Find Me

WITSEC #1

by Ashley N. Rostek

One year ago…

My family is gone. My parents. My twin sister. All of them murdered by the man who has stalked me for years. He nearly killed me, too. But I got away and he’s still out there, searching for me. He won’t find me. At least, I hope not. Thanks to WITSEC, I’ve been given a new life with a new identity.

The present…

My uncle, my only living relative, has helped me glue myself back together and given me the tools I’ll need to survive. I’m not fixed and my grief is heavy, but I’m at a point where I can put one foot in front of the other to try to move on.
I know my future will be hard and lonely. I must stay strong and focus on the good. I’m getting a second chance at life. I am safe. My new home is beautiful. The four brothers who live next door are even more so. Little do I know that Colt, Creed, Keelan, and Knox will soon become my everything. It’s as if my lonely heart screamed out for someone good to find me. Four answered back.

***WARNING This is a reverse harem romance. Contains violence, graphic killing, foul language, and sexual content. Some parts may be triggering.***

Genres: Romance, Dark Romance, Why Choose, Dark, Contemporary, High School, New Adult

274 pages, Hardcover

First published August 20, 2021

About the author

Ashley N. Rostek is a wife and mother by day and a writer by night. She survives on coffee, loves collecting offensive coffee mugs, and is an unashamed bibliophile.

To Ashley, there isn’t a better pastime than letting your mind escape in a good book. Her favorite genre is romance and has the overflowing bookshelf to prove it. She is a lover of love. Be it a sweet YA or a dark and lusty novel, she must read it!

Ashley’s passion is writing. She picked up the pen at seventeen and hasn’t put it down. Her debut novel is Embrace the Darkness, the first book in the Maura Quinn series.

For updates and sneak peeks on her upcoming projects, follow her on social media. Links below.

https://www.facebook.com/ashleynrostek/
https://www.instagram.com/ashleynrostek/

Reviews

[Helen 2.0 · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow, someone give this FMC an award because she is truly the ultimate victim. Every single plot point is set up to victimize Shiloh. Any man she meets instantly becomes obsessed either with protecting her or with stalking and/or murdering her.

What about the other female characters in the book? Well, here’s how they’re introduced:

“The girls here are nothing but a bunch of shallow, self-absorbed bitches, but at least they’re hot,” said one of Ethan’s jock buddies.
“You better not be talking about us.”
Everyone’s attention snapped to a girl standing at the end of the table with two other girls flanking her. It only took a quick glance to know which clique these girls belonged to. It was the aura they gave off and the fact that they were pretty, confident, and instantly looking down their noses at me.
They of course dressed to look sexy with their midriffs showing, low cut shirts, and shorts so short they should have been sent to the principal’s office for dress code violations.

FUCKING HELL. If you hate women, just say you hate women. No need to write a book to get your internalized misogyny out there. Fuck’s sake.

Right so here’s what I’m gathering: Girls dressing “sexy” (remember, these are minors you want to sexualize with the dress code here) and hitting on boys is evil. Unless, of course, it’s coming from the FMC of the story, who’s encouraged to do those things. The confident brand of femininity is a thing to be ashamed of. But Shiloh’s brand of femininity happens to be quiet, shy, and in constant need of validation from men, so she’s perfectly fine. She doesn't know she's pretty! Not like those evil mean confident bitches!! Just kill me now.

If you’re hoping there’s more to the story than this… there’s not. All you get is Shiloh being a perfect insecure traumatized victim and boys tripping over themselves to make her feel like she’s not like those other girls.

In fact, Shiloh, I found the perfect hat for you:

[kendyl ʚ♡⃛ɞ (hiatus) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5 ★’s

❥ 𝒻𝒶𝓋𝑜𝓇𝒾𝓉𝑒 𝓂𝑜𝓂𝑒𝓃𝓉

i laughed and he watched me with a tiny smile.
”you’re so beautiful when you laugh,” he said, and with a featherlike touch, he ran his finger from my temple to the corner of my mouth. “your whole face lights up.” his eyes dropped to my mouth and he slowly trailed his finger along my bottom lip. “your smile is the best part.”
butterflies went wild in my stomach.

since there are four books in this series, i will be giving a full review of my overall thoughts on the last book!<3

❥03/15/24
𝓅𝓇𝑒 𝓇𝑒𝓋𝒾𝑒𝓌:
wait wait wait why was this actually kinda good😩

❥03/09/24
i know absolutely nothing about this series and bought these books strictly because the covers are to die for hehe i'm such an impulse buyer, i'll never change🤭

SOMEONE PLS LET ME KNOW IF THIS SERIES IS GOOD 😭if it’s not, i’ll cry

[G · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reread:5/7/23
Find Me by Ashley N. Rostek 5 star rating !!!!
THIS BOOK WAS EVERYTHING I COULD HAVE HOPED FOR AND MORE!!!
Where do I begin to portray my love for anything written by Ashley N. Rostek ....
Find Me was a SPECTACULAR start to the WITSEC series.
18-year-old Shiloh - our FMC- has lost nearly all of her family in a traumatic event that still haunts her a year later. She has been through what no other person should go through in their life. Starting a new high school all by herself in a new town, Shiloh learns to cope with her new reality.
Ashley N. Rostek has a gift for writing strong female leads... I thought nobody could be on the same level as Maura Quinn, but Shiloh is unique in her own way. I admire the way she is strong yet is capable of showing her vulnerabilities to the right people, like Maura.
The guys in the book were AMAZING... Creed, Colt, Keelan and Knox all varied in personalities but complemented Shiloh greatly. (Sidenote- Creed is my favourite) It was great to see her relationships develop at their own pace, it made everything seem more organic and natural.
Creed and Colt's relationship with Shiloh, juxtaposed with Ethan's friendship resulted in the ultimate friend group. Their protectiveness of her was just too cute.
I demolished this whole book in one go... that final chapter especially...I'm eager to see what happens in the next book. This was such a captivating book that I will be rereading to tide me over for the next book.
~𝘢𝘳𝘤 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸~

[❥ KAT ❥ Kitty Kats Crazy About Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

FIND ME: is the first full length romance book in the series 'WITSEC', by 'New to me author Ashley N. Rostek.

First it was this cover popping up ALL OVER social media which stopped me in my tracks. Then I READ the BLURB and I hunted this book down like my life depended on it, and I'm so glad I did, this was INHALED at record speeds, I LOVED everything about this and wouldn't change a thing..

-𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙨
-𝙁𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙮 𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙



Eighteen year old Shiloh has had to start over without anyone beside her as she battles through life after her parents and twin sister were killed by MR X. She's not ready to start a new high school as a senior at Copper Mountain High School in the new town she chose to start fresh whilst in a witness protection programme but is surprised by the support that comes in the four hot brothers that live next door. (Knox, oldest, stand-offish, broody and very protective of his brothers and my favourite out of these hot guys. Keelan is the jokester of the family, and a skilled MMA fighter Creed was stand-offish and very guarded & Colt is the softer friendlier one of the two twins )

She tries to act as though she has life all figured out but her flashbacks and nightmares drag her under a dark cloud and have her screaming throughout the night which wakes the guys next door. And they know without digging too much that there's more to her than meets the eye.



This tiptoed between darkness and lightness frequently which gave me the perfect balance and a taste of craving more. The author had me eating out of the palm of hand as she weaved an unputdownable tale which had me trapped until the very end even as I crashed over that cliffy my mind was still in the book many hours after closing that last page making me excited for the next book.

* Teasers used is off the authors facebook page *

                  

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a fun start to a reverse harem series! The development of this book is pretty slow, so you have to be patient, but I was all in for this book by the end. Shiloh's whole family was killed by her stalker, so she's in hiding and has a new identity. She meets the four brothers loving next door and quickly becomes friends with them. I actually appreciated that this was a slower romance because she was able to develop a friendships with the guys next door before anything developed even more. I did love how her relationship was so different with each brother, but I do think the twins needed a little more differentiation in her relationship with them. But I loved how they were there for her during her nightmares and when people at school would bully her. This has a little bit of a suspense element with her stalker still on the loose. I'm so excited to see where this series goes next!

[cha · Rating 4 out of 5]

✨ omg it's so garbage but it's MY garbage!! ✨

I usually don't like RH in a non-paranormal/omegaverse world because it sometimes feels a little ridiculous to me, and this book is ridiculous, but it's also entertaining as hell.

I don't even care that the heroine has a hobby of collecting superhero lingerie and PJs, because we all have our own cringy hobbies!! Like myself, right now, about to curl up in bed and binge the fuck out of this series because this is my cringy hobby!!

[Rain]

Tapping out at 60%. I wish I would've known the main characters in this story we're all still in high school. I'm living with a teenager, I don't need to read about them too. (My fault for not reading the premise and getting sucked in by the gorgeous cover!)

Every single one of my friends loved the story so I might give it another chance when I'm an empty nester. 😂

[Paula · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is exactly what I wanted. It reminded me of Ghost Bird in a good way and I'm probably re-reading this right away because I don't think I'm gonna be able to find something similar in the next few days.

[Marguerite (M) · Rating 3 out of 5]

or perhaps 3.5 stars

Warning: some spoiler and slightly ranting review below. I enjoyed the book but it also made me want to shoot myself in the head.
But before you dive into it, if you liked Seraph Black and The Cardinal Bird you should definitely love this book.

Find me is the first installment in Shiloh's story and was such an incredible idea. Unfortunately, it had to suffer from a handful of cliches, riding the broken-heroine-needs-testosterone-to-survive trope a little too tightly.

Why?

+ Shiloh went through a horrific tragedy that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. Her parents and twin sisters were murdered in front of her by her delusional stalker a year ago, yet today she is able to walk, talk, eat, and build herself back together.
Shiloh is obviously very strong.

But Shiloh might be an incredible survivor, she is also the heroine of a reverse harem romance and had to be turned into a blushing klutz.

+ Shiloh has scars she wants to hide; the scars remind her of the night she lost everything and make people ask too many questions. She says over and over again she wants to hide them from the world, which is very understandable.

But Shiloh only wears no-show socks and very warm hoodies in the Arizona weather so her love interest can pity her. I guess Target doesn't sell long sleeves there.

+ Shiloh is in the Witness Protection program. She has lived one year with her serious, protective, overly-trained US Marshall uncle and knows very well that she cannot talk about her life before for her safety and the ones around her.

But not only Shiloh is 18 she is also the heroine of a reverse harem romance. She needs to give hints and clues to her love interests so they can go all protective mode and start investing in bubble wrap. Her men know that as soon as they ditch the notion of personal space, Shiloh will spill all of her secrets.

cue sighing

I would be lying if I hadn't expected the book to use many general and slightly lame plot devices. The story needed to go forward and the advantage of the reverse harem genre is that it does not need to take itself too seriously.
The fact that Shiloh has nightmares every night and talks in her sleep was awfully convenient and it gave everyone excuses to talk about something they should never have talked about. I am no expert in the WITSEC program but I'm pretty sure blurting you're part of it is a big no-no in the handbook.

Find me is highly entertaining if you're looking for a darker version of The Ghost Bird but majorly disappointing if you actually want to deal in witness protection and a murderous stalker on the loose.
The guys are both cuddly and assholes, Shiloh loves to cook, they even play in the pool. And obviously, all the supporting girls in this story are huge bitches bordering on sociopathic.

And it doesn't help that the story does not end on a cliffhanger but mid-fall. In a middle of a scene, a slightly unnecessary one that just piles more trauma on Shiloh's plate. This ending was very frustrating, and not in a good way.

But I am invested in the story. I want to see more of Creed who was by far the best guy, I want myself an Uncle Logan and I want to see what will happen to Shiloh. I felt bad for the girl, not just because of her awful trauma but because she was destined to become a romance heroine. She went through so much and she needs all the love, but she also deserves so much more than to be just that.

> 18 years old heroine
> Cliffhanger
> No MM
> No FF
> Three guys
> Single POV
> Who falls first? the guys

Trigger warning:
Stalker, murder, grief, mention of substance abuse and attempted assault, smoking, emotional and physical bullying.

[T D. · Rating 1 out of 5]

I feel bad that I didn't like this book.

I have nothing against the author, in fact, her Maura Quinn series was one of my top reads in the previous year, one of the few I gave 4 or 5 stars to, but this book was not.

The main character is seriously bland. She had everything to be an exceptional protagonist. She had a tragic and very traumatic past that could have been what shaped her as a character, she was in a witness protection program in addition to knowing martial arts and being able to defend herself like no one else. The author could have given us a protagonist who was serious and closed, someone who found it very difficult to open up to others, someone who was distrustful, someone who was insecure and as the story progressed, she started to become stronger, more open and less insecure... but that's not what she offered us.

Instead it gave us someone flat and boring, who within minutes of meeting her future love interests, starts to get close to them. She forgets that they are strangers and that they all live alone, and all because they are good looking, because according to her they don't give her a bad vibe. Really? Hasn't anyone explained to her that someone may appear to be nice, but in reality they may be a psychopath? Didn't something terrible happen to her with someone who was a teacher but in reality was a murderer? Didn't she learn anything? Her attitude doesn't match someone who watched her parents and sister die, it doesn't match someone who was trapped with her stalker nor was she almost murdered, stabbed or practically tortured.

And what about her being in WITSEC and not supposed to tell ANYONE what happened to her? But she is so stupid that every other second she would go around opening her mouth and spilling facts about herself and then go around saying "I shouldn't have said that" or regretting doing so. She spills almost everything about her life in a very short time, just because the guys are cute. No suspense, no drama, no expectations.

And that's another point: the main character keeps naming the guys' abs, how beautiful they are, how confident she feels with them. EVERY.DAMN.MOMENT. It sounded like a Wattpad book.

And you can't miss the "I'm not like other girls". Because obviously she's a god's bread, she's different from the others because she's a virgin, innocent with sex, she's the only one who's suffered in life, the only one who's not shallow, the only kind and good one in the book, and all the others have to be Mean Girls.

Why always in teen stories in the high school setting, do they always have to put the popular queen bitches who hate the protagonist for no apparent reason except the fact that our protagonist gets close to the good-looking men in high school, WHY!!!!

Why throw such ugly shots at other women just because of a man, doesn't it make them tired?

Now, let's talk about said men. Each and every one of them are flat and vapid, there is nothing to differentiate them. Literally, I just finished it and all I know is that two are twins, one is the older one who knows martial arts and one is an idiot. Oh, and that they have ripped abs and are good looking. I don't know anything else. They are forgettable characters with no personality.

The romance is absurd crap. There's no chemistry, there's no attraction, there's no reason why they like Shi and why she likes the brothers. There isn't. Or maybe it's just the idea that she's vulnerable and needs protection and she feels protected. The Reverse Harem in this book is one of the worst I've had the opportunity to read.

What about the plot, what's the plot about, because all that happens in this book is that the girl meets the cute guys, falls in love, we are shown some night terrors of the main character, they kiss, they regret it and that's it. There is no suspense, no drama, no nothing. I was hoping for more about the witness protection program, more about her uncle's investigation against him Mr. x, I was hoping he would find her and she would have to run away again or a confrontation or anything OTHER THAN NOTHING.

And speaking of that, HOW THE FUCK DID A POLICE OFFICER EVER THINK OF TELLING THE VICTIM THAT HER HARASSER KILLED ANOTHER WOMAN LOOKING LIKE HER, PUT A PICTURE OF HER FACE ON THE VICTIM, RAPED HER FOR DAYS AND MASTURBED OVER HER BODY? HOW DOES THAT SHIT MAKE ANY LOGIC!!!!! He should be fired for being an idiot.

In conclusion, this book is boring as hell, the dialogue was painful to read, the characters were underdeveloped, the plot is non-existent and the main character is stupid.

I expected more from this book and its author, something equal or even better than Maura Quinn, but that's not what happened.

[Jessica ❥Chatterbooks Book Blog❥ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been in an awful fucking book slump, and I read this in one sitting. I have to give it 5 stars for that alone!

[Marti · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it so much.
I'm obsessed.
I literally couldn't put the book down.
What is it about this trope that is so freaking addictive??
I picked this book thinking I'd casually read the series throughout the month, but I can't do that. I need to get all the books and read them now.
The fact that Colt, Creed, Keelan, and Knox have similar names was so confusing. And since they're brothers, their physical descriptions are also very similar, but once I got who's who, everything was great.

I don't know what it says about me that my favorite is always the broody one, but Knox omg I loved him. The FMC is such a badass but she's also very traumatized, and I loved the shift between her being independent and also relying a lot on the boys. I thought the contrast was so good. You know that urge to have 4 boys pining over you and carrying you places? This satisfies that so well. It was all so natural and domestic omg I can't.
I really wanted to write a good review, but I can't!
Can you tell?
All I can think of is that the story was so addicting and that ending has me in a chokehold.

[Poppy Sabrina · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.75⭐️

What a brilliant start to a series, I’ve literally had so much fun with this book 🤩

Why choose is one of my favourite tropes ever, I haven’t read one all year it’s good to be back 😈

The storyline in this is intriguing, I love the pacing, too much hasn’t happened too soon, and we are being drip fed information about Shilohs past. Her relationships with the boys are slowly building, they’ve literally done nothing but kiss so we still have all of that yet to come! Instead of it just being filled with smut & no plot

The boys I’m absolutely obsessed with! creed & colt are definitely my favs, I can picture them so clearly with their personalities etc. I also LOVE Shilohs personality, her love for cooking & DC/marvel I find her very relatable in that sense

I’m also really enjoying the underlying WITSEC plot, and all the foreshadowing for her serial killer being out there on the loose and inevitably coming for her, I don’t know where the next books will take us & so I can’t stop reading because of it!

This was heading for 5⭐️ but I just found it got a bit slow towards the end, and I wished there was a bit more angst between her & the boys, and dual POV would make this insaneeee- but I’m so invested 🙌🏼

[RLbooks (in and out) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Find Me is one of those books that was so amazing, I was sending messages to friends while I was reading to let them know how much I was enjoying it and then sending a final message when done to encourage them to read it too. I loved so much about this book and I'm excited to see where the series will go with everything that's happened. In terms of darkness, there are elements of this book that are darker themed, but I would personally not label it as a dark read. It does have moments of high tension and suspense though, my heart was beating out of my chest at times. It also gets emotional several times and I got teary. There are flashbacks of trauma, bullying from classmates (not in the harem), and fear of potential future threats, but these are incorporated throughout with less intense moments/scenes to break up the tension. I don't want to give too much away in this book.

As a main character, Shiloh is a vulnerable barely-adult with a core of quiet strength who's experienced enormous trauma but has a fighting spirit. She doesn't like attention, can kick ass, has a fun sense of humor, and is a caring and genuine person. I loved her character and seeing her relationships develop with her neighbors and a couple of her classmates. She's afraid to feel strong connections to others because of her past and the danger in her future and my heart ached for her. Then she'd say something snappy to defend herself or change the subject and I'd want to fist bump her.

Let's talk the guys - four brothers who live next door to Shiloh and each stands on their own distinctly. I don't have a favorite because they're all wonderful and I'd take any (or all) of them as a book boyfriend. They've also experienced loss and a couple of them hold back a bit and reserve judgement when meeting new people. Which is fine, because each of these guys still step up to the plate to be included in Shiloh's new life there, and help protect and support her in each of their own ways. There's a bit of steam, but this is a slow burn with no full act in this first book. I also appreciated that the guys are solely focused on Shiloh, first as friends and then with the hints of there being more to their relationships. One of the guy's past hook-ups does cause mean girl drama and another woman who's interested in at least one of the guys is mean, but there's no OW drama in the sense of the guys showing interest in others. The RH relationship is not confirmed/set in stone before the end of the book, but there are discussions of sharing.

Find Me does end on a big cliffy and I'm not saying anything else about that. I'll be anxiously waiting for an announcement about book 2 though. If you've been looking for a contemporary RH to pick up, this is me throwing this book at anyone who'll listen.

[Alexandria Redmourn · Rating 5 out of 5]

an intriguing book with a unique storyline. it was a captivating read i couldn't and didn't want to put down.

shiloh, our main character, is an eighteen-year-old girl whose been through so much cr*p in her life that no one deserves to go through. reading her flashback scenes and PTSD episodes had my heart breaking for her. upon first glance, she's quite timid and quaint but she has more layers beneath the surface that i can't wait to peel back in book two.

knox, let's start with the oldest stone brother first because he's my favourite. brooding, stone-cold, standoffish—he's got to be the sexiest one out of the four. i loved him from the very beginning, instantly attracted to his brand of a-holeness. he's a big, growly man at first glance but he's actually fiercely protective of his family and puts them first. he barrels into our MC's heart and doesn't retreat, instead demands that he stay there and in his typical a-hole fashion, says it with nonchalance. i don't know if there's something wrong with me for liking him, haha.

creed, i instantly took a liking to him. maybe it's because i have my own creed in my WIP, but it's definitely more than that. he's a younger, more softer version of knox with all the attributes of his oldest brother, but less of a douche. he shields himself and holds everyone at arm's length, but beneath that, he's a sweetheart. i want one of him, thanks.

keelan, he's an absolute dumba**. he's the joker in the family and an absolute nut. i loved reading about his character. he provides the comic relief needed in a book that has so many heavy emotions. we didn't see a lot of his emotional depth in this one, so i really look forward to reading more about him in book two. AND THE WAY HE TEASES SHI, OHMYFREAKINGGOSH!!!

colt, he's the emotional support in this harem. the 'nice' guy. he's soft and sweet and the type of of man you want as your boyfriend. he's safe, conventional—that is, unless you mess with what's his. behind his soft exterior, he's a lot like knox with his growliness and i definitely need more scenes of him being extra protective of shiloh.

oh, and let me just say, i want myself an uncle logan as well, thanks.

the high school portion threw me off because i hate h/s romances, but this book needed that. it gave it that extra 'oomph' and provided the much-needed drama.

I'M SORRY BUT THAT ENDING??? miss author ma'am will be paying for my therapy. i swear it was so predictable but it left me reeling all the same.

highly recommend this book and if you read it and give it anything below five stars, that is a crime.

trigger warnings [mention of:]

— rape.
— sexual abuse.
— stalking.
— murder.
— gore.
— PSTD.
— physical abuse.
— nightmare/flashbacks.

*𝘢𝘳𝘤 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸*

[Al *the semi serial series skipper*]

DNF

I couldn't do it.

[Ruman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why is everyone praising this book so much. After reading all of the 5 star reviews I was expecting a lot. Maybe that's the reason i found this so underwhelming, coz I went into this book with such high expectations.

This book is such a huge cliche, an abused FMC who is apparently an introvert, but has no problem making friends with a bunch of people immediately and keeps on dropping into her neighbours house every fricking day and also cooks for them. And the guys that think the FMC is an amazing person who can do no wrong and shits rainbows. And how can we forget bunch of catty girls who have it against the FMC. I don't mind cliches, if they are done well. But this was an absolute bore.

Maybe if id gone into the book with 0 expectations i wouldn't be as disappointed. But I didn't find anything amazing in this book.

To sum it up, the book was meh.😑

[Madison · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my ALL TIME new fave why choose romances. I am utterly obsessed with Shiloh and the guys!! Not only did I instantly connect and fall in love with Shi (who is a total badass in every way) but I also wanted to protect her as much as I could!

The guys were priceless and I love how they each had such distinct personalities. Colt, Creed, Keelan, and Knox! (Knox took the longest to truly warm up Shiloh but we love a reluctant age gap).

I am, obviously, hell impartial to the twins though—they are my faves and I love them so much! But even with the twins…Creed has to be my fave. I loved him instantly and i just can’t help it!!! Although my fave scene is when Shiloh flips Keelan on his butt when he sneaks up behind her—priceless!! But even with that being said, i loved the scene when Shiloh goes to the twins’ swimming practice in a team jersey to cheer them on ❤️ it was so cute!!!

I am also super invested in the stalker subplot and really loved how Ashley wove everything together. This first book is super short but i can’t wait to continue. A++++++


If you like Tate James, you 1000% need to pick this up!

~this first book isn’t very spicy, mostly kissing~


*please be aware of the TWs because Shi suffers from a lot of PTSD and there is also bullying (from outside the harem)*

[Eliza · Rating 1 out of 5]

I gave up actually reading it after 15%, then skimmed through the whole book and discovered that almost nothing happens 😭

Also, TEENAGERS SHOULDN'T BE IN SEXUALLY EXPLICIT REVERSE HAREM BOOKS. That is all.

[alexandria · Rating 2 out of 5]

there is definitely a conspiracy theory behind all these 5 star ratings on this book because this book literally had no plot. nothing happened. and the few things that DID happen… read like a riverdale episode. like we get a girl who’s “not like other girls” and she is just left alone at 18 with her own house. shes a senior in high school. basically gets adopted by this set of four blonde brothers (whos parents are all dead too) who are all in love with her for no reason. every guy she meets thinks shes hot and every girl is jealous of her. shes being chased by an old teacher named “Mr X” ((flashback to the Mr X harry styles stories)) who killed her parents and sister and thats why miss girl is in witness protection now. but at no point in time is she in any actual danger. the entire book is just high school drama and having the brothers save her.

[D. BookAngel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved every minute of reading this book. It was amazing, heartbreaking, swoon worthy, sweet etc. I had heard so many good things and now I can confirm that it was great. It was such an easy read (writing wise), I flew through it. My mistake was starting it so late at night that I had to pull an almost all-nighter. My eyes gave out at 5 am though, put I woke up immediately thinking about it & pickin it back up.

Shi's story is so sad. You just felt for her & were rutting for her. Everytime she fell apart, you just want her to heal. But she still somehow managed to be sweet, caring, sassy and innocent which I absolutely loved.

I thought it was going to be a bully romance (you know like every other rh high school romance). But to my total surprise, it wasn't. Which I was more than happy with bc it made it unique. I fell in love with the guys from the beginning. I don't even have a favorite (I always have a favorite in a rh story but I can't choose between the guys) They were there every step of the way since they met Shi. They wouldn't leave her & always supporting her. Even my broody, closeoff asshole. Love them all.

Steam wise, it wasn't very steamy. But I still loved it bc you could feel the chemistry and angst. It was different, like a breath of fresh air for rh & high school romance. I really did enjoy it.

I need book 2! December is too far away 😪 I miss them already

Y'all need to give it a chance. Go read it!

[Darcey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was exactly what I needed, entertaining and addictive trashy RH greatness!! Also yay, finally an RH where the boys aren’t major assholes. Onto book #2.

[Belle · Rating 4 out of 5]

2nd reread two years later - rounding down to 4

Pretty much everything i said below still remains, but the mean girl cruelty and the not like other girls vibe the fmc gives off lowered it for me this time. I still like the story, but i wish there was a bit less going on with others outside of Mr. X.

I also am 100000% over the virgin/manwhore trope, especially as it pertains to high school students.


Original review:

4.5 stars rounded up

I really enjoyed this book! It kept me hooked from beginning to end. The writing was great, the characters were solid and emotions felt real.

Shiloh was an intriguing FMC who has been through so much. The way we find out the snippets of her past were very well done and built up her personality well.

The guys all felt different enough and I’m intrigued to learn even more about them. I love how they reacted to things, even Knox who’s a bit pricklier. I loved seeing bits of their day to day rather than major event/trauma one after the other. I’m excited to see how things are going to be handled after the cliffhanger and watch their romances develop more. The twins have shared before, which I was a bit disappointed about, but it’ll be interesting to see how they all decide to share Shiloh.

The thing that lessened my enjoyment of this personally was the mean girl drama. I’m just a bit over other girls being portrayed as over the top cruel, and typically over a guy. They didn’t add anything to the story for me.

Overall though, great writing, great flow and great characters. Excited for book 2!

[Jade · Rating 5 out of 5]

3rd Read: 10/1/24
Still love it and a good, easy book to get back into reading after having my bubba ♡

2nd Read: 6/8/22
This is definitely one of my new comort read series (this and The Bonds That Tie). I love the dynamics of Shiloh and her boys, I love all the drama and angst, and the plot is awesome. I'll probably read it again before 2022 is out.

1st Read: 19/3/22

[Rayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up because this might get me out of my reading slump.

I was hesitant going into this because they are still in high school and the first couple pages were a bit hard to get through but I was told to trust the process. I’m glad I did because this ended up being a lot of fun! A bit silly at times and the depiction of every other woman was disappointing, but I still had a fun time. I think this was a right time, right place, kind of situation because I purely enjoyed it because of the vibes. Nothing has been keeping my attention lately but this was the perfect amount of drama and fast paced plot to keep me engaged.

My biggest issue with this book was how every other woman was written. By other characters, they are viewed as brainless sluts and they had no personality or motive besides bullying the FMC. A lot of characters I found did things without any reasoning just to move the plot forward. This is a fun, silly time so I can ignore some technical errors and get past a writing style that isn’t my favourite, but I hate when women are viewed solely as objects. This was mot just from the characters, but clearly from the author too.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Has anyone ever seen the 2008 horror movie Prom Night starring Brittany Snow, Scott Porter, and Idris Elba? That movie gave me nightmares for years after I saw it in 8th grade. This book is basically the reverse harem version of that movie, and I. LOVED. IT.

Sure, Shiloh is a bit of a special snowflake who is really stupid sometimes (the fact that she literally never understands innuendos...c'mon girl), but surprisingly, I really liked her. She has been through some seriously effed up trauma and has severe PTSD, but she is also sweet and relatable in how she handles her pain. I loved all 4 of the brothers--I don't even think I can pick a favorite. The story also had great pacing, for the most part.

My only complaint is that literally everyone seems to be obsessed with this girl--like too many people. She's on the run from Mr. X but then there's this guy Jacob chasing after her. Then there's Gabe, Cassy, Stephanie, Amber...there are just so many minor villains in this too.

[Valkyrie ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was going to give this 5 stars, because it's honestly addictive, but the way every single female character hated the main character and bullied her to the extreme was just too much internalized misogyny for me. Same as every man instantly obsessing over her and wanting to kidnap/hurt her... This was a 5 star read for me until the last scene, that was just too much lol

But the idea of 4 blood related brothers sharing a girl is so taboo and forbidden and insanely unrealistic, that it was perfect.

Come on book, take my mind off real life and give me a good time.

[Kiana · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book made me feel safe and
vulnerable at the same time. The plot was wild.
It was a foreign read for me, but I kinda liked it.
I loved the characters.

[ivona &#x13212;ㅤׂㅤ&#x1065a; ࣪ ⭒ · Rating 4 out of 5]

”you’re so beautiful when you laugh. your whole face lights up. your smile is the best part.” ”then we should make her laugh more often.”

⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖ ࣪ 4🌟
witsec series is slow burn reverse harem taboo romance with mystery crime subplot and i must say i had great time. it’s my first reverse harem and introduction to ashley’s writing. it’s addictive quick and easy read. if you’re into rh i highly recommend.

shi really went through so much, but as much as i like her and think she is strong character, i’ve had my issues with her few times. brothers on the other hand, had me gasping for air. their personalities clash and no matter the differences, they have the biggest and softest hearts and they are so patient and kind with her. shi girl i understand. i wouldn’t choose either. i can’t wait to see how the story continues and how will they navigate through their feelings.

”you barreled your way into our lives and somehow made yourself important. i don't want to care about you, but i do, and it pisses me off."

”the weight of their absence will get lighter over time. and you won’t always be alone, shiloh.”

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven't been able to stop thinking about this book. It was so good! I am in love with everything about it. This is some masterclass writing by Ashley. Everything flowed so effortlessly, the scenes, the dialogue, the pacing, the background snippets we are given, the emotions Ashley evokes in you as you read them. The only way I can think to describe this story is heartbreakingly beautiful. The tragedy and horror that the FMC endured is terrible. Her recovery is painstaking and gut wrenching. The crap that she has to deal with at school is infuriating but the relationships she is forging with her 4 sexy neighbors is everything. The slow burn and chemistry is done so well.

This is one of my top reads for the year!
Absolutely recommend!