When Nessa Davenport arrives in Fallthorne, a fallen tree leaves her trudging through the woods when her cab driver can go no further. Stumbling onto two masked men changes the entire trajectory of her life.
Augustus Grayson is a mercurial man, used to the power his surname evokes. When Fallthorne Eliteโs newest English teacher doesnโt fall in line, his interest intensifies into a full-blown obsession.
So at first blush, this Pretty Little Liars meets MaskTok story appears as though it will follow the standard high school bully/enemies-to-lovers trope formula. And it is, at the core an E2L. Itโs also a fuckton more. We also get a dash of forbidden, a side of age gap, and a whole damn buffet of kinks and depravity! If that werenโt enough, Simran layers in a secondary plot that could have likely stood on its own. For many authors this would have been a whole ass mess. I gotta tell ya, it worked! Since weโre being honest, I think 665 pages was a bit excessive. However, Iโm really not mad at it because โฆ Augustus โฆ He is all that and a box of chocolate. But not just him. I adore how brave and stubborn Nessa is as she navigates the toxic and intense situationship sheโs found herself in. Moreover, between the push and pull, the depravity, verbal sparring, and all the suspense, I never once felt like I was ready to wave the white flag. And if you know me, thatโs saying something because I am a slow reader.
Personally, I could have done without one of the scenes. It was a blip in the overall story, but Iโm always left shaking my head when an OTT J/P MMC shares. Ultimately, I think thatโs what led me to land on 4โญ๏ธ.
Final thoughts: Kaid and Scarlett. Yes, please!!
Rating: โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ
Burn: ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ
Darkness: ๐ค๐ค
Heat: ๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ
Range of Emotions: ๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ฅต๐ฌ๐
Ending: ๐ {HFN}
POV: ๐ซ๐ป {Dual | Present}
๐๏ธ Genre: Contemporary Romance
๐๏ธ Subgenre(s): Dark, Erotic, New Adult, Psychological Thriller, Suspense
โจย Tropes: Bad Boy x Good Girl, Billionaire/Powerful Family, Blackmail, Enemies-to-Lovers, Forbidden, Heroine in Danger, Hidden Identity, Insta-Obsession, Revenge, Reverse Age Gap (8), Secret Relationship, Stalker
ย
๐ซย Microtropes: Boy Obsessed, Caveman Carry, โGood Girlโ, Hand Necklace, Pet Name, Secrets & Lies, Tattooed MMC, Tragic Past, โWeโll Make It Fitโ, Who Hurt You?
๐ Kinks: ๐, Biting/Marking, ๐ฉธ Play, Body Betrayal, Breath Play, ๐ Warming, Crawling, Cum Jammer, Degradation, Dirty Talk, Domination, Exhibitionism-ish, Finger Licking Good, Forced Os, Free Use, Inanimate Object, ๐ช Play, Masked MMC, Panty Gag, Praise, Primal, Rimming, Sharing (Once, Fulfilling FMCโs Fantasy), Somnophilia, Spanking, Spit, Squirting
๐ฉ Red Flags: Alphahole, Branding, Bulldozer MMC, Drugged (by MMC), DubCon (by MMC), Jealous/Possessive/Obsessive, Manipulation, MINE!, NonCon (by MMC), OTT Hero, Touch-Her-and-๐, Tracking/Spying, Unhinged MMC
๐คฐ๐ป Pregnancy: n/a
๐ Setting: High School, Small Town
โ ๏ธ Warning: This book is definitely NSFW or with a kiddo by your side. In fact, I would highly recommend you read this one after dark to avoid side eye or awkward conversations.
โ๏ธ Safety Squad: OW/OM Drama (Mild Interest by FMC), Sharing (Once, Fulfilling FMCโs Fantasy), Unalรฌvรญng, Violence, and other potentially triggering elements. If you have any hesitation, check the warnings before diving in. Otherwise, blind is best!!
๐ฃ Type: The Invite is the first book in the The Massacre Ball series. The couple gets their HFN, but the overarching storyline will continue in future books. As such, this series must be read in order.
๐ Be Advised: My Goodreads shelves are โฆ explicit in both senses. As such, they could be considered spoiler-y.