Pretty Reckless

Publisher's Summary

We were supposed to be best friends....

But turned out to be worst enemies.

Penn

They say revenge is a dish best served cold.

I’d had four years to stew on what Daria Followhill did to me, and now my heart was completely iced.

I took her first kiss. 

She took the only thing I loved.

I was poor.

She was rich.

The good thing about circumstances? They can change. Fast.

Now, I’m her parents’ latest shiny project. Her housemate. Her tormentor. The captain of the rival football team she hates so much.

Yeah, baby girl, say it - I’m your foster brother.

There’s a price to pay for ruining the only good thing in my life, and she’s about to shell out some serious tears.

Daria Followhill thinks she is THE queen. I’m about to prove to her that she’s nothing but a spoiled princess.

Daria

Everyone loves a good old, unapologetic punk.

But being a bitch? Oh, you get slammed for every snarky comment, cynical eye roll, and foot you put in your adversaries’ way.

The thing about stiletto heels is that they make a hell of a dent when you walk all over the people who try to hurt you.

In Penn Scully’s case, I pierced his heart until he bled out, then left it in a trash can on a bright summer day. 

Four years ago, he asked me to save all my firsts for him.

Now he lives across the hall, and I want nothing more than to be his last everything.

His parting words when he gave me his heart were that nothing in this world is free.

Now? Now he is making me pay.

©2019 L.J. Shen (P)2019 Audible, Inc.

NOT THE HOTHOLES

I don't like this spin off. I was blown away by the Hotholes series and expected more than what I got from this story. The actual plot was too thin to warrant the amount of angst from the characters. The female narrator was terrible. The nuances in her delivery were annoying. Her speech was drawn out, over the top and not natural at all. Daria had absolutely no redeeming qualities. She was also written like she had a mental illness (bipolar, split personality, depression, etc.) with no mention of mental health issues. Hard to through.

10 of 11 people found this review helpful

4 We're all human stars

I have to admit that I didn't like Daria going in. From what was mentioned of her in the previous series I thought she'd be awful. While she was queen bee and ugly most of the time, I felt her pain. Knowing what she felt and what she was going through I immediately understood her actions. Did that excuse her? No. But in the end we are all human.

I hope to get more of her and Penn. I fell in love with him too. When he was hurting I hurt too. He was a jerk but he had a lot of anger towards Daria. I'm just glad that he didn't give up on her or on himself.

Now Melody....yeah I've never been her biggest fan.


Narration
Female 4 stars, pacing was a little weird.
Male 5 stars, he was perfect for Penn.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

One of the best!

This book really touched and moved me at the same time. The characters in the book struggle - but with issues far from what you normally meet in romance novels. Therefore this story really caught me and I will definitely listen to the story again and go look for more from this auditor.
Furthermore, the author includes point of view from others charactors than the main two, adding further to the story. Really interesting story and totally captivating.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

loved

this book should be read after reading Defy. Defy is Dorias parents loved both... I enjoyed the hole series.....and now enjoying this series.....

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

really loved this story!

very well well written, great story line, and well performed! Loved it! I was very intrigued throughout the story!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Such a great book!!

Have you ever read a book and not be able to put it down? You skip sleep because you can’t not read the next sentence? This was that for me! I start this book at 11 o’clock at night and finished seven hours later! The drama, the personal growth, and the world building in this book are perfection! I have read one other book by this author and love that one too. I look forward to reading many more by L.J. Shen!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

It took me a full day to articulate all the feels.

I received an Advance Reader Copy of the book. This is my honest and voluntary review.

So I didn't like Daria... At first. But then, I feel like I was set up to be predisposed to dislike her when she was introduced as a child in Bane (I think it was Bane but it may have been Scandalous), so I was also prepared to be persuaded that she was likable. As the mother to 3 daughters, this read for me was sort of harrowing - though I have to also admit that Melody was my least favorite Hothole companion, so no love lost there. Pretty Reckless took me on a butterfly inducing, twisty turny, roller coaster ride that I did not want to end. The way that LJ Shen perpetuated suspense and intrigue from the first word to the last is masterful. There were legit moments when I almost choked on air because of the intense inhalation I was forced to take because of the sheer shock of some of the deeds and misdeeds portrayed within these pages. The spawn of the Sinners of Saints are going to take us on quite the journey - and I am so here for it. I don't know yet if they will occupy as much space in my literary psyche as their parents, but I do know that they will give them a run for their money. Loved all the cameos from from the 'rents and I can't wait for Vaughn, Knight, and (hopefully?) Luna to get their stories. My favorite part of the book though... Penn. Penn is like Hothole redemption in a character, if that makes any sense to anyone other than me. I want to say more, but I don't want to say too much. I literally did not read the blurb/synopsis whathaveyou - and truly this is one of those books where that is the best prep for going in. Blissfully unaware and naive to the reality of existence after Daria, Penn, ... and co (I literally just typed out SEVERAL character's names, but then hit delete a bunch because #nospoilers ) . So yeah... 5 wine glasses...

5 of 7 people found this review helpful

So Different!!

This is another non typical book. I am becoming to realize that is the norm from this fabulous author though.

We start off with Daria stating she was going to take the Queen B status and Penn Captain of his school’s football team.

He’s obviously broken and she’s not showing her broken to the world.

We watch these two grow together, grow apart and find their footing in their world.

Now the end of this book— the last couple of chapters and the epilogue has me smiling soo big and crying at the same time.

I absolutely loved how their story was wrapped up.

The narrators totally nailed this book! They totally sounded the appropriate age range for the characters they were portraying.

We get one chapter from Melanie’s point of view which is where Maxine came into play.


The emotional roller coaster of this book is actually fun as you get to see how they come out it.


Looking forward to Knight and Vaughn’s books!!

Fantastic ❤️

This was a fantastic book! I loved all the relationships and turmoil. It was well written and performed. I would highly recommend.

awesome!!

The best book I've listened to in a long time. So much teenage angst, high school back biting and mean girl drama it made me forget i wasn't in high school any more.

predictable

The sex scenes were too graphic and the language was atrocious. of course at the end the boy gets the girl.

A great story with fantastic voice acting.

I didn't know how to categorise this story. YA or NA. Most of the characters are in their final year of high school and adults surrounding those students, but this is a dark romance, suspense and is a raw, angst filled tale that is too violent and sexually explicit to be a YA. 
Having said that, this was such a good story. The angst and intensity made this a raw story of both love and hate. While Penn and Darla are the main focus of the book, there are so many other relevant characters and they are so well developed. The whole plot is so involved and so well written.
 I cannot fault the narration by Angela Goethals, Maxine Mitchell, Michael Crouch. Their vocal talents give a voice and intensity to the story and bring it to life. This story requires proper voice acting and the narrators all delivered.

Left me an emotional wreck!

Brilliant story—had me laughing, crying —angry,a rollercoaster!
Loved it!
Absolutely fantastic—so real!

All the feels! One of Shen's best books to date!

Not sure I can do justice to how amazing this book really was. I devoured it so quick and now I am bereft. I love the characters. It was pure Shen magic. It is very difficult to capture the same magic when it comes to spin off series but honestly, she outdid herself with Pretty Reckless. Penn and Daria are not typical teenagers, there is so much depth to both of these characters. Shen is a master at making you feel for her characters and feel you will!!! All of the characters are flawed and human and so relatable and this to me is the best aspect of this book. This one would be reread many times over, for sure. Cannot wait for the rest for the series. Love love love LJ Shen and I wish she would write 100 hooks a year :) kidding... Not really :)