Juliet and Jasper… omg I hate them this book
Usually I love all these books. They are depraved, taboo, and amazing. This book was really sweet because I loved seeing Evan get his happily ever after. He’s my favorite of all the men. But the bullying from Juliet had little to no consequences which ruined the book.
Juliet was a bully right off the bat and so was Jasper. His first time meeting Nelly and he was screaming about her. Then Juliet makes fun of Nelly’s background, effectively shaming Nelly for being poor and struggling through life. And Jasper seemed very proud of her for being a bully. (It was SUPER satisfying to see Evan openly talk about cutting out Jasper’s tongue though. And I’m so happy Max and Tori were kind to Nelly! I love them.)
At the end of the book, the last interaction you see with Nelly and the family is a negative one. Everyone basically takes turns punishing her.
Group punishment isn’t unusual for this series (it’s actually a plus most times), but what makes THIS punishment so bad is that you never actually get to see Nelly fully loved and accepted by the entire family for long, thanks to Juliet and Jasper. She is basically an outsider. So when she’s punished by the family, it feels like it’s coming from a place of hatred, not love. Juliet and Jasper also seem to enjoy every time Nelly is hurting. (After they get their turns hurting her they enjoy it less but still) I never hated them before but now I do.
Then afterwards it’s briefly mentioned how they don’t hate her but it’s never actually shown. Jasper and Juliet tell her they forgive her but it’s extremely brief. There’s no “aftercare” so to speak that actually shows Nelly being loved and accepted by Juliet and Jasper in the end.
I get that Nelly was trying to expose them, but you would think Juliet of all people would be more understanding of how scary and jarring this new world is. She was the most resistant of all the girls in her book. And Jasper is supposed to be the “adult” figure so it makes it feel extra cruel when he encourages or ignores Juliet’s bullying.
The only reason I can’t give this 1 star is because I really like the world the author has built. Nelly and Evan are very adorable together. But usually the books feel very welcoming. You get to watch someone join a loving family for the better. I just read someone get bullied and outcasted with no real touching family moment at the end to tie it together. Nelly really thought she was helping the girls. Arguably she was the most selfless Little for putting herself at risk to try to save girls when she thought were in trouble. Yet her book felt the most lonely and unloved.
Props to Tori, Max, and Izzy for being warm and accepting. They defend her against Jasper and Juliet’s bullying a few times. It still sucks that there had to be a book where one girl doesn’t truly get her “found family” though. That’s always been this series biggest lovable point for me.