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The Boy on the Bridge
The day I met Hunter Maxwell he wasn’t the rich kid who lived in the giant house, he wasn’t the most popular guy in school, he certainly wasn’t the bully who had chased his own best friend out of town after a falling out—he was just a boy with a black eye and a dark secret.
My life would have been much easier if I had stayed out of it, but I couldn’t. I saw someone hurting and wanted to help. I saw someone possibly in danger and wanted to make sure he was safe.
There’s nothing safe about Hunter Maxwell, though. I thought there might be. I fell under his spell. Whatever the world saw when they looked at him, it wasn’t what he showed me.
The bond we formed was real. I know it was real. But with Hunter, when the tides turn, you’d better hope you’re safely on the shore and out of his reach.
I thought I was a strong enough swimmer to keep my head above water. I thought if it came down to it, I could resist his pull.
I didn’t know, but now I do.
Once Hunter sets his sights on you, there’s no such thing as out of his reach. Whether it’s today, tomorrow, or five years from now, he’s coming for me—and when he does, he won’t stop until he’s destroyed me.
***The Boy on the Bridge contains mature, adult content and is only recommended for adult readers.
My life would have been much easier if I had stayed out of it, but I couldn’t. I saw someone hurting and wanted to help. I saw someone possibly in danger and wanted to make sure he was safe.
There’s nothing safe about Hunter Maxwell, though. I thought there might be. I fell under his spell. Whatever the world saw when they looked at him, it wasn’t what he showed me.
The bond we formed was real. I know it was real. But with Hunter, when the tides turn, you’d better hope you’re safely on the shore and out of his reach.
I thought I was a strong enough swimmer to keep my head above water. I thought if it came down to it, I could resist his pull.
I didn’t know, but now I do.
Once Hunter sets his sights on you, there’s no such thing as out of his reach. Whether it’s today, tomorrow, or five years from now, he’s coming for me—and when he does, he won’t stop until he’s destroyed me.
***The Boy on the Bridge contains mature, adult content and is only recommended for adult readers.
630 pages, Paperback
First published March 2, 2021
1,166 people are currently reading
4,521 people want to read
About the author
Sam Mariano
50 books4,623 followersFollow Sam Mariano on Facebook, Instagram (@sammarianobooks), or check out her Blog! If you need to email her, she can be reached at sammarianoauthor@gmail.com (but she is sometimes tardy about checking email. Mateo is very demanding).
Sign up for Sam's mailing list (to stay up to date on current projects--she won't spam you! Only for notification of new releases or book sales.)
All of Sam's books are available on Amazon! (And don't forget to follow Sam's Amazon Author page to get notified about the newest releases.)
Sam Mariano has been writing stories for as long as she can remember. She lives in Ohio and has a sweet and wonderful daughter.
Because of You was her first finished story (she started writing it when she was 18) and due to a full-time work and college schedule, it took her years to finish. She has also been telling people for years that there would never be a sequel (sorry, guys!)…which turned out to be a lie.
Sam Mariano is currently working on Dante’s book (if you’re a Morelli reader) and some other WIP.
Feel free to find her on Facebook, Goodreads, or her blog—she loves hearing from readers!
Sign up for Sam's mailing list (to stay up to date on current projects--she won't spam you! Only for notification of new releases or book sales.)
All of Sam's books are available on Amazon! (And don't forget to follow Sam's Amazon Author page to get notified about the newest releases.)
Sam Mariano has been writing stories for as long as she can remember. She lives in Ohio and has a sweet and wonderful daughter.
Because of You was her first finished story (she started writing it when she was 18) and due to a full-time work and college schedule, it took her years to finish. She has also been telling people for years that there would never be a sequel (sorry, guys!)…which turned out to be a lie.
Sam Mariano is currently working on Dante’s book (if you’re a Morelli reader) and some other WIP.
Feel free to find her on Facebook, Goodreads, or her blog—she loves hearing from readers!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 895 reviews
January 13, 2022
4 COULD’VE FOOLED YOU STARS
Well, ain't this the most romantic shit I've read in a while? Just take a look.
“I’m not going to date you.” He kisses along my neck, making his way toward my jawline. “I’m going to fuck you.”
“Do I get a say in this?” I ask uneasily.
“If your answer is yes.”
Not gonna lie by telling you that this is NOT a book about some seriously messed up people doing some seriously fucked up shit.
Also not gonna pretend that I didn’t like it for the all wrong reasons because even I am not that full of shit.
I see no point in retelling the shit show (you can start counting how many times I use "shit" for lack of a better word in my review🚬) of a plot or trying to warn all the sane people off the story cuz so many reviewers have already done exactly that and much better than I ever could.
But here I am, as usual, with my two cents' worth, sponsored by a few hours of binge-reading this long-ass book, a couple of wine b̶o̶t̶t̶l̶e̶s̶ glasses and a tiny arsenal of old as dirt (stuck on the bottom of my boots) memes.
✨MINOR SPOILERS✨
Let me start the little monologue of mine with the heroine of this story, Riley, who, by the looks of it, generatedrage and resentment a controversy among readers. *Sigh*
I know almost everyone hated her or just put a label of some dumb chick with no self-respect on her... in other words almost everybody and their momma found her character extremely annoying but... fuck it. Not me. 😂
I loved this hypocritical bitchface. There. I said it. She made the book what I initially had wanted and expected it to be - a fuckin' mess.
If I am being honest, her train of thought, some of the habits, reservations, inhibitions and especially relationship dynamics with her mother as well as her one and only (lol) friend Sara were something I could easily relate to.
I expected her to be that typical, shy doormat-y girl who is unable to stand up for herself. Nonetheless, a 14-years-old Riley proved me wrong. She was certainly no wussy when confronted by a blander version of Regina George aka Valerie Johnson aka the villain ofmy this couple's story.
“Huh. Guess I won’t be able to squeeze all of Hunter’s trash into that tiny receptacle,” she says, her eyes moving up and down my body with the sharpness of a blade.
Since she wants to cut me so badly, I offer her a little smile to show her I’m unscathed. “Aw, don’t feel bad. Keep eating those salads and I’m sure eventually you’ll fit.”
She didn't eat people's shit and wasn't afraid to call people out on their bullshit. That being said, she wasn't unnecessarily mean and cruel while standing up for herself.
Finally, she says, “Stay away from Hunter.”
I don’t know why she thinks she’s my boss, but I derive great pleasure from telling her, “No.”
Me? I was cheering Riley on while thinking to myself that both bitches should just go study already or something equally beneficial cuz fighting over a hot piece of ass??? Nah, guys. I'm good.
Now I want to take a moment and say that the award for being the least likable character in this book should go to Riley's lousy friend Sara because let me remind that
Gotta admit that the concept of eternal love at the tender age of 14 that takes place after spending a couple of weeks in each other's company sounds like bullshit to me, whether saying this makes an ageist. 👏🏻
So I'm not going to tell you how ridiculous I found Riley and Hunter's unwavering obsession with each other after having been separated for 4 four years. (Wait/ I just did/ Whatever/)
LIKE IN EVERY SINGLE BULLY BOOK I'VE EVER LAID MY EYES ON
Hunter's reasoning for hating Riley was completely IRRELEVANT. I said what I said.
Of course I was in for a big surprise when I met our Riley girl all-grown-up because she had changed and probably not for the better.
Yet I still felt like I could relate to the bitch. 🤍
For one thing, we (that is, Riley and I) shared a common feeling of not so slight annoyance with her boring ass boyfriend (?) Anderson.
I cannot believe he is trying to flirt with me right now. I want to smash a doughnut in his face.
In the end, the dude deserved quite a few doughnuts smashed right in his face but that's the story for another time.
Everything about the book could have been marginally better (or worse, depending on your vantage point) if this Riley gyal wasn't so helluva confusing half the time.
Her thoughts screamed "jumbled mess alert" a mile away. No one ever wants to get inside this mind. Trust me. For example, she had no qualms about dumping the dude/boyfriend she clearly didn't care about and never even kissed ( putting aside that creepy episode when he just shoved his tongue down her throat unexpectedly 💀). But the dumbass another man kept nagging and nagging her about how she should give him another chance and similar rubbish ... Who would have thought? Our queen of making poor decisions finally let her emotions rule over her brain and granted a second chance to his sorry ass for all the wrong reasons!! Again. Namely: because Hunter behaved like a cunt and dating another man was her masterful revenge scheme. 🤣
I swear, the nerve of Hunter, this social butterfly with psycho tendencies, to behave as if what he was doing — blackmailing, manipulating, coercing, to name a few —was perfectly fine....🥰
It's hard to argue that Riley just kept
letting Hunter manipulate her more often than not. She was also in the miserable habit of making excuses for his questionable (at best) behavior 24/7.
I suspect that if he killed someone in cold blood, she would still go on chanting like a loyal little fangirl: "he is too good for this world". Sweetie, are you fucking blind, I — 🚬
I really was starting to think that she turned into a full-fledged doormat (at least when it came to our boy Hunter). I personally always make this distinction clear cuz no way in hell I would say a single nice thing about a chick who is about as interesting as a brick wall and lets everyone walk all over her. Doormat is meant exclusively for the hero's foot, innit. 🖤
But you wait!
The notoriously famous deflowering scene steps up the game. Their little rendezvous was precisely the moment when I finally came to realize what these guys (Riley and Hunter) were trying to tell me the whole goddamn book^
So, Hunter blackmailed Riley into
1) coming to her nemesis' party
2) dumping her long-suffering boyfriend Anderson, and,
3) (the cherry on the cake, pun intended), losing her virginity in the most appropriate place on Earth — Valerie Johnson's (remember our mini Regina George? 💋) bedroom.
“This is your reward for being so accommodating. I wanted to get a little revenge for you, too.”
My heart is pounding too hard already to focus properly on what he’s saying. He’s walking me back toward the bed, touching me so tenderly. Given his meanness in the library, I wasn’t expecting this, and I don’t know how to respond to any of it.
“What do you mean, revenge for me?”
He dips his head, kissing my neck and lighting up every single nerve ending in my body. The surge of excitement is nearly unbearable.
Then he speaks and fries all the synapses in my brain. “I’m going to take your virginity in her bed.”
What do you think came of it? The wheels in the girl's brain actually sent her a signal that it was SWEET AND THOUGHTFUL OF HUNTER to fuck her in her long-standing enemy's bedroom with his jock friends guarding the door. 😂 Okay, sounds like a solid plan.
Good god, she was in for a big surprise, but, please, appreciate for a second along with me the thought process of the chick. If that's not the definition of crazy, I honestly don't know what is.
Should I also mention that Hunter didn't give a damn about wrapping his shit up while doing the deed with Riley cuz he kinda didn't mind impregnating her?
I certainly didn't sign up for quite a few embarrassing talks about babies and plans for a future together, least of all from the 18 y.o. kids, but oh well:/
This book is tagged as the story featuring "non-con" and I must admit that the "rape" that followed Hunter's jealous tantrum was the weirdest and most embarrassing scene I've ever come across.
Riley, despite her obvious reluctance to have sex with Hunter, decided against telling him "no" and "stop" because *hub a dub* she was afraid that he wouldn't listen to her pleas and rape her anyway.
Hahahahahahaha, our girl likes the suspense, doesn't she?
Also, that very night was marked by the declarations of love, sweet talk about babies, and even featured Riley apologizing for kissing mysterious Sherlock (the one who is not a private detective 🥲) but still refusing stubbornly to become Hunter's girlfriend. She simply couldn't forgive him for dating her nemesis Valerie who he had already dumped. 🚬
Are you still not convinced this is the most romantic book I've ever read?
HOW COME???
At around 70%, I was already getting sick and tired of all the needless drama llama with Valerie, Sherlock and whoever else stupid enough to get involved in the Boy on the Bridge mess (myself included).
BUT BABY JESUS CHRIST ALMIGHTY, forgive me this blasphemy, my virgin eyes ain't seen nothing yet.
Imagine reading an innocent scene in which this Sherlock guy, the one who is not a private detective, but rather a mysterious, sexy as fuck and dangerous in an "I'll blow your car up, baby" way friend of Hunter with questionablemorals motives, is sitting by the fire and talking civilly to Riley. Now conjure up our psycho boy Hunter who appears out of the woods blue (like a creep he is) and enters the scene.
One moment he watches serenely the homely atmosphere established between his girl and Sherlock and the next he fucking straddles Riley and starts playing with her...if you know what I mean... right in front of Sherlock.
“Christ,” Sherlock mutters as I shove my cock into Riley’s mouth. She makes a noise caught between a moan and a whimper, struggling to fit all of me.
In case you're still here, reading the review and wondering what the hell is going on, I have a slight idea.
I slide my finger underneath the fabric and she gasps, arching off the ground. My cock is so hard it hurts, but I want to eat her pussy first.
Instead of teasing her as much as I want to, I drag her panties off and toss them.
Sherlock catches them, looking at me with a dangerous gleam in his eye. “Careful, Hunter.”
But after putting on a wonderful show for Sherlock (AND ME. OMG, WHY DID I HAVE SUCH A GOOD TIME? AHJSHSJSHSJSH), Hunter orders Sherlock to hold Riley down for him and cover her mouth so that he can —
I never knew I was such a fucking voyeur until this crazy-ass shit broke down.
All in all, The Boy On The Bridge was a tame bully (not too much of bullying, to be perfectly honest) romance that eventually started dragging on a bit towards the end.
I am unapologetic about reading it. It was so insanely entertaining despite the considerable length.
Also, can you believe that notwithstanding the aforementioned, there was no cheating in this book? 😌 What?? You don't care at this point??? Well, too bad.
.....................................................................
Now my feed is filled to the brim with ⭐ or ⭐⭐ reviews on this book and that's my perfect cue to start reading it. I cannot put off enjoying this masterpiece any longer.🗿🚬
Call it the sixth sense or whatever, but I'm pretty sure I will be more than thoroughly f̶u̶c̶k̶e̶d̶ ̶u̶p̶ entertained by the end of it. 🤡
Well, ain't this the most romantic shit I've read in a while? Just take a look.
“I’m not going to date you.” He kisses along my neck, making his way toward my jawline. “I’m going to fuck you.”
“Do I get a say in this?” I ask uneasily.
“If your answer is yes.”
Not gonna lie by telling you that this is NOT a book about some seriously messed up people doing some seriously fucked up shit.
Also not gonna pretend that I didn’t like it for the all wrong reasons because even I am not that full of shit.
I see no point in retelling the shit show (you can start counting how many times I use "shit" for lack of a better word in my review🚬) of a plot or trying to warn all the sane people off the story cuz so many reviewers have already done exactly that and much better than I ever could.
But here I am, as usual, with my two cents' worth, sponsored by a few hours of binge-reading this long-ass book, a couple of wine b̶o̶t̶t̶l̶e̶s̶ glasses and a tiny arsenal of old as dirt (stuck on the bottom of my boots) memes.
✨MINOR SPOILERS✨
Let me start the little monologue of mine with the heroine of this story, Riley, who, by the looks of it, generated
I know almost everyone hated her or just put a label of some dumb chick with no self-respect on her... in other words almost everybody and their momma found her character extremely annoying but... fuck it. Not me. 😂
I loved this hypocritical bitchface. There. I said it. She made the book what I initially had wanted and expected it to be - a fuckin' mess.
If I am being honest, her train of thought, some of the habits, reservations, inhibitions and especially relationship dynamics with her mother as well as her one and only (lol) friend Sara were something I could easily relate to.
I expected her to be that typical, shy doormat-y girl who is unable to stand up for herself. Nonetheless, a 14-years-old Riley proved me wrong. She was certainly no wussy when confronted by a blander version of Regina George aka Valerie Johnson aka the villain of
“Huh. Guess I won’t be able to squeeze all of Hunter’s trash into that tiny receptacle,” she says, her eyes moving up and down my body with the sharpness of a blade.
Since she wants to cut me so badly, I offer her a little smile to show her I’m unscathed. “Aw, don’t feel bad. Keep eating those salads and I’m sure eventually you’ll fit.”
She didn't eat people's shit and wasn't afraid to call people out on their bullshit. That being said, she wasn't unnecessarily mean and cruel while standing up for herself.
Finally, she says, “Stay away from Hunter.”
I don’t know why she thinks she’s my boss, but I derive great pleasure from telling her, “No.”
Me? I was cheering Riley on while thinking to myself that both bitches should just go study already or something equally beneficial cuz fighting over a hot piece of ass??? Nah, guys. I'm good.
Now I want to take a moment and say that the award for being the least likable character in this book should go to Riley's lousy friend Sara because let me remind that
Gotta admit that the concept of eternal love at the tender age of 14 that takes place after spending a couple of weeks in each other's company sounds like bullshit to me, whether saying this makes an ageist. 👏🏻
So I'm not going to tell you how ridiculous I found Riley and Hunter's unwavering obsession with each other after having been separated for 4 four years. (Wait/ I just did/ Whatever/)
LIKE IN EVERY SINGLE BULLY BOOK I'VE EVER LAID MY EYES ON
Hunter's reasoning for hating Riley was completely IRRELEVANT. I said what I said.
Of course I was in for a big surprise when I met our Riley girl all-grown-up because she had changed and probably not for the better.
Yet I still felt like I could relate to the bitch. 🤍
For one thing, we (that is, Riley and I) shared a common feeling of not so slight annoyance with her boring ass boyfriend (?) Anderson.
I cannot believe he is trying to flirt with me right now. I want to smash a doughnut in his face.
In the end, the dude deserved quite a few doughnuts smashed right in his face but that's the story for another time.
Everything about the book could have been marginally better (or worse, depending on your vantage point) if this Riley gyal wasn't so helluva confusing half the time.
Her thoughts screamed "jumbled mess alert" a mile away. No one ever wants to get inside this mind. Trust me. For example, she had no qualms about dumping the dude/boyfriend she clearly didn't care about and never even kissed ( putting aside that creepy episode when he just shoved his tongue down her throat unexpectedly 💀). But the dumbass another man kept nagging and nagging her about how she should give him another chance and similar rubbish ... Who would have thought? Our queen of making poor decisions finally let her emotions rule over her brain and granted a second chance to his sorry ass for all the wrong reasons!! Again. Namely: because Hunter behaved like a cunt and dating another man was her masterful revenge scheme. 🤣
I swear, the nerve of Hunter, this social butterfly with psycho tendencies, to behave as if what he was doing — blackmailing, manipulating, coercing, to name a few —was perfectly fine....🥰
It's hard to argue that Riley just kept
letting Hunter manipulate her more often than not. She was also in the miserable habit of making excuses for his questionable (at best) behavior 24/7.
I suspect that if he killed someone in cold blood, she would still go on chanting like a loyal little fangirl: "he is too good for this world". Sweetie, are you fucking blind, I — 🚬
I really was starting to think that she turned into a full-fledged doormat (at least when it came to our boy Hunter). I personally always make this distinction clear cuz no way in hell I would say a single nice thing about a chick who is about as interesting as a brick wall and lets everyone walk all over her. Doormat is meant exclusively for the hero's foot, innit. 🖤
But you wait!
The notoriously famous deflowering scene steps up the game. Their little rendezvous was precisely the moment when I finally came to realize what these guys (Riley and Hunter) were trying to tell me the whole goddamn book^
So, Hunter blackmailed Riley into
1) coming to her nemesis' party
2) dumping her long-suffering boyfriend Anderson, and,
3) (the cherry on the cake, pun intended), losing her virginity in the most appropriate place on Earth — Valerie Johnson's (remember our mini Regina George? 💋) bedroom.
“This is your reward for being so accommodating. I wanted to get a little revenge for you, too.”
My heart is pounding too hard already to focus properly on what he’s saying. He’s walking me back toward the bed, touching me so tenderly. Given his meanness in the library, I wasn’t expecting this, and I don’t know how to respond to any of it.
“What do you mean, revenge for me?”
He dips his head, kissing my neck and lighting up every single nerve ending in my body. The surge of excitement is nearly unbearable.
Then he speaks and fries all the synapses in my brain. “I’m going to take your virginity in her bed.”
What do you think came of it? The wheels in the girl's brain actually sent her a signal that it was SWEET AND THOUGHTFUL OF HUNTER to fuck her in her long-standing enemy's bedroom with his jock friends guarding the door. 😂 Okay, sounds like a solid plan.
Good god, she was in for a big surprise, but, please, appreciate for a second along with me the thought process of the chick. If that's not the definition of crazy, I honestly don't know what is.
Should I also mention that Hunter didn't give a damn about wrapping his shit up while doing the deed with Riley cuz he kinda didn't mind impregnating her?
I certainly didn't sign up for quite a few embarrassing talks about babies and plans for a future together, least of all from the 18 y.o. kids, but oh well:/
This book is tagged as the story featuring "non-con" and I must admit that the "rape" that followed Hunter's jealous tantrum was the weirdest and most embarrassing scene I've ever come across.
Riley, despite her obvious reluctance to have sex with Hunter, decided against telling him "no" and "stop" because *hub a dub* she was afraid that he wouldn't listen to her pleas and rape her anyway.
Hahahahahahaha, our girl likes the suspense, doesn't she?
Also, that very night was marked by the declarations of love, sweet talk about babies, and even featured Riley apologizing for kissing mysterious Sherlock (the one who is not a private detective 🥲) but still refusing stubbornly to become Hunter's girlfriend. She simply couldn't forgive him for dating her nemesis Valerie who he had already dumped. 🚬
Are you still not convinced this is the most romantic book I've ever read?
HOW COME???
At around 70%, I was already getting sick and tired of all the needless drama llama with Valerie, Sherlock and whoever else stupid enough to get involved in the Boy on the Bridge mess (myself included).
BUT BABY JESUS CHRIST ALMIGHTY, forgive me this blasphemy, my virgin eyes ain't seen nothing yet.
Imagine reading an innocent scene in which this Sherlock guy, the one who is not a private detective, but rather a mysterious, sexy as fuck and dangerous in an "I'll blow your car up, baby" way friend of Hunter with questionable
One moment he watches serenely the homely atmosphere established between his girl and Sherlock and the next he fucking straddles Riley and starts playing with her...if you know what I mean... right in front of Sherlock.
“Christ,” Sherlock mutters as I shove my cock into Riley’s mouth. She makes a noise caught between a moan and a whimper, struggling to fit all of me.
In case you're still here, reading the review and wondering what the hell is going on, I have a slight idea.
I slide my finger underneath the fabric and she gasps, arching off the ground. My cock is so hard it hurts, but I want to eat her pussy first.
Instead of teasing her as much as I want to, I drag her panties off and toss them.
Sherlock catches them, looking at me with a dangerous gleam in his eye. “Careful, Hunter.”
But after putting on a wonderful show for Sherlock (AND ME. OMG, WHY DID I HAVE SUCH A GOOD TIME? AHJSHSJSHSJSH), Hunter orders Sherlock to hold Riley down for him and cover her mouth so that he can —
I never knew I was such a fucking voyeur until this crazy-ass shit broke down.
All in all, The Boy On The Bridge was a tame bully (not too much of bullying, to be perfectly honest) romance that eventually started dragging on a bit towards the end.
I am unapologetic about reading it. It was so insanely entertaining despite the considerable length.
Also, can you believe that notwithstanding the aforementioned, there was no cheating in this book? 😌 What?? You don't care at this point??? Well, too bad.
.....................................................................
Now my feed is filled to the brim with ⭐ or ⭐⭐ reviews on this book and that's my perfect cue to start reading it. I cannot put off enjoying this masterpiece any longer.🗿🚬
Call it the sixth sense or whatever, but I'm pretty sure I will be more than thoroughly f̶u̶c̶k̶e̶d̶ ̶u̶p̶ entertained by the end of it. 🤡
![Profile Image for Namera [The Literary Invertebrate].](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.gr-assets.com%2Fimages%2FS%2Fcompressed.photo.goodreads.com%2Fusers%2F1647896333i%2F31792110._UX200_CR0%2C96%2C200%2C200_.jpg&w=128&q=75)
April 15, 2021
⤅ The amount of STUPID DRAMA in this book has aged me by at least ten years.
It's pretty well-written, from a technical perspective, but there are countless things that made me want to smash my Kindle under my heel while I read it. Almost every dumb romance trope imaginable is in this book. Apologies if my review turns out to be a bit incoherent; it's just that the more I think about this book, the more I realise exactly how much it pissed me off.
⤅ PLOT
The book opens four years in the past, with 14-year-old Riley Bishop - the impoverished daughter of a single mother - developing a friendship (verging on more) with Hunter Maxwell, a wealthy classmate. She accidentally gets him sent away to Italy and he vows revenge. This part of the story was in the 2020 Bully Me anthology, so I just skipped past and went straight to 20% in, which picks up with Riley now 18.
She's dating some kid called Anderson, but then Hunter shows back up in town. They start hanging out again and she gives him her virginity... only to discover that a) he lined up all their classmates to humiliate her by listening as it happened and b) he was dating her arch-nemesis Valerie at the time. The rest of the book involves the two of them in an excruciatingly dumb pull-and-push relationship saturated with OW drama, OM drama, and general stupidity.
⤅ REASONS WHY I NOW HAVE AN ULCER
❌ This book is way, way, way too long. It's over 200,000 words, and the plot is propelled by nothing more substantial than relationship drama. That's not by default a bad thing; I enjoy character-driven books. But not where the characters are this thick and unlikeable. TBotB needed heavy editing, and it could've been half this length without any loss of actual story.
❌ Speaking of the characters... okay, I'm just going to say it: Riley and Hunter are just pale imitations of Zoey and Carter. Riley is Zoey with a MASSIVE martyr complex, and Hunter is Carter without any of the engaging charm. Even their names are kind of similar! There are also lots of little things throughout the book that rubbed me the wrong way because they reminded me of Untouchable. But let's start with Riley:
❌ She is the doormat to end all doormats. Hunter HUMILIATES her the night he takes her virginity, and she just... never confronts him about it? Ever? By the time of their next interaction, she's smiling and flirting with him??????
❌ The only thing Riley shows the TINIEST bit of spine over is the fact that Hunter is dating her enemy Valerie, whom he cheats on with Riley. Because of this, she blocks his number and avoids him for a tiny bit. But then he starts avoiding her back, so naturally our girl runs after him to ask what's wrong and 'can they be friends again'. Basically, Riley has zero self-respect. Refusing to be Hunter's girlfriend isn't a sign of self-respect if at the same time you're having sex with him and declaring your love for him! There are some TRULY sickening quotes in here, such as when she says 'Seeing you in pain is worse than being in pain myself', and at this point I wanted to throw up at how much of a victim she is. It felt like no matter what he did to her, she'd always be back for more. Don't even get me started on how stupid she is over the pregnancy thing. Her mother was a teenage mum, and she basically wants to be too and keeps having unprotected sex with Hunter hoping it'll just work out? I mean, I can find the whole 'I want you to be pregnant' thing hot under the right circumstances, but these definitely weren't the right circumstances.
❌ Hunter is an extremely subpar Carter. Like Carter, he's a wealthy alpha football player, but his manipulative streak comes across as pathetically juvenile. Plus, he directs it at Riley, something Carter didn't do to Zoey. And I don't understand when he flipped from 'I hate you so much I want your first time having sex to be humiliating' to 'I want to date you and I love you', because the transformation happened at light speed. I just don't feel like Hunter has... a personality. Like, what's he even interested in? God knows. He was very two-dimensional as a character.
❌ Obviously, while Hunter is busy having sex with models in Italy, he tells all the boys back in America not to touch Riley, so she's still a dutiful little virgin waiting for him when he comes back. Spare me.
❌ God, the OW/OM drama is so stupid. He's dating an OW, so she dates an OM, they break up, they get back together. Then there's a different OM, too, some guy named Sherlock. (More on him later). She spends the whole book willing to have sex with Hunter and says she loves him, and acts like his girlfriend, yet apparently her red line is 'actually being' his girlfriend because he hooked up with Valerie when she asked him not to. And then... and then... I wanted to kill Hunter. What kind of stupid-arse level of arsery and miscommunication is that?!??!?!
❌ Riley reviews films for the school paper. Zoey reviews books for the school paper. Hunter is a wealthy football player. Carter is a wealthy football player. Hunter has a thing with a wicked OW who wants to sabotage his relationship with Riley. Carter had a thing with a wicked OW who wants to sabotage his relationship with Zoey. Hunter whisks Riley to New York for a trip. Carter whisks Zoey to New York for a trip. Hunter likes playing with the idea of getting Riley pregnant. Carter likes playing with the idea of getting Zoey pregnant (and he does it in exactly the same way). I could go on, but you see where I'm going with this? It reached a peak near the end, where Zoey and Riley meet directly, and Riley thinks to herself 'Wow she seems amazing I want to be her friend'. Authors, PLEASE stop shoving together all your heroines from the same universe into inorganic friendships just because they're both heroines of a book you've written! And Hunter is somehow absorbed into Carter's general friendship circle, which felt a bit like a goldfish being absorbed into the friendship circle of a shark.
❌ Okay, here's another point. I was conflicted about whether or not to even mention it, because it's hard for me to put it into words and it may not even make sense. But I'll let you be the judge of that. Essentially:I find the presentation of rape in this book really weird and kind of uncomfortable. To be clear, I'm a huge fan of dark romances, and I'm no stranger AT ALL to scenes where the hero rapes the heroine. Many of my favourite books (The Silver Devil, Lords of Pain) have this. But in those books, there's a kind of in-universe recognition that what the hero has done is wrong. Even if he's totally unapologetic, the whole dark-romance setting means the usual rules go out of the window. In fact, BY being unapologetic, it signals to me that I'm not expected to think the romance is 'good'. But here, it just feels really weird. When Hunter feels bad about raping Riley, it suggests to me that we're taking some steps away from dark romance, which is a genre where I expect uncaring heroes. But Riley basically tells him not to worry about raping her, and that 'she could've said no'. Yet the reason she didn't say no was because she was worried he wouldn't stop? And it seriously is rape - she's dry, there's no foreplay, he forces himself inside in a jealous rage, she tries to get away from him, she doesn't enjoy it. I found it really repulsive that she then makes excuses for him TO HIM. Am I making sense in this paragraph? I'm not 100% sure. But let's take Untouchable as another example; there, Zoey explicitly tells Carter that she wants to be forced, and in any case he's presented as so unapologetically amoral that it worked for his character to have that opening scene - especially as Zoey never tried to RATIONALISE IT AWAY. Which Riley does, and I hated it.
❌ Riley's principles are thinner than rice paper. She swears she's not going to accept anything from Hunter after he humiliated her, then she starts using the Coach purse he buys her. She doesn't want to spend his money, but then does a 180 and takes his credit card and goes on wild dress shopping sprees. I was fine reading this once for Carter and Zoey, but is this author seriously going to keep copying elements of her most popular book?
❌ Not a SINGLE female character comes off well. Riley, obviously, is a doormat, but then Mariano systematically demolishes every other woman in the book. Her best friend? A hypocritical loser who ends up dumping her to hang out with a boy. (Since Riley has a martyr complex, of course, she still wants to comfort said friend). Valerie, of course, is an evil bully. All her female minions are gossipy harpies. Riley's mother, who hated Hunter, ends up being easily bought with a spa day. Just... what??? Why is there so much girl hate?
❌ Also, there's a really icky pseudo-ménage scene where Sherlock (the OM, one of Hunter's friends) holds Riley down while Hunter screws her. Granted, there's no penetration, but I really dislike it when a third party directly participates in sex between the hero and heroine (when it's not RH, obviously).
I really need to work on my essay now, so I'm going to leave it there. I just knew that I couldn't concentrate on my essay without venting first. The sex scenes were hot, and Hunter's possessiveness was superficially endearing, but I simply couldn't enjoy it knowing the characters were so unlikeable. The whole book can be summed up as 'Riley bends over backwards for Hunter, literally and metaphorically; he opens his wallet but not his MOUTH, which is what would've actually helped'.
It's pretty well-written, from a technical perspective, but there are countless things that made me want to smash my Kindle under my heel while I read it. Almost every dumb romance trope imaginable is in this book. Apologies if my review turns out to be a bit incoherent; it's just that the more I think about this book, the more I realise exactly how much it pissed me off.
⤅ PLOT
The book opens four years in the past, with 14-year-old Riley Bishop - the impoverished daughter of a single mother - developing a friendship (verging on more) with Hunter Maxwell, a wealthy classmate. She accidentally gets him sent away to Italy and he vows revenge. This part of the story was in the 2020 Bully Me anthology, so I just skipped past and went straight to 20% in, which picks up with Riley now 18.
She's dating some kid called Anderson, but then Hunter shows back up in town. They start hanging out again and she gives him her virginity... only to discover that a) he lined up all their classmates to humiliate her by listening as it happened and b) he was dating her arch-nemesis Valerie at the time. The rest of the book involves the two of them in an excruciatingly dumb pull-and-push relationship saturated with OW drama, OM drama, and general stupidity.
⤅ REASONS WHY I NOW HAVE AN ULCER
❌ This book is way, way, way too long. It's over 200,000 words, and the plot is propelled by nothing more substantial than relationship drama. That's not by default a bad thing; I enjoy character-driven books. But not where the characters are this thick and unlikeable. TBotB needed heavy editing, and it could've been half this length without any loss of actual story.
❌ Speaking of the characters... okay, I'm just going to say it: Riley and Hunter are just pale imitations of Zoey and Carter. Riley is Zoey with a MASSIVE martyr complex, and Hunter is Carter without any of the engaging charm. Even their names are kind of similar! There are also lots of little things throughout the book that rubbed me the wrong way because they reminded me of Untouchable. But let's start with Riley:
❌ She is the doormat to end all doormats. Hunter HUMILIATES her the night he takes her virginity, and she just... never confronts him about it? Ever? By the time of their next interaction, she's smiling and flirting with him??????
❌ The only thing Riley shows the TINIEST bit of spine over is the fact that Hunter is dating her enemy Valerie, whom he cheats on with Riley. Because of this, she blocks his number and avoids him for a tiny bit. But then he starts avoiding her back, so naturally our girl runs after him to ask what's wrong and 'can they be friends again'. Basically, Riley has zero self-respect. Refusing to be Hunter's girlfriend isn't a sign of self-respect if at the same time you're having sex with him and declaring your love for him! There are some TRULY sickening quotes in here, such as when she says 'Seeing you in pain is worse than being in pain myself', and at this point I wanted to throw up at how much of a victim she is. It felt like no matter what he did to her, she'd always be back for more. Don't even get me started on how stupid she is over the pregnancy thing. Her mother was a teenage mum, and she basically wants to be too and keeps having unprotected sex with Hunter hoping it'll just work out? I mean, I can find the whole 'I want you to be pregnant' thing hot under the right circumstances, but these definitely weren't the right circumstances.
❌ Hunter is an extremely subpar Carter. Like Carter, he's a wealthy alpha football player, but his manipulative streak comes across as pathetically juvenile. Plus, he directs it at Riley, something Carter didn't do to Zoey. And I don't understand when he flipped from 'I hate you so much I want your first time having sex to be humiliating' to 'I want to date you and I love you', because the transformation happened at light speed. I just don't feel like Hunter has... a personality. Like, what's he even interested in? God knows. He was very two-dimensional as a character.
❌ Obviously, while Hunter is busy having sex with models in Italy, he tells all the boys back in America not to touch Riley, so she's still a dutiful little virgin waiting for him when he comes back. Spare me.
❌ God, the OW/OM drama is so stupid. He's dating an OW, so she dates an OM, they break up, they get back together. Then there's a different OM, too, some guy named Sherlock. (More on him later). She spends the whole book willing to have sex with Hunter and says she loves him, and acts like his girlfriend, yet apparently her red line is 'actually being' his girlfriend because he hooked up with Valerie when she asked him not to. And then... and then... I wanted to kill Hunter. What kind of stupid-arse level of arsery and miscommunication is that?!??!?!
❌ Riley reviews films for the school paper. Zoey reviews books for the school paper. Hunter is a wealthy football player. Carter is a wealthy football player. Hunter has a thing with a wicked OW who wants to sabotage his relationship with Riley. Carter had a thing with a wicked OW who wants to sabotage his relationship with Zoey. Hunter whisks Riley to New York for a trip. Carter whisks Zoey to New York for a trip. Hunter likes playing with the idea of getting Riley pregnant. Carter likes playing with the idea of getting Zoey pregnant (and he does it in exactly the same way). I could go on, but you see where I'm going with this? It reached a peak near the end, where Zoey and Riley meet directly, and Riley thinks to herself 'Wow she seems amazing I want to be her friend'. Authors, PLEASE stop shoving together all your heroines from the same universe into inorganic friendships just because they're both heroines of a book you've written! And Hunter is somehow absorbed into Carter's general friendship circle, which felt a bit like a goldfish being absorbed into the friendship circle of a shark.
❌ Okay, here's another point. I was conflicted about whether or not to even mention it, because it's hard for me to put it into words and it may not even make sense. But I'll let you be the judge of that. Essentially:I find the presentation of rape in this book really weird and kind of uncomfortable. To be clear, I'm a huge fan of dark romances, and I'm no stranger AT ALL to scenes where the hero rapes the heroine. Many of my favourite books (The Silver Devil, Lords of Pain) have this. But in those books, there's a kind of in-universe recognition that what the hero has done is wrong. Even if he's totally unapologetic, the whole dark-romance setting means the usual rules go out of the window. In fact, BY being unapologetic, it signals to me that I'm not expected to think the romance is 'good'. But here, it just feels really weird. When Hunter feels bad about raping Riley, it suggests to me that we're taking some steps away from dark romance, which is a genre where I expect uncaring heroes. But Riley basically tells him not to worry about raping her, and that 'she could've said no'. Yet the reason she didn't say no was because she was worried he wouldn't stop? And it seriously is rape - she's dry, there's no foreplay, he forces himself inside in a jealous rage, she tries to get away from him, she doesn't enjoy it. I found it really repulsive that she then makes excuses for him TO HIM. Am I making sense in this paragraph? I'm not 100% sure. But let's take Untouchable as another example; there, Zoey explicitly tells Carter that she wants to be forced, and in any case he's presented as so unapologetically amoral that it worked for his character to have that opening scene - especially as Zoey never tried to RATIONALISE IT AWAY. Which Riley does, and I hated it.
❌ Riley's principles are thinner than rice paper. She swears she's not going to accept anything from Hunter after he humiliated her, then she starts using the Coach purse he buys her. She doesn't want to spend his money, but then does a 180 and takes his credit card and goes on wild dress shopping sprees. I was fine reading this once for Carter and Zoey, but is this author seriously going to keep copying elements of her most popular book?
❌ Not a SINGLE female character comes off well. Riley, obviously, is a doormat, but then Mariano systematically demolishes every other woman in the book. Her best friend? A hypocritical loser who ends up dumping her to hang out with a boy. (Since Riley has a martyr complex, of course, she still wants to comfort said friend). Valerie, of course, is an evil bully. All her female minions are gossipy harpies. Riley's mother, who hated Hunter, ends up being easily bought with a spa day. Just... what??? Why is there so much girl hate?
❌ Also, there's a really icky pseudo-ménage scene where Sherlock (the OM, one of Hunter's friends) holds Riley down while Hunter screws her. Granted, there's no penetration, but I really dislike it when a third party directly participates in sex between the hero and heroine (when it's not RH, obviously).
I really need to work on my essay now, so I'm going to leave it there. I just knew that I couldn't concentrate on my essay without venting first. The sex scenes were hot, and Hunter's possessiveness was superficially endearing, but I simply couldn't enjoy it knowing the characters were so unlikeable. The whole book can be summed up as 'Riley bends over backwards for Hunter, literally and metaphorically; he opens his wallet but not his MOUTH, which is what would've actually helped'.
Read
March 8, 2021
Pause @ 53% for now ... or never.
Note: It's not the book, it's me.
I liked the premise, seriously, but I couldn't with the heroine. She's a certified doormat. I just wanted her to defend herself even just for once!
"Love is a serious mental disease."
Note: It's not the book, it's me.
I liked the premise, seriously, but I couldn't with the heroine. She's a certified doormat. I just wanted her to defend herself even just for once!
Shelved as 'abort-mission-get-tf-out-dnf'
October 6, 2021July '21 DNF @ 10%
August '21 DNF @ 15%
September '21 DNF @ 18%
October '21 DNF @ 19%
Guys, I tried. I really did. For almost 4 months I've been reading this book in snail pace, getting slower with each day and it's time to wave the white flag.
The only way I'm finishing The Boy on the Bridge is when I find someone to buddy read this garbage with me, but honestly no one deserves to be exposed to this book. Reading about these stupid characters is killing my brain cells + my will to live so bye 🚮
✂ ✂ ✂ ✂ ✂ ✂ ✂
pre-reading thoughts
*downloads The Boy on the Bridge*
*opens the book and sees the page count of over 700 pages and extremely weird formatting*
*thinks to herself: "do you really want to read a bully book right now with that page count?"*
*needs 2 seconds to decide and closes the book*
I still want to read the book, but today is not the day. 🏃♀️
August '21 DNF @ 15%
September '21 DNF @ 18%
October '21 DNF @ 19%
Guys, I tried. I really did. For almost 4 months I've been reading this book in snail pace, getting slower with each day and it's time to wave the white flag.
The only way I'm finishing The Boy on the Bridge is when I find someone to buddy read this garbage with me, but honestly no one deserves to be exposed to this book. Reading about these stupid characters is killing my brain cells + my will to live so bye 🚮
✂ ✂ ✂ ✂ ✂ ✂ ✂
pre-reading thoughts
*downloads The Boy on the Bridge*
*opens the book and sees the page count of over 700 pages and extremely weird formatting*
*thinks to herself: "do you really want to read a bully book right now with that page count?"*
*needs 2 seconds to decide and closes the book*
I still want to read the book, but today is not the day. 🏃♀️
March 30, 2021
'THE BOY ON THE BRIDGE' Is a full length bully romance book by Sam Mariano. Spoken in 'Dual Perspectives.'
So this is the first book I picked up between Arcs, not realising how long it was, BUT the pages became insignificant as I got hooked from the first page, unable to put it down.
The boy on the bridge has so many high and low ratings and I can completely understand why, this author goes where many won't go, boundaries and lines will be pushed and obliterated, she doesn't sugar coat anything, its in your face, and you've got nowhere to hide.
So many topics which blew up like red flags in my mind along with a few bombs and wtf moments which came flying at me hitting there intended target with the angst, the feels, the shock, the push and pull as our hero manipulated his way into our heroines heart. His antics were heinous and shocking, but that's what made this book so unputdownable.
This is no unicorns farting cupcakes kind of book, it tackles subjects that left me begging for mercy, praying that I'd come out of it as I went in. But not knowing how much love I'd have for this book at the end of it. I'm so glad I took that plunge.
No other book compares to this, beyond unique and utterly addictive. I really need to read more by this author.
* Teaser used is off the authors facebook page *
July 30, 2022
4.5
I was introduced to Riley and Hunter from The Boy on the Bridge, in the Bully Me: Class of 2020 Anthology in April of last year. I fell in love with them immediately! From their very first meeting, their connection is undeniable. I felt the instant attraction, friendship, and chemistry right along with the characters. Then, the story ended on a cliffhanger, and I've been dying for more of them ever since!
(No worries if you never got a chance to read the anthology. That part of their story is included in this book in Part 1.)
With all of that anticipation came expectations, and while that can be a recipe for disaster, that wasn't the case here at all. I wasn't disappointed in the least. I was ecstatic! Sam Mariano's writing is incredibly addictive. I didn't want to put the book down!
Hunter is hot, rich, manipulative, possessive, and helplessly in love with Riley. He has a lot of emotional trauma that colors the way he handles their relationship, but I never doubted his feelings for a second. His romantic streak makes him one of Sam Mariano's sweeter heroes. It seems almost comical using that word considering some of the things that happen in this book, but it's true nonetheless.
Riley is as powerless to resist Hunter as he is to resist her. She's drawn to the man he is, and she compliments him completely. Her pride gets in the way a lot, but Hunter knows exactly how to give her what she wants when she's too stubborn to allow herself to have it. Riley's smart, caring, opinionated, and doesn't let herself give too much of a fuck what other people think of her which I love.
Her relationship with her mom is very Lorelai and Rory. Growing up with a strong, self-reliant mother made Riley into a woman that knows she doesn't need a man, and that makes things a little more difficult for Hunter. Luckily, he's not one to back down from a challenge.
What I love most about this story and all of this author's work is how imperfect the main characters are and how unconventional their relationship is. Riley and Hunter are flawed, complex individuals that you won't always agree with. In fact, they will straight up piss you off at times, but in my opinion, it makes them a hell of a lot more interesting!
Their relationship with each other is complicated, intense, and unorthodox. Sam explores things in her stories that others might shy away from, and I appreciate that about her. She isn't afraid to push boundaries and buck norms. Rarely will you find a traditional romantic relationship, and that’s a big draw for me. I enjoy the unexpected, original, morally gray, slightly twisted content she provides.
Another highlight for me is one Untouchable fans will be delighted to see. Zoey makes an appearance in this book along with the mysterious restaurant guy. I can't wait to finally get his story. He's seems like a cocky asshole, so naturally, I'm intrigued.
I cannot conclude this review without talking about my man, Sherlock. He's a side character that stole my heart. He radiates main character vibes. Hell, he threatened to steal the spotlight in this one at times, and it's not even his book.
If your panties melt for bad boys, you're going to need to change them after you meet this one! The man captivated my attention from the jump, and I ate up every scene he was in. I NEED him to have his own book. I'll be absolutely heartbroken if I never see him again.
Bottom line, The Boy on the Bridge gave me everything I was looking for when I picked it up. Riley and Hunter's romance is messy, steamy, emotional and passionate. Both characters are well developed, and the pacing of the story is perfect. It's a little long, but you won't hear me complain. I was completely entertained the entire time I was reading, and I was sad to see my time with these characters come to an end.
If you love couples made up of gorgeous, alpha males with emotional issues and intelligent heroines with stubborn streaks whose primary weakness is each other, you should definitely give this book a try.
Fans of the author, dark romance, & angsty NA, this one's for you!
I was introduced to Riley and Hunter from The Boy on the Bridge, in the Bully Me: Class of 2020 Anthology in April of last year. I fell in love with them immediately! From their very first meeting, their connection is undeniable. I felt the instant attraction, friendship, and chemistry right along with the characters. Then, the story ended on a cliffhanger, and I've been dying for more of them ever since!
(No worries if you never got a chance to read the anthology. That part of their story is included in this book in Part 1.)
With all of that anticipation came expectations, and while that can be a recipe for disaster, that wasn't the case here at all. I wasn't disappointed in the least. I was ecstatic! Sam Mariano's writing is incredibly addictive. I didn't want to put the book down!
Hunter is hot, rich, manipulative, possessive, and helplessly in love with Riley. He has a lot of emotional trauma that colors the way he handles their relationship, but I never doubted his feelings for a second. His romantic streak makes him one of Sam Mariano's sweeter heroes. It seems almost comical using that word considering some of the things that happen in this book, but it's true nonetheless.
Riley is as powerless to resist Hunter as he is to resist her. She's drawn to the man he is, and she compliments him completely. Her pride gets in the way a lot, but Hunter knows exactly how to give her what she wants when she's too stubborn to allow herself to have it. Riley's smart, caring, opinionated, and doesn't let herself give too much of a fuck what other people think of her which I love.
Her relationship with her mom is very Lorelai and Rory. Growing up with a strong, self-reliant mother made Riley into a woman that knows she doesn't need a man, and that makes things a little more difficult for Hunter. Luckily, he's not one to back down from a challenge.
What I love most about this story and all of this author's work is how imperfect the main characters are and how unconventional their relationship is. Riley and Hunter are flawed, complex individuals that you won't always agree with. In fact, they will straight up piss you off at times, but in my opinion, it makes them a hell of a lot more interesting!
Their relationship with each other is complicated, intense, and unorthodox. Sam explores things in her stories that others might shy away from, and I appreciate that about her. She isn't afraid to push boundaries and buck norms. Rarely will you find a traditional romantic relationship, and that’s a big draw for me. I enjoy the unexpected, original, morally gray, slightly twisted content she provides.
Another highlight for me is one Untouchable fans will be delighted to see. Zoey makes an appearance in this book along with the mysterious restaurant guy. I can't wait to finally get his story. He's seems like a cocky asshole, so naturally, I'm intrigued.
I cannot conclude this review without talking about my man, Sherlock. He's a side character that stole my heart. He radiates main character vibes. Hell, he threatened to steal the spotlight in this one at times, and it's not even his book.
If your panties melt for bad boys, you're going to need to change them after you meet this one! The man captivated my attention from the jump, and I ate up every scene he was in. I NEED him to have his own book. I'll be absolutely heartbroken if I never see him again.
Bottom line, The Boy on the Bridge gave me everything I was looking for when I picked it up. Riley and Hunter's romance is messy, steamy, emotional and passionate. Both characters are well developed, and the pacing of the story is perfect. It's a little long, but you won't hear me complain. I was completely entertained the entire time I was reading, and I was sad to see my time with these characters come to an end.
If you love couples made up of gorgeous, alpha males with emotional issues and intelligent heroines with stubborn streaks whose primary weakness is each other, you should definitely give this book a try.
Fans of the author, dark romance, & angsty NA, this one's for you!
March 28, 2021
2.5 stars ✩⋆
this shit was more stressful than my stat 100 exam that was worth 80% of my grade i swear-
rtc
this shit was more stressful than my stat 100 exam that was worth 80% of my grade i swear-
rtc
January 2, 2022
me: i'm so stressed out i have a million things to do. i need to stop getting absorbed in fictional worlds and do my goddamn school assignments
my destructive tendencies: drop everything and pick up this book rn. isolate yourself and don’t come out until you’re drowning so deep in this cesspool of toxic waste that you can’t focus on a goddamn thing. listen to me, self-destruction is ur friend
So yeah. When this book came out I said I wouldn't touch it with a 10-foot pole. But then I read Untouchable.... and shiii that beautiful masterpiece had me fucked up 😅 I was just so curious what other type of manipulative, gaslighting nonsense this woman could get me on board with so I decided to dive in.
The first hundred pages were boring. I didn't care about Riley and Hunters middle school love affair, I just wanted them to grow up so things could get mindfucky. And you know what.... THEY NEVER DID.
Wanna know why??? CAUSE THIS RILEY BITCH COULDN'T FUCKIN PLAY. SHE DROPPED THE BALL. I swear I hate this girl so goddamn much 😂😭 Can I hulk smash some sense into her simple-minded, unsuspecting, stOOpid ass fcking brain
I'm sorry for this review being so goddamn violent but the fictional energy had to come out SOMEwhere. I wanna fight the air rn this girl was so annoying and sloooOOOOOOw. I could overlook all the dumbass things Zoey did in Untouchable because I loved her personality and she rose to the mf'in occasion. She saw the situation she was in with clear eyes and dealt with it accordingly (her methods were unorthodox ill admit, but that's what made me stan). But Riley? Naive, uncreative, killjoy Riley? 🗣 SHE DON'T HAVE THE RANGEEEE
LEMME GET HER AGAIN
That quote is the #1 reason I usually stay my ass away from bully romances. Her methods must be somewhat effective tho bc in all my years never have I come across a heroine who could traumatize me SO DAMN MUCH 🤠🔫🔫 Fr i debated making a shelf just for her, #1 worst heroine i've ever read here's ur prize bitch
But you know what tho? I'm not being fair. Bc I'm making it seem like she was the only stupid person in this book. No, she was just the the most front and center. EVERYONE in this book was dumb af. Sara, Anderson, Valerie, (Hunter bby don't worry I would never say your name rn🤡)
The only redeeming thing this book had going for it was Hunter, sorry. Everybody knows I like my men to be out of pocket and insane so......... ya Hunter fit the bill. He was no Carter Mahoney, honestly he had way more morals and capacity for feeling (he was also way less manipulative😭) but overall he did what he came to do. I actually can't believe I'm saying this but how abruptly Hunter started simping for Riley and him trying to buy her was not it for me :/ I didn't like how cheesy they were. But him dragging her ass through the mud and then showing up to school on Monday like nothing happened? Yeah that was it for me so.... just leave me here to stew in those choices. Maybe I only feel that way though because down to the very core of my being I truly believe Riley deserves 💫nothing.💫
So all in all,
Did I feel like they were connecting puzzle pieces? No.
Did I want to curb stomp Riley for a blanket 90% of this? Yes.
Do I kinda wanna take Sam M to court for making this 630 pages? Yes.
But did I also lowkey enjoy parts of it in a 'wtf is this hot ass mess' type of way (mainly when Hunter was on peak bullshit levels?) You betcha. So, 1.2 Stars.
PLUS I gotta give an extra .25 Stars for 💥SHERLOCK💥 (and Caleb 🥵)
I actually loved all the OM drama in the last quarter. It was honestly random af and didn't fit the story at all but the story was trash so at that point who gives a fuck?
Sherlock set Val's car on fire 🥵 He didn't egg it, he didn't honey/feather it, my dude straight up ROASTED it🔥 THAT'S the type of chaotic energy I'm looking for!!! GIVE. ME. HIS BOOK. If he's paired w another Riley tho I'll riot. But that scene.... the campfire scene.... you guys know the one I'm talkm bout....
Yeah I did not think voyeurism/kinda-sorta-threesomes were my kink but catch me singing a different tune after this book byE
my destructive tendencies: drop everything and pick up this book rn. isolate yourself and don’t come out until you’re drowning so deep in this cesspool of toxic waste that you can’t focus on a goddamn thing. listen to me, self-destruction is ur friend
So yeah. When this book came out I said I wouldn't touch it with a 10-foot pole. But then I read Untouchable.... and shiii that beautiful masterpiece had me fucked up 😅 I was just so curious what other type of manipulative, gaslighting nonsense this woman could get me on board with so I decided to dive in.
The first hundred pages were boring. I didn't care about Riley and Hunters middle school love affair, I just wanted them to grow up so things could get mindfucky. And you know what.... THEY NEVER DID.
Wanna know why??? CAUSE THIS RILEY BITCH COULDN'T FUCKIN PLAY. SHE DROPPED THE BALL. I swear I hate this girl so goddamn much 😂😭 Can I hulk smash some sense into her simple-minded, unsuspecting, stOOpid ass fcking brain
I'm sorry for this review being so goddamn violent but the fictional energy had to come out SOMEwhere. I wanna fight the air rn this girl was so annoying and sloooOOOOOOw. I could overlook all the dumbass things Zoey did in Untouchable because I loved her personality and she rose to the mf'in occasion. She saw the situation she was in with clear eyes and dealt with it accordingly (her methods were unorthodox ill admit, but that's what made me stan). But Riley? Naive, uncreative, killjoy Riley? 🗣 SHE DON'T HAVE THE RANGEEEE
"It's not a strategy. I'm not your opponent. You can strike me all you want, Hunter, but I won't fight back."
LEMME GET HER AGAIN
That quote is the #1 reason I usually stay my ass away from bully romances. Her methods must be somewhat effective tho bc in all my years never have I come across a heroine who could traumatize me SO DAMN MUCH 🤠🔫🔫 Fr i debated making a shelf just for her, #1 worst heroine i've ever read here's ur prize bitch
But you know what tho? I'm not being fair. Bc I'm making it seem like she was the only stupid person in this book. No, she was just the the most front and center. EVERYONE in this book was dumb af. Sara, Anderson, Valerie, (Hunter bby don't worry I would never say your name rn🤡)
The only redeeming thing this book had going for it was Hunter, sorry. Everybody knows I like my men to be out of pocket and insane so......... ya Hunter fit the bill. He was no Carter Mahoney, honestly he had way more morals and capacity for feeling (he was also way less manipulative😭) but overall he did what he came to do. I actually can't believe I'm saying this but how abruptly Hunter started simping for Riley and him trying to buy her was not it for me :/ I didn't like how cheesy they were. But him dragging her ass through the mud and then showing up to school on Monday like nothing happened? Yeah that was it for me so.... just leave me here to stew in those choices. Maybe I only feel that way though because down to the very core of my being I truly believe Riley deserves 💫nothing.💫
So all in all,
Did I feel like they were connecting puzzle pieces? No.
Did I want to curb stomp Riley for a blanket 90% of this? Yes.
Do I kinda wanna take Sam M to court for making this 630 pages? Yes.
But did I also lowkey enjoy parts of it in a 'wtf is this hot ass mess' type of way (mainly when Hunter was on peak bullshit levels?) You betcha. So, 1.2 Stars.
PLUS I gotta give an extra .25 Stars for 💥SHERLOCK💥 (and Caleb 🥵)
I actually loved all the OM drama in the last quarter. It was honestly random af and didn't fit the story at all but the story was trash so at that point who gives a fuck?
Sherlock set Val's car on fire 🥵 He didn't egg it, he didn't honey/feather it, my dude straight up ROASTED it🔥 THAT'S the type of chaotic energy I'm looking for!!! GIVE. ME. HIS BOOK. If he's paired w another Riley tho I'll riot. But that scene.... the campfire scene.... you guys know the one I'm talkm bout....
I know she's not comfortable, but that's all right. People don't need to be comfortable all the time.
Yeah I did not think voyeurism/kinda-sorta-threesomes were my kink but catch me singing a different tune after this book byE
Read
May 12, 2022It's LIVE!!
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3e5xr1R
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08XXLQW3D
Amazon AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B08XXLQW3D
Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B08XXLQW3D
(Available in KindleUnlimited.)
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3e5xr1R
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08XXLQW3D
Amazon AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B08XXLQW3D
Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B08XXLQW3D
(Available in KindleUnlimited.)
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April 6, 2021
UPDATED VERSION WITH ADDED GIFS TO MAKE IT HILARIOUS as if the whole book wasn't enough and just because.
1.5 stars but it has to be rounded backwards.
first of all TW: dub con(borderline rape), bullying, voyeurism, child abuse
i don't want to say it was downright bad but it was downright bad.
there were more events than i have mentioned here which were equally bad as those that i have mentioned here.
it's going to be a long review with few spoiler aspects, kindly bear with me; it is going to be hilariousjust like the book, i hope so
P.S. do see the images for extraordinary experience
so many of my friends have added this which made me read it even though this a new to me author and let's just comprehend that it was not fruitful.
teeny-tiny shred of goodness accountable for 0.5 extra stars
Ray, h's mother boyfriend. the good, happy part in this novel.
past of the couplebefore they become insufferable
they met on a bridge when they were 14 and had some senses which made me believe it was gonna be a sweet love story with high-school sweethearts; boy the shock i had after reading their present.
the H then also tried to convince h to wear "better" clothes to appease his friends and the h, always being the doormat agreed. and then in the mall he leaves her with his mother to get "better" clothes while he hangs with her arch-nemesis and of course the h will make excuses that she enjoyed shopping with his mother without him after he literally blackmailed her to hang with him and those fuckin' friends.
atleast the h's mother was likeable and funny....right? absofuckin'lutely no, see the last section.
presentthat you should dread
H was the most vain, annoying, hateful, contemptible a**hole here.
h was the most ignorant, naïve, door-mat, irresolute a**hole here.
so you get the idea, right?
nooo, atleast see my rant; i really, really worked hard
i should as well give the proof,
▶
-me swooning
ok so there is nothing absolutely wrong with this, but using this to break into her house is unacceptable to me.
▶
shouldn't he think this before he became intimate with h's arch-nemesis (while she clearly made clear that that is the line for her) in a pool half-naked. then also fucking h in a party all the while he had made his friends (the friends really hate h, why you ask? ofc because of H) to stand outside the door during the sex part to humiliate her on front of whole grade.
▶
ok so if this was the first time, I would have very reluctantly conceded but this is the 3rd-4th time they have sex without any form of birth control; and if you are so stuck on doing this maybe don't whine each time that you hope that it didn't make you pregnant.
▶
this is what he says after breaking in through her house with a stolen key. i don't even wanna explain further.
▶
Hmade this contract with blackmailed h. i mean sheldon draws the best relationship agreement, this, this was just 100% blackmail.
there were so many; i needed time to simmer down from it's absurdity.
side-characters coz they need to be degraded separately
h had one friend named Sara for more than a decade and then she goes out to be friendly with h's arch-nemesis infront of h; her last question was
h's mom finally gave up on her hate for H. why you ask? it's fuckin' easy, because he sent her a car and money to shop as much as they want with a loads of money. and wait, lets not forget the extra spa appointment he made for her!
i am not really into voyeurism so while H, h and Sherlock (OM) did their own shitty version of reverse harem while H explicitly shut-down all her protests with a reasoning that she will give up once he brings her to heightened pleasure with his mouth, i was really not happy here.
All the 5 stars remain a unusual mystery to me.
1.5 stars but it has to be rounded backwards.
first of all TW: dub con(
i don't want to say it was downright bad but it was downright bad.
there were more events than i have mentioned here which were equally bad as those that i have mentioned here.
it's going to be a long review with few spoiler aspects, kindly bear with me; it is going to be hilarious
P.S. do see the images for extraordinary experience
so many of my friends have added this which made me read it even though this a new to me author and let's just comprehend that it was not fruitful.
teeny-tiny shred of goodness accountable for 0.5 extra stars
Ray, h's mother boyfriend. the good, happy part in this novel.
past of the couple
they met on a bridge when they were 14 and had some senses which made me believe it was gonna be a sweet love story with high-school sweethearts; boy the shock i had after reading their present.
the H then also tried to convince h to wear "better" clothes to appease his friends and the h, always being the doormat agreed. and then in the mall he leaves her with his mother to get "better" clothes while he hangs with her arch-nemesis and of course the h will make excuses that she enjoyed shopping with his mother without him after he literally blackmailed her to hang with him and those fuckin' friends.
atleast the h's mother was likeable and funny....right? absofuckin'lutely no, see the last section.
present
H was the most vain, annoying, hateful, contemptible a**hole here.
h was the most ignorant, naïve, door-mat, irresolute a**hole here.
so you get the idea, right?
nooo, atleast see my rant; i really, really worked hard
i should as well give the proof,
▶
hunter-“I’m too hot to stalk someone. When I do it, it’s called courting,”
-me swooningok so there is nothing absolutely wrong with this, but using this to break into her house is unacceptable to me.
▶
hunter-“You’re the kind, considerate one,” he goes on. “I don’t mean to pigeonhole you, but without your calming influence in my life, God knows what I’ll get up to.”
shouldn't he think this before he became intimate with h's arch-nemesis (while she clearly made clear that that is the line for her) in a pool half-naked. then also fucking h in a party all the while he had made his friends (the friends really hate h, why you ask? ofc because of H) to stand outside the door during the sex part to humiliate her on front of whole grade.▶
riley-He comes inside me, but I don’t even care.
ok so if this was the first time, I would have very reluctantly conceded but this is the 3rd-4th time they have sex without any form of birth control; and if you are so stuck on doing this maybe don't whine each time that you hope that it didn't make you pregnant.
▶
hunter-“Don’t worry, baby.” Relief pours through me at the sound of Hunter’s voice. “You don’t have to say yes. I just need to use your pussy tonight. I won’t be able to sleep until I do.”
this is what he says after breaking in through her house with a stolen key. i don't even wanna explain further.▶
hunter-“I’ve bought the rights to your resistance. Those rights will revert to you on graduation day. Until then, you don’t get to say no to me. Whatever I want, I get.”
H
there were so many; i needed time to simmer down from it's absurdity.
side-characters coz they need to be degraded separately
h had one friend named Sara for more than a decade and then she goes out to be friendly with h's arch-nemesis infront of h; her last question was
“Will you hate me?” Sara asks, cringing even as the awful words leave her mouth.gasp at least Sara remembers that h was her only companion while she was laughed upon by whole school on courtesy of h's arch-nemesis in mere standard 1.
h's mom finally gave up on her hate for H. why you ask? it's fuckin' easy, because he sent her a car and money to shop as much as they want with a loads of money. and wait, lets not forget the extra spa appointment he made for her!
i am not really into voyeurism so while H, h and Sherlock (OM) did their own shitty version of reverse harem while H explicitly shut-down all her protests with a reasoning that she will give up once he brings her to heightened pleasure with his mouth, i was really not happy here.
All the 5 stars remain a unusual mystery to me.
March 4, 2021
“Do I look like a villain to you, Riley?”
“No. But the best ones never do.”
Angst. Angst. Angst.
If you were looking for a thick AF book to satiate your teenage romance angst, a dash of sweetness, and a dose of questionable behavior, then you’ve come to the right place. Hunter Maxwell and Riley Bishop have a past. They formed a surprising bond one random day in middle school when Riley saw Hunter sitting on a bridge that’s between their houses. The bookish good girl and the popular jock rich boy, who would have thought they’d click? If you’ve read their short in the Bully Me Anthology, then you know their story is sweet but rocky. Riley eventually betrays Hunter and their bond, which gets him sent out of town, but for a very good reason! That said, he still promises to come back one day and make her life a nightmare.
Cut to four years later, Hunter is back and thus begins the start of the rollercoaster ride that is their relationship. You know, calling it a rollercoaster doesn’t even do it justice. It’s two rollercoasters, the tilt-a-whirl, and a questionable Ferris wheel. You know the one where the cart sort of looks like it should have been retired 20 years ago? Yeah. That’s their relationship journey. All that said, it still is sort of sweet. That bond they formed as 14-year-olds is still there between them despite all the time apart. They have this pull toward each other even if one of them is more reluctant than the other. Many things try to get in their way, even themselves, but yeah. It’s a good read, but it is a ride. So prepare yourself for the long haul. Snacks are definitely recommended.
Also, I want to say if you’re looking for Untouchable 2, this is not it. But that’s NOT a bad thing. Hunter and Riley have a different sort of relationship overall and different angst between them, and while I know it was in the Bully anthology, I wouldn’t really call this a BULLY romance. I know that’s weird, but you’ll just have to read it to see.
All in all this was a good read. If you’re looking for a rollercoaster ride of a mature YA romance, then is it. Possessive hero, and a reluctant heroine, I mean... if it’s your thing, you know Sam provides it in spades. There are some side characters that are introduced that I’m going to attempt to wait like 2 more hours before begging Sam to give us their stories. Sounds reasonable, right?
AVAILABLE NOW!
*ARC
TW - dubious consent, lite bullying
“No. But the best ones never do.”
Angst. Angst. Angst.
If you were looking for a thick AF book to satiate your teenage romance angst, a dash of sweetness, and a dose of questionable behavior, then you’ve come to the right place. Hunter Maxwell and Riley Bishop have a past. They formed a surprising bond one random day in middle school when Riley saw Hunter sitting on a bridge that’s between their houses. The bookish good girl and the popular jock rich boy, who would have thought they’d click? If you’ve read their short in the Bully Me Anthology, then you know their story is sweet but rocky. Riley eventually betrays Hunter and their bond, which gets him sent out of town, but for a very good reason! That said, he still promises to come back one day and make her life a nightmare.
Cut to four years later, Hunter is back and thus begins the start of the rollercoaster ride that is their relationship. You know, calling it a rollercoaster doesn’t even do it justice. It’s two rollercoasters, the tilt-a-whirl, and a questionable Ferris wheel. You know the one where the cart sort of looks like it should have been retired 20 years ago? Yeah. That’s their relationship journey. All that said, it still is sort of sweet. That bond they formed as 14-year-olds is still there between them despite all the time apart. They have this pull toward each other even if one of them is more reluctant than the other. Many things try to get in their way, even themselves, but yeah. It’s a good read, but it is a ride. So prepare yourself for the long haul. Snacks are definitely recommended.
Also, I want to say if you’re looking for Untouchable 2, this is not it. But that’s NOT a bad thing. Hunter and Riley have a different sort of relationship overall and different angst between them, and while I know it was in the Bully anthology, I wouldn’t really call this a BULLY romance. I know that’s weird, but you’ll just have to read it to see.
All in all this was a good read. If you’re looking for a rollercoaster ride of a mature YA romance, then is it. Possessive hero, and a reluctant heroine, I mean... if it’s your thing, you know Sam provides it in spades. There are some side characters that are introduced that I’m going to attempt to wait like 2 more hours before begging Sam to give us their stories. Sounds reasonable, right?
AVAILABLE NOW!
*ARC
TW - dubious consent, lite bullying
March 8, 2021
I should have just DNFed it (and saved my damn time)*sighs*. I hadn't read the prequel in Bully Me: Class of 2020 (or something like that). I'd just read the name of the book and added it to my TBR thinking I will get childhood friends to lovers angst... of course, I didn't get that. Before starting this book I was expecting it to be so bad because many of my friends didn't like it but when I started this book... I was liking it, probably because I was expecting it to be very bad. Till 30% or 40%, I was going to rate this book 3 stars/4 stars (I don't remember exactly till where) but after that, it all went downhill.
I was expecting a lot of hate from Hunter(hero) towards (heroine) Riley? (is that her name?) And I didn't get that. After the first drama, the whole book felt like a huge epilogue. Both of them love each other and with stupid-stupid, page-extending drama in between which annoyed me a lot. And I am fed up with this whole cheerleader drama in books, they like the hero, are pretty beautiful but are very bad, obsessed with the heroine, and don't have anything other to do in their lives🥱🥱 I don't want to talk about that now. I have read 2 other books by Sam Mariano and I feel (this is my opinion) that she just thinks about one or two scenes which will be good or exciting and fills her books with stupid stuff- with no plot I don't know how to write this but it feels she doesn't plan everything in her books except one or two scenes, it feels like she tries to write everything revolving around those scenes.
I was also confused while reading this book. Riley's? Mother told Hunter is bad for her and even I felt the same but Riley didn't seem to care about it that much. Many negative things were told about Hunter but despite that, she didn't take some serious action/her stand against Hunter not for him. Which made me angry. Riley just stood against the cheerleader, it felt like her whole character was revolving around cheerleader, it felt more like good girl vs bad girl than romance- it felt like Riley had more feelings for cheerleader than Hunter. And wait, Hunter and Riley said that the cheerleader was in love with his 'image' but the thing is I felt exactly the same for Riley, they liked each other when they were 14 was still understandable but at 17/18? I didn't understand what exactly did Riley like about Hunter. The only thing he does is throws money on her and gives really good sex and oh! He is super hot, that's it, he doesn't have any personality. Isn't it the same as what they were accusing the cheerleader of?
Overall, you can read it but I don't recommend it.
I was expecting a lot of hate from Hunter(hero) towards (heroine) Riley? (is that her name?) And I didn't get that. After the first drama, the whole book felt like a huge epilogue. Both of them love each other and with stupid-stupid, page-extending drama in between which annoyed me a lot. And I am fed up with this whole cheerleader drama in books, they like the hero, are pretty beautiful but are very bad, obsessed with the heroine, and don't have anything other to do in their lives🥱🥱 I don't want to talk about that now. I have read 2 other books by Sam Mariano and I feel (this is my opinion) that she just thinks about one or two scenes which will be good or exciting and fills her books with stupid stuff- with no plot I don't know how to write this but it feels she doesn't plan everything in her books except one or two scenes, it feels like she tries to write everything revolving around those scenes.
I was also confused while reading this book. Riley's? Mother told Hunter is bad for her and even I felt the same but Riley didn't seem to care about it that much. Many negative things were told about Hunter but despite that, she didn't take some serious action/her stand against Hunter not for him. Which made me angry. Riley just stood against the cheerleader, it felt like her whole character was revolving around cheerleader, it felt more like good girl vs bad girl than romance- it felt like Riley had more feelings for cheerleader than Hunter. And wait, Hunter and Riley said that the cheerleader was in love with his 'image' but the thing is I felt exactly the same for Riley, they liked each other when they were 14 was still understandable but at 17/18? I didn't understand what exactly did Riley like about Hunter. The only thing he does is throws money on her and gives really good sex and oh! He is super hot, that's it, he doesn't have any personality. Isn't it the same as what they were accusing the cheerleader of?
Overall, you can read it but I don't recommend it.
October 25, 2023
10.23.2023 reread - 5-star rating still stands. This story was so well done. I was super impressed all over again. 💕💕💕
——————-
Original review March 2021:
Oh this book. 🥰 A fan on Sam's reader page said "this book is for her fans"... and they are absolutely right. I would go so far as to say that it was a love letter to her fans. 💖🤩 I'm not talking about the readers that were just titillated and scandalized by Chapter 3 of Untouchable, but the fans who really appreciate the subtleties, nuance, and quirky voice of Sam's writing. This is for the readers who know that Sam is not the safe choice, and are so here for it. 🖤 This is not your standard bully romance with your standard characters, but that's never been what Sam Mariano writes. 🤷♀️ And that's exactly why I loved it so much. 😍
What I loved:
• the h, Riley, is a v*rg*n - she is sweet, caring, loyal, funny, smart and strong in a way that is not in-your-face.... if you liked Zoe, you'll love Riley. She is exactly what I would expect from this author. I loved her. She had backbone without being a b*t
• the H, Hunter, is a little tortured, a lot spoiled, and an alphahole - he's popular, rich, and used to having whatever he wants... but he also lacks any real meaningful love in his life - I luuuurrrved him 🖤
• If you want j/p, Hunter delivers. 😍 Even at 14 he's showing signs of being territorial over Riley, and this just builds and builds and builds over the span of this book. Seriously, I highlighted the h*II out of this book 😂❤️
• dubcon/noncon? It's definitely here. Depending on who you ask, you'll likely get a different answer on how to categorize it... as is standard for this author, nothing is straight-forward... there's a lot of gray and nuance... *It's COMPLICATED* is probably the best way to describe it 😬😍
• loads of OW/OM drama, as should be expected. It's fantastic.
• The bullying is concentrated to a couple scenes, like Untouchable, the rest is dealing with the fallout and the H pursuing the h relentlessly. I do not enjoy drawn out bullying so this set up fits my tastes perfectly.
• If you loved the manipulating deviousness and single minded focus of Carter Mahoney and Mateo Morelli, you won't be disappointed. Hunter draws from both characters and makes his crazy his own. He is a flawed H, and while he is more remorseful than past characters, he's still not perfect. That's not how Sam rolls. 🤷♀️
• If you liked the 🔥dynamics🔥 between Carter/Zoe and Mateo/Mia (ooh, ooh, ooh!! Me! 🙋♀️Me! 🙋♀️Me! 🙋♀️ I did! I did!), you'll find echoes of that here. Have patience, grasshopper.... hehehee... we will get to the kink..... 😍🔥
• I loved the nods to her other books and inside jokes for her fans. 🖤
• I loved the laugh out loud dry wit. ❤️
• this book does not use the same pacing of a standard bully romance. I think it could be broken down in 3 parts: 1. The Meet Cute and the Catalyst for the drama 2. HS - the standard bully trope 3. The BOOM - this is the part the fans have been waiting for... the last 40% of this book is where all the real Sam Mariano f*ck*ry goes down. We've been chewing our nails knowing that there's absolutely NO POSSIBLE WAY it was that easy, that vanilla, that standard, that straight-forward.... the tension waiting for the other shoe drop..... UGH...😫😫😫🖤 I LOVED it. hehehehe 😂 #imadramahoooaaar 🤣
• You like the mushy love stuff? Well I do too, when Sam's writing it. 😅 You totally get that here, and you don't have to wait til the end. Hunter is pretty *sweet* at the end of the day. He even shows some remorse when he effs up. And he loves Riley in a focused unrelenting way that is just BEAUTIFUL. And Sam lets them love each other through most of the book. Normally, I'm not a fan of too much mushy love stuff too early in the story, but this totally worked for me. 💗💗💗
• We get Hunter's perspective. It's only a few chapters, but its JUST ENOUGH to feed you, but not enough to kill the tension. The mystery of the H's thoughts are one of the things I love so much about Sam's style. We have to wonder and sweat and analyze right along with the heroine. We have to take the risk with right along with her. It adds so much to the tension, and thus my enjoyment. *chef's kiss* 😘
• There is a VERY INTRIGUING side character who *almost* steals the show (and the girl, lezbehonest 😉) - he gave off some very strong, to me, 🖤Mateo Morelli🖤 vibes, and I'll be waiting with bated breath for his book
• like usual, all is not as it appears. There are things you can't see with a full view until the end. The anticipation and questions and rage and relief... they are perfect and delicious 👌
• I loved the length - I waited for 2 years for this, and I never wanted it to end 🖤🖤🖤💗
• 💕If you have a line, Sam will dance a jig, pirouette, and do several back handsprings, landing in the splits, right over that line. You should probably just pick up that line and move it. 🤷♀️ #justgowithit 💕 🤣
What I didn't like:
• It does drag a bit, at first. As a nutcase fan-girl, *I* was here for every comma... but I do think someone who isn't so invested would likely feel differently - they aren't being fed by the inside jokes and subtle references and echos of other beloved books and characters. The tension wouldn't hit a newbie the same way either. Someone familiar with Sam's books would know that there's more coming, and would feel that excruciating delicious tension and angst very keenly, and so they will be eager to keep reading soaking up and over analyzing every little thing... but for a newbie, or just a standard casual reader, much of that could possibly go *WHOOSH* right over their heads, and they might get bored and maybe even bail before they ever got to the REAL drama and crazy f*ck*ry... and that would just be a real crying shame. 🤷♀️
Bottom Line? I think we all know this was a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ read for me. 😅😂 It felt like it was written just for me, in exactly my flavor. I loved every single second of it, and I know I will be back for many future rereads. 💕💕 #alphaholesaremyjam 🤩
⚠️ For the Safety Squad⚠️ - most of the safety info for this book would be MAJOR spoilers, which will likely affect the reader's experience. Scroll down with extreme caution. Just know, that this is a par-for-course Sam Mariano book. If you are a sensitive reader, this will likely not be for you. 🖤Sam is not a SAFE bet.🖤 🤷♀️ *Maybe, in SOME ways, this one isn't as brutal as some of her other stuff, but there are other things that would likely be seen as "unsafe".
⚠️Safety Squad SPOILERS⚠️
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WARNING: MAJOR HUGE SPOILER AHEAD
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.
I'm serious. If you are just vaguely interested in the spoilers, DO NOT PROCEED.
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- NO actual cheating - there is PERCEIVED cheating, but no actual cheating - this is a MAJOR spoiler 😕 - The reader believes, right along with the h, that Hunter blatantly cheats on her. He does not. Not at all. There's no gray area here. We don't find out the truth until the last part of the book. So, it will *FEEL* like a cheating book
- no sharing - but there is a scene where Hunter and Riley have relations in front of someone else, on purpose. Hunter is staking his claim in a very alpha dominant way. The other person does touch Riley, but doesn't DIRECTLY participate sexually, however it does add to the kink factor
- there is a very gray scene with dubcon/noncon... the "gray" isn't whether it was dubcon or not, it is definitely dubious, but I do think some people would feel it was noncon, even though Riley does not feel that way about it
——————-
Original review March 2021:
Oh this book. 🥰 A fan on Sam's reader page said "this book is for her fans"... and they are absolutely right. I would go so far as to say that it was a love letter to her fans. 💖🤩 I'm not talking about the readers that were just titillated and scandalized by Chapter 3 of Untouchable, but the fans who really appreciate the subtleties, nuance, and quirky voice of Sam's writing. This is for the readers who know that Sam is not the safe choice, and are so here for it. 🖤 This is not your standard bully romance with your standard characters, but that's never been what Sam Mariano writes. 🤷♀️ And that's exactly why I loved it so much. 😍
What I loved:
• the h, Riley, is a v*rg*n - she is sweet, caring, loyal, funny, smart and strong in a way that is not in-your-face.... if you liked Zoe, you'll love Riley. She is exactly what I would expect from this author. I loved her. She had backbone without being a b*t
• the H, Hunter, is a little tortured, a lot spoiled, and an alphahole - he's popular, rich, and used to having whatever he wants... but he also lacks any real meaningful love in his life - I luuuurrrved him 🖤
• If you want j/p, Hunter delivers. 😍 Even at 14 he's showing signs of being territorial over Riley, and this just builds and builds and builds over the span of this book. Seriously, I highlighted the h*II out of this book 😂❤️
• dubcon/noncon? It's definitely here. Depending on who you ask, you'll likely get a different answer on how to categorize it... as is standard for this author, nothing is straight-forward... there's a lot of gray and nuance... *It's COMPLICATED* is probably the best way to describe it 😬😍
• loads of OW/OM drama, as should be expected. It's fantastic.
• The bullying is concentrated to a couple scenes, like Untouchable, the rest is dealing with the fallout and the H pursuing the h relentlessly. I do not enjoy drawn out bullying so this set up fits my tastes perfectly.
• If you loved the manipulating deviousness and single minded focus of Carter Mahoney and Mateo Morelli, you won't be disappointed. Hunter draws from both characters and makes his crazy his own. He is a flawed H, and while he is more remorseful than past characters, he's still not perfect. That's not how Sam rolls. 🤷♀️
• If you liked the 🔥dynamics🔥 between Carter/Zoe and Mateo/Mia (ooh, ooh, ooh!! Me! 🙋♀️Me! 🙋♀️Me! 🙋♀️ I did! I did!), you'll find echoes of that here. Have patience, grasshopper.... hehehee... we will get to the kink..... 😍🔥
• I loved the nods to her other books and inside jokes for her fans. 🖤
• I loved the laugh out loud dry wit. ❤️
• this book does not use the same pacing of a standard bully romance. I think it could be broken down in 3 parts: 1. The Meet Cute and the Catalyst for the drama 2. HS - the standard bully trope 3. The BOOM - this is the part the fans have been waiting for... the last 40% of this book is where all the real Sam Mariano f*ck*ry goes down. We've been chewing our nails knowing that there's absolutely NO POSSIBLE WAY it was that easy, that vanilla, that standard, that straight-forward.... the tension waiting for the other shoe drop..... UGH...😫😫😫🖤 I LOVED it. hehehehe 😂 #imadramahoooaaar 🤣
• You like the mushy love stuff? Well I do too, when Sam's writing it. 😅 You totally get that here, and you don't have to wait til the end. Hunter is pretty *sweet* at the end of the day. He even shows some remorse when he effs up. And he loves Riley in a focused unrelenting way that is just BEAUTIFUL. And Sam lets them love each other through most of the book. Normally, I'm not a fan of too much mushy love stuff too early in the story, but this totally worked for me. 💗💗💗
• We get Hunter's perspective. It's only a few chapters, but its JUST ENOUGH to feed you, but not enough to kill the tension. The mystery of the H's thoughts are one of the things I love so much about Sam's style. We have to wonder and sweat and analyze right along with the heroine. We have to take the risk with right along with her. It adds so much to the tension, and thus my enjoyment. *chef's kiss* 😘
• There is a VERY INTRIGUING side character who *almost* steals the show (and the girl, lezbehonest 😉) - he gave off some very strong, to me, 🖤Mateo Morelli🖤 vibes, and I'll be waiting with bated breath for his book
• like usual, all is not as it appears. There are things you can't see with a full view until the end. The anticipation and questions and rage and relief... they are perfect and delicious 👌
• I loved the length - I waited for 2 years for this, and I never wanted it to end 🖤🖤🖤💗
• 💕If you have a line, Sam will dance a jig, pirouette, and do several back handsprings, landing in the splits, right over that line. You should probably just pick up that line and move it. 🤷♀️ #justgowithit 💕 🤣
What I didn't like:
• It does drag a bit, at first. As a nutcase fan-girl, *I* was here for every comma... but I do think someone who isn't so invested would likely feel differently - they aren't being fed by the inside jokes and subtle references and echos of other beloved books and characters. The tension wouldn't hit a newbie the same way either. Someone familiar with Sam's books would know that there's more coming, and would feel that excruciating delicious tension and angst very keenly, and so they will be eager to keep reading soaking up and over analyzing every little thing... but for a newbie, or just a standard casual reader, much of that could possibly go *WHOOSH* right over their heads, and they might get bored and maybe even bail before they ever got to the REAL drama and crazy f*ck*ry... and that would just be a real crying shame. 🤷♀️
Bottom Line? I think we all know this was a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ read for me. 😅😂 It felt like it was written just for me, in exactly my flavor. I loved every single second of it, and I know I will be back for many future rereads. 💕💕 #alphaholesaremyjam 🤩
⚠️ For the Safety Squad⚠️ - most of the safety info for this book would be MAJOR spoilers, which will likely affect the reader's experience. Scroll down with extreme caution. Just know, that this is a par-for-course Sam Mariano book. If you are a sensitive reader, this will likely not be for you. 🖤Sam is not a SAFE bet.🖤 🤷♀️ *Maybe, in SOME ways, this one isn't as brutal as some of her other stuff, but there are other things that would likely be seen as "unsafe".
⚠️Safety Squad SPOILERS⚠️
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WARNING: MAJOR HUGE SPOILER AHEAD
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I'm serious. If you are just vaguely interested in the spoilers, DO NOT PROCEED.
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- NO actual cheating - there is PERCEIVED cheating, but no actual cheating - this is a MAJOR spoiler 😕 - The reader believes, right along with the h, that Hunter blatantly cheats on her. He does not. Not at all. There's no gray area here. We don't find out the truth until the last part of the book. So, it will *FEEL* like a cheating book
- no sharing - but there is a scene where Hunter and Riley have relations in front of someone else, on purpose. Hunter is staking his claim in a very alpha dominant way. The other person does touch Riley, but doesn't DIRECTLY participate sexually, however it does add to the kink factor
- there is a very gray scene with dubcon/noncon... the "gray" isn't whether it was dubcon or not, it is definitely dubious, but I do think some people would feel it was noncon, even though Riley does not feel that way about it
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Want to read
March 30, 2021OMG! Sounds like another well-developed anti-hero by Sam Mariano!
March 6, 2021
I read 2 sam Mariano books and hated them but when i read the boy on the bride in the anthology i kinda liked it so ofc i was excited about this book, i kept in mind that there might be a rape scene cuz the last two books i read by this author had a rape scene, so i decided to read it with an open mind but then...fucking then as i was reading i found out that there are other shitty..less than the rape ofc but shitty nonetheless moments in this book and one of that being is the heroine.
The boy on the bridge Hunter should have stayed on the bridge and waited for it to collapse until he became the dead boy in the bridge cuz he is that stupidly annoying. Let me start this rant from the beginning, and mind u its a 700 page book so my rant is also gonna be long since i wasted 4-5 hours of my life in this nonsense. The first part where Hunter and Riley met when they were 14 was okay, i liked that part but part 2 when they reunite is wtf. As we know, bridge boy hunter is gone to Italy cuz of annoying doormat Riley and he wants revenge, in part 2 annoying doormat Riley dates a dude name Anderson or whatever the fuck his name is. So my problem is, there are rumours surrounding annoying doormat riley and Anderson being the dude who wants to date this girl wants to know her side of the story but she snaps at him, ignores him, runs away from him because he asked her about the rumors. Okay now if a dude is thinking about to date u, he would want to know about the rumors and Anderson wanted to know her side of the story but Annoying doormat Riley who still ofc has feelings for Bridge boy blames him for asking and “doubting her”... like girl, this dude didnt even say anything...the rumours are serious and he just wants to know your freaking side of the story which literally no one ever wanted...but he did. Wtf is wrong with u.
Annoying doormat Riley has no personality, literally all she does is ignore her problems and think about Bridge boy. I dont get it, she runsaway from Anderson, doesnt even like him that much but says yes each time he asks her to be his gf...why? Like staying single is not that bad...atleasts better than using a dude whom u keep ignoring. Then comes Bridge boy back with a mission to take revenge on the doormat.....but he doesnt...i mean he does say “ imma take revenge on u” and then riley is like “ oh u re so hot” and she continues to flirt as he keeps saying he ll take revenge. Dude, if u want revenge fucking take it, why bark about it if u cant do it? Each time Bridge boy hurt riley she runs back to Anderson even tho they break up and then the next day she is like “ ok lets break up, i like bridges more than ferris wheel” ( Anderson and Riley met near Ferris wheel or smtg like that). Anderson dude also doesnt take the hint, even he is annoying like dude this girl is clearly in love with Bridges take your ferris wheel somewhere else.
Continuing this bullshit, Bridge boy takes her virginity and then humiliates her but Annoying Doormat doesnt bring up this thing later on...as if it never happened. Wtf. This girl talks about self respect, i didnt see her self respect anywhere! Listen to me now, this girl, this stupid annoying freaking Bridge lover doesnt say anything when Bridge boy humiliates her after he takes her virginity, makes her break up with ferris wheel, rapes her, bullies her but she gets angry when he pretends to date the mean girl whom Doormat hates....what is wrong with u. Ok on the serious note, as a person whose self respect is her everything...i am offended. That wasnt annoying doormat’s self respect it was her fucking ego. She is nothing but a egoistic weak pathetic jealous bridge loving doormat. Now lets come to the rape scene, the one thing I appreciate is that Bridge boy at least regretted for like 2 seconds for raping her which i really dont see in rapist hero but that doesnt change the fact he raped her, so no, i dont like bridge boy. So my problem is ...the rape ofc and also the fact that while bridge boy was raping bridge lover in her POV she said she was scared, she said she didnt want it, clearly it was fucking rape but when bridge boy asks her she says she wanted it, she said she could have said no but didnt ...(she didnt cuz she was fucking scared,) literally after bridge boy rapes her she is like “ i wanted it, i loovvveee u” 😶 what is wrong with u bridge lover. I cant even ... she didnt want to hurt him by saying HE DID RAPE HER which is why, she says some bullshit so he doesnt feel bad. I get its a dark romance and these are “ dark elements” 🙄 but this is pathetic.
Ugh, anyway, later on Bridge boy is obsessed with making her preggo and create more Bridges so that part was cringe as hell, i mean its not my business ( i hate babies) if you wanna increase the population..... but those scenes where cringe. Overall, Bridge boy...idk about him dude like he says he wants revenge but then he doesnt take revenge but dates the girl riley hates but wont let riley date anyone ...it was confusing like take the fucking revenge and get over it ( btw the rape was not revenge tho.... he was jealous)🤷🏽♀️😶. Doormat Bridge lover .... i hate her ... idk why she says she has self respect cuz she does nothing when he bullies her, rather she flirts with him but gets angry when he pretends to date Valarie ...its just her ego and jealousy cuz if she had so much self respect as she claims to have she could have made him pay for humiliating her or even bring up that topic and not coddle him after he rapes her. Ugh
The boy on the bridge Hunter should have stayed on the bridge and waited for it to collapse until he became the dead boy in the bridge cuz he is that stupidly annoying. Let me start this rant from the beginning, and mind u its a 700 page book so my rant is also gonna be long since i wasted 4-5 hours of my life in this nonsense. The first part where Hunter and Riley met when they were 14 was okay, i liked that part but part 2 when they reunite is wtf. As we know, bridge boy hunter is gone to Italy cuz of annoying doormat Riley and he wants revenge, in part 2 annoying doormat Riley dates a dude name Anderson or whatever the fuck his name is. So my problem is, there are rumours surrounding annoying doormat riley and Anderson being the dude who wants to date this girl wants to know her side of the story but she snaps at him, ignores him, runs away from him because he asked her about the rumors. Okay now if a dude is thinking about to date u, he would want to know about the rumors and Anderson wanted to know her side of the story but Annoying doormat Riley who still ofc has feelings for Bridge boy blames him for asking and “doubting her”... like girl, this dude didnt even say anything...the rumours are serious and he just wants to know your freaking side of the story which literally no one ever wanted...but he did. Wtf is wrong with u.
Annoying doormat Riley has no personality, literally all she does is ignore her problems and think about Bridge boy. I dont get it, she runsaway from Anderson, doesnt even like him that much but says yes each time he asks her to be his gf...why? Like staying single is not that bad...atleasts better than using a dude whom u keep ignoring. Then comes Bridge boy back with a mission to take revenge on the doormat.....but he doesnt...i mean he does say “ imma take revenge on u” and then riley is like “ oh u re so hot” and she continues to flirt as he keeps saying he ll take revenge. Dude, if u want revenge fucking take it, why bark about it if u cant do it? Each time Bridge boy hurt riley she runs back to Anderson even tho they break up and then the next day she is like “ ok lets break up, i like bridges more than ferris wheel” ( Anderson and Riley met near Ferris wheel or smtg like that). Anderson dude also doesnt take the hint, even he is annoying like dude this girl is clearly in love with Bridges take your ferris wheel somewhere else.
Continuing this bullshit, Bridge boy takes her virginity and then humiliates her but Annoying Doormat doesnt bring up this thing later on...as if it never happened. Wtf. This girl talks about self respect, i didnt see her self respect anywhere! Listen to me now, this girl, this stupid annoying freaking Bridge lover doesnt say anything when Bridge boy humiliates her after he takes her virginity, makes her break up with ferris wheel, rapes her, bullies her but she gets angry when he pretends to date the mean girl whom Doormat hates....what is wrong with u. Ok on the serious note, as a person whose self respect is her everything...i am offended. That wasnt annoying doormat’s self respect it was her fucking ego. She is nothing but a egoistic weak pathetic jealous bridge loving doormat. Now lets come to the rape scene, the one thing I appreciate is that Bridge boy at least regretted for like 2 seconds for raping her which i really dont see in rapist hero but that doesnt change the fact he raped her, so no, i dont like bridge boy. So my problem is ...the rape ofc and also the fact that while bridge boy was raping bridge lover in her POV she said she was scared, she said she didnt want it, clearly it was fucking rape but when bridge boy asks her she says she wanted it, she said she could have said no but didnt ...(she didnt cuz she was fucking scared,) literally after bridge boy rapes her she is like “ i wanted it, i loovvveee u” 😶 what is wrong with u bridge lover. I cant even ... she didnt want to hurt him by saying HE DID RAPE HER which is why, she says some bullshit so he doesnt feel bad. I get its a dark romance and these are “ dark elements” 🙄 but this is pathetic.
Ugh, anyway, later on Bridge boy is obsessed with making her preggo and create more Bridges so that part was cringe as hell, i mean its not my business ( i hate babies) if you wanna increase the population..... but those scenes where cringe. Overall, Bridge boy...idk about him dude like he says he wants revenge but then he doesnt take revenge but dates the girl riley hates but wont let riley date anyone ...it was confusing like take the fucking revenge and get over it ( btw the rape was not revenge tho.... he was jealous)🤷🏽♀️😶. Doormat Bridge lover .... i hate her ... idk why she says she has self respect cuz she does nothing when he bullies her, rather she flirts with him but gets angry when he pretends to date Valarie ...its just her ego and jealousy cuz if she had so much self respect as she claims to have she could have made him pay for humiliating her or even bring up that topic and not coddle him after he rapes her. Ugh
August 9, 2021
Just for the sake of being mean…
Long story short: Do you remember when Riley saw Hunter on the bridge? He should have jumped so annoying Riley could be with my boy Sherlock.
Just kidding.
SHE should have jumped. So my beloved Sherlock and Hunter could have a decent love story with someone who they could bully in peace.
Omg, how annoying her long ass chapters and inner monologues were? And how she set her boundaries only to lose them all a few pages later. I wanted to like the premise, her being independent and not taking shit from anyone but… no, it wasn’t convincing.
And him promising to make her life a living hell, only to be on his knees when he comes back. Just one scene made sense in the whole book and is the one everybody hates because it felt rapey.
Sorry, this book just felt meh. And boring. I want to read more about Sherlock.
Long story short: Do you remember when Riley saw Hunter on the bridge? He should have jumped so annoying Riley could be with my boy Sherlock.
Just kidding.
SHE should have jumped. So my beloved Sherlock and Hunter could have a decent love story with someone who they could bully in peace.
Omg, how annoying her long ass chapters and inner monologues were? And how she set her boundaries only to lose them all a few pages later. I wanted to like the premise, her being independent and not taking shit from anyone but… no, it wasn’t convincing.
And him promising to make her life a living hell, only to be on his knees when he comes back. Just one scene made sense in the whole book and is the one everybody hates because it felt rapey.
Sorry, this book just felt meh. And boring. I want to read more about Sherlock.
March 24, 2021
3 STARS ⭐
Let me preface this review by saying I broke my review/rating into two separate parts and felt that overall rating it at a 3 stars averaged out my feelings on both parts. A Boy on the Bridge is broken into 2 parts:
↬ Part Ⅰ (past) - Hunter/Riley are 14-years-old, 8th grade
↬ Part Ⅱ(present) - Hunter/Riley are 18-years-old, seniors in high school
I ✧ LOVED PART ONE ✧ so much and had high expectations for part two butttt… ☀️ my expectations were sorta crushed in part two as it was problematic in many ways, lacked story & MC development, and had A LOT of petty drama. ☀️
🌠Part Ⅰ ⇢ 5 stars
🌠Part Ⅱ ⇢ 2-2.5 stars
˗ˏˋ S O N G S ˎˊ˗
♕ Puddle of Mudd - Control
♕ Foo Fighters - Come Back
♕ Death Cab for Cutie - I Will Possess Your Heart
═════════════════ •°• :⚠️: •°•═════════════════
Warning my review contains spoilers so read as you may!
═════════════════ •°• :⚠️: •°•═════════════════
✧⚠️ Trigger Warnings ⚠️✧
➳ This book has several questionable sex scenes with even aborderline rape scene as the main h did not want to have sex but the main hero technically forced while he was in a jealous rage. This book also contains emotional and physical abuse.
𝕊𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕪 ℙ𝕝𝕠𝕥
Riley = main heroine (h)
Hunter = main hero (H)
Part Ⅰ
Riley (h) is a social outcast and prefers to be hidden in the shadows which all changes when she meets and starts talking to Hunter (H) who is one of the most popular guys in school. They meet under unusual circumstances as Riley runs into him when crossing the foot bridge and notices he has a pretty bad black eye. Hunter forces Riley to keep the secret about the abuse he is experiencing at home. Unfortunately, something as big as this is hard to hide and Riley ends up telling her mom in order to keep Hunter safe. Hunter is sent away to live with his estranged father in Italy but Hunter vows to come back to seek his revenge on Riley for telling his secret and having his life uprooted. Hunter also leaves a parting gift of making Riley even more of a social pariah, as well as destroying her reputation as a ‘good girl’ and ensuring no other guy touches her.
Part Ⅱ
Things are looking up for Riley with the start of senior year. She has a sorta boyfriend and is excited to almost be done with the petty clique BS of high school hell. That is until she comes face-to-face with Hunter again. He has his sight set on her, and whatever Hunter wants he always gets. I would say this part focused on jealousy, cat and mouse relationship dynamic, lots of sex as an answer to problems, and petty af drama.
𝕄𝕒𝕚𝕟 ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕣𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕤
— Hunter
But more importantly. . .
So stop being such a jealous caveman and fitting your astrology sign. k, thanks.
— Riley
🌉 Worrier, weak, nerdy, stubborn, introverted.
🌉 A doormat weak minded main heroine: I loved Riley in Part I as she appeared to not care about popularity and rather be herself. Sure, she was easily swayed but at that age I feel most people are impressionable over their first real crush. Part two, she really annoyed me with being so weak. She would verbally sound strong then would cave within a few pages of saying she was going to be independent. Often, she would say no I don’t wanna be with Hunter then end up having sex with him and saying I love you.
🌉 Justifying when he forcefully had sex with her: This book contains a lot of dubious consent which I would say 50-60% of the time they had sex was under the guise of dubious consent. After Hunter sees Sherlock kiss Riley and he man handles her and basically forces her to have sex... she said that it was forgivable and no reason for her to be mad. She is more mad he slept with her nemesis than doing this to her.
🌉 I sit here locked inside my head: Riley was not a girl that lead by action rather she would over analyze EVERYTHING in her head. Instead of talking to Hunter about their problems, she would just keep everything to herself. Lastly, girl is your stomach okay? Any time she overthought something or was uncertain in a situation she had stomach problems. She mentioned an upset stomach 68x times. Like girl do you want some Tums ???
— Secondary Characters
Riley’s parents:
I say parents because let’s be honest even though Ray is not Riley dad’s by blood but by heart he is. He is protective, supported, and actually made an effort to be in her life. You can also see he is the perfect match to challenge Riley’s mom, at least what you can see from Riley’s POV. Anyways, Riley’s relationship with her mom reminded me of Lorelai and Rory from Gilmore Girls which I truly loved. Her mom was a hypocrite though which I found annoying. She disliked Hunter for being manipulative; yet, she let him manipulate her with his money and saw no problem with it. Like wut lol.
Valerie:
I hated her character so much in both parts that I really just wanted to see someone bitch slap her. Thank you for coming to my TED TALK on Valerie that is all.
Sherlock:
↬ What I liked: Out of all the secondary characters, I am the most intrigued by him. Sam just announced he is getting his own story, so IF you liked the psychotic-alpha-bad boy vibe you get from Sherlock I recommend checking out his book in the future!
↬ What I disliked: He was the second OM to interfere with Hunter & Riley’s relationship … like wOOoOoW.
Sara:
🏆 "FRIEND OF THE YEAR AWARD" 🏆
Edited (3/24/21): Just thinking about this book and this particular side character annoyed me again and deserved a mention as possibly the worse best friend ever.
✧･ﾟ: Reasons why Sara deserved what happened to her at winter formal :･ﾟ✧
🌉💕 OVERALL FEELINGS ON CHARACTERS 💕🌉
I felt that this specific quote when Riley was discussing characters from books, fit perfectly when thinking about her as a character and Hunter. As a reader, I do only have a partial understanding of them. I do not know why Sam focused more or less on certain plots and designed relationships the way they are. However, what I can say is I do feel some of the plots and the characters' present day lives could have been developed better. In Part I, I felt connected to both MC and overall it was put together better that each MC had a strong back story and their relationship had time to develop. In Part II, both characters seemed rather superficial and focused more on having sex & petty drama than establishing that strong emotional connection again.
Where did the story/characters lack?
↠ Rushed HEA: The couple is officially together on BOTH of their own term, it only took until 95% into the book for this to happen. Within 5% left of the book, they are getting engaged and Riley is no longer mad cause he didn’t actually sleep with Valerie, he only twisted the situation to make her think that.
↠ Non-consenting/Dubious consent: Consent is lacking greatly in this book. This was an issue for me since the line of consent is very blurry or non-existent at times. It was hard to get through those scenes and it turned me off to some of the sex scenes between them.
↠ Constant unprotected sex: Hunter refused to wear a condom. He NEVER wore one even when the main h begged him to wear it. What got annoying with this situation was Riley would scold him then would be so in love with his penis that she didn't even care if she got pregnant. It was also frustrating to me to see the responsibility to use some contraception fell on only Riley's shoulders since Hunter made up his mind not to wear a condom ever with her.
↠ Hunter’s relationship with his mother plot falling flat:
His mother is only mentioned in pasting, maybe x3 times and was present briefly in the beginning of Part II. I was hoping to see her interactions with Hunter since he is back as well as Riley. It is ASSUMED Hunter doesn’t really have much of a relationship with her and she is not fond of Riley. This plot fell ultimately flat after Part I.
↠ OM/OW drama: I feel like the OM/OW drama was too much of a focal point to the story. There was 2 OM and 1 OW added for drama. Truthfully, Sherlock introduced as second OM felt like forced drama for a shock effect to see Hunter’s temper when Riley is present.
FINAL VERDICT ON BOOK
I was sorta disappointed in how this book turned out. It was an ehh, okay read that could have definitely been shortened. In no way do I think this book should have been 700+ pages. Honestly, some of Riley’s inner thoughts and the petty OM/OW drama could have been cut from this book. Lastly, even though Part II was problematic it held my interest most of the time which is something as I felt I been in sorta of a book slump lately.
Will I read Sherlock’s book? yes. He piqued my interest and I am curious about who his love interest will be.
Let me preface this review by saying I broke my review/rating into two separate parts and felt that overall rating it at a 3 stars averaged out my feelings on both parts. A Boy on the Bridge is broken into 2 parts:
↬ Part Ⅰ (past) - Hunter/Riley are 14-years-old, 8th grade
↬ Part Ⅱ(present) - Hunter/Riley are 18-years-old, seniors in high school
I ✧ LOVED PART ONE ✧ so much and had high expectations for part two butttt… ☀️ my expectations were sorta crushed in part two as it was problematic in many ways, lacked story & MC development, and had A LOT of petty drama. ☀️
🌠Part Ⅰ ⇢ 5 stars
🌠Part Ⅱ ⇢ 2-2.5 stars
˗ˏˋ S O N G S ˎˊ˗
♕ Puddle of Mudd - Control
♕ Foo Fighters - Come Back
♕ Death Cab for Cutie - I Will Possess Your Heart
═════════════════ •°• :⚠️: •°•═════════════════
Warning my review contains spoilers so read as you may!
═════════════════ •°• :⚠️: •°•═════════════════
✧⚠️ Trigger Warnings ⚠️✧
➳ This book has several questionable sex scenes with even a
𝕊𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕪 ℙ𝕝𝕠𝕥
Riley = main heroine (h)
Hunter = main hero (H)
Part Ⅰ
Riley (h) is a social outcast and prefers to be hidden in the shadows which all changes when she meets and starts talking to Hunter (H) who is one of the most popular guys in school. They meet under unusual circumstances as Riley runs into him when crossing the foot bridge and notices he has a pretty bad black eye. Hunter forces Riley to keep the secret about the abuse he is experiencing at home. Unfortunately, something as big as this is hard to hide and Riley ends up telling her mom in order to keep Hunter safe. Hunter is sent away to live with his estranged father in Italy but Hunter vows to come back to seek his revenge on Riley for telling his secret and having his life uprooted. Hunter also leaves a parting gift of making Riley even more of a social pariah, as well as destroying her reputation as a ‘good girl’ and ensuring no other guy touches her.
Part Ⅱ
Things are looking up for Riley with the start of senior year. She has a sorta boyfriend and is excited to almost be done with the petty clique BS of high school hell. That is until she comes face-to-face with Hunter again. He has his sight set on her, and whatever Hunter wants he always gets. I would say this part focused on jealousy, cat and mouse relationship dynamic, lots of sex as an answer to problems, and petty af drama.
𝕄𝕒𝕚𝕟 ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕣𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕤
— Hunter
♏“Scorpios don’t fall in love often, but when we do . . .
we lock on to someone hard enough and that’s it; you’re ours.” ♏
“He’s jealous and vengeful, and kind of a bully when it suits him. He can be a touch manipulative if he thinks that’ll help him get his way, and he doesn’t stop until he gets what he wants, even when he doesn’t really deserve it.”
↠ He is extremely jealous and loses it even if another guy breathes in Riley’s direction; yet, he finds it amusing making Riley jealous with past hookups and him “hooking up/being Valerie’s bf.” Basically, he fits the quintessential jealous possessive alphahole male. We also only get Hunter’s POV when he is jealous and having a hard time containing his anger about it, not really anything else. That was a let down as I felt the dual POV was not executed well.
↠ Boy, does this man love drama. FREAKING DRAMA KING Y’ALL. He admits that he never slept with Valerie and that was the main reason why Riley was hesitant to be with him. He created all this drama and the reason he gave as to why was so faulty and really held no rationale.
But more importantly. . .
So stop being such a jealous caveman and fitting your astrology sign. k, thanks.
— Riley
“I would choose you over almost anyone in the world, but… you made me choose between you and my own self-respect. That’s one fight you’ll never win.”
🌉 Worrier, weak, nerdy, stubborn, introverted.
🌉 A doormat weak minded main heroine: I loved Riley in Part I as she appeared to not care about popularity and rather be herself. Sure, she was easily swayed but at that age I feel most people are impressionable over their first real crush. Part two, she really annoyed me with being so weak. She would verbally sound strong then would cave within a few pages of saying she was going to be independent. Often, she would say no I don’t wanna be with Hunter then end up having sex with him and saying I love you.
🌉 Justifying when he forcefully had sex with her: This book contains a lot of dubious consent which I would say 50-60% of the time they had sex was under the guise of dubious consent. After Hunter sees Sherlock kiss Riley and he man handles her and basically forces her to have sex... she said that it was forgivable and no reason for her to be mad. She is more mad he slept with her nemesis than doing this to her.
🌉 I sit here locked inside my head: Riley was not a girl that lead by action rather she would over analyze EVERYTHING in her head. Instead of talking to Hunter about their problems, she would just keep everything to herself. Lastly, girl is your stomach okay? Any time she overthought something or was uncertain in a situation she had stomach problems. She mentioned an upset stomach 68x times. Like girl do you want some Tums ???
— Secondary Characters
Riley’s parents:
I say parents because let’s be honest even though Ray is not Riley dad’s by blood but by heart he is. He is protective, supported, and actually made an effort to be in her life. You can also see he is the perfect match to challenge Riley’s mom, at least what you can see from Riley’s POV. Anyways, Riley’s relationship with her mom reminded me of Lorelai and Rory from Gilmore Girls which I truly loved. Her mom was a hypocrite though which I found annoying. She disliked Hunter for being manipulative; yet, she let him manipulate her with his money and saw no problem with it. Like wut lol.
Valerie:
I hated her character so much in both parts that I really just wanted to see someone bitch slap her. Thank you for coming to my TED TALK on Valerie that is all.
Sherlock:
↬ What I liked: Out of all the secondary characters, I am the most intrigued by him. Sam just announced he is getting his own story, so IF you liked the psychotic-alpha-bad boy vibe you get from Sherlock I recommend checking out his book in the future!
↬ What I disliked: He was the second OM to interfere with Hunter & Riley’s relationship … like wOOoOoW.
Sara:
🏆 "FRIEND OF THE YEAR AWARD" 🏆
Edited (3/24/21): Just thinking about this book and this particular side character annoyed me again and deserved a mention as possibly the worse best friend ever.
✧･ﾟ: Reasons why Sara deserved what happened to her at winter formal :･ﾟ✧
↬ Sara ditches Riley to ride to homecoming in a stretch limo with Riley's arch nemesis, Valerie.
↬ Sara was invited to sit at the popular table by Valerie and she barely hesitated... maybe ~30 seconds to hesitate on it. What happened to loyalty? Chicks before dicks? Do you understand the meaning of friendship?
↬ Once at the popular table, Riley, her friend of 10 YEARS became non-existence to her. Riley wasn't even worthy of a text back from Sara.
🌉💕 OVERALL FEELINGS ON CHARACTERS 💕🌉
“I only have a partial understanding of the characters and their journey. I can’t know the characters as well as the person who created them and wrote their story.”
— Riley
I felt that this specific quote when Riley was discussing characters from books, fit perfectly when thinking about her as a character and Hunter. As a reader, I do only have a partial understanding of them. I do not know why Sam focused more or less on certain plots and designed relationships the way they are. However, what I can say is I do feel some of the plots and the characters' present day lives could have been developed better. In Part I, I felt connected to both MC and overall it was put together better that each MC had a strong back story and their relationship had time to develop. In Part II, both characters seemed rather superficial and focused more on having sex & petty drama than establishing that strong emotional connection again.
Where did the story/characters lack?
↠ Rushed HEA: The couple is officially together on BOTH of their own term, it only took until 95% into the book for this to happen. Within 5% left of the book, they are getting engaged and Riley is no longer mad cause he didn’t actually sleep with Valerie, he only twisted the situation to make her think that.
↠ Non-consenting/Dubious consent: Consent is lacking greatly in this book. This was an issue for me since the line of consent is very blurry or non-existent at times. It was hard to get through those scenes and it turned me off to some of the sex scenes between them.
↠ Constant unprotected sex: Hunter refused to wear a condom. He NEVER wore one even when the main h begged him to wear it. What got annoying with this situation was Riley would scold him then would be so in love with his penis that she didn't even care if she got pregnant. It was also frustrating to me to see the responsibility to use some contraception fell on only Riley's shoulders since Hunter made up his mind not to wear a condom ever with her.
↠ Hunter’s relationship with his mother plot falling flat:
“His mom’s dating some guy in Miami, so she’s never around anymore.”
His mother is only mentioned in pasting, maybe x3 times and was present briefly in the beginning of Part II. I was hoping to see her interactions with Hunter since he is back as well as Riley. It is ASSUMED Hunter doesn’t really have much of a relationship with her and she is not fond of Riley. This plot fell ultimately flat after Part I.
↠ OM/OW drama: I feel like the OM/OW drama was too much of a focal point to the story. There was 2 OM and 1 OW added for drama. Truthfully, Sherlock introduced as second OM felt like forced drama for a shock effect to see Hunter’s temper when Riley is present.
FINAL VERDICT ON BOOK
I was sorta disappointed in how this book turned out. It was an ehh, okay read that could have definitely been shortened. In no way do I think this book should have been 700+ pages. Honestly, some of Riley’s inner thoughts and the petty OM/OW drama could have been cut from this book. Lastly, even though Part II was problematic it held my interest most of the time which is something as I felt I been in sorta of a book slump lately.
Will I read Sherlock’s book? yes. He piqued my interest and I am curious about who his love interest will be.
March 5, 2021
2 stars ⭐️
I’m gonna be honest I am having a hard time selecting the rating of this one- sometimes i wanna give to 2 cause 😔 but sometimes i wanna give it 4 cause 😌. Yes, I know it doesn’t make sense so im gonna give it 2 cause i hated it more than I liked it oops-
“I’m always going to make time to woo you, Riley, even fifty years from now.”
Lets talk about what I didn’t like-
-> RILEY. Oh my fucking god. I haven’t seen any character like her. I know Sam likes her woman weak and fragile but oh my god, this was another level. She annoyed me to no ends lets just say that she didn’t have a backbone. I can go on and on about how much I hated her and seeing she was the MC, i think you are getting an idea of how much I liked the book ugh. I just wish she was portrayed a little bit more and maybe i would’ve liked her then. I hated how she didn’t care about herself at all. She acted like she had no self-respect.
A guy humiliates you after taking your virginity- doesnt matter.
You see him with a girl- “ i wont let you be with me if you touch her”
THAT WAS.... UGH
—> The length. I’m going to be honest I do like thick books but this one had so much of unnecessary drama that IT DROVE ME NUTS. This book could’ve easily been done with without a few chapters and drama felt like it was being forged on me so it was a N-O.
-> OW and OM drama. Sorry I don’t have anything to say about that than just i was two seconds away from shooting myself with a gun🙂
-> HUNTER. I’m crazy, yes I know. I don’t get it that why am I always attracted to assholes and wanna have their babies but I was liking Hunter but then i started hating him and then i started liking him back, it’s crazy. Hunter was a little different than Carter and i liked Carter more than him so that says something....
There were some moments where I liked him too. Hunter was more like obsessive, sweet at end (with riley later), determined and lovey-dovey kinda guy. I liked him and I hated him. It just depended on chapters😅 yes, i hated him but idk why i liked that. Something is really really WRONG with me. Send help
What was good-
- [ ] I found Sherlock quite fascinating. Yes, i found a scene unnecessary and didn’t like what happened but the thing is the guy set a car on fire for Riley! Talk about being romantic *sighs* I. Need. His. Book! (Excuse my behaviour since no one is getting me help which i desperately need)
- [ ] Chemistry🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 yes, i disliked Riley but oh my god, the chemistry which Riley and Hunter had was off the charts🤯🤯
In a way, i would say I didn’t find the book too good or maybe I was just not in the mood for another Sam cause fucking Carter 🤤
I will prob reread it someday so my dumbass self understands what she feels and write a better review lol.
“If he’s a villain, he’s the smoothest one I’ve ever encountered.
And since the thing he wants seems to be me, I’m not sure I’m cut out to be the hero who opposes him. I’m too emotionally wrapped up in him. He’s too hard for me to resist.”
I’m gonna be honest I am having a hard time selecting the rating of this one- sometimes i wanna give to 2 cause 😔 but sometimes i wanna give it 4 cause 😌. Yes, I know it doesn’t make sense so im gonna give it 2 cause i hated it more than I liked it oops-
“I’m always going to make time to woo you, Riley, even fifty years from now.”
Lets talk about what I didn’t like-
-> RILEY. Oh my fucking god. I haven’t seen any character like her. I know Sam likes her woman weak and fragile but oh my god, this was another level. She annoyed me to no ends lets just say that she didn’t have a backbone. I can go on and on about how much I hated her and seeing she was the MC, i think you are getting an idea of how much I liked the book ugh. I just wish she was portrayed a little bit more and maybe i would’ve liked her then. I hated how she didn’t care about herself at all. She acted like she had no self-respect.
A guy humiliates you after taking your virginity- doesnt matter.
You see him with a girl- “ i wont let you be with me if you touch her”
THAT WAS.... UGH
—> The length. I’m going to be honest I do like thick books but this one had so much of unnecessary drama that IT DROVE ME NUTS. This book could’ve easily been done with without a few chapters and drama felt like it was being forged on me so it was a N-O.
-> OW and OM drama. Sorry I don’t have anything to say about that than just i was two seconds away from shooting myself with a gun🙂
-> HUNTER. I’m crazy, yes I know. I don’t get it that why am I always attracted to assholes and wanna have their babies but I was liking Hunter but then i started hating him and then i started liking him back, it’s crazy. Hunter was a little different than Carter and i liked Carter more than him so that says something....
There were some moments where I liked him too. Hunter was more like obsessive, sweet at end (with riley later), determined and lovey-dovey kinda guy. I liked him and I hated him. It just depended on chapters😅 yes, i hated him but idk why i liked that. Something is really really WRONG with me. Send help
What was good-
- [ ] I found Sherlock quite fascinating. Yes, i found a scene unnecessary and didn’t like what happened but the thing is the guy set a car on fire for Riley! Talk about being romantic *sighs* I. Need. His. Book! (Excuse my behaviour since no one is getting me help which i desperately need)
- [ ] Chemistry🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 yes, i disliked Riley but oh my god, the chemistry which Riley and Hunter had was off the charts🤯🤯
In a way, i would say I didn’t find the book too good or maybe I was just not in the mood for another Sam cause fucking Carter 🤤
I will prob reread it someday so my dumbass self understands what she feels and write a better review lol.
“If he’s a villain, he’s the smoothest one I’ve ever encountered.
And since the thing he wants seems to be me, I’m not sure I’m cut out to be the hero who opposes him. I’m too emotionally wrapped up in him. He’s too hard for me to resist.”
Read
March 4, 2021DNF at 39%.
The fact that the H did something awful to the h and the next day she is acting like nothing happened, all flirty and smiling made mad.
She was a doormat, didn’t even make him grovel or apologize.
The heroine literally saves the hero’s life from something bad and for that, he wants to ruin her life... is he dumb?
It is a 700 page book (way too long), and also I read a spoiler of a rape scene that made me draw the line.
The fact that the H did something awful to the h and the next day she is acting like nothing happened, all flirty and smiling made mad.
She was a doormat, didn’t even make him grovel or apologize.
The heroine literally saves the hero’s life from something bad and for that, he wants to ruin her life... is he dumb?
It is a 700 page book (way too long), and also I read a spoiler of a rape scene that made me draw the line.
March 14, 2021
The Peeta Mellark hate was honestly unacceptable and a reflection of how unlikeable these characters were to me.
November 12, 2021
4.5 stars: The satisfaction I felt at the end was worth the journey
Man, Sam Mariano sure knows how to get us to FEEL what the characters are feeling- ESPECIALLY when we mostly get the h’s perspective. And the journey- gah- the journey to the end of the book was fulfilling- all the angst, all the drama, all the questionable events made it worth it once we got some answers at the end (but I was so sad to get to the last page).
The book starts off with both Riley and Hunter, age 14. Riley’s from a single parent home, with only her mom to support her. Hunter’s more well-off than her but lives with his mom and stepdad. When Riley’s walking home from school one day, she notices Hunter is sitting on the bridge, and he’s hurt. She ends up finding out that his mom’s bf beats him up, and the sad thing is that his mom doesn’t defend him. Hunter makes Riley promise that she won’t tell anyone, not a single soul, and he trusts her to keep the secret.
As the story unfolds, there’s a connection between Riley and Hunter that’s sweet, yet steamy in a subtle way (I mean, they’re only 14). They start hanging out more, and then one day, they decide to finally go on a date. Well, Hunter stands her up, but when he shows up hours later, he’s been beat up😞, yet again, by his mom’s boyfriend. He spends the night, and when they wake up in the morning, her mom finds him shirtless in her bed😬, which forces her to tell her why he was there in the first place, which means that her mom has to tell the authorities- and the consequences are life-changing for both Riley and Hunter.
Hunter goes to Italy while Riley stays behind and suffers the aftermath of uncovering the truth- and lies about what REALLY happened between them ruin her reputation. What she did was not meant to be hurtful, because she just wanted to protect Hunter, and at school, she’s outcasted, and only has one true friend that’s stuck with her through thick and thin. Four year pass and Hunter comes back… and he’s gonna make her pay 😬😅.
Of course, during the four years that he’s been gone, he slept around while Riley remained a V. She has a boyfriend, but they haven’t even really kissed. Although she’s a social pariah, she manages to make her relationship with Anderson work- and her best friend is always there for her as well. She’s fine being alone- she doesn’t need attention on her… but that changes as soon as Hunter makes his presence known 😅.
Hunter makes it known that Riley’s his- he’ll threaten, persuade, convince, and bulldoze any obstacle that gets in his way- including Riley herself. Relationship with OM? Nope- end it now- because you’re MINE. You’re working when? Sorry- I’m more important and you’re not going in. Although there are some bullying/dubcon/noncon events, Hunter manages to be swoony as well.
Yes, I said it- behind his thick skin is a soft heart that has his world revolving around Riley. From the gifts, to the flowers, to the protectiveness, Hunter is enamored with Riley- and he’s not ashamed to admit it. Is he an a$$h@le? Yup. Does he redeem himself? Absolutely. We don’t see how redeemable he is until the end (I’m side-eyeing Mariano here), but man, is it worth it. Even when he majorly f’s up (noncon), the guilt eats at him so much (and for good measure too😬) that he made me swoon lol.
The way he protects her and handles her bullies was heartwarming and admirable. He even let her see that people she thought were a certain way… weren’t really who they said they were. Gahhhh 🥺 of course I felt all the emotions- Riley’s put through the ringer- but I felt so satisfied at the end 🥰.
Jeeezus- the spicy scenes were 🥵🔥😅. I found that Hunter was very much about pleasing Riley in many ways… at any point… in any place 👀. Their chemistry is visceral and palpable 🔥😅. This book is long… but I would’ve kept reading if it was longer. I was enthralled by their connection.
I’ll admit- I wouldn’t have minded seeing a book on Riley’s mom lol. And I CANT wait for Ryden Sherlock’s book. There’s something so damn captivating about him- he’s totally giving me baby Mateo vibes 🥵🔥.
I would’ve loved it if Hunter had stayed celibate during the four years he was gone… I get it- they were kids- but STILL 😐. Also, I wouldn’t have minded if we had seen some comeuppance for some of the characters 💁🏻♀️.
⚠️safety squad⚠️possible spoilers
-child abuse
-bullying
-noncon/dubcon
-no cheating between MCs
-lots of OMD/OWD (h has a bf who she kisses, OM2 forcibly kisses h/H is “dating” h’s bully, OW on H at pool party)
-vouyeur/exhibitionist almost-sharing scene with OM2 (he’s really more about “helping” the H with the h😅🔥🙈)
Man, Sam Mariano sure knows how to get us to FEEL what the characters are feeling- ESPECIALLY when we mostly get the h’s perspective. And the journey- gah- the journey to the end of the book was fulfilling- all the angst, all the drama, all the questionable events made it worth it once we got some answers at the end (but I was so sad to get to the last page).
The book starts off with both Riley and Hunter, age 14. Riley’s from a single parent home, with only her mom to support her. Hunter’s more well-off than her but lives with his mom and stepdad. When Riley’s walking home from school one day, she notices Hunter is sitting on the bridge, and he’s hurt. She ends up finding out that his mom’s bf beats him up, and the sad thing is that his mom doesn’t defend him. Hunter makes Riley promise that she won’t tell anyone, not a single soul, and he trusts her to keep the secret.
As the story unfolds, there’s a connection between Riley and Hunter that’s sweet, yet steamy in a subtle way (I mean, they’re only 14). They start hanging out more, and then one day, they decide to finally go on a date. Well, Hunter stands her up, but when he shows up hours later, he’s been beat up😞, yet again, by his mom’s boyfriend. He spends the night, and when they wake up in the morning, her mom finds him shirtless in her bed😬, which forces her to tell her why he was there in the first place, which means that her mom has to tell the authorities- and the consequences are life-changing for both Riley and Hunter.
Hunter goes to Italy while Riley stays behind and suffers the aftermath of uncovering the truth- and lies about what REALLY happened between them ruin her reputation. What she did was not meant to be hurtful, because she just wanted to protect Hunter, and at school, she’s outcasted, and only has one true friend that’s stuck with her through thick and thin. Four year pass and Hunter comes back… and he’s gonna make her pay 😬😅.
Of course, during the four years that he’s been gone, he slept around while Riley remained a V. She has a boyfriend, but they haven’t even really kissed. Although she’s a social pariah, she manages to make her relationship with Anderson work- and her best friend is always there for her as well. She’s fine being alone- she doesn’t need attention on her… but that changes as soon as Hunter makes his presence known 😅.
Hunter makes it known that Riley’s his- he’ll threaten, persuade, convince, and bulldoze any obstacle that gets in his way- including Riley herself. Relationship with OM? Nope- end it now- because you’re MINE. You’re working when? Sorry- I’m more important and you’re not going in. Although there are some bullying/dubcon/noncon events, Hunter manages to be swoony as well.
Yes, I said it- behind his thick skin is a soft heart that has his world revolving around Riley. From the gifts, to the flowers, to the protectiveness, Hunter is enamored with Riley- and he’s not ashamed to admit it. Is he an a$$h@le? Yup. Does he redeem himself? Absolutely. We don’t see how redeemable he is until the end (I’m side-eyeing Mariano here), but man, is it worth it. Even when he majorly f’s up (noncon), the guilt eats at him so much (and for good measure too😬) that he made me swoon lol.
The way he protects her and handles her bullies was heartwarming and admirable. He even let her see that people she thought were a certain way… weren’t really who they said they were. Gahhhh 🥺 of course I felt all the emotions- Riley’s put through the ringer- but I felt so satisfied at the end 🥰.
Jeeezus- the spicy scenes were 🥵🔥😅. I found that Hunter was very much about pleasing Riley in many ways… at any point… in any place 👀. Their chemistry is visceral and palpable 🔥😅. This book is long… but I would’ve kept reading if it was longer. I was enthralled by their connection.
I’ll admit- I wouldn’t have minded seeing a book on Riley’s mom lol. And I CANT wait for Ryden Sherlock’s book. There’s something so damn captivating about him- he’s totally giving me baby Mateo vibes 🥵🔥.
I would’ve loved it if Hunter had stayed celibate during the four years he was gone… I get it- they were kids- but STILL 😐. Also, I wouldn’t have minded if we had seen some comeuppance for some of the characters 💁🏻♀️.
⚠️safety squad⚠️possible spoilers
-child abuse
-bullying
-noncon/dubcon
-no cheating between MCs
-lots of OMD/OWD (h has a bf who she kisses, OM2 forcibly kisses h/H is “dating” h’s bully, OW on H at pool party)
-vouyeur/exhibitionist almost-sharing scene with OM2 (he’s really more about “helping” the H with the h😅🔥🙈)
March 10, 2021
It could have been SO MUCH shorter.
But I liked the story even if it made me want to bang my head against the wall 🙈🙈🙈
But I liked the story even if it made me want to bang my head against the wall 🙈🙈🙈
July 28, 2023
I thought the actions of the characters were out of the place for them. They seemed older than 18.
This didn’t catch me!
This didn’t catch me!
March 6, 2021
EW EW EW
I think I’ve outgrown the ‘tit for tat’ new adult bully romances. From the beginning; I cannot say I’ve connected with either of the characters all the well. I HAVE SO. FUCKING. MUCH TO SAY ABOUT THIS BOOK.
I genuinely hate how Riley strung Anderson along when she was completely aware of her feelings for Hunter.
“No. I’m telling you to make yourself single—and stay that way.”
“Why?”
“Because those were my orders and I expect them to be followed.
I mean. SERIOUSLY?
And wtf was the whole shit about having sex in the Queen B’s BEDROOM?! Hunter wants Riley to give up her virginity because according to him, she ‘owes’ him. DOES KNOW ONE ELSE THINK THIS IS STUPID?
I stopped reading it. The guy’s an asshole and the girl is indescribable. the fucking end
I think I’ve outgrown the ‘tit for tat’ new adult bully romances. From the beginning; I cannot say I’ve connected with either of the characters all the well. I HAVE SO. FUCKING. MUCH TO SAY ABOUT THIS BOOK.
I genuinely hate how Riley strung Anderson along when she was completely aware of her feelings for Hunter.
“No. I’m telling you to make yourself single—and stay that way.”
“Why?”
“Because those were my orders and I expect them to be followed.
I mean. SERIOUSLY?
And wtf was the whole shit about having sex in the Queen B’s BEDROOM?! Hunter wants Riley to give up her virginity because according to him, she ‘owes’ him. DOES KNOW ONE ELSE THINK THIS IS STUPID?
I stopped reading it. The guy’s an asshole and the girl is indescribable. the fucking end
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 22, 2022
"I really, really love you. You’re my favorite nerd in the world, and I’m so glad you’re mine.”
This technically wasn't a bully romance. I loved the writing, and couldn’t put it down. However, I didn't love the characters and story by the time I reached the end.
The heroine was strong and amazing in the beginning, but I started to dislike her throughout the book. One of the things I dislike in books, are when one of the main characters are indecisive about the love interest. She kept going back and forth, and by the end I just didn't care for them enough.
Rating: 3 stars
This technically wasn't a bully romance. I loved the writing, and couldn’t put it down. However, I didn't love the characters and story by the time I reached the end.
The heroine was strong and amazing in the beginning, but I started to dislike her throughout the book. One of the things I dislike in books, are when one of the main characters are indecisive about the love interest. She kept going back and forth, and by the end I just didn't care for them enough.
Rating: 3 stars
June 9, 2022
DNF @71%
I can't. I really can't.
It's just too much. This is over 700 pages and it's unnecessarily dragging and dragging and dragging. There are so many issues that I'd like to address as to why i have rated this so low but it seems like i am not feeling it. I don't remember much about this book because it feels like it's been years since i started it.
So i might pick this book upnext year later maybe. Maybe not.
The story would've ended somewhere between 40-50% mark all Riley had to do was to say yes to be Hunter's girlfriend. I mean when she loves him, he loves her, they are only fucking each other, spending time together, behaving like a couple, doing all the relationship things, discussing their future baby, buying a house.
So when she was going to do these things after she told him they can't be together, why didn't she just said yes before and this book would've ended wayy earlier and now it's unnecessarily dragging and with even more unnecessary drama idc about.
My opinions on Hunter isn't something i can put words to. It's similar to the opinions Riley's mother has about him. Not in the parent-y way but in a way which is absolutely 100% true. And in this entire story of bunch of immature teenagers and their high school drama, i only love and agrees with Riley's mother. And her boyfriend Ray. I am even interested in THEIR story more than Riley's.
As for Riley. I don't think she is a doormat. She has her moments. She definitely is judgmental. She isn't a innocent goody two shoes either. But the thing is, she is in denial. This isn't a bully romance, and Hunter's revenge was definitely brutal but it's like nobody cared about it. Riley didn't cared about it. Riley only cares about Hunter not seeing Valerie (the mean popular jealous girl). Riley will forgive him in a heartbeat even if he pulled a Hardin on her. In a way he kinda did. But this was her response:
As for that jealousy-fucking scene. Yes i definitely think that was Rape. And i can't fault Riley for not thinking that because i doubt this sweet angel even knows what that is. Because one second the rape takes place the next they are being all cute, clingy, and back to their "non-boyfriend-girlfriend" thing. It wasn't even a CNC thing and that is why it bothered me.
Because out of all the dark romances I've read dub-con and consensual non-con sex are normal for me but this was clearly rape. And it's not even a dark romance, nor it's a bully one. It's literally a childhood-friends-to-enemies-to-lovers high school story where the bad-boy × good-girl theme is featured.
She didn't said no because she didn't think Hunter would stop even if she did. And then she is soothing and consoling him that it's okay he didn't do anything they can't get past. If that's not enough to realise she is in too deep, is in way over her head and had gone too far then i don't know what is.
I continued this book so far because there were some parts i liked but then there were next parts which confused me in bad way.
Wishful thinking.
I don't think the MCs, their relationship was toxic in a really-toxic, fucked up way.i would've love this if that was the case but it's more like it took out the thrill and the "fictional toxicity" out of the story that i love to enjoy.
I don't even know if i am making any sense ¯\_ʘ‿ʘ_/¯
So anyways, there are more instances like this where our FMC is shown weak everytime it's a Hunter-related thing but when it feels like this drama isn't going to end before i end my life, i thought to just stop and put this away for good.
Especially when i think it's going in an unnecessary different direction.
Whatever i don't care.
¯\_( ͠° ͟ʖ °͠ )_/¯
I can't. I really can't.
It's just too much. This is over 700 pages and it's unnecessarily dragging and dragging and dragging. There are so many issues that I'd like to address as to why i have rated this so low but it seems like i am not feeling it. I don't remember much about this book because it feels like it's been years since i started it.
So i might pick this book up
The story would've ended somewhere between 40-50% mark all Riley had to do was to say yes to be Hunter's girlfriend. I mean when she loves him, he loves her, they are only fucking each other, spending time together, behaving like a couple, doing all the relationship things, discussing their future baby, buying a house.
So when she was going to do these things after she told him they can't be together, why didn't she just said yes before and this book would've ended wayy earlier and now it's unnecessarily dragging and with even more unnecessary drama idc about.
My opinions on Hunter isn't something i can put words to. It's similar to the opinions Riley's mother has about him. Not in the parent-y way but in a way which is absolutely 100% true. And in this entire story of bunch of immature teenagers and their high school drama, i only love and agrees with Riley's mother. And her boyfriend Ray. I am even interested in THEIR story more than Riley's.
As for Riley. I don't think she is a doormat. She has her moments. She definitely is judgmental. She isn't a innocent goody two shoes either. But the thing is, she is in denial. This isn't a bully romance, and Hunter's revenge was definitely brutal but it's like nobody cared about it. Riley didn't cared about it. Riley only cares about Hunter not seeing Valerie (the mean popular jealous girl). Riley will forgive him in a heartbeat even if he pulled a Hardin on her. In a way he kinda did. But this was her response:
I would have forgiven him for the lie, maybe I could have even found a way to get past him deliberately humiliating me the night he took my virginity, but not Valerie.
As for that jealousy-fucking scene. Yes i definitely think that was Rape. And i can't fault Riley for not thinking that because i doubt this sweet angel even knows what that is. Because one second the rape takes place the next they are being all cute, clingy, and back to their "non-boyfriend-girlfriend" thing. It wasn't even a CNC thing and that is why it bothered me.
Because out of all the dark romances I've read dub-con and consensual non-con sex are normal for me but this was clearly rape. And it's not even a dark romance, nor it's a bully one. It's literally a childhood-friends-to-enemies-to-lovers high school story where the bad-boy × good-girl theme is featured.
She didn't said no because she didn't think Hunter would stop even if she did. And then she is soothing and consoling him that it's okay he didn't do anything they can't get past. If that's not enough to realise she is in too deep, is in way over her head and had gone too far then i don't know what is.
I continued this book so far because there were some parts i liked but then there were next parts which confused me in bad way.
At times i even thought that it would be great if the story ends showing when Riley is graduated from college, is a mature adult in her mid 20s and she is just reminiscing a toxic teenage relationship she had when she was in high school and she is now self aware of the things she was denial when she was 18....and something like that
Wishful thinking.
I don't think the MCs, their relationship was toxic in a really-toxic, fucked up way.
I don't even know if i am making any sense ¯\_ʘ‿ʘ_/¯
So anyways, there are more instances like this where our FMC is shown weak everytime it's a Hunter-related thing but when it feels like this drama isn't going to end before i end my life, i thought to just stop and put this away for good.
Especially when i think it's going in an unnecessary different direction.
Whatever i don't care.
¯\_( ͠° ͟ʖ °͠ )_/¯
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March 12, 2021
3/12/21:
UHH I JUST FOUND OUT SHERLOCK WILL BE HAVING HIS OWN BOOK. I REPEAT. SHERLOCK WILL BE HAVING HIS OWN BOOK. I'm so excited omfgg 🥺🥺
⊱ ──────ஓ๑♡๑ஓ ────── ⊰
✰ 4 (sometimes 4.5) stars ✰
Ok listenn, I loved part one so much and was ready to give this 5 stars for that alone but part two had its ups and downs for me - definitely more ups than downs tho, otherwise this rating would have been way lower lol - but those few downs had me screaming at four in the morning "wtf is going on? why is it going in this direction?" but I'd still consider this book as binge-worthy, despite the frustrations, because I was invested in what was happening 'til the end and binged it for seven to eight hrs straight. I really adored Hunter (H) and Riley’s (h) romance but, ngl, there were times when it felt like Hunter loved her more than she loved him (from my point of view anyways) and idk how to feel about it cause I just want my romances to have both mains show equal love for each other, yk? :( but they were still cute LOL. I have conflicted feelings about
Romance aside, Riley’s mom and stepdad, Ray, were literally parent goals - especially Riley’s mom. I adored her whenever she would appear in a scene because she was the 'ideal' mom; so caring and loving, but still scolds when she feels it’s appropriate and the way she would have these deep conversations with Riley was truly heartwarming. I also loved how Ray played a huge role in both their lives and fit well in the family. He was so likable and I loved his banter with the mom!
For side characters, the one that really caught my eye was Sherlock and I’d honestly love to know more about him! The only time I was meh about him was but, other than that, his personality is my favorite type of ‘hero’ to read about. He gives me more Carter (Untouchable) vibes tbh. Speaking of Carter, ahhh
no one:
no one at all:
“I mean, no knows for sure it was him, but everyone is saying it was. No one else is crazy enough to even steal a car, let alone blow one up, but he’s a little unhinged. In the best way. It’s kind of hot. I can’t believe a guy blew up a car for you and I can barely get a text back.”
me:
soo, maybe i’m a little crazy myself for falling in love with Sherlock after reading this? 💀
UHH I JUST FOUND OUT SHERLOCK WILL BE HAVING HIS OWN BOOK. I REPEAT. SHERLOCK WILL BE HAVING HIS OWN BOOK. I'm so excited omfgg 🥺🥺
⊱ ──────ஓ๑♡๑ஓ ────── ⊰
✰ 4 (sometimes 4.5) stars ✰
Ok listenn, I loved part one so much and was ready to give this 5 stars for that alone but part two had its ups and downs for me - definitely more ups than downs tho, otherwise this rating would have been way lower lol - but those few downs had me screaming at four in the morning "wtf is going on? why is it going in this direction?" but I'd still consider this book as binge-worthy, despite the frustrations, because I was invested in what was happening 'til the end and binged it for seven to eight hrs straight. I really adored Hunter (H) and Riley’s (h) romance but, ngl, there were times when it felt like Hunter loved her more than she loved him (from my point of view anyways) and idk how to feel about it cause I just want my romances to have both mains show equal love for each other, yk? :( but they were still cute LOL. I have conflicted feelings about
Romance aside, Riley’s mom and stepdad, Ray, were literally parent goals - especially Riley’s mom. I adored her whenever she would appear in a scene because she was the 'ideal' mom; so caring and loving, but still scolds when she feels it’s appropriate and the way she would have these deep conversations with Riley was truly heartwarming. I also loved how Ray played a huge role in both their lives and fit well in the family. He was so likable and I loved his banter with the mom!
For side characters, the one that really caught my eye was Sherlock and I’d honestly love to know more about him! The only time I was meh about him was but, other than that, his personality is my favorite type of ‘hero’ to read about. He gives me more Carter (Untouchable) vibes tbh. Speaking of Carter, ahhh
no one:
no one at all:
“I mean, no knows for sure it was him, but everyone is saying it was. No one else is crazy enough to even steal a car, let alone blow one up, but he’s a little unhinged. In the best way. It’s kind of hot. I can’t believe a guy blew up a car for you and I can barely get a text back.”
me:
soo, maybe i’m a little crazy myself for falling in love with Sherlock after reading this? 💀
February 18, 2024
I remember reading a lot of bad reviews about this when it was released and deciding to shove it at the very back on my tbr pile but today I decided to pull it out and give it a shot and omg I LOVED IT!! I loved Hunter and Riley. Hunter’s manipulative a** called to my deep dark soul lol
Riley and her mom’s relationship and interactions reminded me so much of Gilmore Girls, Rory & Lorelai (very nostalgic 🥹)
My only complains here are, the length of the book, Sara being the worst friend anyone could have and how the everyone seemed to give Hunter’s father and stepmother a pass for practically abandoning him for 14years because he was a reminder of his dad’s infidelity. That sh*t tea passed me off.
Aside that I enjoyed this high school toxic over dramatic love story.
PS: I hope Sherlock gets a book someday. He sounds a real psychopath. Loved him 🤪
Riley and her mom’s relationship and interactions reminded me so much of Gilmore Girls, Rory & Lorelai (very nostalgic 🥹)
My only complains here are, the length of the book, Sara being the worst friend anyone could have and how the everyone seemed to give Hunter’s father and stepmother a pass for practically abandoning him for 14years because he was a reminder of his dad’s infidelity. That sh*t tea passed me off.
Aside that I enjoyed this high school toxic over dramatic love story.
PS: I hope Sherlock gets a book someday. He sounds a real psychopath. Loved him 🤪
May 13, 2021
Well, this kinda sucks. I was very excited to read this one by this author after reading Untouchable unfortunately its not good. Not for me anyway.
2.5 stars .....
At 618 pages long I'd say this is at least 250 pages too long... I don't have a problem with long books. What I don't appreciate is running circles around the same issue/topic "repetitiveness"... if a book is long I need the story to continue developing.
Hunter was not my favorite. He is HOT though, no denying that.
Riley was stupid.
My favorite relationship here was Riley and her mom. Mother/Daughter
2.5 stars .....
At 618 pages long I'd say this is at least 250 pages too long... I don't have a problem with long books. What I don't appreciate is running circles around the same issue/topic "repetitiveness"... if a book is long I need the story to continue developing.
Hunter was not my favorite. He is HOT though, no denying that.
Riley was stupid.
My favorite relationship here was Riley and her mom. Mother/Daughter
March 14, 2022
man i loved Untouchable of course I would like this one.
and about the scene that lives rent free in my head , carter would never let it happen 🤡
and about the scene that lives rent free in my head , carter would never let it happen 🤡
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