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The Enemy #1

Facing The Enemy

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What do you get when you have the power and freedom to do whatever you wish?A psychopath who has no conscience where others are concerned.RamseyRamsey Reed wasn't blinded by money, power, or social standing, even though he had all three of those things in spades. He knew people with money were just as degenerate as people without it. The wealthy were just able to pay people to look the other way while the poor could not. At only eighteen-years-old, he was already sick and tired of the pretentious pricks around him and all their nonsense.With his senior year at Windsor Academy underway, Ramsey finds himself bored out of his mind most days. Surrounded by sheep-albeit rich, beautiful, privileged sheep-he finds himself not being entertained by his pawns much these days. However, that all changes the weekend before school begins, when he’s at a party and comes face-to-face with a wolf instead of another sheep.A wolf with sharp teeth, at that.EmersonEmerson Andrews was no stranger to the darker side of life. Growing up in an abusive household, she had endured a life of violence that ultimately led to the death of her mother. However, she was only a couple of weeks away from turning eighteen, so she had it covered. At least, she thought she had until her guilt-ridden aunt came to take her in and move her to Sands Cove.With no choice but to finish out her senior year at Windsor freakin’ Academy, Emerson finds herself a long way from the trailer park she used to call home. Surrounded by opulence where money is worshipped like a deity, it’s no secret that she doesn’t belong. When she’s invited to her first Sands Cove party, that fact is made abundantly clear when she meets Windsor Academy’s reigning king.A king with no idea who he’s dealing with.When there can only be one victor in the battle of survival…After meeting Emerson Andrews and her vicious tongue, Ramsey knows he’ll never be the same again. Determined to make her come to heel, Ramsey goes after her with everything he has, only to learn the hard way that it’s still not enough. He learns the hard way that Emerson Andrews is no one’s sheep.After meeting Ramsey Reed and his sinister personality, Emerson knows she’ll never be safe again. Determined to resist the unhealthy attraction that she has for him, she does her best to avoid him at all costs. She learns the hard way that her best isn’t good enough with it comes to Ramsey Reed, though.Even though Ramsey knows that Emerson is a danger to his sanity, and Emerson knows that Ramsey will do nothing but destroy her, their connection sparks a battle of the wills so formidable that neither one can simply walk away. If they’re going to burn, they’ll burn together. This book contains adult language, adult situations, explicit sexual encounters, violence, sexual assault, and domestic violence. If sensitive to any of the aforementioned issues, please do not purchase.

172 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 19, 2019

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3554 people want to read

About the author

M.E. Clayton

162 books641 followers
There's not much to add to my bio, I'm pretty boring...LOL. My favorite thing is to read and, last year, I decided to trade in some of those reading hours and try my hand at writing. The experience has been one of the best things I could have ever embarked upon. It's turned into a hobby that is fun and thoroughly enjoyable. When I'm not reading or writing, I'm spending time with my family or friends.

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 387 reviews
Profile Image for Ꮗ€♫◗☿ ❤️ ilikebooksbest.com ❤️.
2,987 reviews2,688 followers
September 18, 2020
Fantastic and Twisted!




I loved this book. It has all the good stuff. A hot rich Hero that runs the school, a heroine from the wrong side of the tracks that comes in and shakes things up by getting his attention away from the rich girls. He bullies her at first but then shows her his feelings for her.

He gets crazy jealous of other guys and misinterprets situations and tries to get back at her for being with other guys. It is quite a journey between these two people in a short time period but they have strong feelings for each other and his actions toward her set the stage for how the rest of the school will treat her. So when he starts to treat her bad, everyone in school does and it starts to get out of hand even though he is just trying to play a game with her.

I really liked the book and it was certainly steamy between the two main characters. Emerson was from an abusive background where her father abused her and her mother and ended up killing her mother. She likes the violence in Ramsey, who is a bit of a Sociopath. This is not your typical YA bully romance. More sex and violence!

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Profile Image for SueBee★bring me an alpha!★.
2,417 reviews15.4k followers
Want to read
March 31, 2019


SOLD! ALREADY READ SAMPLE!

Stand-alone.
Blurb:
Emerson Andrews is no stranger to the dark side of life. Growing up in an abusive household, she endured a life of violence that ultimately led to the murder of her mother. However, she's only a couple of months away from turning 18, so she's got it covered. At least, she thought she did until her guilt ridden aunt comes and takes her in. Now, living miles away, where money is worshipped like a deity, she realizes she's a far cry away from the trailer park she called home.
Ramsey Reed wasn't blinded by money, power or social standing, even though he had all three of those things in spades. He knew people with money were just as degenerate as people without it. The wealthy were just able to pay people to look the other way, while the poor could not. He was only 18-years-old, but he was already sick and tired of the people around him. They were nothing but tools he used for his entertainment, and he found himself not being entertained much these days.
When Emerson shows up at a pre-school year party and meets Ramsey, their connection sparks a battle of wills so strong, neither is certain if they'll be able to hold on to their sanity. And, yet, neither of them cared.
Profile Image for Kim.
766 reviews1,894 followers
August 25, 2020
Insta... um... well love is a bit of a stretch, it's more of an instant obsession, claiming, "she's mine" thing than anything else really. He doesn't know anything about her, has never looked at a girl twice but she walks into a party and suddenly the sky drops on his thick skull and he's in love.

A lot of aggressive throat grabbing, shoving her up against lockers and drenched panties later they are an item and he's yelling I love you from the rooftops. I don't know why because neither of them had a personality installed at birth, or anything interesting going for them at all.

Things would have been so much more clear if he had just peed around her in a circle in chapter one, like a normal animal does.
Profile Image for The Sassy Bookworm.
4,072 reviews2,874 followers
April 27, 2019
description CHRIST ON A CRACKER...I did not expect this book to be as good as it was (that cover is cringe worthy). But this was a seriously good bully romance. Ramsey was such a fucking asshole. I mean...legit fucking awful, but I loved him. <--- not sure what that says about me, but I am going with it. There was heaps of jealous, possessive alpha moments in this book. Emerson was an awesome heroine. Strong. Feisty. I loved her as much as Ramsey. No OW/OM drama. A celibate hero. A virgin heroine (groan). Throw in a bunch of angst, hot sex, and a trio of secondary characters I am DYING to read about, and this one earned itself 5-Stars from yours truly.

SIDE NOTE: The whole used condom thing was SOOOO nasty. I legit threw up in my mouth. Not sure the author needed to take it QUITE that far. (lol)

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Profile Image for Sonia.
1,315 reviews2,102 followers
May 4, 2022
3.5 stars- the grovel needed to be better

I love bully romance, ESPECIALLY when the h fights back, and Emerson is a feisty h that fights Ramsey whenever he provokes her, but she needed to make him stew in his guilt for longer.

Emerson comes into Ramsay‘s life, and he immediately wants her. She’s feisty, doesn’t take ish from anyone, and goes toe-to-toe against him, and that’s what turns him on about her. Ramsey’s tired of a lot of things in his life, the parties, the girls, the drugs, everything that privileged kids easily have access to; he might have an address, but he doesn’t have a home. We never even see his parents in this book, which demonstrates how lonely his life is. Side note- I love that he hadn’t been with anyone in over a year- it made the attraction to Emerson even more powerful.

Emerson’s moved into her aunt’s house because her father killed her mother, and because she’s under age still, she’s forced to relocate. As a new kid, she’s tested, but because Ramsey’s at the top of the food chain, no one dares to play with her. The only one that can is Ramsey, and boy does he 😈.

I love how possessive and jealous Ramsay gets, but don’t let his infatuation lessen his alphaness- he’s still very much in control- but Emerson tests his patience every chance she gets 😉😅. She’s not going to sit back and take whatever he throws at her; she fights back, and I love this character trait from her. Not only that, but she has to fight her own “family”, further cementing her as a strong person. She suffered through multiple beat downs from her father and the death of her mother, what Ramsey “does” to her is child’s play.

The attraction between Ramsey and Emerson is 🔥🥵. She likes consensual violence, and Ramsey gives it to her. The primal play scenes are explosive, plus, he has a dirty mouth 😉. She was all talk about the men she likes to be with, because Ramsey figures out she’s a v- the good ol’ fashioned way 😅🔥. I appreciated how realistic this scene was. She was in pain! But he makes sure to make it better 😉 and continues to do so during their relationship ❤️🔥.

When the betrayal scene happened, I was dumbfounded. But then, the humiliation Emerson endures because of Ramsey not even giving her the benefit of the doubt grossed me out and pissed me off. Although she leaves and decides to get away from Ramsey and her horrible “family”, when he goes in search for her, I felt like she caved too easily. I was missing the sassy, feisty, kick @$$ h from the beginning of the book. She slaps him, twice, fights him when he forcibly kisses her (it gets bloody), but then she gives into her body’s reaction to him 🤦🏻‍♀️🙄 (normally, THIS is my thing, but not after what he did. I was TOO emotional and sickened by it to feel this scene as sexy. Sigh😒- I needed more ANGST… I needed to FEEL his PAIN for not trusting her… we see some of it, but not enough 😏FOR ME- others will think it was fine🤷🏻‍♀️).

Overall, I enjoyed a lot of things, but I expected a better grovel. Apparently, if I keep reading the series, I’ll see how deep his grovel goes. We get a cute epilogue that still demonstrates his regret and how he continues to worship her- that helps- but in the moment, I wanted more.

Side note- there were some egregious spelling/grammar mistakes as well as tense shifts. I didn’t always notice the small ones, but some of the big ones were hard to miss😬

⚠️safety squad⚠️spoilers ahead
-bully
-blood play
-dubcon ish
-h is a v; H hasn’t had sex in over a year but no talk about safe sex
-attempt sexual assault by 3 guys- the h gets saved before penetration happens
-primal play/aggressive smex/consensual violence
-h’s cousin gets jealous of her and tells H that the h is sleeping with OM. It’s a lie, but he believes OM when he calls to confirm, which leads to
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-an intense, humiliating, bully scene that involves used condoms being thrown at the h, all because of the lie the h’s cousin told the H. The H orchestrates it all, and the h leaves, showers, gets tested, and moves back home
-another side note (not really ⚠️ but I’m putting it here anyway lol)- I wished we had seen, in detail, how Ramsey gets back at Bailey (the h’s cousin) for the lie she created. Like- I wanted to SEE him plan his revenge, execute it live, and then watch the aftermath unfold. The couple of paragraphs dedicated to it was not enough FOR ME… I wanted to see her suffer 🤷🏻‍♀️😬😅)
Profile Image for Jan.
1,260 reviews996 followers
April 29, 2019
*** 3 Stars ****

Facing The Enemy was completely over the top in two elements:
The Insta-hate turning in insta-love in only a few weeks and the "She's mine-caveman-style."
That being said, it was highly entertaining.
Emerson was a strong h. Her unpredictable attitude put a smile on my face many times.



Ramsey Reed was absolutely awful and evil. What an asshole!!!!



I think everybody is going to hate him — a non-redeemable bad boy.

But hey! Who am I to judge their *ahem* bizarre relationship??



Facing The Enemy is a dark-ish YA, (not too dark, light-dark? maybe not dark at all, because hello?? it's me 😬) and I believe if readers are OK overlooking the OTT elements and not taking it too seriously, the story can turn out as a winner. IT IS FICTION.

Can I just say that I WILL READ Deke and Liam story IF that happens? Oh, yes... I will.

Profile Image for Carvanz.
2,385 reviews898 followers
May 3, 2019
After Emerson’s father murders her mother she is forced to move in with her aunt, placing her in a new school. A school for the spoiled children of the uber rich. Anyone else might feel intimidated by the change from trailer trash to high society, but Emerson isn’t one of them. Even when Ramsey Reed sets his sights on her with every intention of breaking her, she never wavers in her strength and resilience.

Ramsey has grown bored with his life. At eighteen he runs Windsor Academy as well as the town. He knows everyone’s secrets and exactly how and when to use them. When he first lays eyes on Emerson, his boredom is blown to pieces and suddenly he’s responding to her presence in ways he hasn’t felt for over a year. Things are suddenly looking up and it all revolves around how he’s going to bring Emerson to her knees.

”There wasn’t another girl like her. I wanted her like I’ve never wanted anything else in my life. I wanted to ruin her and protect her at the same time.”


description


There is definitely plenty of bullying here but it’s also laced with a deep seated desire within Ramsey. He’s totally possessive of Emerson and brutally protective. Some of the things he does and says will leave you gaping.

””Then who are we burying?” Deke asked as if this was a completely normal conversation.
“Whoever’s stupid enough to talk to her or put their hands on her,” I divulged. “If we walk in and there’s a guy close enough to so much as breathe the same air as her, he’s a dead man.”
I’d never, ever been jealous over anything or anyone in my life and I was finding that particular feeling to be a violent one.”



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One of the things about high school romances that can irk me is the miscommunication or no communication and we certainly have that in this case. The resulting scene is probably one I’ll never forget. However, I love when a hero who has been a real A hole is found to be wrong and has to grovel. And while I needed more grovel from Ramsey, there was no doubt that Emerson held all the cards.

”However, I’ve never been in control of Emerson. Not since the moment I first laid eyes on her. She’s actually been the one with all the power and strength.”


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Ramsey is one dirty talking A hole hero and what he and Emerson share is some raunchy sex that was exactly what each of them craved. They were actually perfect for each other and I loved the epilogue that gave us a look ten years down the road where we see that although they’ve grown and matured, they still like things dirty.

There was so much about this story that I loved – the jealous/possessive/protective hero, the smart, stronger than life heroine and the fact that even through the bullying the hero had feelings for the heroine. But it’s hard to suspend belief enough to accept that an eighteen year old boy can control a town or that some of the things that took place at school could go without adult interference of some kind. However, I’m a lenient reader and I was able to overlook those issues but the fact remains that they affected my overall enjoyment to a certain degree. Nevertheless, I would still check out more from this author. I have my fingers crossed that she’s got some heroes like this that are grown men.

Read via Kindle Unlimited
Dual POV
Safe
Triggers
Profile Image for Leigh.
1,400 reviews325 followers
January 22, 2020
Facing The Enemy is book 1 in The Enemy Series and it's yet another Bully Romance that is flooding the Romance World. I should start by saying that it's definitely me and I have no business reading these books but for some unknown reason I continue to lose my mind and I pick them up. This book was recommended in a FB group I'm in and it was free so I gave it a try. It was honestly the worst book so far for me for 2020. It's so ridiculous with it's Insta-Hate, Insta-Love, OTT behavior of an 18 year old boy. Absolutely nothing is believable and believe me I mainly read PNR years ago so I can believe just about anything. I think what really did me in was the scene towards the end where the supposed H is made to believe a lie and the hot shot didn't bother to ask to girl he loved so much, the one he wanted pregnant and lets not forget the girl he wanted to marry after a week. So this wonderful hero sits by and allows his classmates to humiliate her in the most disgusting way that I felt ill and honestly in my eyes it was unforgivable. Needless to say I will not continue this series and I wouldn't recommend it either.
Profile Image for Beeg Panda.
1,623 reviews578 followers
September 13, 2021
FREE 13 SEPT 2021

If a blurb refers to a "battle of wills" between the Hxh, this is how it must be done.

I hope other NA "bully/dark" authors read this and see how a strong heroine is meant to be written.
She does. not. back. down.
Not even once.
She remains true to herself throughout and when she forgives the unforgivable, I’m quite okay with it because, finally, a satisfying grovel!

Don’t bother reading this if New Adult books with OTT jealous/possessive/sociopathic characters aren’t your thing

Its OTT on every level…
The good parts are OTT
The bad parts are OTT

While the writing needs work, there are no fillers and I wasn’t tempted to skim even once

Love it
Profile Image for M.
729 reviews315 followers
January 12, 2021
3.5/4 stars

Just from looking at the book cover I knew I was getting myself into something crazy. That was an understatement. There was so much dysfunction in this book. Like over the top, but it drew me in and I was SO intrigued by it. I don't think it was a super dark, but it did have some dark moments.

Ramsey. Oh my gosh, Ramsey. That boy is sex gone wild. He is darkness through to the deepest, darkest parts of his soul. Everyone cowers and fears him. He rules over everyone, young and old. He knows everyone's dirtiest secrets and for that... he is the king. What he wants, he gets.

What he wants is the new girl, Emerson. She walks in to the party and he instantly wants her. He hates her for the way she makes him feel, but he wants her none the less. He doesn't care where she came from or her story. All he knows is that she will be his. One way or the other.

𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙨𝙖𝙞𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙧. 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙜𝙞𝙧𝙡 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙧. 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙄’𝙫𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙚𝙡𝙨𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚. 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙪𝙞𝙣 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚.

Emerson is new to the town and school. Sent to live with her aunt and cousin after her mother is killed by the hands of her own father. She is strong, she is brave and has lived through some of the vilest things you could imagine, but it hasn't broken her. She has risen from the ashes and it has made her hard and unbreakable. She knows what the bottom of a deep looks like and she knows how it feels to crawl out of it and feel the light. She knows the darkness so well that it whispers to her with sweet caresses. She needs the darkness since that's all she has known.

Ramsey is dark and ruthless. He isn't always kind to her. It's just about as instant love as you can get with him though. Bordering the line of obsession. It wasn't healthy. It was toxic. During all this Emerson is still so strong. She is brave. She won't cower away. She will fall to her knees for no one.


Their relationship is not one for the faint of heart. There was hurt, there were tears, there was pleasurable pain. Eventually, and quite quickly he tears down her walls so she willing invites him into her heart 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚.

𝙄 𝙛𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙗𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙗𝙤𝙮, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙖𝙗𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙫𝙞𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙨, 𝙄 𝙛𝙚𝙡𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙢𝙚 𝙘𝙧𝙪𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙮. 𝙄 𝙡𝙚𝙩 𝙢𝙮𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛 𝙛𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙞𝙣 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙖𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙙𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙚. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙡𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙘𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙘 𝙫𝙞𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙢, 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮



Emerson and Ramsey's story was all kinds of crazy, but it was their crazy. Perfect for them and only them. They needed each other's darkness to finally be whole.
Their epilogue was the cherry on top.
Looking forward to reading Liam and Deke's story!

Profile Image for MC The Bookaholic ♡.
222 reviews94 followers
May 5, 2020
5 +++ stars!!!!!!!!

I really really really loved this book.

It was so fucked up at times (trigger warnings on: almost rape gangbang & violence) but let me tell you, it made the book as dark and consuming as I wanted it to be.

Ramsey is insane. He’s described as a psychopath in the book and that seems like an appropriate description. And yet, psychopath and all, Ramsey is over the top hot and inviting. I think there might be something wrong with me for thinking this lol, but *kanye shrug*

He’s the perfect hero... anti-hero, really. And I actually liked Emerson. Normally, I find myself annoyed with the h’s but not baby girl. She was the perfect, strong h that went head to head with mchottie.

Their connection is so real btw, that when they professed their love to each other it made sense. Their sex was over the too hot, too! Like super steamy.

I’m so re-reading this. Once again, 5 plus plus plus fucking stars, hunnies!
Profile Image for Bwmurf.
253 reviews10 followers
May 2, 2022
Idk how the heroine ever looked at hero again much less took him back.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Samantha (bookgramsaga reviews).
917 reviews1,212 followers
February 15, 2024
⭐️⭐️⭐️

''Darkness attracted darkness''

Safety warnings:
- No cheating
- No OW drama
- Fake OM drama
- Mention of r*pe
- S*xual Assault
- Bullying/Humiliation
- Trauma
- Spousal abuse
- Loss of loved ones
- Violence
- HEA

SPOILERS BELOW ⬇️

SPOILERS BELOW ⬇️

SPOILERS BELOW ⬇️

This book had some great moments, but it brought the ratings down during the low times. I felt like the bullying in the beginning was harmless up until Ramsey thought that Emerson cheated on him, then the bullying and legit harassment was absolutely horrendous.

Emerson is forced to live with her estranged rich aunt and her cousin after her abusive father murdered her mother. As she is 17 she is still not able to live on her own and is stuck living in a town where its all-rich kids.

She meets Ramsey during a party, and he becomes obsessed with her right off the bat. He wants to be around her and even loses his usual cool attitude around her way more than he can control.

This is a novella, so things do have to move fast in terms of their relationship and love and they fall in love in just the span of a week or so.

Things seem to be better between them up until Ramsey is told and shown by her cousin that Emerson is texting a guy to meet up and have sex with. Ramsey livid and absolutely unhinged develops a diabolic plan to humiliate her in front of the entire school for being a slut.

The plan?
Have him tell the whole school to her face that she is nothing but a whore and then have the people in the crowd throw USED CONDOMS at her.

She leaves the town as she just turned 18 right after this incident and goes back to her trailer home.

Not long after (like a week) Ramsey finds out that it was all a setup, and her jealous cousin was the one to plant the texts and the fake guy hookup. Once he finds out about it he goes after Emerson and begs for forgiveness.

Here is where it lost me: First of I hated Ramsey after that humiliation (he felt off about him and one of his best friends was even disgusted with what had happened). I wanted him to go on YEARS and GROW UP and then come after Emerson.

Or I would have loved for her to deny him any type of forgiveness until a few years later when he has become an actual full functioning adult and then meets her again.

Those two scenarios would have been so much better in terms of wrapping up their story. His actions were just disgusting. She deserved so much better.

I will also say I will not be continuing the series as we also find out in this book Emerson's only friend in the school is in a threeway relationship with Deke and Liam (Ramsey's two best friends) and has been for a year. Now in the next book Liam and her get together and Deke gets his own girl but throuples are not my thing and I do not want to read about it.

Profile Image for Miki’s⚠️ Safety Reviews & Rants⚠️.
736 reviews964 followers
October 13, 2023
🌟Brief Summary:

NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART OR IF YOU WANT A SWOONY HERO

This was the most entertaining HS/ dark bully-ish read I’ve read in a long time. This was so much fun it really made me excited to read again and especially dark high school romance.


☠️THIS IS A SOCIOPATHS VERSION OF PLAYGROUND HAIR PULLING☠️ and I’m here for all of it!

”Ramsey quit pulling on my ponytails, and I stopped stealing his crayons,”

❣️Things I Liked/Loved❣️
❤️‍🔥These 2 were perfect together! Their toxic love was forged by their need for darkness. They were drawn to each other like moths to a flame. She made him unhinged and he fed the darkness inside of her.

❤️‍🔥Ramsey is the PERFECT OTT JP UNHINGED CRAZY SOCIOPATH HERO❤️‍🔥 gosh this guy was crazy. I LOVED HIM! It’s been along time since I found a antihero that could rival Aiden (RES) but he does he definitely does 💯

❤️I loved that she was THE ONLY ONE to make him loose his coldness. He never showed emotions cause he just… 🤷🏼‍♀️well he just didn’t have them. BUT FOR ONLY HER did he have ALL THE INTENSE EMOTIONS and it made him unhinged and crazy. He often lost his cool and he was fucked up over all his feels for her❤️.

❤️I loved that he was CELIBATE for a year before meeting her cause he was bored with OW and the robot sex he had with them. His dick just wasn’t interested anymore 😂.

”I wasn’t much of a foreplay kind of guy because I equated foreplay with affection, and no girl had ever held my affections before. Any sucking, licking, biting, or petting that I’d ever engaged in, I’d done it when I was younger because I’d had to learn somehow. Though, once I had hit high school, it had all been quick fucking for me, and even that had come to a halt last year.”

❤️I loved that Emerson got all the special stuff like cuddles, sleeping in the same bed, no condoms, biting, licking, sucking and petting of any kind. I love when the hero doesn’t do this w his past hookups❤️I love when the heroine is SPECIAL!

🩸The biting scene🩸
”You fucking bit me!” He scowled down at me. “Yeah, I did,” he snapped out. “And you better get used to it because you’re going to have those marks all over your fucking body by the time that I’m done with you.” Then his tongue snaked out to lick his lower lip, cleaning it of the remaining blood. I felt like I was in a fucking zombie apocalypse movie where the undead were going around just feasting on body parts of the living. Who in their right mind bit another human being and got a stiff dick from the taste of their blood??

‼️I love when I’m surprised by the character’s likability. I did not expect to love BOTH these characters. The witty one liners land their subtle but funny thoughts constantly had me laughing. I like being surprised…….
“Ramsey tasted like mint and future regret.”
It was just these little things that made me laugh cause it wasn’t trying to hard and didn’t feel forced.

💪🏻Emerson- gosh now this girl was my kind of heroine! She had backbone galore without being annoying. She had depth and conviction but also had a darkness to her. Gah I wish all FMC had her backbone. Maybe if they did I would like more bully romance.

‼️I like that the bully wasn’t to bad. It was there more like cruelty. But it wasn’t to a point that it was irredeemable. The big scene in the 3rd act breakup was 🤮🤮 but he definitely grovels! HE GETS ON HIS KNEES BABY🙌🏻🙌🏻 so definitely a GOOD GROVEL.

❤️He does the chasing❤️

☠️Touch her and you…. Don’t die… but I will destroy you and your family and you will never walk again☠️

Things I Did 💔 Not Like
-Not much actually which is crazy cause if you read my reviews my list of do not like is almost always longer than the liked list😅.
I wish it was longer! Maybe more in the epilogue. A couple more chapters at the end after they are back together just to see how they settled into their happiness.

🥀 Hero:
Ramsey- ❤️‍🔥swoon❤️‍🔥 I loved this man and his unhinged craziness. I loved his POV. I loved how he loves her. It’s all kinds of toxic but in a good way. He’s book boyfriend material for sure😮‍💨😮‍💨

🦋 Heroine:
Emerson- she is strong and resilient! She had a backbone 🥳
She has suffered abuse her whole life from her dad so the rich assholes weren’t gonna break her💅 She was so full of anger and strength. She was a perfect match for Ramsey.

💭 POV:
First person duel

🔥 Burn Rate:
Medium- Sex at 60% they had so much chemistry 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥oh and he definitely did the licking, sucking, biting, petting and foreplay🙌🏻

😡/😍 Angst level:
Medium

❤️‍🔥 Sexy times & Descriptive sex:
Yes! 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ the sexy times were definitely spicy with lots of chemistry

🌓 Push/Pull:
Push away from h to H but not to bad. It was definitely a game they both enjoyed playing.

☠️ OW/OM Drama:
OWD- mild the h cousin wants the H and causes problems. H is so not interested in her.

🤮 OW/OM Sex / Fluid or DNA Exchange:
None

🤬 Cheating:
None

👰🏼‍♀️ Virgins:
H celibate for a year - but previous was a manwhore
Yes- h was a V

⛈️Separation/ 3rd Act Breakup:
Yes- it’s brutal and gross 🤮 so be prepared. But he GROVELS and is devastated when he realizes what he did. It lasts about a week.
It was bad though 😬

Safety⚠️Triggers🗡️:
Abuse from a parent- talks only
Parent killing another parent-talks only
Bullying- mildish
Intense Biting
Anal play
Breath play
No condoms
No talks of std
Talks of birth control after the fact
FLUID FLINGING 🤢

🌈Epilogue:
Yes 10 yrs later ❤️ I wanted more though

🥂HEA:
Yes

😅Why did it take me so long to read this!? I’m definitely gonna be reading more in this series.

My opinion is just that… MY OPINION.
I know we all get passionate about our favorite reads and characters but we should respect each opinions a thoughts. ~Thank you
Profile Image for Ana Laura.
486 reviews258 followers
October 24, 2019
Every time I read a book like this the first thing I think about is: If this author had a daughter and she went through what the "heroine" went through would that story be told in another way? For her own mental health, I hope so, land someone to think that something like this is acceptable and that there is goodness in the heart of a guy who does things like that with a person and that in the end he still gets the happy ending is beyond sick. . It is repulsive. Maybe if the women themselves stopped promoting this type of garbage the numbers of violence against women would decrease, but seeing that many of them besides promoting the violence, still thinking about making money with it only shows the lack of dignity that some authors have. . If this is the kind of feeling the author wants readers to have when they read her books, then the only thing this author is worthy is a pity.
Profile Image for Darlene I read WAY to many books.
3,688 reviews2,450 followers
April 28, 2019
This is not a happy romance book (unless your twisted lol) this is a darkish bully romance. I wanted to read this book since someone said it was good and only one part made her gag.. so i read it..

First i love Emerson!!! Growing up in a toxic place hearing all this abuse she had a tough ass shell and when she had to move with her richy prissy ass aunt she had to move going to a school filled with richy assholeish ppls were she gains the attention of badboy king of the school or city Ramsey OHHH RAMSEY!!! I have a love/hate relationship with him i did love he was possessive, growly, dark egomaniac guy.. i did hate how he treated Emerson glad my girl gave back making him fall harder.. what made me dislike him more was near the end.. INSTEAD of confronting his girl he listened to a bitchy person about what he saw, he humiliates/Revenge with the whole school that was unforgiveable to me.. i would like him more if he groveled more stood on those hands and knees and crawled and beg every day.. and that's what made me frown how Emerson forgave him so fast..

Reason didn't higher was Rams was wayy to assholeish and i wanted more grovling..

Angst, No cheating (he thinks she is but isnt), no ow/om drama, drama, secondary charas, steamy sex, was a manwhore and Virgin gal

Recomend-Maybe
Cover-⭐⭐

Mentally abuse (past/present)
Almost raped
Anal sex/play
Slut-shaming
Hea
Epilogue
Profile Image for Samantha K.
141 reviews110 followers
April 18, 2019
This H is a caveman!

I loved this book but wow! It’s definitely not for everyone. Even though the H and h are in high school, they felt much older. The H was a bully, an alpha-hole, controlling, possessive, dominant and insane for the h. He knew the moment he met her that he wanted her and he let her know it. I loved his crazy, caveman possessiveness! I didn’t love what the H did to the h towards the end. It was beyond shocking and appalling. (He didn’t cheat.) I thought it was unforgivable. I loved the h and how she handled him throughout the book. I also loved that she didn’t forgive him right away and that he had to grovel. This is really intense and only for those who like darker romance. If you’re looking for sweet, you should move along. Also, the editing wasn’t good.
Triggers - described attempted gang rape; H is very rough in his lovemaking and the h likes it; H gets “revenge” by bullying the h in an emotionally brutal way that involved the entire school and risked her health.

Profile Image for Chris.
1,316 reviews38 followers
August 6, 2021
I was hesitant to read this book, as I've been in a weird mood lately. When I first saw the cover, I really wanted to dive in, but it took me a while to come around. This book isn't a romance. It is twisted, raw and disgusting at times. I had mixed feelings while reading it but I couldn't put it down, I ended up staying awake to finish it. Ramsey is the psychopath anti-hero we want and Emerson is the strong damaged heroine we love. If you are going to read it just keep in mind that there are many triggers and disturbing behaviors, so this book may not be for you.

Re-Read: 08/2021
Profile Image for Linha.
195 reviews60 followers
December 6, 2021
After what the Hero did to the heroine, he should have groveled way more. she forgave him too easily. Even though he still felt guilty about it 10 years later, it was disgusting and he needed to grovel way more than he did. But other than that, loved that the heroine was strong!
Profile Image for Heather.
410 reviews47 followers
September 25, 2023
"The girls in the house were half-naked, naked, blowing someone, or outright getting fucked somewhere, privacy be damned."


I had to DNF this book. The FMC was soooooo obnoxious. I don't think I made it past 18%. She was obsessively "different" from everyone else making her superior because she was aware of "how the real world worked", yet every single aspect of her behavior and responses to people were incredibly unrealistic!
“As impressive as you might think your dick is, Ramsey, mindless rutting into my pussy with no idea of what you’re doing just doesn’t do it for me.” His jaw tightened, and he looked like he wanted to snap my neck. I jerked my head towards the crowd. “Why don’t you go back to your sheep? You tell them it feels good, and because they can’t think for themselves, they’ll believe you.”


They literally just met for the first time EVER within this same conversation taking place!
Also the MMC met this chick ONE time, exchanged maybe ten sentences between the two of them and his "normal" reaction to girls was altered and he was supposedly making a fool of himself for her!?
"I hadn’t fucked a girl in months. Hell, if I was being completely honest, I haven’t been between a hot set of thighs since the summer before my junior year. I was bored. I’d been fucking bored."
"...I was feeling all sorts of sick, sordid, twisted shit that a psychologist would probably have a field day with. Still, even with enough self-awareness to know that I was sick, it wasn’t enough to stop me from playing with my new prey."


"We’d destroy each other if we ever met in the middle."


It feels like the only thing these two characters destroyed, was this book's potential.

This book is ridiculous. It had to be said and you had to be warned... but, hey, you might still enjoy it, but...
Profile Image for Bookgasms Book Blog.
2,863 reviews1,569 followers
June 21, 2019
OMG what did I just read? Facing The Enemy was legit five star bully goodness. Who is M.E. Clayton and where can I find more of her kindle crack?! Good lord. I rarely find new to me authors but this title was recommended one too many times for me to pass up. A mean af hero (and y'all know I like them the meaner the better) and a strong, sassy take no prisoners heroine. GAHHHH!! Perfection! That is exactly what we got with Emerson and Ramsey. Lord they steamed up my kindle and also gave me heart palpitations in the process. Their (angry, back and forth) banter and combatitive actions won me over and then some. I might have recommended this book to ten of my diehard bully romance fanatics and just downloaded another one by her. I am so addicted! What a gem of a book!!

The minute Emerson Andrews and Ramsey Reed met you could feel the attraction come right off the pages. Reed, the quintessential Prep School Elite Rich boy was drawn to Emerson's sass and independence, despite her poor upbringing. But the chemistry between them was pure FIREWORKS! This story was an amazing bully/enemies to lovers romance. It was everything!!

Ahhh! I absolutely loveeeed this story! Emerson blew up Ramsey's mundane and ordered existence with her devil may care attitude. She never fell in line as Ramsey expected her to do. I will say that I equally FLOVED and died from Ramsay's vengeful actions. Tears might have come to my eyes as he was just so deliciously horrendous. But that is what bully romance is to me: the eventual redemption and grovel of the hero and boy did Clayton deliver this!! The extended cast of characters with Deke, Liam and Roslyn was also amazing. I hope we receive more stories from them in the future! Bravo! 5 stars! ~Ratula 
Profile Image for Dilushani Jayalath.
1,033 reviews203 followers
November 28, 2019
What the hell did I actually read? I mean I do not know if I actually love this book or freaking hate it. My emotions are running wild. In truth I know in real life I would hate a character like Ramsey but in the end I wanted Ramsey and Emerson together. At one point I wanted to sucker punch Ramsey and at the same time give him a good hug to push away all the things that led him up to be the way he is.

This story is not for everyone. It is a very very dark romance and not in the way like there are mafia or some dark sexual practices but the characters themselves are screwed up in a way. They are totally messed up in a way that actually sets them straight and actually makes them who they are. The messed up nature only makes the two of them perfect for each other and also that makes the two of them actually understand what they want from each other. Despite that I am not sure whether everything Ramsey does is correct. His temper for one is actually very scary. If it was me I won't be able to stay with such a person despite how good the sex is but the fact that Emerson was brought up the way she was what makes them perfect. So in a way this love story is perfect.

So you can see why I am confused how I totally feel about this book. With my personality makes me not like the type of characters they are but at the same time the story is perfect because they are the way they are. So my review and rating is likewise confusing and split too.
Profile Image for Nicky نیکی.
159 reviews95 followers
March 16, 2020
I wanted an angsty book with groveling and man, I got it! I avoid high school books. As a grown woman I just can’t take teenage romances seriously but someone said this had a great groveling scene so I decided to give it a try. Wow, this book was intense! Lots of emotion, angst, and the sex was HOT. Ramsey is a hot, filthy talker and I loved how dominant and alpha he was. This book has one of the most genuine and best grovels I’ve read. The author is a very talented writer and I thoroughly enjoyed this book
Profile Image for Jamie.
1,119 reviews276 followers
December 31, 2022
3 stars because I did feel Emerson’s pain. But Ramsey didn’t grovel anywhere near enough. Emerson is just a sad case of a girl who finds comfort in all she’s ever known, and that’s abuse. She recognizes it, but it’s sad that she didn’t stand up for herself even a little and make him do any more than apologize on his knees😒

the man literally said he wanted to hurt her so bad that he hoped she hung herself by the time he was done with her…….I think that requires a little more than some on the knees apologizing
167 reviews8 followers
August 24, 2020
I am not sure how I feel about this book. Honestly it was a porno from the very first chapter and till the last one it was only sex. I also think that she left Ramsey off the hook way too easy, I would have never forgiven him.
Profile Image for Alisha.
529 reviews158 followers
June 23, 2021
Why do girls go back to man that are clearly toxic for them? He insulted her in front of whole school and she forgive him? For what? One true destined love? Pleeease give me a break and have some dignity. Male protagonist is clearly more sociopath then I thought. I underestimate his madness
Profile Image for ⚘.jam.
290 reviews39 followers
September 10, 2022
3.75 ⭐️s
This book I have no words...

It was crazy dramatic and I.... liked it??? Surprisingly. It has an asshole ott psycho, possessive, obsessed, stalker hero (I loveeee these types of heroes), and a heroine who can stands up for herself (enough for me not to consider her a doormat) it was pretty much safe all through out there was a huge misunderstanding at the end and the groveling was hmmmmmm not that satisfying? (I don't know for other people but I'm quite vindictive so I want a lot of groveling in my books the more the better imo🤣).

Overall it was okay. It stirred some emotions from me mainly dislike and amusement for the hero's actions. He’s thought process was quite hmmm interesting🤔🤣

"And maybe I was making this all up in my mind to make myself feel better, but no good girl gave up the ass if she wasn't in love."


I don't know if this is true, but he was begging for forgiveness in this scene, and what it gave me was "ohhh if she lets me fuck her in the ass it means that she has forgiven me." And I'm like dude are you sure about that???🤣 You need to get your head checked, but I'm still entertained so you can go on.

Yeah this book was fun, dramatic, and ott. It was a good read to pass the time and if you like ott possessive, obsessed, stalker heroes then this book is definitely for you. But before reading you should definitley check for the book's trigger warnings.
Profile Image for Dani.
880 reviews
April 14, 2019
Dark and so delicious!

Wow this book was so freaking intense, heartbreaking, dark, and steamy devious ride.

Ramsey is definitely captivating, dark and seriously disturbing at its best. He was losing all control when he meets Emerson. That poor girl had demons of her own, and she has no problems putting Ramsey in his place. Some of the vile things Ramsey does to her in this book was absolutely horrible and disgusting, but like Emerson I can't help myself but fall hard for him. Guess this makes me as sick as them.😂
Profile Image for hugsandcookies.
990 reviews81 followers
May 10, 2019
Ramsey Reed.

I hate doing this especially for a new author to me, but I neither liked it or hated it. I just don’t know what to say but I’ve read a lot of books with bullying by the rich boy, and only for him to fall in love with the poor girl. I know there’s many books out their about this type of writing style but the rating is what’s important. At first I thought okay this is worth this much (thinking at the time worth 2 stars) but the conclusion of this story I knew it deserved a bit more.

This started off with Ramsey’s POV and it’s what got me really intrigued about this book, his feelings his darkness. The funny thing is, is that I laughed at how typical and easy it was for Emerson to really have the hots for Ramsey when she is supposedly the victim in all this. I won’t fault the writing about bullying and I know I’ve said it before I do not condone it but I would have not stuck around if they treated me that way but hey this is fiction. I also came across typing errors which was annoying but it was an okay read.

To end this, I didn’t like the way how fast and insta-love Ramsey and Emerson became but boy the s3x scenes, that I did not expect from 18 year olds. I’m not sure if I connected with Emerson but I did shed a tear or two for her when she was finally gotten bullied by the school and that’s where I felt the feelings from Emerson. Ramsey is hands down dark and twisted and the story about him doesn’t do it justice and it’s how it should be, but it’s what makes this book more readable.
Profile Image for Jac K.
2,531 reviews495 followers
June 22, 2021
3-3.5 Stars
Standard HS bully trope with grown-up teenagers (rich thugs) running wild without a parent in sight. This is about the only genre that I’ll read with young mc’s. If you’re not familiar with it, the H starts out as a studly jerkface who's usually rich, and rules the school/town. They’re not realistic at all, insta-love-hate-lust. He’ll humiliate her, get everyone to hate her, then become an obsessed, smitten, HULK smash type of guy.

None of us had a governor to rein us in. We had addresses, but no homes. Our parents were absent, and the money was never ending. That meant we could do whatever the fuck we wanted.

Ramsey Reed is the MAN at his prep school, and becoming really bored with having everything handed to him when in walks Emerson Andrews. Emerson is the standard trailer park orphan that gives zero fucks about stupid Ramsey or his stuck-up friends. And so it goes to high school HEA-ville.

Bottom Line- I like this genre, mainly because the h’s are typically pretty badass, and not whiny doormats, but much like Harlequins (though totally different) they have their own style, so if you don’t like this trope…I’d skip. There was nothing unique about the plot, we’ve seen it before. It actually reminded me of Paper Princess, especially Ramsey Reed, who IMO was similar to Reed Royal… except Ramsey was WAY meaner with the bully stuff. This pushed me into a 10+ book binge of HS romances… but I won’t be moving on with the series… they look messy, and I didn't have a connection with the secondary characters. She originally planned this as a standalone, so there’s an epilogue 10 years later, and it's can easily be read as a standalone. I'm rounding up because it was free on scribd, and this author does it all herself.
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