any of Raven’s books for that matter.
I really did enjoy reading Tristan and Elle’s story, but I’ll admit I went into this with certain expectations after reading the Kings of Blackwater series. Because of that, Elle left me feeling a bit disappointed. One of my favorite things about Raven Woods books has always been the strong, and sometimes delightfully unhinged, FMCs, and Elle felt far more helpless throughout the story than I was expecting. That said, their story was still compelling in its own way. Tristan was a standout for me, and his POV chapters were easily my favorite part of the book. His perspective added depth and kept me engaged, even when I struggled to fully connect with Elle’s character. Overall, while this wasn’t my favorite FMC from Raven Woods, the story itself still had moments that worked well and kept me invested.
To start of I dont like second-chance romances thats the main reason I didnt read 'Insatiable' as well, I dont know what about it, just not my vibe. I really like Tristans vibe, something about his development gives me goosebumps. However I really dont like development in their relationship cause he constantly harasses her in silliest ways?! I dont know its just wasnt the vibe. Felt like its bad copy of Eli x Raina (Alluring Darkness). Boy is horny already in 40s page like calm down sir, this is Wendys. T.T This had such a good potential but sadly, they are like kids both Tristan and Elle. Its the you did it first and I replied back blah blah. It was going fine until page 100, I cant sorry I just cant. DNF-ed it T.T
Het was opzich wel oke. Hint van toekomstige bs helaas. Einde is echt afgeraffeld en zijn haat naar haar was echt onzin... Ze deed het niet eens expres... En hij was echt voorooordelend... Het was niet schattig . Zijn acties zijn niet goed te praten... Misschien wel beter geweest als ze hem ook terug pestte. En jammer dat haar vader en moeder zo stuck up waren... Dat ze meer een sierpaard voor hun was
Another enjoyable dark romance by Raven Wood. Red flag MMC, gang-themes, set in college. A lot of internal monologuing and obviously very character driven.
I did find there to be a lot of repetitious thoughts/scenes playing out and a lot of extreme emotions, on one side and then immediately to the other. I do find myself a bigger fan of her other works, but this was still quick and entertaining.
Note that this is a dark bully romance. Check the tropes/triggers.
Ok that was seriously SO unexpected! I loved Elle & Tristan! It was the perfect amount of bully, spice and plot and the punishments all fit the crime. There was no shock value for the sake of shock value & I loved how everything came together in the end. I was so invested in these two and loved the turn it took near the end to wrap things up.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 🌶️🌶️🌶️.5 Enemies to Lovers, College Bully, Revenge I enjoyed the story especially watching her go from pristine, always perfect & proper to the unraveled free version that he helps her become. I wish there would have been more to their story, I wanted more of the “truce” part and more of their relationship. The Hate sex In this book is written so well, so much Tension!!!!
3.5 ⭐️ 🌶️🌶️.5 My favorite trope is the bully/enemy-to-lovers trope. I had so many expectations for this book because Raven Wood is one of my top five favorite authors, but I don't know, this one fell flat. It was almost boring. I love Tristan but not Elle so much. Anyway, I will definitely read everything that Raven releases in the future. This one was not a 5-star read for me.
I absolutely loved this hot bully story about Elle and Tristan. She is the Mayor's daughter and his is a tattooed gang member with revenge on his mind. They met in high school and now they have been reunited, he is going to make her pay for the life he lost because of her. Hot read.
2 ⭐️ pensavo seriamente potesse essere interessante ma vi giuro letto solo con la speranza che migliorasse ma ho fatto davvero male orribile P.s. si leggerò anche l’altro libro dell’autrice perché io devo capire come questa donna abbia scritto un libro da 4 stelle per me e uno che veramente mamma mia
It was fun, till the action became too rushed. I mean the premise is good, the characters are well suited, but the plot went from a little too much to unbelievable and then too little. I don’t know, but it was fun.
I loved their story, the perfect mix of bullying, romance, emotions, tuff guys attitude and vulnerability. I was happy there was not much of teen drama and angst, because I'm not a fan of it.