Keily (Book 1-3): Galatea Complete Edition of the High School Bully Romance Hit

Keily #1-3

by Manjari

Genres: Romance, High School

686 pages, Paperback

Published July 3, 2024

Reviews

[Kayla B · Rating 2 out of 5]

First of all, if you are considering this book in hopes of spice, move along. 0/5 spice, we don't even get to PG-13 by the end of Book 1. Very much a "they get in bed then the narration skips to the next morning" vibe.

I read book 1 and I am highly suspicious that this book was written by an AI software. I was looking forward to reading a female lead of a body size I could relate to and while the book accurately hits on some of the psychological issues raging in those with body-image issues, they lacked depth. The descriptions of her own body, her fears, other characters' insults and praises, etc. were highly repetitive in word choice (common in AI). Her fears and mental processing of her own body dysmorphia was rather surface level, when in reality that shit goes deep and impacts every social experience. It was like an AI reviewed a few articles on the consequences of fat-shaming and body-image issues and picked a few key words and ideas to parrot repetitively without adding nuance (another AI challenge). The writing style was also just odd. Not grammatically inaccurate, but odd phrasing and paragraph composition, like a computer was tasked with providing details it algorithmically thinks women want, rather than how a human would write to naturally include relevant details into a sentence so they don't interrupt the flow of the story. The function of storytelling has been performed, but there is no personality in the writing, another AI flag.

Finally, there is the story itself. Meh. This dude isn't teasing or just making her life difficult, it is verbal abuse that he admits was intended to hurt her. Regardless of his reasons for saying it, that decision/lack of control raises red flags for his overall long-term character in what could become a toxic relationship if he gets annoyed again. The main character herself also has no personality, only half a sentence about common interests she shares with her cousin. Why does he like her? Why do others include her immediately? What does she want to do with her life beyond survive high-school, or even do for fun? Very 2D. Not a romance you want to copy in your own life, and no descriptions of spicy time to make the reader overlook the book's flaws.

Overall, 2D stereotypical characters, highly repetitive descriptions, awkward phrasing, and shallow emotional process makes this stink of AI.

[Mia S. · Rating 1 out of 5]

I actually DNF, as a big girl I get it, but No. Yes he was regretful and she forgave but quick from calling a whale to I love you. I stopped after they got together and her self esteem so low that why stay with her because of their differences. Just no.

[Katy Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 1 was amazing couldn’t put it down, book 2 was honestly a disappointment, and book 3 was good but not nearly as good as the first. Book 2 focused way too much on Kiely’s body issues, felt like repetitive fillers.

[Trudy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall I enjoyed these books.

The name calling in book one and two made me uncomfortable, which I guess is the point!

The end did have me smiling.

[Jenifer Jarrett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was very happy to be able to finish a story that an ad online sucked me into. Story has a happy ending. Thank you to the author and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book(s).

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

They didn’t have the book up for book 3 so I used this. Overall great story. Very heartfelt

[Taylor Ellis · Rating 2 out of 5]

lol ashamed to have spent money on this

[Fanni Szabó · Rating 1 out of 5]

Kíra, ha ezt az értékelést olvasod, akkor sajnálom, nincs magyarázatom rá. De őszintén mondom, soha eszedbe ne jusson elolvasni, mert ez valami katasztrófa. A kedvencem az volt, hogy a his és her ragok random fel voltak cserélve bizonyos helyeken, ezért nem igazán lehetett tudni, hogy most kinek a mijéről van szó. Egyszerűen csodálatos volt 😂

[A. King · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book One- You know that moment when you're watching a movie and you want to scream at someone "Stop being an idiot and just be HONEST already!"?? I had many of those moments in book one. For one, I hate a weak main female character. But I will add that there is some GROWTH in here. And that's what kept me going. It took a while to get there, but then, if you look at who she is, you can see that she's grown with near 10 years worth of people openly judging her for being a bigger size. 10 years worth of people telling her their unwanted (and frankly unneeded) opinions on HER health and how SHE should do this or that... that is going to take a lot to overcome.

And who would have thought that it'd be the guy who picked on her the hardest to maybe show her the way.

Book two- Oh the self-consciousness of this poor girl was making me want to tear my hair out, but the comeback of James' best friend was even worse! We all have that "one friend" who we want to approve of everything and everyone in our lives because they are the closest thing to us, right? That one person whose opinion could ultimately lead us to changing our decisions on certain things. Maybe even most things.

What happens when that one person is out to torment and distance you from the person you seem to love the most? Bullying them to the point that there's a chance it could break things without you even realizing? Fake niceties and low platitudes fill the pages when this friend comes back and man, does it make me want to smack a boy. Even after I find out the reasons why.

Book three- It's college time! Plans have turned so that James is off to school, again, with Keily. And this is a huge deal. Why? Because he managed to tell his father in a calm and meaningful way that football wasn't his way of life, but a passion. He didn't want to pursue it as a career but instead wanted to go to college for academics. HUGE step, when it comes to the fact that dad was putting out a pretty meaningful fight.

Here's where the trouble comes in. Keily is fitting in for once. College is a whole new setting, where she's flourishing. Academics are her thing. And on top of that, she's made new friends. Meanwhile, James is sort of floundering and not always able to voice just what he needs in order to fix it. But also, with their schedules so opposite one another, they rarely get to see each other and it's making things slightly more tense. They try to make time for each other, but at times it fails and it feels like things are just getting harder and harder.

THEN. They move in together and it feels like maybe things could change for the better. But all it does is showcases just how hard he's working, only to be dejected more once he fails again and again.

Can their relationship survive this turmoil? I'm not giving away the ending. Come find out for yourself ;)

[Oruare Ojimadu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Keily's journey through school is filled with lots of drama as she battles with her perceived self image. The bulling and taunting of fellow school mates was really intense. At some point, I was seriously exasperated! However, I have observed in some certain cases that such bullying and body shaming especially among teens can go overboard. Keily was quite strong to take it day by day. I just wished she stood up for herself and didn't have to wait for others to do so. Her interactions with James was quite infuriating at the beginning and to say he had feelings for her and did what he did could be seen as childish but then again, as you read further you see him as a teen with perfect image before others, struggling with his own low self worth. Glad I got to read the full collection once and not have to wait to read each.
I am glad that Keily had parents who supported and handled her with understanding. Yes, James changed for the better but the impact of his words affected Keily. However, it was good to see that Keily moved on, forgave and learnt to appreciate and love herself the way she was.
I received a copy from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Sav · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had high hopes for this book, but unfortunately, it just didn’t work for me. I ended up DNFing it around the 50% mark of book one. The story had an interesting premise, but it felt like the execution fell flat. The main character wasn’t compelling, and I struggled to connect with her. She didn’t feel well-rounded, and the emotional depth I expected wasn’t there.

The dynamics between the characters didn’t engage me either. I found the interactions a bit forced and lacking in authenticity. As the plot unfolded, it just didn’t captivate me, and I found myself skimming through parts rather than truly enjoying the story.

The writing style wasn’t strong enough to keep me interested. It felt repetitive, and I had trouble staying engaged with the plot. There were moments where I thought it might pick up, but ultimately, I couldn’t push through to the end.

In the end, this book wasn’t for me, and I couldn’t bring myself to finish it. I’m disappointed because I really wanted to enjoy it, but it just didn’t deliver the connection and depth I was looking for. Therefore I give this book 1 aka 0 ⭐.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC copy!

[YanaBanana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve read the whole series and was left a little disappointed at the end, as it feels that a gap has formed between James and Keily at the final. I read the first book a couple of times and I was fascinated by the romance and the intensity of the feelings and growing love. And that definitely lucks in the final part. Also both characters feel as they are somebody else. Not sure if to expect another book to pop along, but I’d love to read a great final with both marrying and having kids together. And being back to their intense elemental feelings and being fascinated by each other.

[Becky Balz · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Facebook ad grabbed my attention, although the section that was in the advertisement ended up not being in the book. I finished the entire series though. It’s not super spicy if that’s what you’re looking for. There is an app that adapted the story into a short movie. The storyline is different and the characters look nothing like I pictured. The app costs money, a lot if you want a subscription so be aware.

[Amy Cook · Rating 1 out of 5]

I finished it BUT god was it a struggle. If you go by the book cover... Keily is literally average size, the CONSTANT mention of her weight, not just her inner thoughts/insecurities but literally every person has something to say. Like, please stop. I have no doubt there was several gives in this high school that were the same size or heavier, the whole "fat girl" thing just did my absolute head it, I just skipped most of it as my OCD would not let me DNF.

[Martine Binette · Rating 1 out of 5]

DO NOT READ THIS BOOK!!! The reviews with more than 2 stars have to be fake
The main guy is bullying her ( calling her fat, whale, pig, telling her no man will ever want her,etc)
This is so not ok!!!!! No women should endure that and it pisses me off that she went along with it.
He was just so freakingggggg mean for no reason
I has to dnf the book

[Alexis Stone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet ending to what I would call a high school bully romance! I wanted to scream at the MFC to knock the MMC out so many times, being a big girl myself. I found this to be a slow burn but very well written. Highly recommend if you like quick, high school bully, romance books!

[Jakob Sanders · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book from start to finish. It's an amazing read and I can't recommend it enough.

[Lisa Sanders · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished reading this series for the second time. I absolutely loved every single word.

[Elizabeth Spicer · Rating 1 out of 5]

Terrible writing. Do not waste your time. It’s supposed to be enemies to lovers. But it just. Isn’t.

[Makaeyla Ailport · Rating 4 out of 5]

first book loved and kinda went downhill no character progression

[Jeanette · Rating 2 out of 5]

Language was a bit weird at times, can tell it is an unedited book. Could be a great story after some editing.

[Brianna Hendren · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first book I enjoyed and would rate a 3.5 but the other two books just annoyed me.

[#D. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I finished the 3rd book. The first one was really good, the second and 3rd could have been 1: repeated problems, repeated situations
Keily got stronger, James got weaker. Whatever.

[Kyra Stevko · Rating 2 out of 5]

Using this as a placeholder for book 3, as it’s not on Goodreads (yet).

[Lipika Mohapatra]

wanna read it

[Megan Chavers · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like chat GPT wrote this book…

[Maria · Rating 2 out of 5]

I actually DNF’d the last book. The books progressively get cringier.

[winnie_reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

I missed my wattpad era and this book just gave me that okay leave me alone

[Megan Crosier · Rating 3 out of 5]

Galatea - Read
Not sure if dated

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read all three in less than a week. Quick reads but repetitive storyline. Wouldn’t read again.