Starting a new school a day late is nerve-wracking enough for Elena Sparks without almost being late to her first class. Had she been early she might have missed out on an interaction that shaped her high school years, and beyond. Meeting Ryker Ames who prompting claimed her for his own but not romantically, no as his toy, as his pet, as his Dolly as he liked to call her. Four years of bullying and degrading by him, yet she still found herself craving his attention.

An incident leads to Ryker going to prison, but not before he gives in to his feelings and manages to get one kiss from his Dolly. Leaving her a letter as he leaves it appears that he is out of her life. She moved for college and is just months away from graduation, getting ready for grad school and the possibility of moving in with her boyfriend Blake. Life appears to be going OK until a letter appears out of the blue from Ryker turning her world upside down.

Unsure as to how or why Ryker is back in her life, Elena starts to gain bad news - and knows from experience that these things come in fours in regards to Ryker. Whilst she thought her life was plodding along, it appears that nothing was as it seemed. After all this time is Elena going to get the long-awaited answers from Ryker? And just how far will he take his plans?

Ruthless Letters is book one in the Captive Writings series and is the first book I've read by M.L. Philpitt. This story was a wild and twisty ride with an Anti-hero that you will hate to love. This is a dark read so please do your due diligence and check the triggers. I am excited to see what happens next in this series.

The first day of high school started well - until Ryker Ames realized Elena Sparks' mother was the lawyer working against him.
Elena, totally unaware, confuses Ryker's attention as interest- though he bullies her constantly. Right up to a few weeks before graduation- when she finds him at her door, kissing her, leaving her a goodbye letter.
A few years later, Elena is about to finish her undergraduate degree before heading to law school. Only to have Ryker leave her another letter - he's coming for his revenge.
Some of the plot was harsh- but resolved.
Great start to a new series. Can't wait to read more about these characters.

I was given this book ARC for an honest review. The book begins very suspenseful and dark. The characters begin in high school with Ryker being a bully. He has it out for Elena but we don't find out why until the middle of the book.

Neither character is extremely likeable. The story is written well from both points of view. Elena allows many thing to happen to her that she should have fought back on. She just isn't a strong person. Ryker's original reasoning is pretty flawed. Based on how lucky he was as a child and his reason for going to prison. As strong as the author tried to make him, he seemed more immature than anything.
It was an okay read though I don't think I will continue the series.

“Do not see me as the hero, because I’m not one. I’ll forever be your villain.” 🖤

Ryker Ames is a possessive, brutal bully who has been obsessed with Elena for years. He was recently released from prison for assaulting a fellow student, for reasons unknown. Elena is a criminal law student and comes across a letter, from Ryker, who she thought was out of her life for good…

Bully romances are not always my cup of tea ☕️ but this one was fantastic. It starts off where you really hate Ryker, but you slowly love him when more details emerge. The spice between Ryker & Elena was amazingly hot. 🔥

Read this if you like ⤵️

🖤 Dark Romance
👊🏻 Bully Romance
🎓 College / Academic Setting
🔎 Mystery
👩‍❤️‍👨 Dual POV with Flashbacks
😈 Praise + Degradation K¡nk
📚 Stand-Alone Series

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
🌶🌶🌶🌶/5

Ruthless Letters by M.L. Philpitt
Captive Writings Series Book 1

Thank you Netgalley for an Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for a honest review.

Dark. Twisted. Spicy.

This book had me up until dawn reading, I couldn't put it down! From the very first page I was obsessed with the characters. Ryker is a possessive, broody, bully who is infatuated with Elena from day one, but not for reasons you may expect. Dark and emotional, the twists in this book will have you on the edge of your seat, waiting to see what happens next.

I cannot wait for Tristan's story to be release. Super interested to see just how far these men are willing to go to accomplish their goal.

3.5 stars.

This story is intense. I was caught off guard one too many times when reading this book. The smut was so so so good. I didn’t enjoy how the story went a bit too fast and some parts were skipped over or not talked about enough. But did I mention the smut?!?! Absolute *chef’s kiss*

Elena and Ryker’s story was unique. Their relationship was also quite strange. I didn’t really feel anything emotional or tangible between them, it just felt very rushed. There were times where I wanted to throw my phone against a wall because of Ryker’s extreme bullying towards Elena— especially in regards to her education. In the end, Ryker, somehow, did manage to win over my heart. I would’ve wished to read more about him though. I also would’ve wanted to read how Elena finally mustered up the strength and ability to discuss things with her mom. Overall, it was a good book and I’d love to read more stories from M. L. Philpitt. I can’t wait for her other unreleased novels in this series!

***Thank you Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

ARC provided by Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op in exchange for a honest review.

Obsessed from page one!

Intense, hot and emotional this dark romance is angsty and addictive. Ruthless Letters follows Ryker and Elena's whirlwind romance. With dual point of view chapters going back and forth between past and present we see just how far Ryker is willing to go. A bully romance that has the boy falling first, Ryker has a secret, one that involves Elena. Not stopping until he gets what he wants.

This book was hot and steamy and had me wanting more. Ryker was hot and addicting. If you love dark romance this is a stalker romance you will not want to miss.

Little to no spoilers. I received this early copy courtesy of Victory Edition NetGallery Co-op through NetGallery for an honest review.

Elena Sparks met Ryker Ames in high school. He was her bully that she did everything he told her to do. She would do anything for his attention no matter how humiliating it was at times. She was his Dolly to play with. Until he was gone. She had no answers to why he was mean to her or why he did what he did. Ryker Ames wanted to hate his Doll but he has to protect her. Fast forward some years when Elena is now in college. Her world is turned upside down and everything is taken away from her. She has her first boyfriend Brent and they have a plan for a future together. Will Elena stay with boy next door good for her Brent, or will she risk her mind body and soul for the one person to cause her the most pain? “Brent reminds me he loves me, there’s still a small fragment of my heart owned by someone else.” When Ryker is back into the story he doesn’t give Elena many clues or answers.”We will be playing this game again, only this time, I’m playing to win.” Ryker Ames in the beginning of the book came off as Joe Goldberg from the You series. How Ryker would follow and watch Elena. Reading this book I couldn’t get a read on his character. Was he bad and dangerous or was he hiding who he really was, a good guy? I liked how I was left in the dark and I learned more about Ryker as if I were in Elena’s shoes. This was definitely a spicy read and soon as I thought I knew the direction the book was going it’d take a turn. This is book one and I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the series. The rating this book received is for the storyline, I could connect with characters and it was unpredictable. Also has a playlist in the beginning of the book!

*I recieved an free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review*
I was torn while reading this book. There were times that I really could not stand the way Ryker was acting and the way he was manipulating Elena's life. I thought the 'big reveal' as to why he was doing this would be something monumental but it ended up being a case of miscommunication which was SUPER frustrating. However, I did like seeing the softer sides of Ryker and the way he went about fixing the damage he did.
I also really liked the big picture story. The overarching storyline between Ryker and his friends is one that I am very interested in. I liked the way they brought the story full circle with the "Alex situation' and Tristan's chapter at the end of the series definitely had me wanting more.
I felt like the dialogue was a bit strange at times and sounded almost from another time, but overall I thought the characters were well done. I am excited to read Tristan's story next! I'll be interested to see how the rest of the books (presumably following Brent and Hawke) play out. I will definitely need some redemption for Brent!

When you think you have a book figured out by the first couple chapters…I was so wrong. There’s always a reason behind the bullying and manipulation, but the story behind it is something that will easily carry further on into the series. Ryker’s brutality in the beginning was surprising, and his responses to his actions made me hooked on figuring out what the motive was. Elena’s feelings never changed throughout the book, which I loved. A character that is consistent with her thoughts and feelings is more relatable than anything!

This review is after receiving a free ARC from netgalley.

Wow, this was truly something.
Firstly duel point of view is definitely something that should happen more and it worked so well for this book. Going back and fourth between the past and present kept me hooked and Intrigued and gave the audience enough information but not enough to ensure we kept reading. The storyline was great, I loved how it progressed, how the audience learned along side the main character. I think Elena was a beautiful character, strong and independent, at times I think she forgave way to easily but at the same time I think it was always meant to be that way. I like Rykers character, he was strong and determined even though he was in the wrong he didn't apologie for doing what he thought he must. His development was truly something to read. I think I would have liked more build up to the forgiveness side of things. But other then that this book kept me hooked, chapter after chapter, super easy to read and definitely look forward to read the future books and see how the bigger storyline of this series will play out. The side characters are so Interesting in a way you don't really know them but you want to know more. This book really sets up a big plot line other then obvious romance which I love in books. Romance is cute but with a strong plot line this book it's 10 times better then others in the genre. Definitely a recommendation I will make in the future

4 Stars for this bully romance.

I was torn with this story. At times I really didn't like what was happening, but I could not stop reading ... I had to know what was going to happen next. This is a dark story that took me hostage till the end.

Ryker was Elena's bully all through high school. Just before graduation, he assaults someone and gets sent to prison. Elena goes on to university and is Ryker free until one day (four years later) another letter shows up from Ryker and she knows her days of freedom are over. Ryker has been planning Elena's future for the four years he was away and now that he's out of prison and he can finally wreak havoc on her.

What I really didn't understand was that Elena actually liked Ryker tormenting her. And then the story takes a wild turn that I did not expect and changes everything! I can't wait to see how the rest of this series is going to play out.

I received an early copy courtesy of Victory Edition NetGalley Co-op through NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.