| Title | : | Things I Wanted to Say (Lancaster Prep #1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 646 |
| Publication | : | First published July 29, 2021 |
He’s a menace on campus. Adored and feared. Hated and respected. His taunting words carve into my skin, shredding me to ribbons. Yet his intense gaze scorches my blood, fills me with a longing I don’t understand.
When I stumble upon him one night alone, I find him broken. Bleeding. My instincts scream to leave and let him suffer, but I can’t. I sneak him into my room. Clean him up. Fall for his lies. Let him possess every single part of me until I’m the one left a gasping, broken mess.
When he leaves me alone in the dead of night, he takes my journal with him.
Now he knows all my secrets. My hate. My truth. And he promises to use my words against me. I’ll be ruined if my darkest secret gets out.
That’s when I strike a bargain with the devil.
I’ll let
Things I Wanted to Say (Lancaster Prep #1) Reviews
-
He literally said "Dressed like that what did you expect? You practically asked for it."
I do not accept victim blaming for Sexual Assault. ever. -
absolute garbage
-
“My own personal whore, to use however I like, whenever I want. It’ll be fun, Savage. I’ll fuck you in every hole you’ve got. And you’ll take it. Willingly.”
I HAVE A NEW FAVE DIRTY, DEPRAVED ALPHA ASSHOLE BOOK BOYFRIEND IN MY LIFE AND I'M NEVER GIVING HIM UP! EVER!!!
Whit IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST AHOLES I'VE EVER MET AND I F'N LOVE HIM. Oh my goddddamnnn! 🥵 And I swear he's also one of the dirtiest talkers I've read from Monica. JFC!!! I didn't want this book to end!!! This book is my jam!!! MY JAM!!!! And omg he told he totally took her 🍑💦 and it was PERFECTION.
I am literally obsessed with this fucker! I could not get enough of Whit! The things that came out of his mouth were so messed up, I found myself saying "WHAT THE FUCK DID HE JUST SAY OMG GIMME MORE!!!!" I found myself craving more of his dickish, twisted ways. What the hell does that say about me?
I am ADDICTED to Whit!
This is seriously one of my fave enemies-to-lovers romances I've ever read. I don't often do bully romances either, but I can honestly say this was written SO WELL, it was LEGIT perfection. And don't get me started on the angst! NEXT. FUCKING. LEVEL. It kept me turning the pages. I wanted to throw my kindle so many goddamn times! THIS IS WHAT I CRAVE IN ROMANCE! I will never be over this love story! I'll be re-reading this soon!
Things I Wanted To Say by Monica Murphy is LIVE!
AMAZON US:
https://amzn.to/3xGmZV7
AMAZON CA:
https://amzn.to/3eecNvQ
UNIVERSAL:
mybook.to/TIWTS
-
1 star
this is literary garbage. why is this book still published? (and why is this being called BOOK VERSION of Maxton Hall? ew stfu)
— SPOILERS (pls read them i beg you). if you loved this book, don't you dare read this review.
— Seriously, though, this book was literal shit! 💩 I'm not kidding, and I never say this about any book! Well, I didn't DNF it and read the whole thing (because I was in my "do not DNF any book" era).
— I swear it was so bad, and I hated every second of it. The heroine, 'Summer Savage,' was not savage at all! SHE IS A LOSER. She was literally a horny chick who needed sex to function properly! I can't believe she let Whit degrade her again and again just to have sex with him because he has a god-like appearance *puke* Even just hearing Whit's name made her aroused. 🤢
— Now let's talk about the bitch of the HERO? The loser 'Whit 🤮 Lancaster.' I can't believe he belongs to the same family as Crew. Whit was a literal asshole, and he wasn't even sorry about it! Nah, uh, never! His POVs were so shitty that I had to take a break and curse him because he was annoying AF. He was a wannabe vicious Spencer, Xander Knight with no brain! He had no personality and was as bland as boiled chicken, just like Summer not Savage. 😪
— They both legit had a hate kiss when they were around 14 (bitch, what the actual fucking fuck?), and Summer was like, 'HE DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO KISS, AND I KINDA TAUGHT HIM?' What do you need? SPANKING FROM MOMMY DEAR (who btw was having sex at that moment).
All these kissy-pissy scenes happened when their parents were having SEX in the other room! (can I die? Can this review get any worse?)
— Now, they met years later, and Summer is in Lancaster Prep because her mommy has connections as she was Lancaster Daddy's side chick! The same shit happened: Whit was considered a god and ruled, and Summer got bullied there! It was told that she stood up for herself, but like, where? THIS BOOK WAS THE WORST BULLY ROMANCE EVER TOO. Whit didn't have a reason (well, no bully ever has except for attention), but he was an asshole! He had a giant ego, and Summer wasn't obeying his commands! 🙄
— But as I said, she was so fucking horny, she had sex with him after a few days. He stole her diary, blackmailed her into having sex with him and be his toy, slave, bitch, hoe, whatever, and all she did was say,
" you stupid idiot..... i hate you..... it's not that bad i guess right?...... i get pleasure... mhmjm"
🥵💦💋
— Now, let's talk about something serious! The worst thing this book could ever show was RAPE! Summer was molested and raped by her stepbrother, YATE, and all Summer said in her pov was, "I enjoyed it a bit! Am I bad?" Even though she knew it was wrong, in this scenario, it was not her fault! I get it. But this was not fully constructed or shown. Her mother knew about it too.
And even Whit read about it in her diary, and he was like, "I KNOW HE RAPED YOU." Like, bruh WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK? Even though Yate was dead, he never once told Summer that he would've killed him for her or said something comforting. Nah, uh! bitch
and it was acknowledged at the end of the book. that stupid whit knew about it before when they were fucking in highschool but he said nothing! prick! 😑
—Now the first and main reason i hate this book is, there was a scene when Summer was sexually assaulted and was about to be raped at a party, but Whit saved her and literally blamed her because she was wearing a revealing dress! Bro, what the fuck? Just fuck off, you sexist piece of asshole! HE LITERALLY JUST BLAMED HER BECAUSE OF HER DRESS?? I don't even understand why the author even wrote this kind of crap???????
if summer unleashed her inner MADDY PEREZ's (because i'm dressed like a hooker) side at that scene i would've been bawling my eyes out! but SHE HUGGED HIM AND CRIED, HE PATTED HER AND SAID GOOD BYE! 👋🏻
— All the words Whit ever used were bad! 😒 His family wanted him to marry someone else, and he AGREED! Summer 'without dignity' Savage, went to the family dinner with Whit's sister, and there she tried to be a boss bitch,which she wasn't, and couldn't even control herself. She had oral sex with Whit and let him rub her arousal on his fiancé's face (very, very romantic). He fucked Summer while being engaged! He called off things, but only after 75% of the book, and Summer, being the dumbass horny chick she is, went to live in their holiday mansion because she told herself she was there for her friend, not for this jackass bitch Whit! Guess what? They literally had sex every day, including anal. And it was the worst sex ever. 🥹😢
— Sex was the only connection they had, and the entire book revolves around it! It's too long to accommodate any actual plot (which was non-existent).
— The parents were awful! They had daddy issues, mommy issues—you name it, Monica displayed it. Daddy Lancaster was a pervert and obsessed with sex and having mistresses. Mommy Lancaster was mentally unstable. Mommy Savage was the worst mother ever because she showed no concern for her daughter! The parents were terrible in this book. 🤧🥴
— Mommy Lancaster threatened Summer not Savage, and made her believe that Whit had given her the diary and she would show it to the police. So Summer felt betrayed and left, but the only good thing was that Whit did not believe that Summer left on her own and immediately knew that it was her mother's plan. 🤡
— They met after 16 months! I NEEDED GROVELING. SUMMER NEEDED SEX. And Summer won! No groveling was shown! Sex on the first day was 100% guaranteed. 😐
If you love a bully romance book with a wanna be strong girl and a super childish, idiot, asshole hero who thinks he's a god with super daddy issues AND LOVE SMUT. read this!
and don't you dare get triggered by the said rape scenes because there wasn't warning at all. 🥱
The story was terrible, and I'm sad I read such a piece of garbage and actually managed to finish it! I need an award, please! And look, I do know it's your opinion, but whoever wrote those really big ass reviews stating this book was the best book ever? you lack judgement! 🤌🏻 -
okay, picture this: 600 pages. 90% smut. 10% plot. and there you have ‘things I wanted to say’ 🫣
now listen, I very much enjoyed the spice this book gave. I do wish it had a lil more emotional connection because I am a romantic at heart but regardless, I had a lovely time w this unexpectedly filthy book.
“my whöré.” - whit, pretty much every page. -
Summer and Whit are the most frustrating character i read. These two are reckless, confusing af and annoying. First of all, the word “ i am sick” “ you are sick” “ we are sick” is repeated in every chapter. I GET IT THEY ARE SICK. Like how hard is the author trying to convince that these two are sick in the head. But the thing is that they dont even do anything bad, they just have sex. I would call that vanilla sex. But the author is trying to convince us these two characters are sick by repeating the same words and not by action. The amount of sex there is bored me to death. 50% there are like a 100 sex scenes. Whit steals Summers journal where she wrote how her step brother sexually assaulted her and Whit be like “eh next”. The book focuses on the journal but the journal had no part at all. Whit didnt give a shit what Summer wrote, he was like eh.
-
The characters are immature, and the manner he treats her is disgusting, and she doesn’t have the power to change her weaknesses!
This story unfortunately don’t makes me comfortable. -
if a lana del rey song was a book, it would be this one.
-
i don’t even know where to start because this book was so weird and both of the mc were twisted in their heads. whit(H) called summer(h) whore all the time. and yk summer enjoyed it and hate it at the same time. girl wtf? and fyi them both(but especially whit) had no character development AT ALL, even at the end of the book. pls go fuck yourself.
i didn’t even get why they decided that they are soulmates. according to them, if u both like rough sex and dirty talk it means that u were made for each other. they didn’t even know anything about each other. they were just constantly hooking up because whit was blackmailing summer with her diary. soulmates to the max i would say. the book was still enjoyable, but not for right reasons.
the smut was okay, but i mean there wasn’t even a well written plot line, they just had sex almost every chapter so it’s not enough even for two stars.
my final thoughts: don’t read it if u don’t want a brain damage. -
When I say NOTHING worked for me I really mean it. Whit and Summer are two most annoying characters I ever read about and on top it all they have no chemistry together. This book is way too long, so many scenes are repetitive, if you trimmed that it would be leight of novella.
Also I have no problem with dark romance/ bully romance but this is just bad in my opinion. -
note: this review contains details from scenes that may be triggering to some, and major/minor spoilers for the novel.
╔∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗═════════════════════════════╗
𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐:
𝙵𝚞𝚗 𝙶𝚒𝚛𝚕 - 𝚂𝚞𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚛 𝚆𝚊𝚕𝚔𝚎𝚛
𝚞𝚙 𝚗𝚎𝚡𝚝:
𝙻𝚘𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐 - 𝙷.𝙴.𝚁.
𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚊𝚕 𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚔:
𝙻𝚎𝚝 𝙼𝚎 𝙴𝚡𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚒𝚗 - 𝙱𝚛𝚢𝚜𝚘𝚗 𝚃𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚛
0:03 ──⊙──────── 2:48
↻ ◁ II ▷ ↺
╚══════════════════════════════∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗╝
.·:·.☽✧ 3.2 stars ✧☾.·:·.
over the course of my romance reading journey, I've encountered many relationships and dynamics. they could vary from unique and peculiar, to mediocre and average. the relationship between the main characters, Summer (h) and Whit (H), lands somewhere on that scale, yet it took me a minute to pinpoint where.
they have a relationship that may seem peculiar to others, no doubt, but I think their dynamic leans more towards the mediocre and average side of my personal scale. guess I'll have to break down the novel's components so you can better understand my point.
╔════════════╗
.·:·.✧ PLOT ✧.·:·.
╚════════════╝
Summer Savage (h), was a social pariah ✋🚫 because of her mother's "gold digger" tendencies (according to the local tabloids). she was called very derogatory terms because of how Summer's mother, Janine Weatherstone, hopped from one married man to the next, stealing their money along the way. so when Summer meets Whit Lancaster (H) at a social gathering and he says“Come on. Your mom is my dad’s whore. You could be mine too.”
Summer is rightfully appalled and furious, yet a little turned on 🥵. can't say the same for me, personally, if I was in that situation, but it worked for her. maybe that's because they were both 14-years-old at the time. anyway, he made that statement after he accused Summer's mother of sleeping with Whit's father, who is a rich and married man 🤵💍. not too long after that, they kiss, do some touching, and Summer meets up with her mother so they can leave. but guess what? Summer realizes that Whit's accusation might hold some truth because her mother did look like she might've hooked up with Whit's father while Summer was away.
fast-forward 3 years later, Whit and Summer are attending the same school, Lancaster Prep 🏫. coincidently, it's the same school that Whit's father happens to own. when Summer gets there, she's judged and targeted because of her mother's status, and what happened to her step-father and step-brother. the details to what happened are slowly revealed as the story progresses, and I really liked that. it added a bit of mystery to the story and kept me intrigued because I wanted to know exactly what happened, and why Summer felt so guilty about it all. we love a good mystery 🕵️♂️ thrown into the mix.
because everyone at the school made Summer feel very unwelcome at the beginning (including Whit, since he was just delighted to see her)“Nice fall earlier. Landing on your knees like that must’ve hurt.” He smirks. “Though I’m sure you’re used to being on your knees.”
[...]
“I’m sure you’d love it if I fucked you,” he says, his voice low and taunting. I don’t know how the teacher doesn’t hear, but the man must be oblivious. “You’re a cheap whore, just like your mother.”
Whit proposes a deal to her: if she sucks him off and lets him cum on her tits for a week straight, then he'll make sure people stop avoiding her like the plague 🏃♀️🏃♂️ because Whit told them to."His mouth curves upward. "Suck my dick and let me come on your tits for a week straight, and I'll take the lock off everyone."
would I accept that deal? hell no, and neither did my bitch Summer. you may or may not know this, but I love her 💝. do I agree with all her actions? no. do I still love her ambition, courage, and character as a whole? of course.
anyway, I'll give a quick rundown of some events you must know about before I continue to the next section:
→ Summer and Sylvie (Whit's younger sister) become close friends after a detention session 👭.
→ while Whit beats the shit out of someone who tried to attack Summer, she's jammin' to "Streets" by Doja Cat. we love the music promotion in this household 😌💞.
→ Whit steals Summer's journal full of her juicy 🍑 secrets the morning after they kinda hook up. then she agrees to "earn it back" by basically being his 24/7 fuck buddy, and that's when their relationship actually sets sail 🚢.
╔══════════════════════╗
.·:·.✧ THE RELATIONSHIP ✧.·:·.
╚══════════════════════╝
as I started talking about in the intro, Summer and Whit's dynamic can be seen as peculiar, to say the least. while reading most of this book, I couldn't describe their relationship. I knew that they fucked a lot, and the author constantly reminded us that they were two broken, yet connected souls 💕."He touches my face. Grasps my chin lightly with his fingers, tilting my head back. "We will always work, Summer. Look at me." I meet his gaze, noting the intensity in his light blue eyes. "We were made for each other."
but while reading the very long conclusion to this story, I slowly found a way to describe their relationship. or more acccuratley, define their relaitonship in a nutshell 🌰.
in the beginning, Summer and Whit rely on sexual interactions so they don't have to confront the fact that they don't know each other well. they only have shared experiences and shared sentiments, so they bond over the fact that they're "broken souls"🖤. but after the whole fiasco where Whit's mother, Sylvia Lancaster, blackmails Summer into leaving the Lancaster household where she was visiting for Thanksgiving, the dynamic changes.
SL (Sylvia Lancaster) is a snake 🐍, and she used some quick little manipulation tricks to get Summer out of Whit's life (temporarily). after Summer leaves the Lancaster household, she confronts her mother about what really happened to her step-father, Jonas, and her step-brother, Yates. turns out, Summer's mother, Janine, started the fire that killed Yates and Jonas. Janine let Summer believe that she started it because, in her own words,“From your perspective, it was an accident. You didn’t mean to do any of it. You would’ve never been convicted,” she says, dismissing my protest. “Thank God his body was burned beyond recognition. His autopsy results were inconclusive.”
it would've seemed like an accident and Summer wouldn't be convicted ⛓️. but it was still wrong that Janine let Summer suffer with all that guilt for so long, while knowing that Summer didn't commit the crime. and Janine's reasoning for killing them was that Jonas wanted to divorce her because she was hooking up with Whit's father, and Janine did not want to divorce because then she'd lose all the fame 📸 and power that came with being Jonas' wife. so she killed him, and Yates in the process.
but don't feel bad for Yates, because it gets worse. Yates was repeatedly molesting Summer when she was 14, and he was 16 or 17. Janine had some suspicions that this was going on, yet she turned a blind eye to it all 🙈. Yates even admitted to raping her multiple times because she was "so beautiful he couldn't resist" right before Janine killed him, yet Janine barely comforts Summer after telling her what he said. all Janine says to her is"She rubs my back. "It's a cruel world, darling. Men use us. I hope that doesn't happen to you ever again."
which isn't comforting or helpful at all. Jannie knew this was happening to Summer, and she doesn't even apologize. doesn't offer to take her to therapy 👩⚕️ or anything.
anyway, after this conversation, there's a time jump 💨 to 16 months later. Summer's in Paris with Monty, a guy she met at a party. she's taking some classes, and enjoys life away from the US. all is going well until Monty tricks her into meeting Whit after not talking to him for more than a year. after they have more sexcapades, Whit grovels, apologizes for his past actions, and proves himself to be a more passionate and caring man, they end up together in the end 💏."It’s as if it’s permanently etched into his skin, and I remember the Whit of old. The boy who would stare at me with blank eyes. Who looked at me as if I didn’t matter. Who would actually tell me to my face that I didn’t matter to him at all.
He’s gone. Replaced by a seemingly overly passionate man whose entire focus is on me and no one else."
even though they're together again, things aren't the same as they were before. yes, they're still fuck bunnies who act all lovey-dovey with each other. but their relationship became normal and mundane once they reunited. or maybe their relationship was like that all along 🤔.
think about it: when they were in high school, they'd go on sexcapades and say they hate each other, but secretly think they're made for one another. yet their relationship didn't have much substance. other than the "I hate you" shit, their relationship was pretty regular, if you don't consider the whole rich family 💸 and arranged marriage 💍 drama going on in the sidelines. since they clearly stopped "hating" each other towards the end, it was easy to see that they're relationship was just normal.
there's nothing wrong with a normal relationship, of course, but I still want to point it out 👉. I think that's why I got kinda tired of their relationship at about 50%. it seemed like they were doing the same old shit, but with new drama. like Whitney said, "same script, different cast". or in this case, some new cast members were added to the play to stir up drama.
╔═════════════════╗
.·:·.✧ CHARACTERS ✧.·:·.
╚═════════════════╝
→ Summer is that bitch 💅, when she wants to be.
I liked Summer's character a lot, but she always chose when she wanted to have a backbone. when a dumb bitch insults her because of a preposterous rumor, Summer claps back without hesitation.“At least I’m not fucking someone’s daddy to keep myself enrolled,” one of them taunts. She’s young. Beautiful. Mean as a snake. One of Whit’s hangers-on.
“At least I’m not slobbering all over Whit Lancaster’s dick, desperate to get a taste,” I toss back at her.
“You’re a bitch,” she snaps.
“And you’re a heartless cunt who wears too much makeup,” I toss back at her."
when Summer says shit like that, it makes me want to hand her the crown she deserves 🙌👑. but then shit like this happens"Once there’s a lull in foot traffic, I dart out and make my way to my room, pressing flat against the door when a group of senior girls walk past me. Two of them are Caitlyn and Jane.
My so-called new friends from the first day of school.
“Slut,” one of them murmurs beneath her breath just before they all burst into laughter.
I say nothing, my face hot."
and I want to slam my head against a wall 🤦♂️. I know she's exhausted, and I know she's been through a lot, but can she just smack some sense into those two dimwits real quick? it's not that hard. at least Summer acknowledges that she can be a dormant sometimes, especially around Whit."This is the second time we’ve done this. And it throws me. He throws me. I don’t know what’s happening between us. Why he’s being so agreeable. Thoughtful. It’s exhilarating.
It’s scary.
But I do realize one thing.
I’m completely defenseless. Weak to him and his wants. His needs. He knows it. He has complete command of me. Body and soul.
And it is a terrifying position to find myself in."
aside from her doormat tendencies, I love her a lot. Summer was a really strong, compassionate, and intelligent character. one of my favorite scenes of hers was when she went to Paris. while in Paris, she realizes that she can be her own independent person without Whit, or anyone else."I've made a lot of mistakes in my life. I will continue to make them, but I feel more in control now. More mature. I know I still have a lot of growing to do, but I was on the track to nowhere back in the States. At Lancaster. With my mother. If I'd stayed in the city, God knows what would've happened to me. I am without doubt my mother's daughter, though I don't plan on following in her footsteps."
she had a lot of development as a character, which I really liked, but I think her character development was dimmed when Whit found her again. when they reunited, she went back to the same person she was back in high school. the drastic shift really disappointed me, but unfortunately, I expected it 😒.
→ Whit is alright.
I don't know how else to describe him. he had some steamy scenes 🔥💦, but other than that, there wasn't much to him. his parents put him into an arranged marriage because they're the Lancasters, a rich family with old money 💰. Whit can't possibly marry anyone else except for his arranged marriage partner because then the bloodlines won't be continued (?). I don't really understand that logic, but whatever. Summer is basically the opposite of whom he's supposed to marry, yet he can't stay away from her.
he treats her badly (at times), calls her names 🤬, and often disrespects her all-around. but he defends her to other people, and knows that if he would ever marry anyone, it'd be Summer. sometimes he's passionate towards her (especially in the last 80% of the novel), but it wasn't a regular occurrence with his character. I liked him overall, but I was once again disappointed that he didn't have much development. yes, he did make changes in his life, like standing up to his mother and father about what he wanted. but the thing is, other than that, he didn't really have any character development 🤷♂️.
extra characters that don't matter
→ Sylvie, Whit's sister, was a bitch.
she was not that bitch, just a bitch. I kinda liked her because of her friendship with Summer, but as soon as she switched sides, that little bit of civility I had towards her disappeared 🖕."You have no idea what you're talking about, or what it's like, being a part of this family. One of the most important families in the country, if not the world. Our place in society is firmly rooted, and we can't afford to let it be ruined by some stupid, whorish girl who's set her sights on us. You're just on the fringe. Always on the outskirts, the sad little girl standing longingly in the window." Sylvie sneers. "Just like your mother, I hear."
[..]
Sylvie slams her cup onto the nearby table and leans forward in her chair, her narrowed gaze aimed at me. "Listen. You just used me to get to spend a week alone with Whit. So you can fuck him into thinking you're the perfect woman for him. I always thought Whit was smarter than that, but clearly you have a magical vagina because it's all he can think about. And now, somehow you've convinced him to go against everything our family stands for."
can I slap her now? thank you. it's so ironic that she's talking about looking out the window longingly, when that's literally what she does. Summer can do whatever she wants with whomever she wants, yet Sylvie is sick 🤒 and barely interacts with people. and no, I don't care that she's sick and has health issues. am I supposed to ignore all those out of pocket insults just because she's sick? hell no. I'm glad Summer isn't friends with her anymore because I wouldn't want to be friends with a bitch who switches sides like it's her fucking job 👩💼.
→ Sylvia Lancaster, Whit's mother, is the 2'nd most disappointing adult in this novel.
I won't talk about her character much because she doesn't deserve it at all. she's a rich, jealous, and spiteful old lady 👵 that has nothing better to do than terrorize a teenage girl all because of her mother's mistakes.
→ Augustus Lancaster, Whit's father, is the best spineless doormat in town.
if you thought Summer had some doormat tendencies, then you'll think Augustus is the doormat king 🚪👑. seriously, he just lets his rude and petty wife do whatever the fuck she wants, and he doesn't say shit. no, he just has multiple mistresses to get his mind off his wife's despicable activity.
→ Janine Weatherstone, Summer's mother, is a woman more selfish than Sylvia.
I know, that must be hard to believe, but it's true. when Janine had a snaking suspicion that Yates was molesting Summer, she turned a blind eye to it 🙈. why? because she was too wrapped up in her own bullshit to pick up the clues and care for her own daughter, of course."I saw you lave Yates' room," she says, averting her gaze, staring off into the distance as if she's lost in her memories. "I had a suspicion about you two, and I didn't want to believe it. Deep down, I knew. I knew, but I didn't know how to stop it. I thought, perhaps, that you wanted--to be in a relationship with him."
Tears well in my eyes and I want to scream at her. That was the last thing I wanted. And if she suspected, why didn't she try and stop it? Stop him? Why didn't she say something to me? To Yates? To Jonas?
Because she's selfish. Thoughtless.
Too wrapped up in her own bullshit."
I know that Summer eventually forgave her, but I just can't fuck with Janine ✋. she's most definitely the most disappointing adult in this book.
╔═════════════════╗
.·:·.✧ CONCLUSION ✧.·:·.
╚═════════════════╝
in summary, Summer was a saving grace 😇🙏 for this novel, but even she couldn't save it all. having such a long ending/epilogue like that was just unnecessary, and it made me want to DNF the whole book, even though I was at like 80 or 90%. if the ending wasn't so extensive, this whole novel could've been a lot shorter. but the slight bit of mystery 🕵️♂️ involved with Summer's backstory was an aspect I really enjoyed, and it kept me interested. although I criticized a lot of this book, I enjoyed reading it overall. would most definitely recommend to anyone who wants a hate-to-love type of book that is a little too long 📕 for its own good. -
I wish I had DNFd this. What the hell did I just read? These people are awful! And not in a good way. No, no, nope. Read bc it’s the first in a series and everyone says the second one is so great but damn!
Immediate regret. -
Stupid
Don’t waste your time. Zero character development. No redeeming quality’s to the jerk. And some weird back story with the sister and the jerks mom. -
2.25 Stars
I had a longer review but it got deleted again and this book put me in a bad mood so I don't want to spend anymore time on another detailed one😅 but essentially, it's a SUPER frustrating book. Characters are all idiotic. Drama and dialogue is super repetitive. Hero is gross and treats heroine like crap most of the book with basically no groveling. Heroine has BBS and can never make up her mind. The men are always pervy and the women catty. Too much sex and not enough chemistry.
Safety:
Ow drama: a lot. Hero shows a lot of affection to other women such as touching their backs, kissing them, putting his arm around them, thinking of how hot they are. Ex f-buddies appear and cause drama, and hero also propositions one of them for anal. Hero almost has a threesome. Hero planned to sleep with his arranged fiance too but heroine shows up. Also a lot of details of his sex life.
Om drama- some details of heroines past sex life. Heroine makes out and dances with om at a party but doesnt go through with it and the om tries to r**e her
Cheating...? Idk but the hero shows too much affection to ow and he planned to sleep with his fiance AFTER him and heroine were *together*. Heroine did call it off at one point too in which she made out with om, and hero shows a lot of affection and kissed ow at school. Neither have sex with anyone else though after they start sleeping together.
Separation- 16 months, heroine was celibate, no details on hero but I think he was too
No sharing
Neither virgins
Manwhore hero -
Things I Wanted to Say (But Never Did) is coming soon! This is a standalone.
Preorder >>>
https://amzn.to/3A6XAWA
-
For the first time that I can remember I know exactly why the H hates and belittles the h from the get go. How refreshing!
Whit (which is btw the scummiest of all yuppy names) has a Manson like quality. I actually like his sadistic style, I just wish he was a touch less smarmy. More aggression, less spoiled child.
This is the steamiest high school bully romance I’ve read to date. Degradation kink is becoming one of my favorites.
It’s getting to the point that his cruel words are more for himself than her. Denial is a funny thing.
For someone that hates her guts, has done everything in his power to make her miserable, he’s awfully gung-ho on making sure that she’s sexually satisfied.
My issue with this is all the characters feel flat to me. Like I’m being told what they’re supposed to be like but they just seem like different shades of beige. The only one who leans towards a more colorful spectrum is Sylvie. And later Monty, that guy is fabulous!
The pacing is good, there’s plenty going on to keep my attention. It just feels like there’s too much description, I don’t need to know every detail of every surrounding. Also some of the inner monologues are at times repetitive. Omg no wonder, I just saw it’s 604 pages. Too much!
“For your birthday. What do you want? I’ll give you whatever you desire.”
“I want you to cuddle with me,” she finally answers, her voice small. 🥺 (Oh Summer, you really do pull at my heart strings.)
I swear to God, is Augustus bipolar. Marry for love, you have responsibilities to your family, don’t make the same mistake I did, don’t throw away a good match for easy pussy. Make up your damn mind!
The best thing I can say about this book is the kink is varied and steamy af. 🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶
Even though the journal was the root of all their problems, at the same time it was their salvation. Monty helped too and I do love a fairy godmother.
The thing about hate is that it’s one side of a coin. If they hate you first, there’s a good chance they’ll love you with that same passion later. The more they fight, the cruelty, the more they pull away translates into this all encompassing passionate love. At least that’s how it works in books, thank god for fiction. -
1 star ☆ ykw as I keep thinking about this book and I realized that it's not that good. It's entertaining cause of how toxic they are, the drama and the things that happened here.
I keep seeing some people still like Whit... he's not good babe. I understand how some people like Crew besides some of his questionable actions but Whit? bffr. I remember that I just keep reading this book because of Summer, the "secrets" in her journal and it was disappointing since it got literally brushed off. It just focuses on the smut and its toxicness now.
that's all.
-
review before:
This book is like 600 pages long and most of it was smut but the plot was nowhere to be seen. Did I mind the smut? no. Did I enjoy it? well.. I guess I did.
I read this because it’s a bully romance, enemies to lovers, set in a private school and someone said that it gives gossip girl vibes?! you name it. It was also fast paced so it’s easy to read and be captivated by the story. And yes, they are toxic also. However, The smut in this book? amazing. Didn’t expect to liked it sm and the epilogue was lowkey cute ngl.
I just wish that the length of the book would be a bit shorter than 600 pages since it felt like it was so dragged on that some parts of it are just not necessary imo. -
4.5 stars
I'm a sucker for a good bully romance, and this one simply checked all the boxes for me:
A tortured hero who you love to hate? CHECK
A heroine who's not a doormat and gives as good as she gets? CHECK
Dirty talk?? CHECK and CHECK!
A seriously binge worthy story that I read cover to cover in one sitting?? CHECK
Here's hoping we get more books in this world because I'm seriously hooked!
Find me on:
-
3⭐️ I’m honestly not sure how to feel about this book.
There was barely any plot and when there was it was 10 pages long and never really got resolved. I was NOT a fan of Whitt in the slightest and I couldn’t feel the chemistry at alllll. Would I recommend? No, not really however I finished it quite quickly and I don’t normally do that with books I don’t like; so I guess make of that what you like 🤷♀️ -
whit lancaster could give you an orgasm and make you see stars. that man knows his way around a girl and that’s expected cause he did that for a good half of the book. and that’s it, this was just whit and summer getting laid, showing us how hot hate sex can be and then they eventually fall in love...that’s the book
-
Ok. Time to rant.
This book had SO MUCH potential. Private boarding school, rich families, popular rich asshole? At the beginning I was seriously intrigued. I was curious to see how their relationship would develop, how Whit’s (yes, that’s his name- short for Whittaker btw) character development after his disgusting behaviour, that was, from the very beginning, really concerning. But I’ll go more in depth on that later.
Murphy found an astoundingly clever solution for this- that is, 🎉DON’T HAVE ONE!🎉
Whittaker Lancaster is the eldest son of the very, very, very rich (you won’t believe how much this was emphasised) and powerful family that owns Lancaster Prep, a rich people boarding school. He’s a real dick, is known for treating girls like trash and enjoying *roughness*. And you’d think (like I mistakenly did), “Oh! So he’ll go soft for her❤️”.
WRONG. The word ‘whore’ is used 44 times in this book. And all of them are said to Summer, our MC, directly to her face, by none other than our brilliant Whit. No, I’m not making up a random number.
Summer’s mother had an affair with Augustus Lancaster, Whit’s father, ruining his parents’ marriage (😀) and so he hates her. He makes her life a literal hell at school, making everyone turn against her, even as he’s attracted to her. She hates him too, because, well. After she repeatedly cries because of him, he perceptively deduces that she likes the pain. And the name calling. She’s a whore, she’s a whore, she’s a whore, she’s dark like me, she’s dirty, she’s sick and she’s depraved and blah blah, are just a few of the incredibly advanced thoughts in Whitty’s mind(lmfao he’s not actually nicknamed this, but her pisses me off so).
He proceeds to talk to her about how he owns her, but she doesn’t own him, and how he’s fucking other girls (he’s not) and explaining to her that his dick doesn’t belong to her. He steals her journal where she recounts the sexual abuse she had to endure from her stepbrother and blackmails her with sex to have it back. Yes, I’m serious. He explains to her that she wouldn’t be able to say no to him, that the second he’d call she’d have to come running and begging for it. And this atrocious character is so damn cocky. Not the attractive type either. Boasting and boasting about how she’d be begging for his dick, for the privilege to
fuck the most powerful guy in the place, of how he was all-powerful, untouchable, and so many other atrocious thoughts that I’ve already erased them from my mind.
Their entire relationship was so, so toxic. And not the “fire passion BAM” kind either. Just red flag after red flag. And sex in every scene, no matter how unfitting. No communication WHATSOEVER. Him a disgusting snotty asshole who thinks he’s the shit, and her a spineless idiot with the self-respect of a water bottle. Every time I thought there would be a good scene, when I dared hope for a change, SEX. I was sorely disappointed. He’s selfish even in that, rarely making her come (ironic after all the bragging- and how did Murphy think this was a good idea?) because he’s just too much of a bad boy. Some scenes are basically him wearing her down and harassing her and her giving in reluctantly. And he’s just so proud of himself every damn time.
Let’s not even get me started on that one sex scenes where she licks his literal asshole🥲. Yeah. Traumatising.
SOMEHOW I could’ve ignored all this (I couldn’t have, but let’s pretend). IF, amongst the other disgusting statements and name-callings that Whit justifies with ‘but she’s a dirty whore who likes the roughness. She’s sick and depraved like me’ (Summer’s character herself didn’t wholly seem to believe that in certain passages), if there hadn’t been some other SERIOUSLY disturbing statements. And worse, Summer herself found herself wondering if he was right. I’m just gonna list the most disturbing one with some context.
————————
*after Summer shows up at a party scantily dressed to piss him off and goes off with a dude who almost r*pes her*
“That asshole almost raped you. He had his hands all over you, and you fucking asked for it, dressed like you are. What did you expect?”
Tears start flowing again, streaming down my face, but still I say nothing.
“You’re a fucking mess, Savage. Figure your shit out. Before you end up dead and buried in the ground.”
(😀😀😀😀What the fuck. Seriously, what the actual fuck is this? And Summer, our independent queen (ironic), thinks that she ruined his night and that he was right, that maybe she was asking for it.
Please fucking die, Whit. And oh, I see how much she enjoys your darkness you narcissistic, self-absorbed, conceited idiot.)
———————————
There is seriously not one character that had any depth or was likeable. Not. One. They were all absolutely hateful. Even the secondary characters.
Summer was annoying and contradictory.
Whit, at the near end of the book, does a complete 180 change after spending months apart from his boo, and everything is justified. Without explanation. Or apologies. Just with immediately having sex. That’s it. She tries to talk and he, logically, starts dirty talking her and they proceed to have sex in a restaurant. Point blank. And after this wonderful reconciliation, our dear MC Summer proceeds to forget all the complaints that had been VERY relevant before and spends the night with him without questioning anything. Girl.
Oh, and by the way, the 180 I’m talking about is that after a year and a half of distance he convinces himself that she’s going to become his wife, and harasses her. Not apologising for all the shit he put her through. Just demanding, saying he won’t take no for an answer and won’t leave until she says yes. The first words out of his mouth after the long period of time during which they were distant are: “What the fuck are you wearing?”.😀
I am disgusted. How is that romantic? HOW????
The ending was DREADFUL. Actually pathetically dreadful.
This is not a love story. It’s anything BUT a love story. It’s two people using and abusing each other and having absolutely no personalities except for the disgusting traits I described before.
The only reason I gave this 2 stars instead of one is because it was (at least up to, like, 50%, before I had any clue that none of the characters would have a well-made redemption arc) entertaining. I really liked the idea of the rich kid boarding school. I love that trope. But this was just an incredibly poorly executed dark romance that instead glorifies SA, slut shames women CONSTANTLY, and tries to shift the blame of r*pe on the girl. And is actually convinced that it’s right.
A big no. -
I would give this 0 if I could/5★
I may have DNFed it at the 53% mark but I will still count it to my reading goal because it took up almost an hour of my time, where I could’ve done anything but read this book, therefore I more than deserve to add it.
I already knew from the get go that this book was a bully romance but I still wanted to give it a try. I don’t hate bully romances, at least as long as the bully grovels… and this book did not deliver ANYTHING like that.
His actions were pretty much justified with his daddy issues and family drama and I fucking hated that. Like sure it is an explanation why he’s such a dick but definitely not an excuse and therefore his actions shouldn’t be tolerated like that!! And his excuse of “oh she’s just as fucked up as I am, so I can do what I want to and with her” makes me even angrier. Like the audacity of this man?!?! And we’re supposed to root for this piece of shit?! Yeah no thanks.
But he’s right. Summer is very much fucked up. Girl has pretty much no backbone nor self-respect throughout the whole 53% that I read of this book. She kept letting him run all over her, freaking using her and she developed FEELINGS throughout that time?!?! Make it make sense. He even victim blamed her and she still ran back to him to wish him a “happy birthday”!! Like girl how stupid can you be?!
The victim blaming was also the last straw for me. I tried to look past him insulting her and treating her like shit but this was very much the last straw. I only kept going for a bit to see if Summer finally stands up for herself but NO!!! She wishes him a happy fucking birthday! God I’m so mad…
The plot was also pretty much nonexistent. All they did was fuck, he insults her, something bad happens to her, he saves her and repeat. It was literally going no where. It was just an endless loop and definitely not worth my time finishing it.
I still read the epilogue and I’m so mad that he got his happy ending lmao. I bet that he did not grovel once. I’m just so annoyed because I really liked “A million kisses in your lifetime” and I do like Monica Morphy’s writing style (it’s very addicting) but this book was just… disgusting, horrible, annoying and pretty much the worst book I’ve read this year so far.
Overall, I will probably still try to read other books by Monica Morphy and the other books in this series but this one was most definitely NOT it. Definitely do not recommend! Spare your time AND money on this book! My biggest regret was buying this book in paperback form (and it’s even the self-published version so it was even more expensive :D).
Edit: Watched a review on this book and there was in fact NO grovelling throughout the entire course of the story. So I pretty much made the right choice by DNFing this book. We love that! -
Toxic relationships!
The following ratings are out of 5:
Romance: 💙💚❤️💜
Steam: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Story/Plot: 📕📗📘📙📔
World building: 🌏🌍🌏🌎
Character development: 🤓😉☺️😍🥰
Narration: 🎙🎙🎙🎙🎙
Narration Type: Dual Narration
The heroine: Summer Savage - she accompanied her mother to a party in Manhattan when she was fourteen. Her stepfather wanted her to see what the 1% lived like. The only other kid at the party was Whit Lancaster. She has always had a darkness inside her and she sees that he has the same. He gives Summer her first kiss and mocks her. He also tells her that her mother is in one of the bedrooms with his father. She had wanted to go to boarding school at Lancaster Prep, but it isn’t until her senior year that she gets to go there after her family scandal.
The Hero: Whit Lancaster - he puts all the blame of his parents wrecked marriage on Summer’s mother and so hates Summer. Though from the first time they met he was attracted to her. He is the king of the school, from one of the oldest and richest families in the country and the hottest guy in the school. When he shows his derision of Summer, the rest of the student body at Lancaster Prep treat her the same.
The Story: Summer’s family scandal was when her mother’s affair with Mr. Lancaster came to light. Her stepfather was devastated and then angry. Things happened between her and her stepbrother Yates, who was always leering at her. There was a fire and her stepfather passed away and she alluded to taking care of her stepbrother. Though all the details come out slowly throughout the story.
This is a pretty standard bully romance, with Whit controlling the students and how they treat Summer. He is the wealthiest in the school and top of the ladder. He finds himself obsessing over her and he loves control so when he finds her journal and all her secrets, he uses it to force her to his will. He doesn’t have the easy life that it looks on the outside. He will inherit a ton of money from different sources between the time he is 18 and 25 but is expected to marry the girl his mom picked out for him. He doesn’t want the same type of marriage his parents had before their divorce.
They have a toxic relationships at first. They both enjoys the dark things he does to her and has her do. This book is super steamy and there are a lot of intimate scenes between the two main characters. They can’t keep their hands off each other. Though Whit begins to understand Summer better as the story goes on and he reads more of her journal. The story gets really good though as it goes along. The best thing about bully romance is when the Hero finally starts to see the light. It turns out the real toxic relationships in his life are between him and his family.
This audiobook was told in dual points of view via dual narration. It was narrated by Joe Arden and Allie Piper. Allie Piper has a high, slightly breathy voice which sounds youthful. Joe Arden is one of my favorite male narrators and always does a great job. Though he does sound a bit old for a high school student, though I didn’t care one bit.
Blog|
Goodreads|
Facebook|
Instagram|
Twitter|
BookBub -
4.5⭐️
Review on IG: @xojazzle
I didn’t really have any expectations going into this because I hadn’t heard anything, but I was pleasantly surprised! This had everything from high school bully romance, private school, dom/sub, enemies to lovers, hate ‘hookup’ & it did not disappoint! This was a mix of Gossip Girl vibes + Cruel Prince by Ashley Jade (if you’ve followed me for a while you know I love RHA) and I was immediately sucked into their world. We follow Summer as she begins her senior year at Lancaster Prep and crosses paths with Whit Lancaster. His family owns the school and he tries to make her life on campus a living hell. He bullies her, degrades her, hates her so much, yet she’s all he can think about and she can’t stay away either. He ends up blackmailing her and they basically become enemies with benefits. I loved the rich kid drama, the spice, the complicated relationships. I personally enjoyed the story development, how two broken and dark people found something in each other. I became fond of both Whit and Summer. WHIT IS THE DEFINITION OF “I hate everyone but you”!!! I read the last 60% in one sitting because I couldn’t put the book down! There was so much happening, I needed to see how it would all play out. I loved how they turned out in the end and it made my heart so happy. My one issue was a huge time jump within the last 6 chapters. I enjoyed how the book ended but was blown away from the jump just because I wanted to see how the past played out, but we did get answers. There are mature/dark themes throughout the book so please be sure to look up trigger warnings. This may not be everyone’s cup of tea because they are 17 turning 18 during their senior year (doesn’t bother me bc I watch shows like gossip girl/one tree hill/vampire which is all HS sophomore/juniors) and some might not enjoy reading the degrading words so please note that. Thank you so much to @valentine_pr_ @monicamurphyauthor for sending me a copy 🤍 -
Este libro es más tóxico que Chernobyl.
Es bastante frustrante
La protagonista tiene vocación de alfombra
El protagonista es un reverendo IMBÉCIL.
Es un libro de bully romance, pensé que sería al estilo de Rina Kent o Penelope de Douglas, pero nada que ver, este libro es… TRASHY.
El final es medio rescatable y graciasa a eso no me dejó un mal sabor de boca. -
Whit & Summer
-
3.25 🌟!!!! This book would've been so much better if they weren't fucking each other 24×7.The book was alright but I wish we could've got more plot and a deeper connection between the characters.
-
4.25⭐️
“I want to watch you walk around the party tonight and know that my cum is dripping down the inside of your thighs. I want people to smell it on you when you stop and talk to them. I want people to know you just got fucked and you belong to someone else. To me.”
woah this book was SMUT on SMUT on SMUT on SMUT. it took me by surprise (in a good way). now the reason this is not a 5 is because i felt like in the beginning it was lil repetitive which made it seem like the book was longer. anyways... mira, kindly, shut up.
whit whit whit whit whit whit whit whit whit whit whit. my fucking god he's a 40 yo man inside a teenager's body. the way he was daddy material at 14, istg i needed jesus.
get you a man who:
- calls you a whore
- turns the whole school against you
- will punch and hit for you (even tho he hates you)
- will degrade you every second of every day
“If I want to eat that pretty pussy of yours, you’ll offer it up on a silver fucking platter and I’ll feast on it for hours. When I want to fuck you, no matter the time of day, or where you’re at, you can’t refuse me. ”
need i say more? we love an obsessed man. we love an obsessed pussy man. we love an obsessed pussy loving man. there you go. we just love this man. we need this man. we starve for this man.i'm getting on my knees right now.
“I won’t touch you. I won’t kiss you. I want you to use me.”
I gape at him, frowning. “Wh-what do you mean?”
“Get creative, Savage.” He grins, and my heart stops. “Rub that wet pussy all over my dick. Do whatever you want to me, but I’m not touching you. Won’t kiss you either. And don’t try to take off my clothes. Got it?”
oh my god. mr cocky pants i'm sweating. i never found the girl taking over until whit. call me unfeminist idc i'd rather a man do everything but THIS right here <3 gave me butterflies <3
“You were made for me, you know. You’re just as sick and fucked up as I am.”
“You liked it when I licked your asshole?”
I nod. “I want to lick yours.”
He grins. Actually grins. “Dirty fucking girl. Seriously?”
“I want to do everything with you,” I admit softly.”
i- why was this teased? I WANTED THIS TO HAPPEN. MONICA DONT BE SHY AND GIVE US THIS NEXT TIME. i'm dirty don't care GIVE meEMEMEMEME.
this was my first monica murphy book and i want to read more. so ya i'm excited for this shit now. -
How do I say anything positive in this review when there is nothing positive? I am even contemplating whether I should waste more time on this book by writing this review... I thought I would give Monica Murphy another chance after reading A Million Kisses In Your Lifetime because I gave that book 1 star, but I guess I was wrong. I have nothing against Monica Murphy if that's what you're thinking, I just don't particularly like her style of writing and books. Other people can form their own opinions about her books. I won't judge anyone based on their opinions of her books.
Now let's get into the nitty-gritty details of why I didn't like this book. I felt very unsettled and disturbed after reading this book. This book was disgusting, vulgar, horrible, possibly offensive, and triggering. I was pissed off at a lot at was happening. How can a relationship survive for years based on lust and attraction with no emotional love? Obviously, this book is fictional and I hope nobody has to go through this type of relationship, but this book hit a nerve. Whit Lancaster is the epitome of a manipulative, possessive, misogynistic, and masochistic human being. How Summer could deal with him for even a second was questioning, but I guess Summer is also messed up mentally. When Whit called Summer an offensive vulgar name, it apparently turned Summer on leading them to have sex. If someone called me that, I would literally run the opposite way, which I guess Summer did kind of try to do until Whit manipulated her and blackmailed her. Did Whit really care about Summer or was he just addicted to her and used her for pleasure? It's definitely 100% the latter.
Okay, so let me get this straight, one kiss between Summer and Whit when they were 14 led to Whit becoming obsessed with Summer 4 years later? I guess it just doesn't make sense to me.
Basically EVERY. SINGLE. CHAPTER. was a sex scene. Like, I just honestly don't care. I skimmed the majority of this book because why would I care? This book was so repetitive. It went from Whit and Summer arguing to them having sex. That was basically what was happening throughout this whole book.
Will I be recommending this book? No, because I don't want people to go through the same agony I went through. The urge to DNF this book...Omg, I wanted to so bad but I hate DNFing books so I just pushed through. If I could, I would give this book negative stars, that's how unenjoyable this book was. I apologize for the negative rant review, but it needed to be said. -
This had a lot of nice sexy scenes but that isn't enough to make a book amazing. The bully-romance is nothing special.
I've read a lot of bully romances, so, there was nothing new for me. But, if you are starting this trope then yes, you will like it better. Plus, I wasn't a fan of that cheesy ending.
