I learned that lesson the hard way when I agreed to helping my friend Justin with a favor.
My platonic friend Justin.
A favor that helped him with his reputation but turned mine into the trending topic at my school. In a matter of days I go from quiet, nobody to school slut.
The problem with that? I’m still a virgin.
The whispers, the stares and the constant gossip could bring me down but I’m tired of hiding in the dark, covering up my anxiety and being alone. I decide to take on the bullies and find a few surprising allies along the way; the Allendale Four.
Oliver, Anderson, Jackson and Hayden make up this tight-knit circle of friends and they make it their mission to protect my reputation, my heart and my soul.
For the first time I’m not alone and I’m not afraid, but will the closed-minded town of Allendale accept our relationship?
A Piece of Heaven is a contemporary young adult reverse harem novel.
2.5 Stars MINOR SPOILERS THROUGHOUT: This book was okay. I went into this book not knowing much about it besides the fact that it was a contemporary reverse harem. This sounded right up my alley so I was really excited to read this book. Sadly, I was severely disappointed with it. The plot wasn't entirely original and reminded me of an RH version of Easy A. The dialogue came off cheesy. The character relationships felt forced and I felt like the author was telling me they liked each other instead of showing me. MY MAIN ISSUE: Heaven, the main character, has a severe social anxiety problem that is prevalent throughout the book. As someone who has severe social anxiety issues myself, I found the writing of Heaven's mindset (especially when she was having an episode) to be unrealistic and a little offensive. Heaven makes many decisions throughout this novel that don't make sense for someone with social anxiety and her mindset in general toward the topic felt off. I didn't appreciate how she looked down upon herself for having a problem and I didn't agree with how she chose to fix it most of the time. The male characters came off flat and-dare I say it?-boring. Their attitudes were very meh and their interactions towards Heaven felt forced. They went from never having spoken to her before to always wanting to be near her/in love with her the next. I felt like something was missing or that I had skipped a few chapters without knowing it. Also, certain parts of the story felt thrown in there and sometimes, didn't make any sense. Overall, I didn't enjoy this book. I wanted to like it, but there were just too many things wrong with it. I feel like the author should have spaced things out more and showed me how the characters felt about each other instead of telling. As of right now, I don't see me continuing the series, but never say never.
This was really not good. The plot is very weak, the catalyst for the bad Heaven needs to be saved from is a joke, and the reason the guys give for coming to her rescue combined with the way they are instantly in love with her makes no sense.
Spoilers
Ok first of all Heaven is this wallflower who decides to help her gay friend cover by pretending to have sex with him and then everyone at two schools becomes obsessed with her having sex, even though the rest of the student body isn't prudish, and her response is to start dressing slutty and acting slutty and then complain when people assume she is slutty. Sang in Ghost Bird series had an absentee father and abusive mother to over come, Heaven has crippling anxiety, because she has to be broken or why else would she be willing to get involved with four guys. The guys are the sexiest thing at their school that everyone is obsessed with and she has had crushes on them from afar, and she is school friends with them, but close enough to talk to them about her crushes on others in the group, doesn't really fit the Cinderella story. The guys, you know these gods,have been conveniently harboring crushes on her since sixth grade but despite being gods of the school were too shy to make a move on her and decide now is the time when she starts acting like a slut, and because of these crushes they all fall instantly in love. Oh and it's super convenient that these 18 year olds who are about to go off to college have decided that the only way they can date is if they all share a girl because anything else would ruin their friendships. And let's talk about her stalker. Seriously the guy becomes obsessed with her just because he thinks she isn't a virgin anymore and he hacks the school computers to watch her. So the school computer was open and pointed at them from the back seat of the care because who doesn't drive with the computer open like that. Same for the stolen losses in the deserted hallway and the grinding session on her front step. I know I always open up my lap tap and leave it conveniently aimed at my nefarious activities. And how convenient that her best friend who she was acting like a beard for immediately realized yeah I am gay and then decided to do nothing about the stalking she is enduring but he cares so much as to tell her mom on her when she admits she is dating four guys. And her mom just instantly is ok with her going off with the guys for the night when they tell the school the police chief's stepson is a bad guy. Yeah they have video proof but it was never shown, they just make a bad teen movie speech and then go off for waffles and a night of sex because the police totally wouldn't want statements and her uber protective mom would be down with that. And can we just talk about the fact that Heaven didn't know that guys would have to masturbate after she spent an afternoon grinding on them in total conflict with everything else that was written about her.
This is just bad, start to finish. Don't read it. The more I dissect it for the review the worse it gets.
I'm stopping at about 40% in because things are just going way too quickly without enough development. I'm sure at some point we're going to get "the boys have loved Heaven for years!" as an explanation for why they just suddenly hang out with her and are attracted and willing to be with her, but for me, that's a lazy way to get around establishing a romance and a quick avenue to writing kissing/petting/declaration/etc. scenes.
I barely know anything about Oliver and Hayden and Anderson and Jackson. I barely know anything about Heaven. Yet, we're already at a point where everyone's acting super friendly and ready for physical intimacy.
It's just not my thing. This is like a lot of other RHs in that this is a basic framework with lightning fast pacing used to showcase a situation where one girl kisses and flirts with multiple boys and the romance is implied through attraction and prior history we don't see unfold but ultimately it's not really developed.
Triggers: self harm, bullying, slut-shaming (within the story the heroine and author seem against it), sexual themes and what not...
There might be more but I'm quitting at 40% so I can't say for sure. Pity, I wanted to like this more, but of the RH that I've disliked this one looks to be one of the best so that counts for something.
I might revisit the remaining 60% but I've sat through enough contemporary novels and RH novels to basically know what's going to happen and if this is the tone set in the first half, the second half can't offer me much.
This was the first time I've read anything by this author and I must say she has exceeded my expectation with this book. I do hope the continuation of this series gets better, but if I had to critique anything I would say the author expressions and details of her sex scenes need improvement.
I am not usually a fan of books that center around teenagers in high school but I really liked this story. All the teenagers involved are 18 or older. The plot does resemble the plot from the movie Easy A but it goes deeper than the movie. It focuses a lot on bullying both cyber and in school. I loved all the guys in The Allendale Four and Heaven was great. This book might not be for everyone because it deals with a pretty young crowd but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I am looking forward to future books featuring this group!
Omg! A seriously fantastic book, this is a young adult reverse harem romance with real life drama. This story gave me a real case of the feels, it’s something which unfortunately does happen in the real world. Bullying which does happen a lot (I am sad to say) and is a big problem the world over
Sensitively written its a beautiful story with such sweet romance, one girls struggle and the friends she makes. I seriously loved this book and could not put it down, the writer has done such a fantastic job with this story, I am in awe. I can only hope there will be a book two
3,5* Wow i really like this book, even if i felt like it was a bit rushed at the beginning. I liked the guys, they hot man! And i have a thing for broken main characters or that has a bad past. Omg i was so annoyed at Jason, where was he?? He's supposed to be her friend...
Heaven is a good girl. Smart, pretty, shy. A typical teenager. She suffers from anxiety and she and her mom have gone through some rough times but nothing too horrible. Since transferring schools, she's flown under the social radar. That all changes overnight. One favor for her best friend Justin has unintended consequences and moves Heaven from high school obscurity to infamous status. A compromising picture, a suggestive caption featured on a webpage and she goes from invisible to school slut overnight. Mean girls, aggressive guys, bullies all make her life the focus of their gossip. As her anxiety threatens her well-being, she gains unexpected allies, The Allendale Four, the most handsome, most desired, most select guys in the school. Oliver, Anderson, Jackson, are an exclusive group. No one gets close to The Allendale Four but they decide to make Heaven one of their own. They protect their own. This time they may even fall in love with their own.
A Piece of Heaven is a contemporary YA RH. Don't underestimate it because it's YA. We all know the teen years can be brutal. There's drama and angst, pain and confusion. Because of this, I feel that this book is so very important. The issues it confronts; bullying in every available format, social anxiety, cutting, slut shaming, sexual threatening/assault are part of teenage life. Every bit of it is exposed, confronted, and overcome during this story in a non-preachy, 100% entertaining way. I was transported back to my teen self while reading this. Heaven is so relatable, brave one minute, insecure the next. She's a mess. She's authentic. The guys are all fantastic. Hormone-driven, yet protective and caring. The side characters are vital. Justin is the worst best friend ever. ICK! Amber, on the other hand, kicks a**! She's so awesome.
The drama, the suspense, the sexual tension, the sweetness all make this a delightful read. You will want to laugh, cry, scream, cringe, and cheer. It's a snapshot of high school in all its glory and all of its horror.
I read this in two sittings...would've been one, if I had the time! Entertaining and heart-stoppingly sexy, Heaven and her boys are awesome characters and their loyalty and devotion to each other make for a wonderful story. Great read!
I liked this one! I've been reading a bunch or RHs lately but this was a little different. I liked that the couple actually communicates about their relationship throughout the book. I also enjoyed that relationshipy stuff actually happened, this wasn't just leading up to it.
DNF'd @ 70%. Judging by what they (the Allendale Four) say and how they say it, it has never been more obvious that the author is an adult woman. The guys are supposedly 18 years old but all have the mindset of a 35 yo woman.
Lemme get this straight. Four alpha bros dig this shy chick for years, but never go after her until she "puts out"? Right. Sorry, but I didn't buy their "love" of her (which came out of nowhere). What did they see in her if not for her reputation for putting out?
She only sleeps with one of them, the rest she just kisses, gropes, and is the grope-ee.
I don’t know what it is about this book but it confused the hell out of me. I’m not sure if I like it....but then I’m also not sure if I dislike it either. I think I’ll stick with being confused and undecided and wait for the next one to see how it goes
Wow that was a good book. Loved the relationship between heaven and the allendale four! And her friendship with amber was so nice to see! I just hated all the angst she had to go through but im glad her stalker got caught!
Good job on making an awareness about mental illness ! And the Allendale four, omg. An additional men on my harem. Lol The ending was a little bit of a cliche and a bit of, I don’t know, dramatic? There wasn’t anything wrong about giving speeches about bullying and stuff, I think that’s great but like I said, a cliche. Overall, it’s worth the read.
This book was written like a bad fanfiction. Every boy told her the same 'I know you have no friends but I've had my eye on you since sixth grade,' kind of thing. Not to mention that Heaven, the main character, was dating four guys at once! In real life this would not work out the way it did in the book. I did enjoy the writing at some points though. Heaven was such a mary-sue and she could get on my nerves often. The author says she'll release some novellas following this book soon and I'm actually quite excited to read them as this was a quick and semi interesting read, even though the ending was a hot mess.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Loved the characters! Don't usually read high school aged books but I really enjoyed this one, the boys are all so sweet and protective and it was a happy ending:)
It feels as though I just read a book version of a Disney movie. With some RH elements in it. I kept expecting the characters to break down into songs and dancing. A Piece of Heaven definitely had a flare for the dramatic. Not that the book as a whole was bad, not at all. Despite the fact that I'm pretty sure I've seen a movie with a concept like the one here (where the girl pretends to make out with people), sans the RH aspect, it was written very well. The story flows smoothly and you don't really want to stop reading, it's so easy. What did not really work for me, was the characters behavior. First of all, everyone (except one guy) accepted the RH arrangement way too easily, in my opinion. The MC didn't even question it, which is seriously strange. And the Allendale Four accepted Heaven into their group so suddenly, like she was always there. I wanted to see them getting used to each other, to find their own dynamic together. Also, we did not really get to know the guys all that well. Some basic facts like their names and some personal traits, but that was about it. Not nearly enough for me. And the ending was just...way too Disney for me. The speech, the way the parents and the police just happened to come into the room at the right moment, how they all magically settled all their matters - not for me. I did appreciate the fact that the girls worked together and helped each other in this one, though. Don't see that happen nearly enough in books nowadays.
So, while a lot of things is this book I liked, and I would probably read some sort of sequel of one ever came out, I'd really like for it to be less dramatic.
Was I mad that this RH only had the MC have sex with one of her bfs? Yes. It was good though I just like my smut. Very smutty. Also did anyone else get Easy A vibes?😅
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I decided to read this book after finishing the Untouchable series by Heather Long. I was in the mood for this trope. However, this book didn't hit me as much as the Untouchable did. I felt like the bullying was gratuitous, and although I love how Heaven tries to take back her sexuality and empower herself, I didn't like her relationship with the guys. I felt like there wasn't much chemistry.
*** I read book 2 and it is AMAZING. so if you are iffy about book 1 , just give book 2 a chance.its great. So, this was a refreshing read from the typical rh books I have read in the past couple months. Most RH books have this thing in common 1. The MC girl is broken- comes from a bad family or foster care 2. It is some kind of paranormal romance. ---- Luckily for this book it had neither. The MC becomes slut shamed after pretending to have slept with her best friend so he would stop getting picked on at school. When I read this it sounded like a darken version of the film Easy A. And, at the end the author mentioned how she got her inspiration from it. Which was an interesting idea. I thought it was interesting having it be a contemporary rh story. The girl wasn't overly special in anyway. I think what sort of annoyed me was that it was in a way "insta-love" although some of the guys sad that she had been on their radar for a while. Also, another thing is how the guys are all okay quite quickly with having a relationship with her that way. No questioning it or anything. I liked how they all loved her and wanted to protect her, but for average teenagers EVEN if its a fanatasy we need to see them all struggle with the whole idea. Another thing I liked was there wasn't any overly grafic sex scenes. I watch them enough in mainstream media that when it comes to books its not my thing. Overall I thought it was a good read. I would be interested in possibly 2 more books about them all. But, if this is a standalone I'm happy with that too.
This was such a nice story about finding people who care about you and along with all the crap that jealous people can throw at you. Heaven deals with anxiety and has past issues with dealing with stress and only has 1 friend but that all changes when she pretends to sleep with that friend. The story was sweet and emotional and makes me very glad that social media wasn't a thing until after I finished high school. I really hope that angel Lawson writes more about heaven and her guys because I need it.
This book touches and issues like bullying and cutting but it bring life to the main character as she find herself and overcomes to be who she wants to be. In the end loving herself and her guys! Love Oliver and Hayden and Anderson and Jax.... all different but together with Heaven, a complete masterpiece. Hope to read more of their lives in the future.