okay L.J. Shen!!!!! this book was emotional but in a perfect way. i felt for Penn but i also felt for Daria. “he gave me the rarest thing in the world, and i gave him heartbreak” that quote alone CRUSHED MEEEEE. this was one of favorite reads of the year. Thank you netgalley and thank you bloom books i really appreciated the chance to read this masterpiece.

[4.5] this was amazing - i don't think i even have the words to describe my thoughts on this book. i've not really read about a relationship like daria's and penn's before, but i. ate. it. up. was everyone in this book unbelievably, sometimes frustratingly toxic towards each other? yes, but did it make for the most addictive, consuming reading experience? absolutely. i am so not done with l.j. shen's writing!

I am a huge L J Shen fan and absolutely loved the Sinners of Saints series - so when I saw a spin off of their children, I couldn’t wait to read however I was really disappointed with this. Melody and Jamie weren’t my favourite couple but Melody was absolutely AWFUL in this and the fact Jamie didn’t do anything is just so unrealistic for who he is as a person.

Book : Pretty Reckless
Author : L.J. Shen
Pub Date : 22 Aug 2023

Thank you NetGalley, Sourcebooks Bloom Books, Bloom Books, & the author for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This book y’all! Such a wild dark romance rollercoaster from start to finish 🤌🏻. I love myself an amazing enemies — lovers and bully romance. I loved watching these two being their fueled relationship together and their chemistry grow. 🥵. The characters were so well written, the plot was perfection and I can honestly say that this author never ever disappoints. The way this book ended 💀. I will def continue to read all that this author writes and can never recommend enough.

Pretty Reckless is a dark romance that kicks of the All Saints High series, this is a spin off of the Sinners of Saints series. While you can read Pretty Reckless without reading the Sinners of Saint series, there are certainly some characters and references that won't make as much sense without that background reading. This was a reread for me and I liked it the second time round, I rated it a 4.5 stars, but am rounding up.

This is a darker romance book, its not especially fluffy and deals with some complex issues and relationships, a lot of these characters are hard to love (particularly Daria), but I like having a complex and emotional cast of characters in my books. The plot of this book is drama packed and messy, which I really liked, I don't watch reality TV and like to get my fix of crazy messy drama in my books, Pretty Reckless delivered. It is a book that is likely suited to a New Adult audience, due to the ages of the character and the 'high school' plot lines.

While Daria could at times be hard to love, she is a character who feels deeply and that emotion is written really well, I really wished there were more interactions between her and her dad, because they were sweet (funny considering I liked his book the least in their series). Penn is written just as well, but I didn't like his chapters as much as Daria's.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Bloom Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review, these thoughts are all my own.

Not exactly the story for me, it was definitely inspiring and emotional. While I did appreciate the story I didn’t connect with the characters or their conflicts. I would recommend this to a younger reader than myself.

Read if you like:
- College setting
- Enemies to lovers
- Family dynamics
- Bully romance
- Found family

I wasn't expecting the level of angst and drama in this book, and boy, was it a lot. This book is a dark bully romance with forbidden love, elite family rivalry, anger, and revenge. The main characters, Daria and Penn, first meet and have an attraction. As the book goes on and tragic events happen, Penn, the mmc, is out for revenge on Daria because of tragedy in his family. There are secrets, grief, and a pinch of taboo. Once the bullying aspect was done, there was a lot of relationship development, and the romance was nice and steamy. There was also a good setup for the rest of the series, which will be interesting to read.

Thank you to the publisher for this e-arc. This book will be released on August 22.

So I would rate this book a 3.5 rounded up to a 4. Overall, the book was good. I like that this family kind of took in a family from the wrong side of the tracks and that Penn and Daria always had this connection. Ultimately my heart broke for both of them and their stories. The way they were able to see the better parts of each other when no one else could was really special. However, I'm not sure if it was an age thing or what but there were some parts I struggled with. I'd feel like I was maybe missing something or had skipped a page because they main characters gave such bad whiplash with their feelings and words and it was hard to keep up. Overall though it was pretty good.

Read this book in less than 24 hours! It’s a 10/10 for me recommend!!! Captivated from start to finish, and the execution of plot and character development was beautifully done in this book! It had everything from enemies to lovers, taboo, and revenge !!!!

LJ Shen just has a way with (dirty) words! I absolutely ate this story up! This is the "second generation" of Sinners and Saints, following the rich kids of All Saints High and all their sexy shenanigans. Her character development is so deep and complex, and I found myself simultaneously rooting for Daria and Penn (with maybe rooting for Penn just a bit more). What can I say? I just love them a bit rough around the edges and struggling.

This book was so good that I finished it in a day!
I was pretty much more interested in Vaughan rather than any other offspring of the four hotholes lol but then I decided to give Daria's book a try and it was the best decision.
This book was emotional. Daria Followill, the daughter of Jamie and Melody Followill was the queen b and the popular cheerleader of all saints high. I loved his character. It was so layered. She was so broken and isolated it was hard for me to see her go through her struggles alone. She was misunderstood and often portrayed herself to be mean even though she was not. I honestly loved the female main character more than the male main character in this book.
Penn Scully was the brother of Sylvia Scully. His sister was in Melody's ballet academy. Penn & Via had a seriously fucked up mother and step father, they were poor but Via made everyone else in the ballet class seem that they were financially stable and could get whatever they want.
Penn was a jerk but I liked Daria and Penn's relationship in the past when they first met, it was just so cute! Penn's sister though was a huge part of Daria and Mel's wrecked relationship.
I liked the fact about Penn that he was not biased about his sister and treated Daria fairly. He understood her, support her and fought to save her dignity that made him likeable for me.
I was quite disappointed in Mel for constantly comparing Via and Daria and it looked like she paid everyone else's kids more attention than her own. I didn't like the way Mel behaved throughout the book. Jamie on the other hand was a good dad to Daria, he always listened to her problems and tried to sort it out for her. He was the one who was holding up the balance in his family because Mel had fucked the dynamics so much. 🙄😒
Daria seemed quite immature and selfish in the first parts of the book, then it was explained all in detail. When she repeated mistakes instead of learning from them, it pissed me off but I understood why she did what she did. She had no real guidance from her mother who was supposed to talk to her and learn more about what's going on in her life rather than constantly checking up on others kid's lives. Honestly I blamed both Mel & Jamie because their neglect was the main reason Daria was so messed up and emotionally wrecked.
I'm glad that there was an entire chapter with Daria and Mel in the end because that gave me closure but I still feel that Daria should have taken more time in forgiving Melody considering the situation she was put through all those years.
Overall this book was interesting and kept me hooked with all the rivalry between Sylvia and Daria (it made me hate Via more and more throughout the chapters lol!). I would recommend to read this book

It was an emotional rollercoaster from the beginning. This book went from 0-100 real quick. At first, it started off with some typical teenage angst but soon it turned into discussions and visuals of trauma, abuse, and family issues. This book was emotional but still a good read.

The story was mediocre at best. The romance was disappointing. The only part I enjoyed was seeing Daria and Mel fix their relationship. Everything else was very childish bullying.

This checked off all the things I like to read. ✅️ Enemies to lovers. ✅️ Bully ✅️ Taboo ✅️ Revenge ✅️ Morally Gray ✅️ College. I loved it!

OMG !! I loved the story so much. It is intense, emotional and angsty!
The plot brings us to Daria and Penn. Daria finds her match in Penn, who is her opposite in everything and her rival. An act irrevocably changes the future of both, and after 4 years without seeing each other, fate brings them back together and leads them to live together, however Penn only wants revenge and ruin Daria. But as time goes by, he sees beyond the queen bee, miss popular and cheerleader she uses as a way to hide insecurities, fear, vulnerability and pain, Penn sistematically undermines the facade that Daria built and turns her world upside down.

THIS COUPLE IS EVERYTHING, I loved the way they love each other so intensely and despite their differences fit so perfectly. I really enjoyed their chemistry and banter.

But it's not just Penn and Daria, it's a story about friendship and family, about how family and friends always support and stand up for each other no matter what, it's about loyalty, love and forgiveness.

This story is a rollercoaster of emotions that I want to experience again and again and again. I'm completely ruined again and I'm not sure I can recover this time.
Highly recommended!!!

Penn wants revenge on Daria after she broke his heart and ruin his family. He's determined to make the spoiled princesses to pay. He's got enough issues to fill a room. Daria has a lot of issues with her mother and a complicated upbringing too. Lots of angst and drama. Two complicated people falling in love.... An angsty, emotional, heartbreaking read.

Thanks to the publisher for the arc.

The book was an enemies to lovers tropes genre and although not my favorite trope it was pretty good. This story was about does Penn & Daria. From childhood crushes, to enemies, to foster siblings, to lust, to love. Penn & Daria are the definition of Enemies to Lovers & Bully Romance. I would definitely want to read more of her books but I’m not into the bully romance nor step siblings or foster siblings romance.

I absolutely adore a bully romance, there's just something about the change in relationship that just gets to me.
The tension between Daria and Penn was just *chefs kiss*. I was also shocked to realize that the characters are related to another series LJ shen wrote and it made me want to go back to the sinners of Saint series to finish those off first.
L.J Shen is a favorite author of mine, I will read whatever she puts out!

This book gave me ALL THE FEELS! Teenage angst, the banter, the emotions… LJ Shen this was a favorite!

"It's not that I'm scared of having my heart broken. It's that I don't think any boy can truly like me. If my own parents barely tolerate me, then how can I expect a dude to fall in love with me for who I am? "

This was a solid read for me. Always love an enemies to lovers trope. There was also a student teach relationship, and lost and found family.

Daria is a senior in high school who has some serious mommy issues as well as being a spoiled brat. Penn is the football star from the other side of the tracks that she shouldn't want. Daria has secrets. a LOT of them.

Honestly, I really felt for Daria. I understood her jealousy. I felt for her. I feel like her actions were, in the end, all apart of a miscommunication, but she wasn't the adult.

Penn was dealt an equally lousy hand and essentially raised himself. When his mother died and he had no where else to go, he had to accept the only offer for a roof over his head and that meant living with Daria. His missing sister's nemesis.

I felt like there was not a dull moment in this book in a good way. I feel like the story progressed well & I didn't get bored with it.

Thanks to Netgalley & Sourcebooks Bloom Books for the ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own & were not influenced.