Member Reviews

So the reviews on this title are kind of harsh; mostly I think because this is a companion novel, parts of it only make sense when you get the second epilogue. The story is also not told sequentially, so a lot of what is going on may seem bizarre because the reader doesn't have a good understanding of the relationship between the characters before the highly explicit sexual content begins.

I usually start my reviews with a small plot summary; I'm going to try to explain the plot sequentially so that it makes a bit more sense - I apologize for any spoilers (feel free to stop reading).

So we have Jane, who grew up surrounded by 2 families - the Godsons and the Leodegrances. As a child they were inseparable. Then Jane's father dies, the Godsons move away for a bit and Jane's life changes again. Jane grows up, the Godsons return; Jane falls in love with her best friend David Leodegrance. At 15, she is on the verge of telling him when his father (Kingston) announces that he is marrying Jane's mother and now they will be siblings. Advance the timeline 3 years. Jane and David's friendship is pretty much dead; Jane's feelings are still strong and she has ignored everyone else. Most of her memories of her childhood friendships are fogged in the pain of her father's death. She hasn't even noticed that Ryder Godson feels for her what she feels for David. A fight between Ryder and David brings everything to a head and forces Jane to acknowledge her own feelings and those of the people around her. Suddenly Jane is surrounded by what ifs - what if Ryder is the one for her; what if David rebels against his father and chooses Jane; what if the rest of the Godson boys are just as invested in that long ago friendship and care for her too; what if Jane doesn't have to choose?

Enter the sexual roller coaster that is Jane's awakening. Some of it steams, other bits are supremely awkward. Jane is a mess - emotionally and psychologically but she does grow. My biggest concern about this novel is actually Jane's use of the words whore and ho to describe herself. I am also concerned that no one seems to correct her when she uses these terms. While there is little mention of belittling of Jane's choice by her peers, she constantly does it to herself. Let's stop the cycle of slut-shaming.

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Even though Janie Marie is a new author for me, I was excited to read this book since reverse harem's are a hot trend right now. Unfortunately, this book is going in the 'What did I just read?!' column. Nobody has ever accused me of being a prude and I applaud everyone's sexual freedoms but this book was uncomfortable to read for so many reasons but mostly because a seventeen year old virgin should not be the subject of this type of book. Additionally, the smut was so extreme that's it's scary that this book is the being marketed as YA. Not only did I refuse to finish reading this book, I refuse to endorse it to anyone for purchase. This author is on the never read again pile for sure.

I received a free ARC from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion. All thoughts are my own.

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This book is a high school romance story with a bit of a twist.
Jane is torn between 4 boys.
She loves them all, but none the same.
As drama and betrayals mount, Jane must make her decision. But what will she choose?
I liked this book a lot because it was very interesting and left you hanging onto each page

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Okay, no. I have read a lot of books in my life but never have I felt so uncomfortable and I didn't even make it farther than 30%. The writing in this book is so bad and immature that I was feeling like I was preying on children. Yes, I should have expected this from a book that is a high school reverse harem romance but all of these characters talked and acted like they were twelve and I'm still cringeing over it. This book could have definitely benefited from an editor or beta readers or SOMEONE who realizes that there is just something really wrong about this. I do enjoy reverse harem romances when they are done right and we have some level of tension or attraction between the characters but everyone was just falling for Jane who is as bland as her name suggests. It just did not work for me.

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I love Reverse Harem Romances. When I saw this book, I just knew I had to read it.

Jane is a girl who's in love with her best friend. And that best friend soon becomes a stepbrother.
But he's not the only boy in her life, there are three more. She's tutoring one and feels safe with the other two.
One morning, when she's trying to wake up her stepbrother, changes everything. There are no boundaries left, there is no holding back, there's love, lust and yes - a lot of anger.

I think this would have been way better for me, if I'd actually read the other books in a Gods & Monsters trilogy first. But I can not recommend it highly enough to a reader who adores a good Reverse Harem romance with plenty of sexy sceenes.

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1 star
First off, the writing wasn't for me. I didnt care for it. Second, it was a little young for me. At times I felt creepy because of how young these kids are. Third, reverse harem with the young? Just didnt work for me.

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I’m sorry I couldn’t get through the first chapter and when I did I tried the second chapter and I still couldn’t read it. The corniness, and I’m not even sure what. I think this author should have sent their book to beta readers first. This one is rough.

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I received this free eARC novel from NetGalley. This is my honest review.

This is my first book from this author and I thought it was okay. After reading through other people's reviews and reading the second epilogue, I realize this would have been better, probably, if I had read the other books in relation with these characters. I might have had a better relationship and understanding, a better connection with this story and characters.

I know that reverse harem novels are becoming a thing and I really do enjoy them, but almost all of them leave me with more questions than just simply enjoying the story.

Why is it just NOW that all 4 guys show interest in the 1 girl? What is so special about Jane that they all 4 need to have get in their lives, even if it means sharing her which none of the guys did before her? Why is the girl in these stories almost always a virgin? If Jane really loves all 4 guys, why does she feel weird in public with them? Why does she care about the opinion about everyone around her - people she isn't friends with?

Okay, questions are released and I can focus on the story. Out of Tescero, Ryder, David, and Luc, Luc was by far my favorite. Which makes me sad because Jane was rarely around him. I would have loved more scenes with the two of then getting to know each other better.

The relationship with Tescero was ridiculous to me. Really the overall reason she loved him because he looked like Ryder. She kept saying she liked the friendship and closeness she had with him but that would make him another girlfriend to vent to. Not a guy she loves intimately.

It was obvious she loved Ryder the most but she "needed" all of them. Jane didn't, she just didn't want to lose any of the guys.

You would think after my review, I don't like this genre, but I do. I just think Jane needed to be more confident in her life and decisions than she is because this is a big choice she is make, and she can't be childish about it.

Overall, this was an okay novel. I'm glad I got a chance to read this eARC, and I may pick up the other books with these characters to see how things got started.

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3.5 stars for this one

I enjoyed this one & it was definitely a yummy, filthy read. My favourite character was definitely Ryder. He is all the things that I love in a high school hero. Dirty & dominant with a soft side only the heroine gets to see. I will say that I did have some moments where I felt like I lost my way in the story. The tense felt a little off to me but not enough of a problem that I couldn't enjoy the characters & their path to their version of a HEA.

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This was unfortunately not my favourite read. The same stories and conversations kept coming up again and again with no further development so I think it could have been condensed. I find it hard to believe that even though some of the characters portrayed to be quite possessive they were still ok with sharing . did like the writing style and found it quite easy to read once into the story.Thanks for the ARC, but not something that I would choose to read again.

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I think I've never read a more smutty read and somehow I was quite fine with it even if there wasn't that much of a storyline.

Writing style: I don't know what I liked about it, but there was just something very nice about Marie's writing. I'm definitely considering reading her other books.

Characters: There was so much going on with the cast of characters. There were a lot of people with a lot of different personalities and names that I didn't quite remember throughout the whole book 😂 Ryder and David were very interesting, because Ryder was such an ass to everyone but then very sweet to Jane and David was such a perfect angel and then very possive and rough with Jane... It created a very interesting dynamic.

Story: I started this review saying that there wasn't much of a story but now that I'm writing this part of my review I realized that's not true... Jane's relationship with her mom and step-dad are explored. Her romantic relationship with Ryden, David, Tercero and Luc were thoroughly explored. And then we have choas all around which results in Jane changing schools and finding her way around that. There's also the part where she's abducted twice and almost raped... Yeah, not a book for the faint of heart.

Reverse harem: This month (March 2020) I suddenly became interested in reverse harem novels. The first one I read wasn't very impressive, but I still enjoyed reading it. The second book was an absolute disaster and I had to DNF it. Jane's Team has a very tastefully done reverse harem romance and though it was a little strange to read about a polyamorous relationship because I can never see myself in such a relationship, but it wasn't disgusting or distasteful. Marie made it feel so normal and I loved that.

Market: I'm not sure what market this book falls in? The main characters are all teenagers but this is definitely not a YA novel, there's just no way. The sex and violence is waaaay too graphic. I'm going to put it under new adult I guess...

I'll stop talking now 😂 This book just really made me think about some stuff. I'm giving it three and a half stars, because I really did enjoy myself, but there was a lot missing to make it a good story worthy of 4 stars of more.

Content warnings: almost rape (twice), polyamorous relationship, smut, violence

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In the words of Jane, "This is either the weirdest or cutest thing ever."

I have not read the Gods & Monsters series, and while this book stands on its own, I'm sure it would have been more enjoyable if I'd already been attached to the characters, especially since there are so many. Also, I suspect it would have explained some of the repeated themes which came across as forced (king/queen dynamic, for one).

This is a looong story. Every chapter Jane and the guys rehash the same conversations, and I wish it had been condensed. I wanted to know what would happen next but had to slog through so much repetitive dialogue. The second half especially just really dragged. Also, the standout emotional moments were often undercut because they revolved around details which hadn't been introduced earlier on (Jane's love of dance, her favorite books and movies, or whether she likes cats...).

I liked the classic tropes and Jane's friendship with Wendy, and the collision of the boys' personalities created some interesting tension. However, there were also some things which just felt weird, such as how the school principal seemed to be in the know on all of Jane's personal drama. Made it hard to buy into the high school framing of the story, even though they often went to football games or mentioned homework.

Footnote: Cars

Let's take a minute and talk about cars. Driving and sports cars is one of the book's lurking themes. I struggled with the significance, but I was curious when Jane very specifically noted her boyfriends' sweet rides. Holy smokes, these are some expensive cars... Ten out of ten would have a heart attack leaving any of these in a high school parking lot.
$27,000 - Mustang (this Godson brother def got the short stick)
$60,000 - '67 Camaro
$65,000 - Camaro ZL1
$92,000 - Lexus LC

**Thanks to Netgalley and the author for the ARC!**

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While the writing quality (syntax and such) was good and intriguing, the overall plot and way things were put together was not quite as great.
First off, the storyline seemed incredibly unrealistic (how could you like 4 boys all at the same time? And have all of them be okay with it? There's more to it obviously, that makes it even more unrealistic.) and the ending didn't seem like much of an ending (SPOILER: she ends up choosing all of them--like what?). The whole middle section of the storyline probably could have just been taken out, it went on for so long without much really progressing or happening.
To be completely honest, I would probably be more content with a cliche story than something so appalling and "out there". It is definitely an innovative story line, something you probably never saw elsewhere, but so incredibly unrealistic that I really can't give much of a high grading for this book.
Sorry. This one didn't do it for me.

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Interesting story captivating and held my attention the whole time but something was missing, some parts I did feel a little confused about. And like why is Jane in HIGHSCHOOL with like 6 boys? I’m the farthest thing from a prude and have probably done worse things in my lifetime but that seemed a little excessive for a 17 year old girl. Not too sure about this one

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This book was a little hard to get into. Took me till chapter three to full get into the story line. It was an okay book. Not fully my style of writing but good nonetheless.

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