What a wild ride and boy do I have a lot to say. This book was like if the Korean drama Boys Over Flowers was R rated set in California and the girl is a sexy capable blind woman who isn't afraid to toss men around who annoy her and doesn't have to pick one man. Needless to say I am here for it.

The beginning hit me in the face in the best way possible. Holmes doesn't waste anytime introducing us to the characters, the back story and the sex. Except, this might just be me, but in the very beginning jujitsu Mina, oh I mean Fergie's dad says something like, "She's not used to being around humans." And this line flung me off on a wild head cannon that Fergie was a vampire or some other supernatural creature. I was convinced! I have to tell you, she is actually just a human and her dad was being funny...ha ha ha

Other than Fergie being Mina with new guys and new tricks, I still loved her. She is very real. For those readers who are tired of the main female character being completely helpless and never having any idea what is going on, this is the book for you. She is strong, opinionated and doesn't take anything from anyone. The sex scenes are incredible and I will be thinking about one in particular for a very long time. Defiantly not boring.

I found the langue a little awkward but I have been out of high school for a long while now, maybe that's how kids talk now. If I have any reason to be in a high school and I hear someone say, "sound the fucktrumpts" I will be laughing hysterically. The author did reference her own writing three times, which started off cute, and by the last time was just annoying.

The audio-book version did not do Torsten's accent at all. In the book it is described as vaguely European maybe Swedish but the way he was voiced was just American.
Thank you Netgalley for gifting me a copy of the audio-book.

I didn’t realise at the time that this was bully/stepbrother romance - both tropes that I don’t particularly enjoy so I won’t be finishing. It seems like it would be a great read for those who do enjoy the genre though!! The writing isn’t bad and if the author has other books inside my preferred genres, I’ll definitely check those out

Uhm, excuse me? Where has Steffanie Holmes been all my life? This book was *chef's kiss* and I can't wait to read the third one in the series. The narrator did such an excellent job, that I instantly found the second book and listened to it as well.

Your life is perfect you are the best you can be it should be a cinch to get into the Ivy league college of your choice, until you get caught. Trying to start a new life Fergie's' Father changes her name and identity to ensure that she has a clean record. But going to a new school and trying to make new friends doesn't really change who you are inside. At Stonehurst Prep there is only one Club that you need to be a part of if you want to get everything you desire, The Poison Ivy Club. They rule Stonehurst Prep. Cassius, Torsten and Victor hold all Fergie's hopes and dreams in their hands, but can she trust them with the truth?

This Story was so detailed that I was captivated from Chapter one. Fergie's connection with each of the boys were enticing. I found myself enjoying everything alone side of her. The storyline and character development was entertaining in itself. This book was a pleasure to read and I am excited to grab the next book in this series. I highly recommend it to all Dark Romance lovers. 5 Stars of hot and Spicy.

Audiobook Review

Loved loved loved.
This was a fantastic read. It had me in a whirlwind of emotions.

It was dark, gritty, and very intense.
My jaw was on the floor throughout. There was so much tension and angst, and the toxicity was through the roof.

Unfortunately this book was a DNF for me at 21% of the audio book. Loved the character diversity with a blind FMC however not into the step brother vibe. Although the characters are not actually related this just isn’t the trope for me. I also think that the spice to plot ratio was off in this. I understand with a dark romance there is going to be a lot of smut but the plot wasn’t strong enough for me to continue.

OMG! I almost threw my phone across the room when the narrator said that it was the end of the book! Holy cliffhanger!! This book is intense, uber spicey and really well narrated. The narration really brings the characters, events and emotions to life. I love a well-done dual narration and this one is well done. The book is a combo of mafia meets high school in a bully romance reverse harem. The characters are all so very unique and the personalities crafted in a manner to make the characters come to life in the story. The good news is that the second book in the series is available in audio, so I highly recommend for your sanity and the safety of your listening device, in my case my phone, that you have the second book cued up and ready to go so you don't scream profanities at the world when the book stops at a very climatic spot. I have to say as cliffhangers go, this author nailed it! Kudos! I have never wanted to read the next book in the series so much. The plot of this book is intense and makes you want to continue to listen well past bedtime as you don't want to miss what comes next. Make no mistake, this book may be set in a high school setting, but it is not for kids. This book is all adult level spice and violence all the time! I absolutely can't wait to see what comes next in the story because I think our female main character is about to go scorched earth on our three bully lovers! I don't typically give this type of book more than 4 stars as they can be great reads, but I wouldn't necessarily categorize them as outstanding books, but this one deserves 5 stars for a well-crafted plot that keeps you listening well past time to put the book down and go to bed, but also for drawing a visceral reaction to the cliffhanger! Good stuff!!

I really tried with this one. I don’t need a book to be a masterpiece or perfect but I do need to be entertained. This wasn’t too bad for the first half, but I did have to take breaks because the characters annoyed me. I think because they were like 18 but the storyline and events made them seem older so it was a bit confusing/off-putting when I was reminded they were still in high school. It could be that I just didn’t connect to them, but during the second half even the storyline annoyed me. It felt like the story didn’t know where it was going or why and some of it felt more like it was added for shock value instead of story value. I had the audiobook and finally had to stop at 89% I just couldn’t make myself finish it.

Rating: 3.5
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

In this scandalous novel the heroine, Fergie, takes us on this wild journey as she navigates her new life at Stonehurst Prep. She portrays herself as this confident ‘I do what I want’ badass but deep down she faces insecurities that many of us can relate to. As the novel progresses she finds herself being entangled in the lives of Cassius, Torsten, and Victor, a wicked trio of insatiable men who are all vying for Fergie’s attention in their own unique way. Steffanie Holmes does a lovely job of describing scenes with such vivid details that readers can immerse themselves into this dangerous and alluring world. There are many twists and turns that will have you second guessing yourself and your morals. The cliff hanger left me wanting but in the best way possible. I can’t wait to find out the rest of Fergie and the Stonehurst Prep Elite’s story in the next installment.

These books are absolutely ADDICTIVE.
I finished this book in one day and immediately dove right into Poison Flower and added Steffanies entire backlist to my TBR.

This books blends thriller, dark academia, dark romance, blindness red, spectrum rep, and reverse harem perfectly. The entire book I was holding my breath waiting for what was going to happen next and after the ending I COULD NOT stop.

I'm an addict and I'm okay with that.

I’d like to thank NetGalley for providing me an audio version of this book. My review is a honest reflection of my feelings towards this book.
Well y’all, I have this book a chance and I just couldn’t force myself to continue after about 25%. I honestly feel like I dont really care for the bully kind of spicy romance category this book falls into. The characters were dull and basic. The storyline was just cringy and not interesting. I ended up dnfing this book. Just not my thing.

Oh my… what a whirlwind of a book!! So much happening, so much chaos… and all the good kinds of chaos! There were so many emotions- anger, frustration, lust, betrayal. A lot of oh my gosh there were moments and jaw dropping scenes… that made me want to scream and yell, and then ones that made my heart race. I couldn’t get enough. I was hooked from the start!

3 guys and their queen… 3 completely different guys with 3 very different personalities, who are all head heals for Fergie and shared amongst the 3 of them. Cass— the evil step brother who won’t let anything destroy him. Vic- the sweetheart of the 3 and Torsten, I think he’s my favorite!!She’s caught in the wrath of the poison ivy club but is now searching for revenge. the ending of the book.. the cliffhanger omg. I need book 2 like yesterday!

Thank you NetGalley for the audiobook!

I read this book back in February and couldn't get enough. I literally screamed when I was approved for the audio and it did not disappoint! I loved every second of listening to this and will continue to recommend to literally anyone I know. Those boys live rent free in my head still and the audio 100% just amplified that!!

I loved that the main character was blind I felt like I learnt a lot , like I’d never heard about the echolocation before. Everything the writer talked about I felt like it was very well studied. I just didn’t feel very comfortable with the reverse harem and the ending was very sad.

This book was a fun one.
Love the RH trope so much.
Love the grumpy Cassius, and the dapper Victor and the loving Torsten (if I spelled those wrong I’m sorry, lol I did the audio book arc)
It is entertaining from the beginning.
It keeps you engaged.
I loved it!

Am I too old to be reading a high school bully romance? Absolutely. But did I enjoy listening to the Poison Ivy audiobook? Abso-frickin-lutely!

Stephanie Holmes is one hell of a writer. Despite this being a dark bully why choose romance, the plot was unpredictable and kept me on my toes. Fergie is such a badass FMC - I absolutely adored her. Besides being strong, confident and intelligent - she also knows how to kickass despite being legally blind! I loved the disability representation and found it to educational in terms of difficulties blind people manage on the daily. And then there was also ASD representation with Torsten - and I loved the unique connection Fergie had with him. It was beautiful. So far, Cas is intriguing but I still kind of hate him. Victor though … 🫦

The narrators did a fantastic job, especially at imitating each other’s voices. I especially loved the FMC narrator Angelina Rocca - she did such a fantastic job at demonstrating Fergie’s underlying emotions while maintaining her sassy attitude. Be warned this does end on a cliffhanger - I am kind of obsessed and went to find the next book in this series to find out what happens next.

Thank you so much to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced listener copy in exchange for an honest review. All ratings and opinions are entirely my own.

Ty netgalley ..I.was able to arc read this .4.5 stars

It is a bully romance. The female main character is blind and she leaves her old life behind after an incident, and moves in with her dad, who married a rich, powerful woman who has a son . A hot powerful son. The FMC IS empowering and amazing that she's blind and navigates this crazy life .she's so tough, and she leaves let the old her behind and becomes a strong, b***** woman who grabs life by the kahunas and Just rolls with it and I love it. It has like crime as schmurder. It. It has some dark spicy scenes that had me intrigued....this why choose was so good. I'm gonna get all the books and read them all!!!! it does end on a cliffhanger, which makes you want more!!!. What are you doing to me? I loved it so much, and you guys just need to read it.

Thank you for the opportunity to listen to / review this book.

I love a good bully romance, and I love a good forbidden romance - so this seemed right up my alley.

The audiobook didn’t do it for me at all. The female narrator was perfect, I love Aaron Sherlock as a narrator- but I didn’t even get to his part.
The actor who voiced Cassius sounded too old to be his character - and the ending of his sentences threw the cadence off of the book. The last word of every sentence was said with the same inflection no matter what the word was / what the scenario was. Low key reminded me of a different Christopher Walken honestly. I couldn’t get past chapter three.

I will absolutely try the book again- reading it, though, instead of listening to it.

I had a blast reading this book! I'm not much one for mafia romances, but it is about them in high school, so while there is death and torture, it's not depicted as much on screen as I think it would be in adult romances. That it's about 3 guys whose families are various parts of this group, and they are hired to make sure people go to the Ivies of their choice, yeah, that was really interesting!

Fergie is a pretty fantastic character to read about. She's had something traumatizing happen to her in the past, and she's had to leave her life behind, and all her hard work to get into Harvard is worthless. But it's made her stronger, and when these boys try to bully her, she's not standing for it.

She had a different connection with each of the boys, Cassius was the rough one, Victor the protector, and Torsten, the one to bond with being different. They all filled a want in her, which is why that ending, man, I need to know how they're going to resolve that, because that was awful!

One thing that I didn't know going into this book, is that it's a sequel series, featuring the kids of the parents who starred in the first series. So I don't know if I'll go back and read those before coming back to this series or not, because I am a completionist, and I'll read all 6 full lenght books regardless, it's just a matter of what order...

Loved reading this book, and I can't wait to continue on with the series!

I made it 40% through and had to stop. I’m in my late 30’s so them being high school students made me feel icky. The main character sleeps with her step brother right off the bat but she didn’t know he was her step brother until after. I feel like I just wasn’t the target audience for this. I do enjoy a good bully romance but I prefer them to be at least a little older lol The narration was great. Thank you to NetGalley and bacchanalia house for this arc in exchange for my honest review.