Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Vengeance #1

Vengeance

Rate this book
What you’re about to witness comes from a dark place. It’s taken a lot of planning, but you should know that every single thing I’m about to do is deserved. More than deserved, it’s owed, tenfold. Nothing I could do to these people will ever be enough to get even.

***

Charlotte McLintock has a new identity and a new look as Raven Deighton. She needs it so that she can infiltrate the elite private school that’s covering up her twin’s death. They claimed it was suicide, but she knows better.

Her plan’s been almost two years in the making. What started off as a desire to know the truth has turned into a burning compulsion for vengeance. However, she soon finds that life at Westchester Preparatory Academy’s not what she expected and that everyone’s hiding secrets - even the four hot guys she’s rapidly falling for.

Her one mission is to uncover the truth about what happened to Lizzie so that she can make everyone involved pay, and she’s not about to let anyone or anything - even her own torturous heart- stop her from burning them all to the ground.

***
Vengeance is a contemporary New Adult reverse harem bully romance, with dark themes and a twist. It works as a savage standalone piece (if you love a cliffhanger) but will actually form part of a trilogy with closure at the end of the series.
***

***WARNING***
This book carries an 18+ warning.
Vengeance is a medium to fast burn dark romance. It contains hot guys, foul language and sexual scenes, including some graphic physical bullying, and potential suicide, depression and sexual assault triggers.
I would love for you to read this book, but please be aware that it comes with a warning.

470 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 30, 2019

706 people are currently reading
1861 people want to read

About the author

Crystal North

52 books830 followers

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
667 (51%)
4 stars
359 (27%)
3 stars
177 (13%)
2 stars
45 (3%)
1 star
35 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 159 reviews
Profile Image for Vee.
373 reviews191 followers
May 8, 2024
The start had me in pieces, the end had me in pieces, but the middle felt like it was missing a couple of pieces. I wouldn’t call this a fluffy read, just straight despair. However, I was here for most of it. Ohhh and the letters…they just kept coming.

The plot had a bit of everything :
🎉Revenge
🎉Secret identities
🎉Mystery
🎉Murder
🎉Forbidden love (kind of)
🎉Bullying (not the FMC)

Parts of the story did remind me of Just Drop Out, but mostly because of the FMC’s personality and how fierce she was. The characters in this were all older and ranged from 18-20, as some were held back in this academy. I do appreciate older characters, which was probably another reason I couldn’t get into B1 of Hannaford.

I personally love any revenge plot twists. It produces the most irrational characters, which I can fully get behind. Also, alongside this came the secret identity aspect, which just seemed to cause me anxiety. I knew the truth would come out, I just didn’t know when.

This wasn’t an insta-love, but it was more so instant interest. The 4 MMCs took on a more casual approach and went after the FMC, but mostly when it was convenient to them. The way she met all of them was very chill and they all possessed characteristics that you would attach to harem characters, but not overtly. They were kind of muted down and didn’t turn into a stereotype of that personality trait. There was a leader, but he was very tame. I personally like the angst and it was slightly absent.

For me, there were definitely some confusing moments despite my appreciation for the beginning and end of the book.

🤷‍♀️The MMCs were ‘familiar’ with her twin sister, yet they didn’t piece together that she looked like her at all. She had the same eyes as her sister, yet she dyed her hair, got a darker tan and was very good at contour, so was somehow unrecognisable. I’m struggling with this. She would also wash her face and see the MMCs, so unless it’s waterproof ….

The guys hadn’t seen her sister’s face for 2 years, but prior to that they were in ‘close proximity’ to her for 2 months and then give or take 7 more school months.

I may be fixated on this way too much, I guess people do forget 😕

I did enjoy the climatic scenes before the cliffhanger, but she chose an interesting way to ‘distract’ people from her disappearance. This is if she didn’t want to intentionally cause multiple homicides. Apparently, she didn’t (I read this in book 2).

I did like this book and the premise was different from other basic academy reads, but there were some plot holes that didn’t make sense to me. It might just be me though.

(I have read 50% of Book 2 and DNF-ed. It is a 4-year time jump, which isn’t an issue, but I liked the characters a lot less in the next book)
Profile Image for Al *the semi serial series skipper*.
1,659 reviews857 followers
March 28, 2021
The word of today is Insanity.

I have told myself to give up on books with plots like this but I never listen. They are always horrible.

I didn't like it, I have read several revenge trope books where the vengeance is never carried out because the heroine falls in love with the bullies or because the heroine doesn't do her research and is instead led astray by the 'friend' that is supposedly helping her. This book had both of that happening. I can't, I'm out ✌🏽.
Profile Image for Amara.
598 reviews68 followers
January 9, 2020
Oh how I love a good story about vengeance. This is more than just a girl getting her revenge though. This is, at it's heart, a love story.

It bounces back and forth between the journal entries of a dead sister and Raven's POV mostly. There are some chapters with the four princes' (Raven's love interests) POV.

One sister is dead. The other wants to know why. She wants those responsible to get what's coming to them.

After getting her sister's journal, written in cyphers in the mail, Charlotte makes a plan to attend the school where her sister died. She changes her name to Raven and her appearance so no one will see the resemblance...then sets out to find the truth.

Lizzie was bullied, but it was worse than the incessant bullying. Lizzie was completely destroyed, broken to the point where almost nothing mattered. She had a feeling things may not end well for her, so she left coded journal entries she knew her twin could solve. After all, Charlotte was the one who could handle anything. Lizzie was gentle and meek.

I won't go into details, but if you have ANY trigger issues, do yourself a favor and find another book.

Charlotte, aka Raven, ends with with four guys falling in love with her during all this. Jax, Ace, Thorn, and Rebel are so hot. It is impossible to pick one over the other even as a reader. I'm definitely glad this was a RH!

Great book. I am surprised more people haven't read this. It is incredible. I have so many questions. Want to read the next book so bad!
Profile Image for Merbabe Kara.
301 reviews43 followers
December 14, 2019
Crystal North is an evil genius! Reading Vengeance was like riding on a wild/terrifying roller coaster. You know what Im talking about- the ones that only adrenaline junkies willingly go on? That is this book, you start out slowly going up hill and then BAM you are racing down the hill, taking sharp turns, and doing upside down loops that make you think you're sure to fly out of your seat! You never know what is going to happen next and just when you think you do, Crystal throws in another sharp turn and your racing downhill once again! I highly recommend this book! There is a large amount of steaming hot scenes, action, sweet romance, and mystery! The perfect start to what promises to be an amazing series!
Profile Image for Christy Bailey.
663 reviews24 followers
April 5, 2022
Wow!

Well that one through me for a loop. I saw it coming with who did the deed but I never saw that ending. I'm in a bit of shock right now I think and I can't wait to see what happens next and how it will all play out. Such yummy craziness!
Profile Image for Alyrica.
555 reviews17 followers
October 1, 2019
This book was really good and didn't feel like a debut novel.

What I liked:
*The main female character, Charlie/Raven. I didn't always love her choices, as a matter of fact, I wanted to shake her a time or two but I liked her strength and her devotion to her sister.
*The guys. I thought they were all well developed and distinct.
*The plot. I love that this book isn't about Raven being bullied but instead about her getting revenge on those that bullied her sister.
*How the information surrounding her sister was disseminated. The author cleverly provided letters from Lizzie or excerpts from her journal at the start of each chapter. This method kept it interesting without giving too much at once.
*The pace. I was interested the entire time.
* The length of the book. This was a long book which I love!!

What I didn't like:
* (slight spoiler) This is such a small thing but Raven and Lizzie though fraternal supposedly looked almost exactly alike. The FMC took several measures to change her appearance including makeup and contouring. I don't know how the guys wouldn't have realized how much Raven and Lizzie looked alike after Raven spent so much time with them especially after showers and before bed when she was wearing makeup.
*There were some typos and mistakes but they weren't excessive.

I was so pleasantly surprised over how much I enjoyed this book. I could not go to sleep until I finished it. I definitely recommend this book!!
Profile Image for Daisy Sauceda.
1,809 reviews21 followers
November 20, 2019
Well my state of mind is in shock people. First off, this book is without a doubt one of the best I books I have read this year. So if you have not read this book then you need to. However, please keep in mind that this book does have a trigger warning. What an amazing, thrilling and vengeful book! The emotional turmoil throughout the book is gripping and pulls on your heart with a feeling of no end in sight. There are also moments of bliss and happiness, scary as heck and some deliciously sinful times as well.

So we follow Charlotte aka "Raven" Deighton to West Prep School. Why does she go to this school? Something tragic happens and she is trying to get answers! So she is on a mission to take down some people for the pain that has been inflicted on her. So when Raven starts school she meets Jax, Rebel, Ace, Thorn the Princes of the school. She also meets the Princesses of the school with Tilly being the psycho of the bunch. However, Raven is prepared with her snarky comments as well as other things. So how close does she get to the enemy? Who are the enemies? All theses questions and more are answered when you read this book. However the twist is the ending... I. DID. NOT. SEE. THAT. COMING!!

Don't miss out on this book. Once you start reading this book you will not want to put it down.
127 reviews1 follower
September 23, 2021
WAIT! Not the first book

There are other books you should read first.
This is the first thing I've read from Crystal North. Apparently, a bunch of her series are connected in a "yes you must read them in order" type way. I wish I had known that before so I could have followed the story properly. I didn't realize until book 2 that I was missing a LOT of backstory.
Now, with that said, I enjoyed what I had. But I do wish the reading order was listed in the synopsis, so I could have understood what was happening. I feel like I missed out on a lot of shocking reveals, twists, excitement because I didn't know.....anything.
I highly recommend you don't start here. But I'm not sure where you should start. I'm pretty sure the Knox series, at least the first book or so, is before this. Other than that I'm totally lost. And that disappoints me.
(I would have given this 3 stars, but I'm hoping that as the only 1 star review I can catch anyone who might benefit from this information before they start the read.)
50 reviews1 follower
September 30, 2019
I am utterly stunned and my mind is in turmoil. Vengeance, not only met my expectations but blew them completely away. The story line is great. In many bully stories we meet a girl who is bullied and falls for her bullies, rarely do we meet a girl who is set on avenging the death of her sister, a female who is strong and is willingly putting herself in the bully situation. What sets this book even more apart is that Lizzie’s letters and diaries allows for the backstory of why Raven (AkA Charlotte) is determined to make everyone pay. The characters and premise is well developed, but then that ending! I have a love/hate relationship with cliffhangers, I mean many leave me wanting more, but this one has left me with book anxiety, desperately wanting the next book as soon as possible. Be warned, once you start reading this book, you will find yourself so involved you will not want to put it down.
**I received this book as an ARC, and I’m leaving my honest review**
Profile Image for Charlotte.
4,013 reviews62 followers
October 1, 2019
*Spoiler Alert*
Words fail me about this book because it exceeded my expectations on a regular RH school bully book by a mile. The person being bullied in this book is Lizzie. Twin sister to Charlotte (MFC) aka Raven who with the help of Lizzie's Journal and her friend Michael tries to piece together the reason why she took her own life (or if someone else did it instead?) and who drove her to it if that was the case? So Raven enrols in Westchester Preparatory Academy to find out the truth. Complications like four hot guys - Thorn, Ace, Rebel and Jax might get in the way of that happening. This book is so fast-paced i could barely keep up with it but thats what made it so damn good. Brilliant story, hard to read in parts especially some of Lizzie's journal entries but the twists and the revenge as well as that absolutely blinding ending was just amazing!! Couldnt put it down it was that good!
Profile Image for Belle .
612 reviews46 followers
September 9, 2020
I enjoyed the premise of this book and the prologue really draws you in. The relationships built are done well, albeit somewhat quickly, and Lizzie’s journal pages definitely add intrigue.

But, the revenge plot seems to fall to wayside for a majority of the book in favor of the romance. I don’t mind it, but it did feel like some of the sex scenes were written way too long and other parts of the book the inner dialogue seemed never ending.

Raven achieves some revenge with the princesses, but I just expected more. All that sparring and not one punch in the face? Especially after they did it to Lizzie?

The guys were great characters, my soft spot is for Rebel. The ending was... deserved for everyone except the guys, in my opinion. I wish she had communicated more and tried harder to find out the truth beyond the diaries. I wish she had confronted them. I’m intrigued into how the cliffhanger goes into the next book.
Profile Image for Rachel Osborne.
1,094 reviews19 followers
September 30, 2019
Omg what a fantastic book. From the start we get stuck into the story and the sadness reaches right into your core. The storyline starts slow, only revealing small details as we go but boy does this book end on a huge crescendo. The plot was well written and extremely detailed. The characters were exquisite and we're full of life. I loved every second of this contemporary RH, full of darkness and emotions. I'd give this book a million stars if I could! Absolutely perfection! Crystal North is an author to watch!
135 reviews26 followers
May 27, 2021
3.5 Stars!
I enjoyed this book a lot even though there were a lot of things that didn't sit quite right with me. It was fast-paced and interesting. The cliffhanger made sure that I'll be reading the next book. Raven was a strong female lead.

I'd like to read more from this author in the future.
Profile Image for Hannah Wenna.
Author 13 books82 followers
October 1, 2019
What the fuck did I just read this was an emotional rollercoaster it was everything and seriously heart wrenching the more I read the more I wanted to put it down but couldn’t, you seriously need to read this
Profile Image for Lindsay.
154 reviews
January 11, 2020
I read about 15% of the book and skipped to the end to see what happened.

Personally I just found the book to be boring. Now the writing was good and characters seemed interesting yet it just didn’t grab me like I know books like this would have.
Profile Image for XxLaVampiresaAlexisxX.
1,166 reviews76 followers
March 26, 2021
What a rush!! There's nothing better than a great revenge story. This was definitely that kind!

After the death of Charlotte's twin sister, she assumed the identity of Raven Deighton. There was two things on her mind, 1. Find out the truth about her sister's death and 2. Exact revenge on those who tortured her. She enrolled at the university, where her sister attended, and did just that! What she didn't expect was to fall for the four "Princes" of the school. Incredible!! Absolutely incredible. Crystal North always seems to keep me on my feet with all of the twist and turns. I've read the Knox Academy series first, so seeing a cameo from Baxter made me fangirl squeal...because I looove him! Why didn't I read this sooner?!?!?!?
Profile Image for Ayesha.
390 reviews82 followers
June 14, 2020
An interesting twist of a story

I'm on the fence about this one, I liked it but at times it infuriated me, I love the possibilities and I even giggled at times but Raven came across really mature and then I felt like she got really immature. I have no idea if I love her or hate her and that was a major marmite scenario for me. I enjoyed the build up even though I knew who the murderer was, the ending twist is what won me over for book 2
Profile Image for Autumn Miller ~ autumnbookreads.
1,272 reviews627 followers
January 29, 2022
I loved this book! It was longer than my usual reads, which had made me wary of reading it and I had put it off for a while. When I started this book though, that all faded away. I flew through this book! I became obsessed with the mystery, the plot, the characters, and I was on the edge of my seat, dying to know what would happen next! This book did not disappoint at all and I’m so incredibly excited to start the next book and see where the story will go from here!
Profile Image for Serah.
54 reviews
May 5, 2024
Wow

No idea why it's taken me so long to read this but wow this was absolutely brilliant. It just kept getting better and better with every chapter.
12 reviews
October 6, 2019
A fantastic debut novel, Vengeance is a reverse harem bully romance with a twist.

There are a lot of RH academy bully books out there at the moment, but this one truly offers something different. The main guys in the novel don't bully the heroine, Raven. She's actually at the school to get revenge on the bullies she believed killed her sister. There are some dark scenes in Raven's revenge plot, and her reasons for them are slowly exposed through a series of letters and diary entries from her dead sister. It just so happens that she falls for four amazingly hot guys in the process. I loved that there was a bit of a mystery to get to the bottom of whilst reading.

Personally, what I loved most about this book was the main female character's sass and spunk. She's a total badass! Of course, the four smoking hot guys she ends up getting close to, doesn't make it hard to read either. I enjoyed the banter and wit in their interactions and I have to say, the sex scenes are insanely hot!

This books does end on a bit of a cliffy, but the author already has the sequel well underway. She also plans to write a prequel which will tell the story of the sister's bullying, which I'm really keen to read!

I highly recommend this book for anyone who loves a bit of dark bully romance, but its looking for something fresh and new.

This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Lauren miss.reads.alot.
102 reviews11 followers
October 21, 2019
So, I went into this book thinking that I was a standalone and that all the mysteries and what not would be explained and I'd have nice ending to wrap everything up... Well, boy was I WRONG! While a whole host of things were answered, and the biggest mystery in the book was resolved, there are a ton of other things that are still hanging open, unresolved, including something to surprising that it was even revealed until the last page of the book. While I find the cliffhanger aspect completely frustrating because I wasn't looking to start a new series, my frustration does not take away incrediable this story was. The book was well written with fantastic character development throughout. I feel like I really got to know Raven, Thorn, Jax, Rebel and Ace. I even feel like I know Lizzie, which is amazing, since she wasn't actually a live for much on the book. I like how the author was able to tell an engaging, full story that left me with so many answers that I don't feel like I'm left completely hanging. While the story has a cliffhanger, I almost sets it up so that the next book will be a completely new story, with a whole new host of issues. I am looking forward to Atonement and hope that a release date is announced soon.
Profile Image for Jodi.
353 reviews1 follower
November 17, 2019
Whew! Great twist on a bully romance

Heck of a story! I just want to say right out of the gate that I was right. I knew who the killer was. It feels awesome to be right. I won’t lie. There are a few issues I have with this book that took me out of the story a bit. But if you can get by that, it’s a great book!! 1. Cell phone issue. Once you read it, you will understand. I can deal with spelling/grammar issues but continuity issues drive me to drink. 2. The guys reluctance to tell the story of the 5th prince. Promising to reveal in time then no follow through. 3. I feel really dreadful saying this, but I found Lizzie hard to sympathize/empathize with. 4. I thought Tilly’s family had cash flow problems? Where did the money suddenly come from and why didn’t Raven question it?
Profile Image for Carol Rupprecht.
784 reviews17 followers
December 10, 2019
OMG. This book threw me for a loop! I feel like it is so different than the other academy bully romances I've read before. Usually the main character falls for the bullies so this was a nice switch up. I loved how strong and determined Raven was as a character. She was not the kind of weak character that gets bullied like in other books. I also loved the incorporation of the journal entries and the coded messages within those entries that helped Raven (Charlotte) figure out what truly happened to her while she attended the academy. Having them pop up periodically in the book helped link the past and present and made me feel like we were finding out the information at the same time Raven was. The ending was such a cliffhanger! I know I have more than enough questions that I need answered in the next book. I definitely was not expecting that kind of ending. 
Profile Image for Charlotte.
104 reviews1 follower
January 20, 2020
Not your average bully.

I dont read bully romance. Like I can't It makes me seriously angry. So when sometime Reccomended this to me I put it off, and put it off. But I really wish I hadn't! Yes there's bullying, but not in the traditional sense. Charlotte is a seriously twisted character, and although I understood her motives I couldn't always agree with them. I like how a lot of questions are answered during the book and yet there are so many that have only.just begun to unravel. You think.you know where it's going... but you're probably wrong. I think I went 'what in the actual...' numerous times whilst reading it.
I'm dying to find out what happens next, and how it will all be resolved.
Read it! Your need for new and consuming plots will thank you.
35 reviews1 follower
December 28, 2019
I always love a good revenge story and that’s exactly what this is. This was definitely a bully read but was refreshing in that it wasn’t something I’ve read over and over. Our heroine was kick ass and strong. She had a vendetta and was going to see her mission through no matter the consequences.
Vengeance is an RH read. The relationships developed naturally and they were each unique. This story was HOT! I always love it too when I struggle with picking my favorite guy. They were each amazing in their own ways.
If you’re looking for a book that has a great story line with your steam, some mystery and a strong main character, this is it!
Profile Image for Hannah Brooker.
771 reviews2 followers
January 19, 2020
Holy heck!!!!

This book suckered me in from the beginning you read the prologue thinking this can't be real, you turn the page read the line of the first chapter and think holy beck what have I just read. I was totally gripped by this book from the get go. I enjoyed reading lizzies story through the letters. I'm so sad for the ending though ace out of them all deserved better. I'm definitely going to have a book hangover from this one. I feel sad for raven as she deserves love. My heart breaks for all the boys too as I believe they truly love her. I can't wait to read atonement.
Profile Image for Leanne Stuart.
159 reviews1 follower
October 2, 2019
Wow!! This book was absolutely amazing! It had me on the edge of my seat from starting to finish! It’s a definite rollercoaster ride!! I loved the characters in this story and can’t wait to read more about them in further books! I got really invested in some of them! I loved the backstory which we get through Lizzie’s letters and diaries which is something new and unique. The storyline is fabulous and it flows and I frankly can’t fault it! I went through so many emotions with this book! It just want the next!!
559 reviews32 followers
October 2, 2019
Reverse Harem Academy with bullying

Raven's Twin supposedly committed suicide. Raven waits 2 years to condition herself for revenge. Raven is a total badass. She doesn't care if she has to take on the whole school. She will have Vengeance for her sister. She didn't count on the 4 princes. There are triggers of rape and violence. This book is so well written that you become one with Raven. I cried for her sister's story. I cheered for Raven as she got pay back. Hopefully book 2 will be out soon
Profile Image for Christina Farrell.
113 reviews7 followers
November 9, 2019
This book was a ride! I had to keep fighting myself to not skip to the end to find out what happens. It was so good and had so many twists and turns. It kept me on my toes and interested the whole story. Raven was such a great character that was ultimately loyal to herself and her sister, not to the men that she formed relationships with. Even when you wanted to scream at her and tell her to just let go and love her men! Crystal North keeps the reader engaged from start to finish. I cannot wait for the next book!
Profile Image for Joy Whiteside.
4,926 reviews115 followers
November 13, 2019
WOW WOW WOW

This was an amazing read. From the moment that I started I was hooked and finished it in one sitting. The story will grab you and leave you wanting more. You can not put this book down. You need to know what is going to happen next and you have to keep reading to find out. The characters are awesome and seem so real that you feel as though you have known them forever. It moves along really great making it a nice enjoyable read. There is no doubt that you will recommend this book to others and that it will be added to your list of books to read.

This is a winner.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 159 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.