Bad Apple: A Dark High School Romance

Willow Heights Prep Academy: The Exile, Book 1

By: Selena

Narrated by: Abigail Hunt, J.T. Linus

Length: 8 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

My name is Harper Apple, and people say I’m rotten to the core.

“Girls like you get one shot.”

When my shot comes in the form of a scholarship to Willow Heights Prep, you can bet your ass I take it. If getting out of this hellhole town means spending my last two years of high school at an elite academy full of rich, entitled pricks, then bring it on.

“Girls like you don’t belong.”

The arrogant and infuriatingly gorgeous Dolce brothers reign supreme in the hallowed halls of Willow Heights, and they don’t welcome my kind. Especially when I get in their way, don’t play by the rules in their twisted games, and refuse to bow to the cruel tyrants who run the place.

“Girls like you are bad news.”

Royal, Baron, and Duke Dolce set their sights on me. They think a poor girl will be an easy target, that they can break me and bring me to my knees like the girls who came before me. But the Dolce boys underestimate me. In this town, even girls from the trailer park hide deadly secrets. Secrets that could destroy them.

After all, it’s those from the wicked world of wealth and privilege with the most to lose.

This book is not RH - the main character ends up with one love interest.

This is the start of a brand-new, dark high school bully romance/enemies-to-lovers story featuring a damaged anti-hero and a heroine who fights her own battles. It is not for the faint of heart. It is in "no way" safe. I don't want to list specifics bc they are spoilers IMO, so I'll just say this: If you have triggers or hard lines, avoid this book. 18+ listeners only.

©2021 Selena (P)2021 Selena

Male narrator - cringe

Someone please tell me the male narrator gets better. I’m trying not to give up because of it. It’s almost like he can’t read and I can’t understand what the purpose of his parts are in the book. I might just have to read instead.

Not for the faint of heart

Not for the faint of ♥️ hearts. Harper (Bad Apple) is from the wrong side of town. Royal Dolce is from the family that runs the town and Royal starts the school. Things get very twisted! And I must says the end of this book just drove me crazy 😝! I need the next one.
Just remember this book will not be for everyone and definitely not under 18 years.

Narrators Are Awful

Can we talk about choosing narrators? Don't pick the cheapest ones. At least they sound like they are the cheapest, especially J.T. Linus. Just because something is in italics doesn't mean you read it like you're an idiot.

Dark, Bulky, with a Touch of Taboo Novel

I was given a copy of this audio for an honest review.

Man can you say DARK TABOO! Whew... Selena has written an extremely dark and taboo bully romance with non-con and dub-con scenes, childhood neglect, teacher taking advantage of youth, and much, much more. This book has all the triggers... so please head the authors warning at the beginning of the book and do not proceed if these are some of your triggers. Now I will say slight spoilers ahead so stop reading this review if you don’t want to know... seriously stop reading...

This book is like 99% bully and 1% (and that’s being generous) romance. I’m sure more romance will come out as the story develops though.

I don’t know how Selena did it, but she perfectly describes/tells us of the harshness (reality) in impoverished neighborhoods. Many people (middle class) live life thinking these types of things or environments don’t exists but they do. Harper Apple could be any of the many teen girls in foster care who grew up in a trailer park and whose mother neglected her and sees her as competition and the way Selena describes it so vividly and takes us through that journey of what and where Harper lives was beautifully written. The bully scenes and how Harper is treated in school was so raw and are plausible things that other children who have been bullied have gone through. I’ve read a lot of bully books/enemies to lovers and it’s rare to see a book that doesn’t overly fabricate the bullying or make you think that’s not even a possibility, but Selena wrote one. For the plot of this book and how Selena writes, I give this a solid 4.5 ⭐️ Round it up to 5 because I honestly believe it was that good despite my stomach turning at parts. The half star deduction has to do with the the beginning parts of each chapter read by a male narrator being a tad confusing to me but I got use to it as the story went on.

Now onto the narrators, thank goodness for the female narrator being the main reader because she was good. I liked Abigail Hunt so much I went searching for other books narrated by her to add to my list to listen to. However, the same cannot be said for the make narrator, JT Linus. I wasn’t a fan and maybe that’s because of his much older voice I couldn’t get with him being a high schooler. However, my opinion may change on that if he’s actually Mr. D (or whatever the mystery guys name is who is paying for Harper’s tuition in exchange for bringing the Dolce family down). So, for now my rating will be at a 3.5 ⭐️ In narration.

Book 1 in the Exile series

Not for the faint at heart - but I couldn't help but love every minute of it. The poetic of Royal was so entrancing and Apple - I love that she thinks she's a bad Apple and in a way I guess she is but I don't think she wants to be - she's rotten because those around her have infected her with their own rot and she can't help but be who she is. I can't wait for more from these two - I know that there is more depth to Royal that we've seen so far and I can't wait. The mystery, behind Mr D is intriguing and oh so captivating. I love that we have some characters from the Elite series and it's good to see them again in this read / listen. The dual narration was good and I loved Hunt's accents for the Dolce brothers. A deliciously dark read that will sink it's hooks in!

This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

Good Read

Bad Apple (Willow Heights Prep Academy: The Exile #1) was a good read by Selena. Harper Apple is a girl that people say is rotten to the core. Harper gets a scholarship to Willow Heights Prep. She knows that she must take her shot. The Dolce brothers reign the halls of Willow Heights, and they don't welcome people like her. They decide to set their sights on her because they feel a poor girl is an easy target. But they underestimated her. I enjoyed this book and can't wait to read more by the author.

The male narrator (horrible)

The male narrator was the worst I've ever heard. He read like he was is elementary school just learning how to read with fluency. You also couldn't tell who was talking because there wasn't any distinctions between characters in his voice. Good thing the female narrator read most of the story. Other than the male narrator the book was good.

Great story but slow.

I loved the story and the premise of it. All though the part of the chapters when royal speaks as if writing in a diary is a but annoying. And poorly written I believe.

Not a dark romance yet

Let start by saying I am a dark romance junkie but if this is that it is the sliwest....usually there is give and take..conflict with a lot of sexual tention I have seen none all take no give so far all dark no romance...now this is a series so it may get better but with dark romance I wanna see that need to hurt with the intense want amd so far it is all just hurt...and very little sexual tension...like almost none....it could be just slow getting started but there is no tease to make me wanna here the rest...not sure if I wanna buy rest of series...
also who writes a bad ass heroin that fights for money but can barely hold her own...what is that...I get that she shpuldnt always win but damn she is a fighter that can't hold her own in a fight.
narration is poor...I am from the south and I hate when people attempt to poorly memick our accents ...it always sounds faked and forced...it is did but it tolerable...

Dark read that held my attention the whole time

I really enjoyed this story. I know the Dulce brothers from the Willow Heights Prep Academy the Elite series. This book is dark and definitely has instances that will trigger someone. If you are not into a dark read then don't read this. If you trigger easily, don't read this. I really enjoyed this book. The characters are complex and have a lot going on. Harper is not willing to bow down to the Dulce boys and it infuriates them. Harper is a strong character even with everything going on. She is determined to find a way to get her out of Faulkner and into a better life. She is a fighter and she showcases that throughout this story. This book definitely pushes the edge for me but the writing really pulled you in and connected you. The story is not complete, it will be continued in the next book. This part was more of a slow build for me. There is definite bullying but Harper is still trying to figure out a lot of things and while it’s not good it’s not as bad as it could be. Harper’s attitude about it definitely affects it not feeling as bad regarding the bullying. She is trying to get on the inside, trying to get some attention in order to fulfill her part of the deal that she made. It does end on a cliffhanger but one that is understandable in a lot of ways. There is too much going on to be finished in one book and this one definitely felt like an introduction as things built and starting to get under the surface layers of Willow Heights and Royal Dulce. I will definitely be looking for the next one.
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.