4.5 stars-It's only my second book by Gemma Weir
And I want more just like it... this one pushes the darkness boundary, and I was ALLLLLL for it #JudgementFreeZone. Gimme more of these please (this is based on the filthy elites anthology version… I’ll update when I read the updated version)
Sebastian's part of the Elite at GAA. He and his three friends graduated to this role once they arrived their freshmen year. They're responsible for maintaining peace between students and enforcing rules/meting out punishments. With their title comes status and they're known for being manhooooars, but not Sebastian anymore💁🏻♀️. He wants Starling; in fact, he's been OBSESSING over her since he first laid eyes on her when she was a wittle itty bitty freshman👀, but because of the school's "leave freshmen alone" rule, he has to wait. But now, it's her sophomore year, and it's time. Time to claim what's his...😈
Sterling's a regular student whose mother's an author. She works to help make ends meet since her mom's job's not always reliable. Sebastian and his friends show up while she's working at the diner, but he's not there to eat. Nope. He's there to bulldoze his way into her life😉-he's been waiting, and he's tired of waiting now. So he does what any sensible person does- he gets her fired 💅
Sterling doesn't know what to make of this. Somehow, she's never noticed him, so what happens when he forcefully takes her to his house? She has an anxiety attack😬. Don't worry, Sebastian's going to take good care of her...😉
What I liked/loved: POSSIBLE SPOILERS-
-How OTT and j/p Sebastian is💁🏻♀️. This man knows no bounds, and he can't be told no either💅. I love that. Don't judge me lol. I mean, this guy has a room all set up for her before she even knows about his obsession (and it includes her favorite shampoo, body wash, and clothes that fit her)... he's been planning this for a whiiiiiiiile😅. No one else's gonna have her🤷🏻♀️. She's HIS Little Bird👀, and he'll clip her wings if he needs to in order to keep her😈
-the smexy scenes🔥. oh GOD… it gets STEAMY in this book 💦. Their first in-person interaction is 🥵. Sure, Sebastian becomes a little *forceful* 😈when it comes to giving her pleasure. Considering she's a virgin and doesn't know anything about smex, he makes sure to *forcibly* teach her all about it. Even when he takes her virginity, I was glued to the pages👀, which leads me to...
-the n0ncon/dubcon scenes😉. Yeah, I love them in my books, and there are plenty of them here🥵. Bastian can't be told no, even if it's coming from the mouth of his obsession💅. When he manipulates her to reveal herself and... find pleasure... I was alllll for it🔥 (even when he demands for her to get on her knees for... HIS pleasure, I was stuck to the pages👀)
-the push/pull😅. There's a looooooooot of pushing away from Starling's side😬. I appreciate it when the h doesn't always submit to the H, and Starling fights him. Don't you worry- Sebastian ALWAYS wins💁🏻♀️
-Sebastian marking his property🔥. Yup, I love this too😈. Please let the world know she's yours- let them SEE👀 she's yours... mark away, please💅
-How sweet and caring Bastian is🥰. Sure, he's forcing his way into her life😅, but he can also be very sweet and endearing. I like that Starling didn't always want to accept his help, but he made it a point to ensure she was okay, physically at least (emotionally/psychologically is a different story 🙃😅lol)
-the BBS. Look, normally, I don't like BBS in my books when the dynamic with the characters isn't the best, but somehow, I loved it in this book 🙃lol. Yes, Sebastian, you work her body like an instrument😈; I'm just here listening to the melody😉
-Sebastian's celibate🥰. Before he became obsessed, he was a manwhore, but once he sets eyes on her, she's IT for him❤️ swoooooon! When they're separated, they're both celibate (well, she's STILL a virgin when this happens)
-The cherry claiming scene🥵- sigh... it finally happens (around 53%), and I love how he did it😅. He starts off on the aggressive side🔥, but he changes and makes it memorable. The amount of Os can only make the rest of us poor mortals jealous😒. I also enjoyed Sebastian making sure no drop was wasted and it all stayed inside of her😉- and he takes a picture to forever remember this day🙃
-Taking away her BC- bahahaha, he's gonna make sure pills are no where in her future😈
-did I mention the smexy times🔥? I'm mentioning it again, cause once they cross the line, it's on💦
-THE BODY WASH SCENE🤣💦!!! bahahaha The nerve Sebastian💅! The freaking nerve💁🏻♀️, but also😈
-If she runs, he'll chase🤷🏻♀️. He's determined 😉
-the tracker as well as the stalking 😈 yup. Don’t give her room to breathe 😅😂
What I didn't like/wanted more of:
-She resisted A LOT... I would've liked her to give in sooner than she did, but hey, I prefer for her NOT to give in so easily like so many other h's, so it didn’t bother me
-The non-American things. There were many things that had be scratching my head. The learner's permit (her mom wouldn't need one- she's an adult), the cheerleaders for the fencing team (I've never heard of this), the use of "proper," the private school setting…
-Private schools tends to be small. As a sophomore, I found it weird asf that Starling doesn’t know who Sebastian is 🤔. How big is the school? It sounded to me like it was on the smaller side, so why doesn’t she know who they are? I get it. She stayed in her lane, but Sebastian and the Elite are wanted by everyone. It would’ve made more sense if she knew who he was and decided to not entertain his obsession with her BECAUSE of who he is and what he represents. Versus just not knowing who he is 😬
-Her mom😑. She irritated the f outta me 😒. I'm glad she isn't necessarily "redeemed." I wanted to slap her 🔪
-The change in Sebastian's approach towards the end. I mean, I get it. But, I wanted him to continue being... uh... aggressive towards Starling lol. I know. I know. I’m horrible lol. I’m sure this is done because of her anxiety attacks, but I still wanted him to continue being more bulldozy 😅lol
Overall, I REALLY enjoyed it. Out of the two books I've read by Gemma Weir, I love this one the most.
⚠️safety squad⚠️
-no cheating/sharing
-noncon/dubcon
-separation/both celibate
-attempted smexual assault (see OM4)
-OM tries to touch h before they even properly meet. H takes care of him 💅
-OM2- after separation (before they have sex), the h straddles one of H’s friends and kisses him when she thinks they’re all going to share her (she’s only wearing a long shirt and nothing else)
-OM3- h dances with OM3 and he grinds his hard-on against her
-panic attacks
-praise kink/tracker/breath play/spanking/edging/degradation kink
-OW kisses H passionately when H is holding h. This OW used to be h’s friend- ETA- apparently this isn’t in the current version
-OM4- he flirts with h and she thinks he’s a good guy. He ends up trying to abuse her/smacks her. The H comes in and rescues her
-no condoms/she’s initially on bc but he gets rid of them 😬
-HEA/HFN/epilogue/one month later