BLURB
The rich and popular Sharks rule at prestigious, ivy-covered Camden Prep. Once upon a time, I wanted to be part of their world—until they destroyed me.
The last thing I expected was an anonymous love letter from one of them.
Please.I hate every one of those rich jerks for what they did to me. The question is, which Shark is my secret admirer?
Knox, the scarred quarterback.
Dane, his twin brother.
Or Chance, the ex who dumped me. . .
Dear Ava,
Your eyes are the color of the Caribbean Sea.
Wait. That’s stupid.
What I really mean is, you look at me and I feel something REAL.
It’s been ten months since you were here, but I can’t forget you.
I’ve missed seeing you walk down the hall.
I’ve missed you cheering at my football games.
I’ve missed the smell of your hair.
And then everything fell apart the night of the kegger.
Don’t hate me because I’m a Shark.
I just want to make you mine.
Still.
REVIEW
This book was absolutely beautiful. The story line, the writing, the setting- everything from the start to finish gripped me with how magnificent it all was.
From the prologue we already know something is off. Ava wakes up in the woods without her underwear or any recollection of how she got there- so we can obviously deduced she was just raped.
A year later, Ava is back at the school were her rapist still is- they never found the person. She is of course hoping to find him, but more so to show her school mates that she is neither a push over nor a victim.
As the book continues, we find out that in the weeks after the incident, she reported that her rapist was probably on the football team, popularly known as 'The Sharks'. The team was investigated but because of the pressure of the police department and the media, they lost the championship (big whoop!) and that made the entire student body very, Very upset.
When she returns, she's subjected to cruel slut jokes, name calling, unwarranted bullying, physical attacks- you name it. Not to mention that she's going through some personal family bullshit too (a neglectful mum and a developmentally challenged brother).
Her first day back she finds a letter from a secret admirer (we know this form the blurb). She wants to text him to leave her alone because the person is a member of the football team, but ends up having some sort of 'acquaintanceship' with the guy.
She has a few guesses of who he is, but readers already know it's Knox. Don't worry, it doesn't take long for her to figure it out like in other books where the answer is staring the heroine right in the face but she is still oblivious.
Knox was a very intense hero. He too was dealing with his own personal bullshit- a brother who is addicted to drugs, a mum who committed suicide and a father who is never there. But despite all that, he cared very much for Ava. I am so happy that unlike other enemies-to-lovers romance, Knox never bullied Ava and instead tried to prevent her from being bullied. I guess the enemies concept comes from the fact he was the 'head shark'. Other than that, he was completely sweet to her.
Together Knox and Ava were beautiful. They were sensitive and understanding to each others struggles. It was all very sweet. Just touching- especially reading Ava learning to trust again, in terms of intimacy. It was very emotional.
What I really loved about the book is that they both took time away from the relationship to better themselves. It would have been so easy for them to immediately get together and have happily every after, however they understood they needed to deal with their individual baggage before they could commit to one another.
I would definitely read this again, because it was beautiful (I know I've used that word several times here but I can't help it!)
My Rating: 5 STARS
My Recommendations:
Ryan's Bed -Tijan
On the way to you -Kandi Steiner
Bane -L.J Shen
I hope you guys enjoy this one.
Let me know what you thought about the book in the comment section, and leave me recommendations on what I should read next.
xo
E