BOOK REVIEW — Pretty Reckless by L.J. Shen
It started with a lemonade And ended with my heart
This, my pretty reckless rival,
is how our screwed-up story starts
As I sit here typing this review a few days later after finishing this book, I am cocooned in my blanket as I nurse another book hangover. And you know what? This book hangover has turned out to be of epic proportions! I haven't been even remotely interested in starting another book.
Thanks, L.J. Shen! *raises glass Gatsby style*
Pretty Reckless has been my most anticipated read since its announcement a year ago. It's been a torturous year waiting and now that I have finished it, I want to go back and have the chance to read this book all over again for the first time, just so that I can feel all that angst all over again! (Oh Marx! What is wrong with me?!)
Daria Followhill, daughter of Jamie and Melody Followhill, is the reigning Queen B. of All Saints High. Ruthless, destructive and cunning with zero brain-to-mouth filter, I was not expecting to fall in love with her character the way I did. From the very first page, her very first description, I couldn't help but fall in love with this deeply flawed girl, even when she was being a Grade A B*tch.
Her struggles, her pain, her isolation — It was the layers added to her character that had me rooting for her from the very beginning of the book till the very end.
Penn Scully, even though not a TotHole, was exactly what the TotHoles are made of, just from the wrong side of the tracks. Bad boy to the T with a heart of gold, Penn's personality was his soft younger self that was kept tightly under the wrap of his older and harder self because of the life he had been dealt with and lived through all these years.
Penn and Daria have a past and 8 years later, they are now living under the same roof. Once upon a time, they claimed to be best friends but they turned out to be were enemies of themselves and each other.
I have something for you.” I bat my eyelashes as he produces a red apple from his duffel bag and tosses it into my hands. My eyes widen at the realization of what it is. “Game over. You win. You conquered me even though it was me who marched into your territory unannounced.”I loved and lived for every aspect of Daria and Penn's relationship and their immensely flawed selves. The hate, the love, the push and pull, that intense connection these two shared and that nickname. Skull Eyes. MARX! The story behind this nickname is ADORABLE and to learn what it stood for and what Penn was referring to by calling Daria that from the moment they met — TAKE MY HEART, SHEN!
I loved every single minute of reading this book! I loved how Shen focused only on Daria and Penn with minimal intrusion and influence from the HotHoles or the TotHoles. I was on the edge of my seat and then there were things happening and all I could do was wait with bated breath and an almost stopped heart as I reached the climax and waited for everything to unfold!
Pretty Reckless turned out to be so much more than I had been expecting and let me tell you I have some pretty high expectations from this series.
The ups and downs, the twists and turns which lead to the most unexpecting point in the story to that absolutely heart racing epilogue! Daria and Penn have left such a mark on me with their story, I won't be forgetting about them or this story anytime soon or in the near future.
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