To say I was excited for Vaughn's book would be an understatement to the PURE JOY I felt when it was finally released.
From book one of the 'All Saints High' series, Vaughn really intrigued me. His crassness and unapologetic nature we saw in the previous books made for a fantastic build up into revealing what he was really all about. And did we see what he was ALL about!
Props to L.J for slowly peeling the layers that make up this Angry god (see what I did there) and pairing him with the perfect heroine.
I must say, I was strongly crossing my fingers with hopes that this is a good book, because to be honest I did not enjoy Knight and Luna's story as much as I wanted to (see 'Broken Knight' review). I felt it was rushed. But I did not feel that way about this book.
Both Vaughn and Lenora met for the first time in England when Lenora caught Vaughn doing 'something'. Vaughn knows she saw him (even though she didn't see what he thought she saw) and in order to make her keep her mouth shut decides to make her life hell (makes no sense, but roll with it). Of course it doesn't help that they are both competing for the same position at the same art school years later. Anyways, from then on they become sworn enemies- who just happen to be VERY attracted to each other.
The relationship between Vaughn and Lenora was very much a bully romance and I sometimes screamed at how insensitive and downright mean Vaughn could be. But, I absolutely loved that eventually Lenora got her revenge.
Lenora was a fierce heroine and you could see exactly why Vaughn was attracted to her. She did not allow herself succumb to Vaughn and the student body's bullying ways and stood up for herself when she needed to the most.
Both characters had their problems, which we saw them conquer beautifully and appropriately. There was no sudden eureka moment for either of the characters, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading their development as a couple but more so individually.
The romance between Vaughn and Lenora was a slow burn and very scorching and it was absolutely delicious. I say again, Lenora is the perfect match for Vaughn.
We don't see a lot of the other series characters, which I liked, because you could focus on the relationship between Vaughn and Lenora, and not get caught in the nostalgia of hearing about the other characters- which happened a lot in 'Broken Knight'. But of course, we saw Emilia and Vicious (who by the way had their own chapters *yay*) and that was thoroughly enjoyable.
The plot twist was fantastic and it helped draw more similarities between Vaughn and Vicious- that's all I can say about that without giving spoilers, because everything in the book relies on this twist!
The end of the book was probably the most realistic out of all three books in the series, which was a nice surprise.
Overall it was a very very good read- although I did enjoy 'Pretty Reckless' more- there's just something about that Penn.
My Rating: 4 ADDICT STARS
My Recommendations:
Pretty Reckless -L.J Shen
Vicious -L.J Shen
I really hope you guys enjoy this!
Let me know what you think about the book in the comment section and leave your recommendations!
Happy reading!
xo
E