The Initiation

Beverly Hills Prep Academy #1

by Melissa Adams

Beverly Hills Prep Academy is one of the top prep schools in the country: it will open all kind of doors for new transfer student Ayla.
The school for the rich and famous is ruled by the A-Class: the smartest and brightest students at BHPA.

The A-Class is ruled by the A-Team: three hot guys all by the name of Alex.
Alex Richmond is the A-Team leader and he rules BHPA with an iron first.
What happens when he feels rejected by Ayla?
Things get dangerously complicated when his A-Team brothers show interest in the new girl.

Ayla feels attracted and repulsed at the same time by the three alpha males and a dangerous game of love, hate and betrayal begins.
Trouble is: who knows all the rules?
Who’ll get hurt in the process?

Add an ex nerd turned hottie who would do anything to be initiated into the A-Team, a jealous and vengeful ex girlfriend and cheerleader captain and all the pressure of a really tough school and this promises to be a hell of a year for Ayla.

This is a high school, LIGHT bully romance: possible trigger warnings are mild gang violence, underage (21) drinking and drug misuse.

Genres: High School, Fiction, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Romance, Young Adult

326 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 11, 2019

About the author

Melissa Adams is from the UK but was born in Italy and grew up between the two countries. She’s now UK based and her day job is connected her other huge passion after writing and reading: flying. She lived in the US and got herself a super hot Yankee husband who followed her back to Europe.
Her obsessions: Yorkshire terriers and Norse gods!
She’s often heard saying that she never trusts people who don’t love animals.
Her passions have been reading and writing from an early age and her first adventure in writing was in journalism.
Melissa’s stories focus on the romance, on character development and on the sensual aspect of love. Summer romance is her absolute first love but every story she writes has a mystery twist because life is nothing but a mystery.
Here’s a link to her website for all the latest news about her and her writing: https://melissaadamsr.wixsite.com/web...
Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/RHwit...
IG: @melissa.adamsr
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/melis...
Good Reads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...

Reviews

[Marguerite (M)]

Don't let it fool you, The Initiation is NOT a bully romance, light or not. It is simply a romantic high school RH with boys being stupid. The bullying part is only from a rather secondary character to pretty much every single person walking the halls of BHPA. Because, guys, this girl is seriously fucked up in the head.

Even with the book not being a bully romance, I did not like it and I am not really sure why I stuck up with it as I could not have cared less about the outcome. But if you want a light read with one of the main character called Tuna, this is for you.

[Nikki · Rating 2 out of 5]

I know this is going to get lost in all the good reviews and I don't understand how there are so many of them.
The writing was just .. off to me. it wasn't terrible but it also wasn't good enough for all the 5 star ratings.
The plot was all right I guess. it all just seemed like a teenager wrote it. So much of this book had me rolling my eyes, and actually had to google the author to see if this was supposed to be a satire book. It was so over the top and not in the good fun way. I hate to give bad reviews, just because I don't like something doesn't mean other people won't. This case though I just needed to post a review because you people ( whoever is unlucky enough to read this horribly reviewed review ) deserve to know that i bet all these 4 and 5 star reviews are from people who were high while reading the book. I unfortunately was sober. I'm sure a nice joint ( oh no POT i'm going to need REHAB now. for weed. ) would have made this book better. and yes in this book pot smoking is considered wicked and will seriously ruin your life and you need rehab for smoking a joint once occasionally. IT IS LEGAL IN CALIFORNIA AUTHOR LADY.

sorry. enjoy this book!

[Coco.V]

🎁 FREE on Amazon today (10/15/2019)! 🎁

[Mary Webber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an excellent read! A light bully theme with redemption for all. Well rounded characters, steam, and emotional turns that tug at your heart. Ayla (FMC) has a quiet strength and can handle the 3 guys who tend to be a bit much! But underneath, the guys are true. The author added touches of humor - the "oh I can't believe that just happened" type - which helped lighten up the storyline. While I'm not into bully stories, I really liked this one. Well done, Melissa Adams, well done!

[Robinn Yu · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is really mild compared to other bully RH. I love that the boys are stupid but also not at the same time. Lol Sam is definitely a favorite of mine. Cannot wait for the next book and for Abi's story!

[Marylene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another awesome read from Melissa Adams! The initiation doesn’t fail to deliver in romance, sexy times and anticipation! Melissa always has the best plots and suspense that keeps you wanting to read the next page as soon as possible to find out what will happen next and how it’s going to end ! Plus she once again bring us character who all have their own backstories and makes them all unique. I will miss Alex, Sam, Tuna and Ayla and I do hope they are going to have an appearance in the sequel The Reputation !

[Missy Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Initation is the first book from Melissa Adams that I have read. I really enjoy her writing style. She writes a faster paced story that is filled with so much more than just the obvious storyline. You can tell when an author writes from the heart, and this is such an author.

In The Initation we have our female lead Ayla, who is a good and honest character. She is not loud and in your face. She has a quiet strength that sucks you in. You will be rooting for her every step of the way. After all it is not easy being the new girl at Beverly Hills Prep Academy. She went in knowing what she wanted, but what she didn't expect was Alex, Tuna and Sam. Those three rule the Academy. I will admit, at first I wasn't much liking them. They grew on me. Each and every one has a different personality, but Alex has the most that I like. He is a dominant one, that tops my list. Simply because I enjoy the more dominant alpha males. Sam and Tuna are each as equally hot. You will go back and forth between loving them and hating them.
This is a lighter Bully romance. It is a fast paced read that has a great plot with a great bad guy, or should I say girl. There is lots of drama, angst, sexy times and just really good lighter bully romance. This is book one of the series. Each book will have its own conclusion with a new character that gets their story told. For instance, book Two The Reputation will feature Alex's sister.

If you're into the bully romance like me, this is a good addition to your collection. If you are wanting a lighter bully read, also a good addition. I cannot wait to see what book two brings!!

[IllustriousBookNerd · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF

From the start, the book was at a disadvantage cause I did not especially like the writing... And it did not exactly redeem itself to me from there. First, the characters are very immature. I was very aware of the fact they were kids even though they are supposedly the smartest in the whole school. Shouldn't the smartest people in the school also act more intelligent? Like, I don't know, NOT LETTING THEIR HORMONES DRIVE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEIR ACTIONS?!

Where was the character and relationship development?

The INSTA LUST really annoyed me: not love, lust. The Hs have barely met the girl or talked to her or HAVE HAD ANY SIGNIFICANT INTERACTIONS but BY THE SECOND OR THIRD CHAPTER, THEY EACH ACT AS IF THEY ARE IN LOVE WITH HER!!. A WEEK OF STARING AND BLUSHING IS NOT EQUAL TO A DEEP EMOTIONAL INVESTMENT! (As you can tell, I am not a fan of insta-love at all

The Hs act as if they have been waiting forever to be with the girl and that they know so much about her... it’s been a week 😒: a week of staring, not talking or any bonding experiences, staring... Oh! and winking and smirking. Can’t forget about that, now can we? 😒

There is also quite a bit of slut-shaming, in my opinion, that just did not sit well with me; I mean look at this, “ I didn’t like his girlfriend Clara: she had this prim and proper facade but I heard rumours that she actually slept around a lot. “...ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!? 😑😑😑 Rumours!? According to “rumours,” Melissa McCarthy is dead, Ashton Kutcher is divorced and Arianna grande has been pregnant three times since she got famous (none true by the way). The very fact that she even listened to these rumours and puts some validity to them is awful. Girl on girl hate is ugly and horrible. Plus she said this about the girlfriend of her old best friend ( who she was in love with), indicating she was jealous of the girl for being the one who best friend chose to be with instead of her. I understand jealousy, it’s a normal human emotion, but that does not mean that you have to blame or be unkind to a person for having what you want. Later, the h kissed her best friend and felt hurt when it doesn’t work out! There was no mention of guilt after what happened, just “ I thought my heart was gonna burst out of happiness. ” WHAT?! 😤😤 So because you did not like his girlfriend, that made it ok for him to cheat?! By the way, the best friend is not one of the Hs so he is just a normal guy thus normal morals and rules apply to this situation aka don’t kiss another girl’s boyfriend.

Second, The Hs continuously talk about how hot the h is: mainly how big her boobs are.... insert facepalm here 😑😑😑... It’s okay to find a girl attractive but that shouldn’t be the main focal point nor should it be a reason to completely objectify her. The way they talk about her, like pubescent teenagers seeing boobs for the first time, makes me shudder in disgust . Literally, H2 POV starts off with, “ NEW GIRL IS HOT! Those tits! Seriously [H1] is a jerk (censored) for asking her out before I could. Well not that he did much asking, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him ask for something. In all honesty, this is really fun to watch: normally by mid-movie, [H1] would have the girl’s face on his lap at the very least. Once or twice, he’s had full-on sex in this movie theatre!...not this time!”... 😨🤯😤... That is disgusting. Just how they talk about girls as if they are objects to be judged should be reason enough to give this book a one-star rating.

Meanwhile, the h is just letting this happen! H1, WITHOUT THE h's CONSENT, puts his hands UNDER her dress, TOUCHING HER UNDERWEAR on the first date ( that really isn’t a date but more a group outing with the whole class, not just him) WHILE THEY ARE WALKING TO THEIR SEAT at the movie theatre. He just goes behind her and puts his hand on her. Anybody else, that is sexual assault and he would be labelled a creep, but he's hot so it’s ok...🤨🤨 ...NO, IT IS NOT OK!

Aside from talking about how hot they think she looks, the Hs' try to applaud her personality as well by saying she is sweet and nice and feisty and so on and so forth. The thing is though, SHE HASN'T DONE ANYTHING YET! To be frank; she comes to class, talks back to the H1 ( not very well, by the way) and now everyone is falling all over her. 🤨🤨🤨 Besides a few times when she talks back, I don’t really see where someone can go by saying she is feisty. Her main actions were: blushing, listening to her friends or the Hs (by listening I mean letting them make decisions for her), looking away and gossiping. From what I saw, she did not have much of a backbone. A random STRANGER puts his hands underneath her dress and she barely says a word because he is hot. Someone who is feisty, or had any self-respect for themselves, would have slapped the dude or told him off ... which she didn't.

Additionally, the main plot is the Hs make a bet over who will take the h's virginity first and have point cards for each thing she does with them, extra if it’s the first time she does it... 🤩 ...AND they have to RECORD it 🤩... so appealing! ....😒😒😒...🤮🤮🤮. Why would the Hs do such a disgusting and horrifying thing you may ask? Well, the H1 and H3 felt rejected when they first met the h because she didn't faint when she saw them thus they wanted to humiliate and objectify her ... as all intelligent boys do, of course 😒.

Just Another example of the amount of disrespect that is geared towards girls in this book.

Also now this is just my own personal pet peeve but It really really irritates me when people use exclamation marks excessively. Besides just the horrible grammar, I feel like it takes away from the whole story. I can do it as this is a review centred on my personal opinion, not a book meant to tell a story.

For said reasons: DNF

[SJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing book! This is a great well written reverse harem romance. Ayla’s family move to Beverley Hills where she starts BHP. Being smart she makes it into the A-Class but nothing can prepare her for her new classmates, especially the A-team, but things really are not as they seem.

I really love this writers style, I just slid straight into the story, hooked from the start. It played out like a movie in my head as I was reading. With some characters you just cannot help but but fall in love with and some characters you just love to hate. This story is a complete story with no cliff hangers, I just could not put it down, a fabulous read, I cannot wait for the next one in the series, highly recommend this book

[Katherine Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite of all of her books so far. I absolutely loved it. Ayla is such an amazing FMC. She knew who she was and she stray from that. She is strong and protective and independent. The guys are messed up and use their popularity as a shield to protect themselves but when they put those guards down....wow. This book has all the feels. I laughed and cried and wanted to throat punch people. And that ending y’all. Perfection.

[Charlotte Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed this book.

Loved reading this book. It’s happy it’s sad. It’s intense and also light hearted. Each chapter and each character brings you an enjoyable story.
Wish there was more for these guys. Maybe a university follow up novella??
Well I’m looking forward to the next book in the series.

[Kokom1 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was gut wrenching in the best possible way. I seriously want to bitch slap Michelle, and probably kick Alex, Sam and Tuna in the nuts to knock sense into them. This book created so much emotion. It built really really well and ended beautifully. Great job Melissa.

[Tia · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 75%. I usually don’t review if I don’t like a book, but I really tried to like it. It just wasn’t vibing with me. (I’ve never read this author before btw)

I know it’s a high school story, so there is of course going to be immaturity resulting in character development down the road. I’m aware and okay with that, I read a lot of HS bully romance books. But this was too immature, and they tried to rationalize their stupid decisions with irrational excuses. I didn’t feel any way about the FMC, I didn’t like her or dislike her. I wasn’t invested in any of the characters. I was pushing myself to get through it, and I just couldn’t. Also IMO, there were too many POV’s.

My main problem is the writing. 70% of this sentences in this book end in a “...” or an exclamation point, when they are completely unnecessary, redundant, and don’t belong anywhere in that sentence. I thought it would stop but it just kept getting worse, especially the exclamation points.

I’m sorry, this is a 1 star for me. Maybe I’ll like the authors next book? Who knows.

[Jackles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

I really enjoyed everything about this book. I loved that the characters were written in a way that I actually felt as though they were high schoolers. A lot of the time authors seem to forget their characters are not already fully mature adults and they have them taking on crazy, unbelievable tasks, but Ms. Adams wrote high school characters in a high school setting with real high school issues which makes the book such a good read. Because the characters are truly in that high schooler mindset, this is an easy read which makes it the perfect read for coming down from a book hangover. Also, this is truly a stand-alone, so I encourage those on the fence to just try it! If you don’t enjoy Ms. Adams’s writing style, everything is resolved at the end so you won’t be guilted into continuing the series; though I don’t think that’ll be an issue because it was a good book and you’ll want to continue with the series.

Ayla is a sweet, smart, lovable character who is just happy with being herself. Then you have the high school mean girl who I really hope that we get to see more of in the future.. I do love a reformed mean girl. You have the group of high school athletes who are super popular, but also super smart, which is always a huge plus. You have a Cruel Intentions bet that has you on edge the entire book waiting for the ball to drop. Then when you think all the action is done and you’re just waiting for everyone to find their way back together, BAM!! Unexpected twist!!! The ending is super sweet and HEA. I really do hope that we will see Michelle again in the future and Ben as well; I’d love to see where all of Ben’s choices end up taking him and like I said before, getting to see a reformed mean girl is always fun to me.

[Paula Phillips · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading through the various bullymances, you can come across ones that are amazing and others that are a bit of hit and miss. For me, The Initiation was a freebie on Amazon and I had been looking forward to reading it but it wasn't a series I will be continuing as I found a few too many inconsistencies for myself. The book starts with our main character Ayla and her brother Ben moving to Beverley Hills as Ben created an app and sold it for millions and now the family has money. Their mother is also a local cop. Ayla arrives at BHPA and is the instant attraction as she is beautiful, feisty and smart. She is also quite naive as she finds her heart being pulled into multiple relationships and doing things she has never done before. This also puts her in the crosshairs of Michelle who is the school's current Queen B. The three boys are known as the A-Team as their names are all Alex want to be with her, so they create a bet to see who can win her heart and the winner gets to be with her while the others step aside. What started as a game though will become something more as they all realize that what they feel for Ayla is true and threatens their long-standing friendship. Meanwhile, EM aka Alex is trying to get a spot on the A-team and has been doing the dirty work for Michelle. The other storyline that runs through the book is Ayla's brother Ben getting involved in the drug scene, which was the storyline I found unbelievable as their mother was a cop and should have noticed the signs especially since she is also supposed to be homeschooling him.

[Melissa Hickman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved It!!!!!!!!❤️❤️❤️

I fell in love with Alex, Sam, and Tuna and I’m not ashamed to admit it!!!!!!! Ayla is one lucky girl!!! These guys weren’t very nice at times, but became everything any girl could want in the end! This book had everything, girl we love to hate, sweet, kind heroine, sexy, possessive bad boys, and a wonderful storyline. I love everything Melissa Adams writes and this is no exception!!❤️❤️❤️

[Haylee James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an amazing book, the characters are vividly detailed and easy to relate to. I love the male characters but my favorite is the alpha Alex; he is smart, hot like smoking hot, very talented, and very intense. Throughout the entire story you are on the edge of your seat. I love this book and recommend it to everyone.

[Jutta · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got so sucked into this book. I wasn't sure what to expect as it's my first bully romance and I wasn't sure I would like it. Like it, I loved it! I really enjoyed the story and the characters are great. I loved watching as they grew and changed. I didn't want it to end as I could have happily read about the characters for much longer. A great start to a new series of books.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Melissa really out did herself this by far is my FAVORITE BULLY ROMANCE. I’m actually not even a fan of them and picked this up because i love Melissa previous books. I figure i would give this one a try. I was not disappointed this book was amazing i actually read it twice

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely adored Ayla’s story! It was certainly a different take on a bully romance and it was a nice change up. You also get multiple POVs, even some from characters that are not the core of the book! There will be multiple books in the series but this one can be read as a stand-alone. Everything wraps up very nicely at the end :) Melissa did a wonderful job creating a story to keep me sucked in and reading way past my bedtime. A definite must read!

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a totally mindf*** from the beginning. Be careful of pretty faces because most of them are up to no good. This book is a must read. With all these twists and turns you never know what side is up. Can’t wait for the next book.

[T. · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Initiation had a nice blend of protagonists--good personality mixes made the dialog fun to follow and the characters pull the reader right into the plot. Yeah, there's some typical high school bullying, but Ayla has goals and doesn't let immature classmates throw her off-course.

[tammy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great first book to a new series from Melissa Adams , I enjoyed how the characters grew depths and evolved into great characters and fun to read about

[Melinda morefield · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book isnt the same old bully book your have been reading . If you like love , fun , sexy and hot guys you must read. I couldn't stop until the last page . Its also standalone and not cliffhangers so thats another good thing.

[Shellbellz · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my all time favorite RH bully romances ever!! This book is so well written and pulls you in from start to beautiful ending!! It’s the kind of book that you can’t help but cry, laugh and get angry right along with each character. I definitely recommend this book!

[Kayleigh henderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

What another brilliant read from melissa Adams. Talk about an emotional al rollercoaster. Would highly recommend to others it grips you from the start.

[Wendy Taffar · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first time reading RH was a Melissa Adams. Now a new first for me! I was not sure what to expect with a Bully Romance and I was not sure I wanted to read it... I am so happy I did, because it was as interesting and well written as all of Melissa Adams works. Loved the smart female character. Always enjoy hot guys and the bad guy twist are well done... Thank you for delivering another Amazing story! Keep Writing!

[Cassie Starkel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!

Completely adorable, soft bulky romance that made me yearn for a happily ever after and for the evil hater girl to get her karma. Loved every minute of it.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorable story of love and heartbreak!

I sincerely loved the RH story. Slow, methodical, nothing rushed. Made me believe that it actually could happen in real life. The guys were patient from day one, and the HEA was so sweet!

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing

Melissa has done it again, she has drawn me in, and I absoulty loved it, the dynamics of the 3 boys and Alya is really great can't wait to read the next one