Start a Fire

The Savage Crew #1

by Julia Wolf

Osiemnastoletnia Grace Patel po dwóch latach wróciła do starej szkoły. Chce, żeby tym razem wszystko było inaczej niż wcześniej. Nie będzie starała się zyskać uznania w oczach rówieśników, postawi na dobre stopnie i spróbuje być niewidzialną na korytarzach.

Jednak już pierwsze dni w szkole pokazują, że to niemożliwe. Przykuła uwagę Sebastiana Vegi: chłopaka, o którym marzyły wszystkie dziewczyny, a który w niej wzbudzał jedynie strach. Wystarczyło, że na nią spojrzał, by Grace czuła na plecach dreszcze przerażenia.

Co takiego miał w sobie, że do tego stopnia tak na nią działał? Dlaczego wybrał właśnie ją? I czy jest szansa, że da jej spokój?

Genres: Dark Romance, Romance, High School, Enemies To Lovers, Dark, New Adult, Contemporary Romance

368 pages, Paperback

First published March 2, 2021

About the author

Julia lives in Maryland with her patient husband and three crazy, beautiful kids!

Reviews

[ß]

dnf

now why would u name a school Savage River High

[Pisces · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am so done with all this naked guys blessing my personal library. This photo shoot on covers are really cherry on top cringe 😬 not just for me, but also for the people who see me reading a book with half a naked guy on top of it.
Apart form that: this book really helped me get through my other read which is giving me it's fair share of headache and eye eyerolls at the time.

But whatever my 4s is for all the clichés and Vegas and bex.

[Jenifer Briggs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok, so if you know anything about me, you know that me and consent are the best of friends. I need it in my romances, and I definitely need it in real life. Let's face it: rape and rape culture is a pandemic all on its own, and I will always believe those who come forward, and I will always be someone's safe place to land when opening up to their story. Especially considering I didn't have the same kind of experience. Be the change you want to see in the world and all of that. But one thing I didn't have on my 2021 bingo card? That I would absolutely LOOOVVVEE a book that had some non-con action to it. Knock me over with a feather duster, because boys and girls, J took it to a whole other level with her dark side and I am all here for it!!

Now be warned: this is not the same Julia who writes heartwarming, adorable yet steamy rockstar romances that gives me all the feels. My girl J? She is wicked in all the best of ways. She makes me question my morals and whether or not I even agree with actions of this 'hero' that I would normally be crucifying, yet I somehow couldn't stop myself from falling in love with him?? All I know is that my girl here wrote an epic bully romance that is so different than I've read in the past, AND it gave me all the feels at the same time. I'm just obsessed.

So here we have our girl Grace, who used to be a popular cheerleader, but thanks to a backstabbing ex best friend and a rapist football player (because let's just call a spade a spade) and her home life exploding, she is back in the one place she thought for sure she left behind for good. She's determined to keep her head down, but you know what they say about best laid plans. On her very first day back she attracts the attention of the resident bad boy, who definitely doesn't take no for an answer. But my girl Grace? She doesn't back down without a fight. She's not some weak doormat who let's the asshole with good cheekbones and ok dick walk all over her -- oh no, she gave as good as she got and I just love her so much!!

As for Bash, there is so much more to him than meets the eye. Is he an asshole? Yes. Is he psychotic? Maybe so. But he is Grace's personal psycho, baby. He makes no qualms for his behavior; he just knows he wants her and will do anything to get her. But I just didn't expect to feel all sorts of emotion for this asshole. This beautiful, broken, angry young man who never thought he would be loved in the way he longed for, is brought to his knees by a miniature spitfire, and it was AHH-MAAAZZING.

We don't really get much of Bash's own POV, but we still feel his unconditional love for Grace. They balance each other out so perfectly! I just couldn't ask for more! Usually I tend to stay away from the high school romances since they seem so trite to me, but I was obsessed with the angst, the heat, the swoon, the banter!! Good Lord I'm a whore for good banter and Bash and Grace when they go head to head is everything my heart needed.

I absolutely adored all the new characters we were introduced to as well! Oh my gosh I couldn't stop laughing!! I'm waiting for a particular boys book, seeing as how I just know that will be epic!

If you're looking for something new and different, this book is definitely for you! I typically think the bully genre is overrated, but I'm so glad to took a chance on this. I can't wait for more in the series!

**I received an ARC of this book and these are my honest opinions!**

***Also: the cover model is giving me some maaajjooor Mark Whalberg vibes, especially from his "Fear" days. And now i need to go watch that movie again. Bye now!

[Mareeva · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

watch me dnf this at 72%.

This book wasn't necessarily bad. I actually don't have any strong feelings about it. It's the type of story you have to read in one go, because the moment you put it down, you won't care enough to pick it back up. Precisely why I'm dnfing. I know what drama unfolds anyway, and it isn't giving me any motivation to continue either😃.

PS: I have no idea why everyone keeps comparing this to Untouchable.

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars 



This is my first Julia Wolf book that wasn’t a rockstar romance and I enjoyed it so much! This is categorized as a dark high school bully romance- but for me personally it felt like bully romance light. I guess it depends on what types of books you’re used to reading. Still, it’s not a super light YA romance by any means so go in prepared.

Grace starts her senior year in the school she started high school at, but she hasn’t been there for a few years. It takes her a while to make friend again and get into a groove. Her life is so different now than it was before. Sebastian is someone that wasn’t in her life before, but he’s popping up everywhere now. I love a possessive hero and that was Bash. There was something towards the end that wasn’t my favorite, but I still enjoyed the book overall. I can’t wait to continue on with this series!

Audio book source: Audible
Story Rating: 4 stars
Narrators: Allie Piper & Gideon Frost
Narration Rating: 4 stars
Genre: YA/NA Contemporary Romance
Length: 9h 42m

[sara ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾☆ 4 stars ☆☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙

oh this was a nice surprise. I really really liked this.

let me just start by saying, this book was advertised as a DARK high school bully romance with non-con and dub-con situations. And it kinda has that, it does, but there's more to that. I'm not someone who gets upset when I enter a book expecting something and ends up with something different. As long as I enjoy the book, I don't care what crap they sell to me to read it.

With that said, this isn't dark (imo). And it also isn't bully romance. There is a few scenes at the beginning with dub-con and even though it did make me a tad uncomfortable, it all lead up to something better. And that's fine, I still liked this.

╰┈➤ Let me tell you a bit about the story:
Grace (h) moves back after spending the last two years in Switzerland. The first day of school she meets Sebastian (H) and he starts to stalk her basically. He becomes obssessed with her and she resists cause the first few weeks he is being... an asshole. They slowly begin to lower their walls with each other through their love for art and become each other's person to lean on. That's basically the gist of it.

・♡・ Grace ・♡・
She was awesome. She was a strong half-indian independent queen. She said "you won't invalidate my feelings, let me hurt and be sad, bye." ugh, i really adored her as a heroine. Yeah, maybe she cried a bit too much, but i didn't mind. She was passionate, she was a human with feelings, and she didn't feel ashamed of feeling them, good for her!!! Her relationship with her mom was one of the most healthy mom/daughter relationships I've ever read. I LOVED THEM.

・♡・ Sebastian ・♡・
He was a softie. He was SO SWEET and POSSESSIVE. I'm not usually a fan of possessive, but on him?? YUMMM. He was so into Grace since the beginning. I just adored him, honestly. Also, he KNEW how to use that bod 👀

“I could eat your tears for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Next to your pussy, they’re my favorite flavor. But those aren’t tears of sadness. Those are tears of frustration and anger and pleasure. They’re mine, and mine alone, that’s why I love them.”

・♡・ Bex and Gabe ・♡・
They deserve a spot cause OMG they were AWESOME. They gave me Claire and Gibsie's vibes from the Boys of Tommen Series by Chloe Walsh. I couldn't help but think of them (individually). Now I miss them, great. But anyways, I love them and I can't wait to read about them. GIMMEEEEEE

“I don’t hear anyone asking me,” Gabe pouted.
“Hold your breath, it’s coming any second now,” Bex said dryly.

Here's the thing, though... I think if we took out the dub-con situations at the beginning, this book would've been at least a 4.5 read. im not saying this because it's uncomfortble or whatever, but because it didn't fit with the story. It didn't fit Sebastian, period. He was THE sweetest. He was WHIPPED. Once we get to know him, the beginning doesn't make sense AT ALL. I get the author wanted to add that edge to the story, but there could've been other ways to do it. Bash wasn't the "dark" soul everyone warned Grace about at the beginning. Again, I think the author just needed to add that "dark" element to appeal to the audience. We all know this trope is HOT and for the past year and a half it's been more popular than ever, but if the story doens't need it, just don't add it! Or at least be consistent on the character. Bash was a sweet troubled soul, but just that. I loved him, though.

The book felt a bit repetitive in the middle, but other than that, this was a solid 3.5 ─ 4 star read. I enjoyed it a lot and I'll be reading the next books, like now.

【SONGS:】
you broke me first ─ Tate McRae
Lonely Dance ─ Set It Off

╭─━━━━━━━━━━━━─╮

• The Savage Crew Series •

Start a Fire #1 ─ 4 stars
Through the Ashes #2 ─ 3.25 stars
Burn it Down #3 ─ 3.75 stars

╰─━━━━━━━━━━━━─╯

[Sonia · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars for Bash and Grace

I love reading bully books, especially if the H has some morbid fascination with the h that she doesn’t understand. If it wasn’t for life getting in the way and adulting needing to happen, I would’ve read this a lot faster LOL.

Grace came back after living in Switzerland with her mom and dad. Her dad passed away a month before. He was sick, and he wasn’t getting better, so they moved to Switzerland to seek treatment for him. But when he passed away, there was nothing holding keeping them there, which is why they moved back. When Grace was a Freshman, something happened that caused a lot of rumors to spread, more specifically, she lost her V to a boy that her best friend had a crush on. It was a mess, so when they moved away, it was welcomed. When she moved back, she didn’t hang out with those people anymore, opting to have a different life and, hopefully, a brand new start. Her high school has enough students that she feels that this is something possible. But she attracts the attention of Sebastian, aka Bash, and she doesn’t know how to get away from him.

Sebastian is obsessed with her, and he begins cornering her early in the book. I loved it all LOL. Grace just wants to live a normal life, take her classes, go to college, and leave the high school drama behind. However, people from her past, the boy she lost her V to and her ex-best friend, keep bothering her. In the meantime, Bash can’t stop thinking about her and neither can Grace. Even though he becomes kind of her bully (I say kind of because it wasn’t full of bullying moments), she can’t help but be attracted to him. There is definitely a push and pull throughout the book.

The chemistry was 🔥🥵- oh man, the pages almost lit up in flames with how explosive their connection was. Grace can deny it all she wants, but she wants Bash, and his only focus is her and her pleasure, which was 😋💦. The book has some lovable secondary characters that I’m excited to read about in the future.

I didn’t care for the “reconciliation” that was added/forced towards the end of the book- some people are just meant to be bad guys- there’s no need to try to make them good or okay characters. I felt like it was superfluous and didn’t change my mind about how I felt for that character anyway 🤷🏻‍♀️. There were some details or plot points that I felt needed some development or maybe they could’ve just not been included in the book. Either way, I enjoyed this book and I look forward to reading more from this author.

Although this is titled as a “Bully” book, it’s not as dark as I thought it was going to be.

⚠️safety squad⚠️
-no cheating/sharing/omd
-dubcon
-OW is mentioned early on- but she is just friends with H and hasn’t been involved with him for a while- but they have had sex before and are only friends now
-OW2 in the last 15%: OW2 is an ex/villain who throws their past history in h’s face and makes it seem like they were recently involved
-parent death (past)
-h was assaulted in the past

[Lisa the book CREEP · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can't give it 5 stars even though i want to cause well, H used h's ex BFF to get information on h because he's in love with her while fucking her BFF, make sense? It won't until you read it. 😬

[Alexandraa XX · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t like it when the hero secretly is obsessed with the heroine but doesn’t chase her at first and fcks someone else and maybe fcks some more. Like what the fck? Thats just not right at all.

I’m the type of person when I read a great book from a author for the first time and its a great one like amazing for me, of course I will read the others books from the author because why the fck not. But unfortunately these series from the author is a high school love story that have childish drama and not great scenes for me to read. So I didn’t quite like it as much like the first book that I read from the author. What childish drama? Well childish drama because the hero likes the heroine too much and secretly slowly obsessing over her but he doesn’t want to admit it and play games with her because he thinks “its fun” well playing someones feeling in that young age its not fun and its annoying as fck to read that. The heroine is too weak and too stupid to even be okay at it when the hero do that to her. She is not strong enough and I don’t like that in a heroine that is not strong enough to defend herself emotionally and physically. I mean like one minute she lets him do things to her and say things to her some of it are bad and good. and then one minute she said no and act all innocent like she doesn’t even realize what she says. so fcking confusing. no wonder the hero sometimes get the wrong ideas because both are childish and the heroine is not smart enough to talk to him about things like what she likes and what she doesn’t like. Also I don’t like it very much when the hero told his former fck buddy to be friends with the heroine and to take care of her if he was not around and they became friends. Like thats so annoying of him to think thats okay when if the heroine do what he did, he would be pissed and doesn’t like it a bit. So this hero right here is a loser for doing that and thinking its okay lol.

Also the hero when he first start to pursuit the heroine, at first he touch and be close to some females. He didn’t touch them too far but was pretty touchy. AND I DON’T LIKE IT WHEN THE HERO LIKE COUPLE OF TIMES ALWAYS SAID TO THE HEROINE LIKE HE CAN GET ANY WOMAN HE WANTS THATS SO WILLINGLY TO BE WITH HIM. LIKE SHUT UP. See... too childish😆😆😆

Because this book gave me a headache and made worried me couple of times so I didn’t continue reading it.

Like when it started it looks like its not a safe romance book😂




👉🏽👉🏽👉🏽Thank you so much for reading my review❤️❤️ For you who loves my review and follow it, THANK YOU SO MUCH. I did not get paid or be told to do a review on a book. I’m here just to write review about a book so i can remember it. Its my honest opinion😚 I didn’t know at first people will find me and follow me and trust me to be honest, I was surprised myself to look at the notifications from people who reach out to me😆 So everything i write down here on a review is based on my personal opinion and based on my true writing. I DID NOT COPY SOMEONE’S REVIEW OR WRITING SKILL because at first when i was using this app for one year i didn’t know how to scroll down on a book and see the reviews from others😂😅🤣 I know, silly me but hey I finally learned my lesson 😛😛😛 Thats why when people assume i copy someone’s review i was like what? Because at first i didn’t know how to use this app properly and i didn’t know how to open someone’s review because for a year i never follow someone or add friends or someone😂😂😂🤣 (I’m laughing so hard) 🤪 AND I NEVER COPY SOMEONE’S REVIEW EVER. IF I WRITE SOMETHING WRONG OR DOESN’T MAKE SENSE PLEASE LET ME KNOW AND BE NICE OKAY. 👈🏽👈🏽👈🏽✋🏽✋🏽


I have a disclaimer down bellow if you have negative thoughts about my review😙😙😙



🌐🌐🌐➡️↘️⬇️➡️This is my own personal thoughts and opinion about the book so if thats not sit right with you or you feel I’m not being fair blablabla, please know that everybody in this world have their own different things that they like and don’t like. It may not be the same thing with you but thats okay because i am my own person and you cannot control me or tell me what to do. For example; i put ketchup (tomato sauce) on my fried chicken. You think that’s disgusting? For me its not and i’ve been eating it like that for many many years. You tell me to put another sauce and see if i like that better? I already did many many times in years but i still like the way i like it. It’s called differences between me and you and billions people in this world😊 be open minded😙 I respect people’s opinions about my opinions but in the end of the day if i say I don’t like it or i do like it, its up to me and its on me. And in the end of the day i always liked and show my respect to books and people’s opinions on books whenever that book is good or not good in my opinion 😊 Respect people’s opinions guys😙😙 I don’t want to write this down because its not really my thing to do it. To like address something like this when obviously i know the people who’s been reading my reviews many times and all the time, they are smart enough to understand and respect other people’s opinions no matter what their opinions on book or their point of view 😙😙 am i right? 💕 also there are people even though i already write “this book is different because i have my own taste of book” those people still comment my taste is this and that when HELLO… everybody have their own thoughts on books and what they want to read… why i read it then? I read it and give it a review because i have to read a book to give it a review… why not read the description book to understand before I’m going to read it? Hello just in case you haven’t notice, description books can be tricky because they write this amazing things about a book but turns out the story is so toxic. Maybe for me its toxic but not for you? YES HELLO THATS WHY US HUMAN BEING HAVE OUR DIFFERENCES, WHAT I LIKE IT DOESN’T MEAN YOU WILL LIKE IT AND EITHER WAY TOO. why i still write the review then if i just don’t like a book? Because I CAN and i want to, you cannot tell me what to do and not what to do🤪 if you still wants to be negative and be karens about my review on book after all of what i just write, i will never acknowledge you and simply ignore you because its not that hard🙏 I won’t respond to negativity comments🙏🏼🙏🏼 DON’T ASK ME AGAIN ABOUT WHY NOT RESPONDING TO YOUR NEGATIVE COMMENTS BECAUSE I ALREADY SAY IT HERE AND I WON’T BE EXPLAINING AGAIN BECAUSE WE’RE NOT CHILDREN SO ITS NOT HARD FOR YOU AN ADULT TO UNDERSTAND😌😌 YES MY REVIEW IS LONG BUT YOU READ IT ANYWAY AND ITS FINE ACTUALLY I CAN WRITE AS LONG AS I LIKE😎 YES MY GRAMMAR IS BAD SOMETIMES AND MAYBE ALL THE TIME BUT LUCKILY MANY PEOPLE CAN UNDERSTAND WHAT I’M SAYING🤪 ⬅️↖️↕️⬅️↩️⤴️

[Jessica ❥Chatterbooks Book Blog❥ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it! This was my first read from this author, and she'll probably be my next, too! Rtc

[Valentina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This would ideally be a romance that I love, and for the most part the storyline was appealing -- bully romance with a growly, broody antihero in possessive pursuit of his girl with an underpinning of veiled threat, darkness. What's not to like?

Unfortunately, I could not immerse myself in this story. The main characters lacked connectedness despite the portrayal of an attraction; the elements that would give their attraction authenticity -- chemistry, sexual pull, did not convey for me. This was in part due to the constant push and pull between the two caused by the heroine who in the end was just annoying and equally dishonest in refusing to admit attraction to this antihero even with her bare minimum interest. The story substance came from classroom settings and various high school events rather than character development and genuine love interest. And as much as I loved the dubious consent, the antihero's character, neither furthered the plot line sufficiently to overcome the other issues that eventually failed to garner my interest.

[Melluvsbooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Edited 05/2022 : on reflection, I really only liked this book because I was fascinated by the attempt to “fix” Untouchable. 🤡 The actual story was just mediocre at best. Reduced to 3-star

——-

Original review:

This is billed as a HS bully romance. I'm not sure why, because no bullying *really* takes place, on page. If you liked Untouchable (Sam Mariano) and Raleigh High (Callie Hart), two books also billed as "bully" but don't completely conform to the standard trope, you'll likely be down for this book. I found it engrossing, and finished almost in one sitting. 💕



What I liked:

• the h is vulnerable but feisty - she's smart and has a backbone - she was really laid back and seemed like someone you might be friends with.

• the H is cocky, aggressive, and j/p - #alphaholesaremyjam 😍

• there is a scene (maybe 2, depending on your sensitivity) with kinda sorta dubcon - the H initially comes off as a bit r*pey, but IMO he pulls back when she truly puts her foot down. Take that however you want, but since I'm always excited to get a hold of book where the author was willing to go there, I was here for it! 👍👍🖤 (I'm guessing this dubcon scene is why this book is called "dark bully')

• I loved that the H very pointedly told her more than once that his crazy behavior and r*pey vibe was exclusive to her ONLY 😍🤩

• OW drama - it doesn't really turn into true angst until the last 15% of the book, but there's a bit here and there throughout the book #imadramahoooaar 👌

• the side-characters were fun

• I loved that the H was relentless in his pursuit of the h - he seemed willing to do whatever he needed to do to get what he wanted 😍

• I loved how protective the H was - he reminded me a lot of the H in Raleigh High... ready to go to bat for the h against anyone who wanted to give her a hard time

• I loved that we didn't get his POV until the very end - I prefer my Hs to be a bit of a mystery ❤️






What I didn't like:

• This book felt, to me, as if someone had read Untouchable (and to a lesser degree, Raleigh High), and was a bit horrified by how much they liked it. 👀🙈😅

There. I said it. 😬🤷

So, they set out to write a book that fixed all the stuff they found problematic, while trying to keep the titillating bits. Something their PC hearts could live with. There's not anything *wrong* with that, but it seemed pretty glaringly obvious to me in a way that I found awkward. There was some very POINTED PC reminders and girl power stuff thrown in, right when things were getting *good*. I see what they were trying to do there, but it was a handled in a way that I found clunky and not very subtle. It took me out of the story. I'm sure others will appreciate this soothing of their feminist conscience, but *I* didn't love it, 🤷‍♀️ #sothere 😂 #badfeminist

• So, piggybacking on the previous point, the dubcon was watered down quite a bit, in a way that felt very pointed and intentional. Like they were trying to have their cake and eat it too. There's a pivotal scene, where the h doesn't give an enthusiastic "YES!" at every step of the way, but she certainly wasn't telling him "no" and is an active, very enthusiastic participant, while also giving off a ton of mixed signals 🙄.... but it is handled, for the rest of the book, as if he straight up r*ped her, which felt very contrived and odd. I think I was supposed to be mad at him by the end of the scene, but I was more annoyed with her. 👀😅

• there were several plot points that needed further fleshing out to make the overall plot make better sense.

• The H does several things that I just couldn't reconcile with who we're being told he is - again, this felt like the author was going for the ruthless amoral alphahole but needed to adjust him to be acceptable to her feminist heart... and I totally get it. I feel that dissonance as well, but you end up with a confused character who makes choices that don't make much sense

• the H's position and reputation in the school was very vague and confusing - people seemed in awe of him, even scared of him, but I never could figure out why... he was a big and ripped, but the only thing I could see that he did physically, besides follow the h around, was paint and maybe a bit of skateboarding??? 🤔🤔

• the h was also "fixed" to be more PC - she is forever putting the H in his place, and we all know how I feel about that nonsense. 😅😂😂 - she's experienced and we're told, kinda awkwardly, a few times that she's in control of her decisions and blah blah blah... *sigh* I really have little patience for being preached to when I'm reading smut. 🤷‍♀️

• there are several allusions to a bit of the perversions covered in both Untouchable and Raleigh High. None of these things were ever explored beyond the very surface level, which was disappointing. I think that was a miss. It was kink-lite. 😂

• there's a weird resolution between the h and someone who really wronged her... I think it was in the name of #girlpower, but I was not a fan. It's ok to have an evil OW. 🤷‍♀️ Not sure why that needed to be softened and sanitized. The whole scene just threw me off.



Bottom Line? I know it sounds like I didn't like this book 😬😂, but overall it really was a solid enjoyable read. ❤️ It's the kind of "bully" read that I actually prefer. I want to concentrate on how they get to their HEA, not on the bullying, and that's what this book did. I was not bored, even when I was rolling my eyes at some of the PC maneuvering I mentioned above. I think it's one of the better HS bully reads.🤷‍♀️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️





⚠️For the Safety Squad⚠️


• no cheating

• no sharing

• OW drama

• the h alludes to an assault in her past, mostly as brief vague flashbacks in her head

• she's dealing with the very recent death of her father

• dubcon




• https://www.amazon.com/Start-Fire-Sch...

[Amz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Julia Wolf really said "make it Untouchable by Sam Mariano but with the dub con in a stanky minivan instead of a classroom." It was still a fun read 🤷‍♀️

[B. C. Booklover · Rating 5 out of 5]

Julia Wolf has used her superpowers for spinning a great story to write something totally different than she has in the past. Start a Fire: The Savage Crew, is book one in her new high school bully romance series. I love dark romance, so I was  excited to see what she envisioned for her characters in this 'new to her' genre.  Start a Fire has all the angst and turmoil you'd expect from a high school bully romance and all the heat as well!

Grace Patel's POV is the strong voice of reason in this story as she shares with us her hopes, struggles and fears. She isn't the same girl she used to be anymore. Having to swallow her pride is humbling since the bottom dropped out of her life, but this is her second chance to get things right in Savage River. She's found a cool new friend to hang with but the old ones have become her haters and bullies. She's got to keep her chin up and stay focused to make it through each day. Making her art and getting into college are the final goals, no matter what.

Right off the bat, Grace has somehow attracted the unwavering attention of the most dark and dangerous looking guy at school.  He is the hot as hell, broody AF bad boy who's now starring in her nightmares and his angry sights are set on her.  Sebastian Vega gets way too close...he's an intense space invader with a dominating, possessive side that scares but also excites her.  Grace instinctively wants to run in the other direction but sexy Bash is breaking down her defenses, one smoldering look at a time.  Is he her bully, her protector or both?  He was the perfect anti hero- misunderstood, a little bit broken but embraced his own darkness and didn't apologize for who he was.

These characters were 18 years old and dealt with many situations that might actually occur in the lives of this age group. Bullying, the pressures of not fitting in and among other things- young love with the angst and drama that comes along with trying to make sense of it all. This well written enemies to lovers, twisted dark romance kept my undivided attention from beginning to end.  Proximity, fate or both steered Grace and Sebastian towards each other, finding they had more in common than they orginally thought.  Their first impressions of each other were wrong and they needed a hard shake to push those negative feelings aside and look deeper for the love that was there, waiting to be found.

"Don't ask me to let you go again." He pressed his face close to mine.  "I won't be able to."
........."Just keep your promises, Bash."
"Always, baby."

I loved the crazy twists towards the end of this book....so sigh-worthy and I couldn't have imagined the last few chapters of Grace and Sebastian's story any other way.  He delivered a fun, unexpected surprise by sharing his own POV in their epilogue. I wasn't quite sure about him at first, there were a few times where lines were blurred, but it didn't take long for me to want him to win Grace over.

What an incredible way to start this new series. The unforgettable Bex will be starring in her own story next!  Yay!  I loved this strange little girl who was such a supportive true friend to Grace!  Whether Julia Wolf is writing about her beloved rockstars or dipping her toes into something new like this, she's always going to be on my list of go to, favorite authors.

An early copy of this book was given and this was my honest review of it.

[Sakshi · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I care what you think of me, Grace. I’m not a monster, even though I can be monstrous."

If you are looking for some bad boy who is obsessive, possessive psycho, but with whom you can't stop falling in love anyway, this is for you. Fucking Grace! I loved how she just didn't sit and took shit, she gave too. She gracefully kept Bash in check. I loved their banter. I also adored all the secondary characters - Grace's Mom, Bex and Gabe.

And yeah, Bex's weird matches mine. And I can't wait to read her story next.

[Alley Ciz · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’re looking for an anti-hero that is just a little bit of a possessive psycho, but you can’t help but love him anyway…well look no further; Bash is the man for you. The only thing capable of making the steam and tension in this book burn hotter is the way Grace challenges his authority. If you like bully romances this is a must-read!

[kara · Rating 4 out of 5]

4⭐️ I love the heroine’s deadpan humor, thought romance was cute, and the smut wasn’t bad😏
*THIS IS NOT A BULLY ROMANCE*

[Beeg Panda · Rating 4 out of 5]

ahhh, Travis Maddox reincarnated...haven't had a good Travis in ages

its rare that I feel for a hero when he's a complete douche and I don't get his POV
works well in this case, though
Kudos, Ms Wolf

he blatantly lies to h when she specifically insisted on honesty being a deal-breaker for her
he'll lie again if it means he won't lose her

he doesn't grovel
and he really really REALLY should
but I don't mind much because even through her POV I can feel his pain

[Laura Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was sucked in from the beginning. Start a Fire has realistically flawed and relatable characters, intense emotions, and you can feel the heat coming off the pages. Highly recommended!

[Rain · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn’t enjoy this

When I read the blurb this sounded right up my ally, but it was such a disappointment. It reads like someone read Untouchable by Sam Mariano and wanted to write a fan fiction “fixing” things they didn’t like. That would be fine if it was posted on a fan fiction site, but it wasn’t. It’s being sold as an original story. There were scenes that appear to be pulled from that book (the comments and overall wording were just too similar to be a coincidence). It also appears like the author wanted to go in the direction of being super sex positive, but it was honestly just really cringey. The heroine has been sleeping around since she was a freshman, which while not my cup of tea, would be fine if not for the fact that she started with her friends crush. How is that being pro woman? The hero also has slept around, and here’s another cringey aspect, he’s been in a friends with benefit thing with a girl who is basically his best friend. A friend he doesn’t plan on not being around. These are 17/18 years olds not adults. It’s like this author just cares about making things PC not writing a good story. I swear I could hear her thinking “and we don’t want a girl to ever not like another girl, because you know girl power, so even though I’m putting these kids in awful situations I’m going to make sure they have no negative feelings about another girl.” She even has the heroine make up with the girl she considered her enemy (who the hero had also slept with). There’s such a thing as taking a concept too far and this book dances all over the concept. It doesn’t make ma a bad person or less of a feminist, because I’d feel awkward hanging out with someone my boyfriend routinely slept with or knowing they were hanging out. But the way this was written implies that it’s a grave personality flaw to feel that way. Just very unrealistic to expect 17/18 year olds to all have that complex maturity, especially when they actually behave incredible immaturely. I live good steamy scenes/books. But the characters in this story all seem to only spend their time sleeping around. The author also didn’t really save anything special for the hero/heroine. They’d basically already done everything with other people. I expect that in adult novels, but one of the reasons that I like this genre is getting to read about some of the characters firsts. But this author seems to think that I should have to read about 14 year olds to make that happen. Heck she even had the hero going without a condom with other people. Overall I didn’t like the story or the characters really. A lot of the concepts are just cliche (manwhore hero who’s been “in love “ with the heroine the entire time, heroine who is supposed to be bada** simply because she sleeps around) adding in the issues with the plot/scenes being ripped off, and I’d give this negative stars if I could. I was so excited to find a new author, but she is definitely not for me. I would suggest she get some beta readers.

[Abstract ♥ Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

ALL MY REVIEWS CAN BE FOUND ON MY BLOG: ABSTRACT BOOKS

Silly me for falling for the boy who liked my tears as much as my pleasure.”

Star Rating : 4/5 Stars

POV : Dual

Cliffhanger : None

Hero : Sebastian

Heroine : Grace

Pace of the story : Moderate

Angst Rating : 5/10

Heat Rating : 7.5/10

Triggers Involved : DubCon , Noncon , bully

Plot Summary :
Grace has a past. She was once the girl who was a part of the popular crowd. Until she had her falling out. But now she is back. And there was no way she would let those presumptuous assholes over her.

Her friends turned enemies are her least of concern now. She has gained the attention of someone even more twisted. Sebastian Vega is someone of whom nightmares are made of. And he has appointed her as his own new toy to play with and eventually break.


Overall Opinion :
This book gave me very strong vibes of Untouchable by Sam Mariano and Truly by Carmel Rhodes. To say in short, it was pretty spectacular! Sebastian was an ass who didn't know the meaning of the word NO and that only made things more interesting for him.

The book was not a regular bully romance book and I loved that! It had dubious consent situations and I loved how much the heroine fought back. She didn't just give in and made Sebastian Pay.

Highly recommended from my side to all the dark romance lovers out there! Don't hesitate to pick up this one, trust me you are in for a surprise!


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[Bookgasms Book Blog · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG! Anyone who knows me knows that Bully romance is my thing. Like my MAIN thing and let's just say if you know who Carter is (IYKUK) then you know what kind of heroes I die for. Noncon isn't for everyone and the trope is definitely not an easy one but ummm... Sebastion Vega is definitely a real one and my kind of hero!!! He was cut from the same cloth as Carter and then some.

Likewise, Grace was fantastic. She was strong and assertive and handled the beast inside Bash like a bossbitch. I mean did he scare her? Yup ... but he scared me too LoL. But did she tame the beast? Yep. The parts that she could control anyway lol.

Lord I loved this book. I was equally disturbed and addicted. This was a FABULOUS read! 5 stars! ~Ratula

[Penny]

dnf @ 30%

it's very similar to Untouchable and there's no way i'm reading something like that again
also, while the heroine was great and this was well written, i didn't like the hero one bit

[Helen Power · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a book! I’ve never read anything by this author before, and on quick glance, it looks like this is her first dark romance. While I think calling it “dark” is pushing it, it’s a great bully romance.
Grace is a fantastic heroine. She’s dealing with the grief of losing her father, and she has to return to school in a town she left two years earlier. And, of course, she didn’t leave on the best of terms. Sebastian seems to hate her right off the bat, and he and his friend Gabe antagonize her at every given opportunity.
One thing that really stands out about this book is that it’s told only in Grace’s POV. I’m so used to also getting POV scenes from the hero/antihero in these types of books that I didn’t think this book would be able to pull this off. However, I loved how we got to know Sebastian as Grace got to know him. His secrets were kept from us until Grace was made privy to them, which ended up drawing me deeper into the story. I feel like without the back and forth of POVs, I really burrowed into Grace’s head and I know her better than I know other heroines in the other romances I’ve read lately.
All in all, this is a real page turner, and the chemistry between Grace and Sebastian is off the charts. Definitely recommend this book to those who love an angsty new adult romance.
ALSO--Super excited to see that Bex will be getting a novel, and that she won’t be paired up with Elijah OR Gabe. I was a little worried that Gabe was endgame for her, but I’m happy to see we’ll be introduced to a new character. That said, I loved Gabe, and I really hope that he will get a book too!

[erin · Rating 1 out of 5]

dnf

sexual assault love stories aren’t a cute outfit and never will be

[Ziezie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I freaking love Sebastian Vega!!!

“His lips quirked. “I could eat your tears for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Next to your pussy, they’re my favorite flavor. But those aren’t tears of sadness. Those are tears of frustration and anger and pleasure. They’re mine, and mine alone, that’s why I love them.”

[raviolee · Rating 5 out of 5]

i really loved this book but i don't consider this a bully romance at all lol bash and grace were so much fun to read about!!

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel like Untouchable gets all the hype for being the best dubious consent book set in high school, and no shade to that, it's a good read! But, I like this one better. The story is more concise, and the characters in this one are more appealing to me.

We’ve got Sebastian Vega, often called Bash. He’s an artist / skater type who hates everyone in the world aside from his close friends, and the heroine, Grace. He’s obsessed with Grace to the point where he doesn’t take no for an answer, and manipulates her into spending time with him…and more. I’ve seen some reviews say this copies Untouchable, and it has similarities, but it’s different enough that it doesn’t feel like a copy. To me, this is just an example of, “If you like this book with these tropes, here's another one with similar tropes!” which happens all the time. I read both, and was glad to find more than one book with these tropes. I don’t see this genre as a game of scarcity. The more, the merrier.

At first, Bash seems like he's weirdly angry at Grace, but we later find out it’s because he’s been obsessed with her for YEARS, and he’s furious that she's ignoring their "history," since Grace used to talk to him sometimes at the beginning of high school – her memory is spotty around that period of time, because of the trauma around her dad’s death, so she doesn't remember ever talking to him before this year. I don't love Memory Stuff as a trope, but it works fine, here, and it's not a full "amnesia" storyline

Then there’s Grace, who's half white half Indian, and a former popular girl turned art-girl outcast. At the beginning of high school, she was besties with the Queen Bee, Elena. Then, she moved away and spent a couple years in Switzerland when her dad got sick. Now, after his death, she and her mom have moved back, but Grace is kind of lost after that ordeal. And she’s estranged from her former friend group -partly because Elena’s boyfriend assaulted Grace years ago, and Elena blames Grace for it, so she's now being horrible to Grace.

What I like most about Grace is that I feel like in dubious consent books, the heroine is either very bold and fights back with professional-grade MMA moves, or she’s TOO meek. Grace is the perfect middle ground. She goes along with Sebastian’s manipulations, and she’s mixed up about why she lets him do it. To me, this is the kind of heroine that the dubious consent sub-genre SHOULD have. She’s internally conflicted about it, but not in a way that makes her feel wishy-washy or weak. And, she doesn’t take an annoyingly long time to come around to liking him.

The conflict between them does involve OW drama, but it’s the kind that I don’t mind, because it’s not something that Bash really did in the present. Grace finds out that during the time that she was away in Switzerland, Bash used to hook up with Grace’s ex bestie, Elena, who's now Grace's enemy. This happened years before Grace was dating Bash. He never had interest in Elena, he did it because Grace had gone away and he knew Elena was her friend and could tell him about her – he was THAT obsessed with Grace. But the problem is that he never told Grace about it in the present, and obviously Grace finds out in a bad way, and doesn't react well, which is valid. I like this a lot as a plot conflict. It’s not too OTT, there’s no sudden violence or conspiracy or secret societies. It’s a conflict that fits a realistic high school setting, and fits this story and their characters - even though it sucks that he did that, it absolutely makes sense, and her reaction to it also makes sense. It doesn't feel like the author was like, "Oh shit, I need to make stuff Happen!" and threw in a random sudden murder attempt, like in Waking Olivia.

The side characters are great, too, I love Bash’s best friend, Gabe (who has his own book Burn it Down that I don't like as much as this one, but it's still enjoyable). And, although Elena is a horrible mean girl, we see a more likeable side to her in Gabe's book. She’s going to get her own book in the college spin off series, and I’m genuinely interested in reading it. I love a good former mean girl redemption arc. I feel like this is underrated as a dubious consent book. I’ve tried this author's rock star books, and they’re too sweet for me, but she writes a good New Adult angsty story.

[Maria · Rating 1 out of 5]

0.5 stars

It's official folks, non con/dub con is not for me, not even a little.

Regardless of how "cute" the relationship is between the MCs, I can't get into the book if the hero's got that whole alphahole stalker thing going on especially when he doesn't take a firm no for an answer. And it's not just because of common sense, I've also seen the flip side of this story, in Crazy about You by Jennifer Crusie, where the creepiness isn't romanticised and the guy who keeps pursuing the heroine, regardless of her blatant rejections, is vilified for being a deranged sociopath.

[Julia Wolf]

Releasing March 18
pre-order NOW: mybook.to/StartAFire