Cleopatra Paige hates one thing in this world – just one – and his name is Zachariah Prince. In grade school, he pulled at her pigtails. In middle school, he spread false rumors about her. And in high school, he ruined her prom. She hates that his smirks are unfairly sexy. And she definitely loathes that his dark eyes seem to follow her everywhere. Sometimes, even in her dreams. It doesn’t … in her dreams.
It doesn’t matter that he’s rich and popular or that he lives in a freaking mansion full of butlers and maids. He’s rude and arrogant, and she wants to stay as far away from him as possible.
But unfortunately for Cleo, she lives in the same freaking mansion as Zach.
Only he’s the prince and she’s the lowly maid who serves him.
NOTE: This is a STANDALONE, full length novel set in the world of St. Mary’s
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WOW—This book had me in tears one minute and then pumping my fist the next. I really enjoyed this!!
A little too much angst.
I could hardly put the book down. Sometimes it dragged on, it so much of it was so true to life. The abuse you take and yet turn out to be a wonderful person. I’m not sure if I will buy 2nd book or not. Real happy with the ending in 1st book.
Aight this might be my favorite Saffron Kent book. I really liked Medicine Man, but something about this book just got me deep in my romance feels. Bad Boy Blues is a bully romance and I am sucker for this trope if its done well.
But holy hell I loved Cleopatra and Zachariah. Their hatred for one another was great, but the sizzling attraction was even better. The author does a great job explaining why these two hated each other and how over time Cleo realized that she wasn’t so innocent either and while she did get bullied by Zachariah and his friends, she belittled and bullied him just the same. She accepted her part in things, but didn’t excuse him either. The way she understood him and his pain was so beautiful even in the midst of her own that she was trying to push past.
I will say that Cleopatra was a very strong character. She dished out just as much as she got. She spoke her mind and every emotion she she felt, she never hid it. She had a smart mouth, a little bit vengeful towards Zack, and was her authentic self no matter what anyone thought of her. I just loved that so much about her. Then there’s Zack who is so much more than we could have ever assumed. a mysterious boy who hid behind that mean demeanor. But he acted that way because he felt he had to because boy did he have terrible parents, but he can’t hide himself from Cleo, and deep down I don’t think he really wanted to. He was such an ass, but he needed his Blue. The way he was with her was perfection. The sex was hot as hell and the push and pull between them was oh so good.
Loved Bad Boy Blues. Really enjoyed this book and I can see myself picking it up again to revisit these characters.
Bully trope unlike the others out there!
I went into this story thinking oh bully romance I know what’s going to happen! But nope the author took this trope and flawlessly made it all her own.
I simply adored Cleo and her ability to love even with everything that’s going on in her life she was so strong. As much as I grew to understand and love Zach not gonna lie I felt like knocking some sense into that stubborn head of his lol.
Together they are written in the stars and their steamy push and pull relationship will have you hooked and wanting even more on them!
5 DARK PRINCE STARS!!!
When I heard Saffron was coming with and enemies to lovers story I was beyond excited. Since this is one of favorite tropes I have already read so many books with this theme but this author was still able to surprise me and exceed my expectations with this amazing and original story.
I went through so many emotions while reading this book, I was broken and sobbing at one point but then little by little I was put back together and everything was okay again.
As usual with this author’s books I fell in love with Cleopatra Paige (side note: can I just say that Saffron has the best characters names and book titles?!!). She was so strong and confident with her blue hair and combat boots. She was brazen and feisty but boy did she felt everything. I liked that she didn’t need saving since she was capable of saving herself.
Zachariah Prince was her bully and I was unsure if he has any redeemable qualities since he could be so mean and closed off, but little by little we get to know him and even though what he did wasn’t right, no one is perfect and he did went through a lot. By the end of the book I could really appreciate him and I did fall in love with him.
They were from two completely different worlds, their love story is not a smooth sail and definitely isn’t easy. They have so much baggage between them that they have to overcome. But their love is so evident that everything else fades away. This book was a crazy ride full of feelings, angst and love. I felt everything that those characters felt and it was so touching and moving. I truly loved this book and I wish we had many more chapters about those two.
“Maybe hate is just love wrapped up in a barbed wire.”
Review Bad Boy Blues by Saffron A. Kent
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, . . . … . I am in awe of this women’s writing and I can truthfully say she is my favourite author of all time. It’s honestly hard for me to put into words and it even makes me a little emotional. Saffron has so much talent in her little fingers and her words are just beyond mesmerizing, poetic, beautiful, sensual, and tantalizing. My body reacts to her every word, and this book left me breathless and covered in chills.
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This story is about two individuals who have known each other basically their whole lives. From 10 & 12, and right away there’s a connection simmering beneath the surface but it’s pushed down with mean words and bullying all through middle school and high school. Cleo & Zach absolutely despise each other. This is a tale of Enemies – Lovers at its finest.
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When Zach leaves for 3 years after High School Cleo thinks she’ll never see him again, and after tragedy strikes her she ends up working for Zach’s family as a maid, little does she know Zach is back and whats always been simmering is now coming full circle.
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Rating; 5+
Steam; 5+
“Show me how much you hate me, Blue. Spread your f*cking legs.”
Whew, let me begin this review by saying, the steam in this book is nothing like I’ve ever read! This book is an enemies-to-lovers bully romance. Cleo is working as a maid for her bully, Zach’s family because she needs to buy back her childhood home after the death of her parents.
Cleopatra Paige is not your typical heroine. She’s got fire. She’s got her classic combat boots, blue hair, and navy lipstick. She’s an absolute force to be reckoned with. Whereas Zachariah Prince is our arrogant and possessive hero but underneath he suffers from a dark past with bullying and struggles with how to heal and fuel that energy and trauma into something positive and productive.
These two drew you in from the very first page. This was such an emotional love story. My heart ached because deep in your bones you could just feel the deep tumultuous emotions, the fury, the passion, and angst between these two. The intimate scenes had me blushing from head to toe. I always admire authors who can write passionate scenes while also creating complex characters. Saffron is an author who has such unique characters and storylines, everyone character you meet in her books is so different from the next.
I highly recommend! I couldn’t put it down!
5 shining stars for this beautiful story.
As a teacher I get to experience bullying and learning disabilities, unfortunately families and parents aren’t always willing to cooperate or worse acknowledge if there is a problem, and their children always take the fall.
This story touched me on so many levels and I’m probably biased in saying this but I felts so much, the struggle, the pain, the loneliness the sense of being inadequate, not being good enough. Ms Kent did an amazing job in describing all these emotions and Zach and Cleo will for ever have a special spot in my heart. So yes maybe I’m not impartial in this review but I won’t be fair and honest if I don’t tell everyone how my eyes teared up, how my heart was bursting and how I hope that whoever is going through such pain can find solace and hope in this book, especially since this story is from someone who was bullied and came out stronger.
To all the bullied out there never let anyone make you think you’re not worth it, never let the cowards have the upper hand.
And to those with dyslexia or any other learning difficulties never let anyone ever tell you “you can’t do it”.
4.5
Spanish & English Opinion
This is the third time I read this book and I keep enjoying it deeply.
ESP ::
Este libro fue mi primer bully romance. También, mi primer libro de Saffron A Kent y desde entonces me hice fan.
Cleo & Zach fueron la primer pareja con un romance lleno de angustia y química que conquistó.
Me encanta la psicología de los personajes. Siempre tienen complejidad y profundidad y eso los hace especiales y distintos. También tienen nombres diferentes y característicos y eso me encanta porque los distingue de todos los demás libros.
La autora siempre logra describir sentimientos intensos por parte de cada personaje y eso es adictivo. Es vivir a través de todos los involucrados. Zach es un hombre complejo pero especial y con un enorme corazón. Cleo es la mujer perfecta para enseñarle todo acerca del amor.
Me encantan.
ENG ::
This was my first bully romance ever. Also, my first Saffron A Kent book and since that moment, I became a fan.
Cleo & Zach were the first couple with an amazing angsty romance and off the charts chemistry that I loved.
It was the complicated background and all the deep personality each of them had that made this book so complex and special. Also, I love how unique and different are their names. It sets them apart from everything else.
I love the way the author describes the deep feelings each person in the book experiments. Zach was a complex and amazing guy who didn’t know how to love and Cleo was the perfect girl to show him.
Amazing book.
Pretty solid hate to love bully romance
Five dark blue stars! Twisty and crazy stunning love story inside…
Oh my! I’m rendered speechless, totally out of words. This is easily my favourite read from Saffron A. Kent. Bad Boy Blues is SOMETHING else. Lately, I’d became a big fan of bully romances and this book is an epic read from this trope. I have a ton of feelings going wild as hell inside me, like a thunderstorm ready to destroy it all. I loved everything about this book. It is cruel and reckless. It is complex and very intense. This book nails the complex premise of a dynamic of cruelty morphing into one of forgiveness and love. The hot and hate-fuelled banter, burning attraction, and scorching hot chemistry waiting to burst furiously made this book an exquisite and luscious read.
Saffron penned of what I consider a powerful example of an enemies to lovers romance about childhood rivals, Cleopatra and Zachariah, whose hate evolved into something darker and cruel in their adulthood. The brutal and real torment that started once the prodigal prince returns home to find the girl he bullied, the girl who tempted him and provoked him, his own personal challenge. Their story is full of angst moments, sweet moments, and romantic moments laced in heart-breaking cruelty, sexual tension, intoxicating attraction, reluctant emotions that culminate in an epic and raw romance that will keep you glued to your e-reader.
This book ruined me and I couldn’t stop myself from falling deep. It took my breath away. My heart ached for Zachariah and Cleopatra. I crushed equally hard on both of them. I could almost see the sparks flying between them. Both are a complex mix. Their story is a modern fairy tale but more vicious and wicked. It is angsty. It unfolds heartache. It is chaotic and royally twisty.
Zachariah screams rebel from miles. He is a bad boy, a prince, but darker and more ruthless. His vicious heart and smearing soul make him dangerously attractive. A sad poet who thinks love makes you bleed. A devilish prince who rides bikes and flashy cars. A bully. A tormentor. His rudeness fits him like an armour. He has a dirty mouth and he is sinfully skilled. But this prince has a bluish weakness namely Cleopatra. She broke the stereotype of damsel in distress. She doesn’t need to be saved. She is her own persona. She suffered. She always grow stronger, never backs down and is not hesitant to confront her feelings. She was humiliated by her nemesis aka Zach but she resisted him and fought hard until his wicked games destroyed the barriers that guarded her.
The dynamic between those two is bloody spectacular. One minute they’re gasoline, the next they’re aflame. And they couldn’t stop it. They are as beautiful as they are broken and that just make them one hell of a couple.
There aren’t enough stars to bestow on this breath-taking bully romance that’s simply unputdownable and addictive. This book is seriously the most emotionally, twisty and crazy stunning love story! I can’t recommend it enough! Bad Boy Blues is not a simple ‘bully romance’. It is many things together that shake your body and soul; because the story of Cleo and Zach, two sad and lonely souls, led them to hate each other, is a turmoil of emotions from the first moment they meet again after years later, until the end.
I fell in love with the blurb, and then I fell in love with the book. This isn’t your typical “bully romance” trope. No, Saffron Kent takes it much deeper than that. You may hate Zach, at first, but then you’ll love him. Everything is not as it seems, and when the intricate threads of the story are revealed, you will feel the pain and the love. Very steamy scenes as well which were well-written and not gratuitous which I appreciate!Saffron A. Kent
4.5 stars
BAD BOY BLUES is a YA/NA story of growth and “rebirth”
While it has a few dangling threads, over all the story is well plotted and caused me to feel unexpected emotions.
I did enjoy this book and read it in one sitting because I couldn’t put it down. As with this author’s A WAR LIKE OURS this story is a bit of a mind f!@# which is awesome.
I absolutely recommend this story and this author.
I went into this story not knowing what to expect. I’m grateful I stuck it out. Blue ‘Cleopatra’ and Zach are simply amazing together. They have a dynamic that at times is painful. Yet, it comes from a place of Love.
Loved the constant intensity & heat between these two characters. I had so many feelings as I read through this book. So worth it! Saffron Kent you are awesome!
This enemies-to-lovers, wrong side of the tracks romance has enough angst, sadness, and ennui to power a small town, but the HEA is well-deserved, and the relationship is hot, and a little bit dangerous, and very satisfying in the end.
A MUST READ!
GOOD GOD, I LOVED THIS STORY!
A perfect mix of passion, hate, love, and everything in between. The feels were on point. The emotions dug into my soul. If you love enemies to lovers, this is a MUST READ!
Loved the writing! Made me laugh and cry with the characters.
Cleopatra and Zachariah couldn’t be more alike yet more different. When they first meet in detention her first day at St George, she was 10 and he was 12. Both had wrinkled uniforms, were defiant, and felt the connection between them. But instead of becoming allies, they became enemies. He was her Bully, her Tormentor, all through the ensuing school years. He and his minions took every opportunity to make her dread getting up every day for school and live for graduation when she planned to leave this town in her rearview mirror.
Time marches on. Zach left town suddenly 3 years ago without graduating and Cleo has graduated and is working on the Prince mansion as a maid. Cleo’s life has drastically altered. She can’t even get in a car now, much less drive away from the town. Drudgery is her daily routine.
When Zach returns, the connection is still there. His black eyes pierce into her baby blues. He draws her to him like a moth to a flame. Even knowing the danger, she can’t stay away and my heart breaks for these two broken souls. Their dance around the fire is full of burns and passion, and they can no more ignore each other than stop breathing.
I loved this Dark Prince/Cinderella story so much! The angst was so deep at times that my heart bled for these star crossed enemies turned lovers. Saffron, you were amazing! I am in love with your writing and I will be checking out your other books!