A new second chance billionaire romance set in the dark and glamorous underbelly of the Upper East Side from USA Today bestselling author K.A. Linde.Natalie Bishop was just supposed to be a one night stand. Until she steps out of the ocean at my summer home in the Hamptons completely naked.The minute I see her, I know I can’t walk away.She claims that she’s just here to watch the house while it … just here to watch the house while it undergoes renovations. That she has no interest in rekindling our fire. But every weighted glance says it’s a lie.
I don’t care that I’m Manhattan royalty and she’s the help.
Only that she’s living in my summer home. With me.
And I want more.
more
4.5 Stars
Cruel Money was my first time reading any of K.A. Linde’s work and I was completely captivated by this intriguing and angst ridden title. Penn and Natalie’s second chance romance is a fascinating story set in the unscrupulous world of the Upper East Side. The first addition of the Cruel series is full of lies, deceit, manipulation, passion, drama and love.
This being my first time reading K.A. Linde’s work I haven’t read the prequel novella One Cruel Night, but you can bet I’ve added it to my tbr.
Natalie is an interesting character she’s strong, intelligent, confident, open and honest. She’s driven and determined to succeed when it comes to writing a great romance.
Penn is a bit of an ass to begin with. This wealthy alpha is brooding and enigmatic, but you can’t help but be drawn in by his charming and handsome demeanor.
The banter this pair share is insightful, and often witty, flirtatious, sarcastic and has moments of humor.
I will be eagerly awaiting the next addition to the Cruel trilogy.
Think Gossip Girl or Cruel Intentions and you have Cruel Money—a second chance romance set within the glitz and glamour of New York’s upper class society. It is devious and abundant in delicious drama, characterised by deceitful personalities brimming with lies and scandalous propositions.
Delightfully addictive, without doubt compelling and unputdownable, Cruel Money, with an insurmountable level of intrigue and intensity, will have you invested throughout. It doesn’t just have angst and drama, it also contains seduction dripping with manipulation, deception flowing with tension and sweet lies coated in deviousness.
“Our worlds didn’t connect. Our lives were so far from normal. I didn’t want to want this. I didn’t want to want him.”
Penn Kensington and Natalie Bishop’s romance is twisted, yet fascinating—a train wreck of malicious intentions and inescapable heartache that you can’t turn away from. I became so engrossed in this narrative of cruel words and vicious actions that everything else faded away.
However, I couldn’t fully fall in love with these characters. Natalie does have some positive qualities—she’s confident, determined and she has serious backbone, but she’s also dense and unobservant, despite being a writer with certain qualities. Penn is an undeniable gorgeous, enigmatic figure, but there’s something missing.
“Penn Kensington had gotten under my skin. He crawled beneath the surface and there was nothing I could do about it.”
I know I will fall in love with this series. Cruel Money is filled with some of my favourite tropes combined into this enticing series. If you’re searching for something brimming with deception; a narrative with characters you’ll love to hate, or hate to love; the glamorous, lavish lifestyle of upper New York, this series will grip your attention.
I’m more than ready for Cruel Fortune (sadly, months away!)
OMG !!! I LOVE angst like LOVE it , this story was full of it , and HOT and emotional and just everything . Natalie and Penn will have you on the edge of your seat turning page after page . I can not wait for the next book and be sure to read the prequel this book One Cruel Night .
I really enjoyed the prequel to this book, One Cruel Night. Penn and Natalie meet one summer night at a party in Paris. They spend one passionate night together but Natalie finds him gone the next morning. This book, Cruel Money, picks up six years later when Penn and Natalie meet again. Natalie is a struggling writer and home sitter for the rich and famous. Guess whose house she ends up watching? Penn’s, of course!
I like the heroine, Natalie. She starts off naive and innocent but you see her life experiences change her and force her to grown up. I really liked how she had to face career letdowns and setbacks in the beginning of the book.
I had trouble warming up to Penn. His friends are so shallow and unlikable. I had a hard time respecting him for not reaching for anything deeper. His decision to make a bet with a friend over whether he could get Natalie to fall in love with him puts him so far in the douchebag category that I’m not sure he’ll get out.
The thing that bothered me about the rest of the story was the lack of details. Penn’s mother, Mayor Kennsington, was terrible. I really wanted to understand what made her tick and why she and Penn had such a contentious relationship. What is the backstory with Penn and Katherine? He seemed to care about her deeply at times but she was so terrible that she didn’t seem worthy of his regard. If she’s going to cause so many problems, why not kick her to the curb? How did Lewis develop these strong feelings for Natalie? They barely had any interaction.
I’m definitely intrigued enough to keep reading but sort of let down after how good the prequel was.
Six years ago, Natalie is had a unique chance in life. On vacation with her friend in Paris, she decided to be spontaneous once in her life, she accepted a proposal to get to know the real Paris. With that Natalie experienced various feelings. Until morning comes, and with it, our character will learn the meaning of humiliation, abandonment and broken heart.
Now, upon taking a new job, the last person she imagined meeting would be the man who tormented her thoughts all those years. Finding out the truth about Penn and the weight of the surname he carries, Natalie will be drawn into a world of appearances, money, evil and lies. And in a place where you can not trust anything or anyone, Natalie will once again fall prey to the cruelty of money.
K.A. Linde presents her new series Cruel, where Cruel Money is the first volume and One Cruel Night is the prequel, showing the encounter of the characters. It is essential to read the prequel for a better understanding of the narrative.
The choice of the series name could not be more accurate. In developing the reading and discovering the faces of the characters, it is evident that the group of friends are nothing but cruel. Lark, Katherine, Lewis, Rowe and Penn are the “poor rich children” who complain about the world they grew up but are just like the parents who they criticize so much. Penn with his facet of a good boy, an ethics professor, with his speech that he wants to live his life and not do what his family expects, is the worst of them all. The person who speaks the most about ethics is totally amoral.
Natalie is represented as the common, hard-working, goal-oriented girl who strives to improve her life and pursue her dreams. But even with so many virtues, she ends up seduced by the world of glamour that is presented. At times, I wanted to be able to get into the book and slaps her to see if she woke up for life.
Katherine was the perfect villain. Her steps were predictable, but they did not spoil the reading. It was interesting to see her antagonizing Penn, showing that he is also capable of the same tricks she uses to achieve something.
Lewis was the wiser so far. I do not know if he’s a good liar or if he’s really the wisest of them all. The best of the reading for me was to see that Penn is not the good guy who has a “bad” side hidden, but rather that he is the “bad” guy who wears the mask of good person.
The story is well developed, the plot of lies holds the reader, the bet that moves the narrative was a good addition, the characters are well developed, dubious, leaving several doubts in the air. The reader will embark on a world of high society, where luxurious settings mix with parties, shows, designer clothes, jewelry and lots of champagne. A world filled with money. But where wealth will be synonymous with cruelty. And Natalie will be the big victim.
5 Is It More than a One Night Stand Stars??
I’m still relatively new to Ms. Linde’s writing and I can say with all certainty that I’m going to be rectifying that this year. What an amazing book this was!!! I loved Natalie and Penn so much! Their one night together six years ago was something she never got over and to then be thrown back into Penn’s world was not something she wanted nor was she ready to deal with…. her feelings for him all came back in a tidal wave.
And so begins two months of their lives that changes everyone and in some very heartbreaking ways. There’s a group of friends that include Penn and man are they the stereotypical rich crowd that thinks they can do anything with no consequences. Well, I’m not going to reveal too much more because that’d ruin it for you.
I think I’m still in shock how everything played out…there was a two month period where our H/h were living a life that seemed somewhat idyllic…for one of them anyway. Don’t get me wrong, it was all sunshine and roses, but the chemistry between Penn and Natalie is truly combustible and they explored each other in ways neither has experienced previously. Unfortunately, for one of them, it didn’t play out the way they thought it would.
My heart was going double-time when I got to the crucial scene and so many things came to light! I wanted junk-punch someone too…it takes a lot for me to get to that point with a character too!!
This story is so well written and I connected with these characters in ways I wasn’t expecting to and getting pulled into their world for was an experience I won’t soon forget. Ms. Linde has written a book that has such a phenomenal storyline with characters that are richly developed and left me wanting more! Now I’m going to need Cruel Fortune ASAP!!!
4 stars for – Cruel Money – book one in the Cruel series by K.A. Linde. This book reminds me so much of Gossip Girls with a bit of Revenge thrown in there too. A diverse group of friends composed of New York’s elite spend entirely too much time plotting ways to one up each other in this enemies to lovers story of second chance romance.
Natalie Bishop is a writer who also house sits for the extremely wealthy. Taking the newest assignment in the Hamptons was supposed to be an easy job for the summer while she finishes her manuscript. What she didn’t expect was to see the one man who broke her heart years ago.
Penn Kensington needed to get out of the city and away from all the drama. Going to his family home in the Hamptons seemed like the perfect idea until he arrived to find a gloriously naked Natalie naked on the beach. He had a feeling his luck may be changing after all since finding Natalie after all this time.
As this book did end in a cliffhanger I am anxiously awaiting the next in the series!
I received an ARC in return for an honest review. Let me start by saying I liked the concept of the story. While there was an attempt to give some backstory, I think she needed to give a flashback to really show the connection the two characters had in the past. If it was just a one night stand I really don’t get why she’s so angry with him but I was unclear as to how long they actually spent together. That being said, i liked the story and was hoping they would end up together. I’m interested in what happens in the second book.
FYI: A novella came out after this book published that showed what happened in Paris. It says not to read first. Based on my review, it probably would have been better to read it first.
I’m Veruca Salt after finishing this book. I want it (Cruel Fortune) now! I want it right now! Don’t care how, I want it now! I didn’t even realize how completely addicted to the story – and this bizarre world of facades – I was until I flipped to the last page and Cruel Money was over. KA Linde did a phenomenal job of tying me up and twisting each little interaction until I was completely ensnared in the interesting dynamic of Penn and his crew and attempting to decipher where, exactly, Natalie fit into all of it.
I loved Natalie and was happy I had deigned it necessary to read the prequel, One Cruel Night, before I started Cruel Money. She had matured so much from the naïve ingenue she’d been in that story, I found it a lot easier to understand her motivation and hesitation in Cruel Money. She may have been more guarded, a little jaded, definitely more worldly, but she was also much more confident in her own skin – even when she didn’t permit herself to believe her first instincts. Natalie was a force unto herself, and I loved watching her hold her own in a world where nothing – and no one – is quite what it seems.
As interesting and sympathetic as Natalie is, my true fascination with Cruel Money lies with ‘the crew.’ I have so, SO many questions about them. About the few things we learned about their past in the book. About the lack of transparency that seems to exist within their ranks. They were an enigma to me, one I can’t help but be wholly intrigued by. I feel like they do truly care for one another, but I also can’t help but wonder if there isn’t something much darker than their shared upbringings and familial connection bonding them together.
For all my love of the crew (-ish, there is one member I’m not sure anyone in or out of the crew cares for), I’m still really unsure about Penn. There I said it. He has these moments where he is sublime, but he seems to have just as many moments where this other side of him comes out, and it makes me hate him. I’m along for the ride, because I do feel the undeniable pull between him and Natalie and I’m dying to see if he’s able to redeem himself and how. Honestly, I might be pulling for someone else to win Natalie’s heart – and if he doesn’t, I’d really like to see him get his own happily ever after.
Cruel Money is the first book in KA Linde’s Cruel series. There is a prequel, One Cruel Night, that available and gives a little insight into how intense Natalie and Penn’s beginning was and why it seemed so effortless for them to fall into the depth of understanding they had for one another. These books are not-standalones and will need to be read in order for completion and understanding. Cruel Money is written in dual first-person perspective, narrated by Natalie and Penn.
I stayed up all night on 1/11 – 1/12 (1 a.m.) reading Cruel Money by K.A. Linde and I do not regret staying up late to finish it. K.A. Linde is an auto-buy author for me when it comes to any book she releases. She tends to write storylines and characters that cause so many of my emotions to run haywire.
Cruel Money is one of the stories that made me happy, sad and angry all the same time. If you read the prequel One Cruel Night, you would’ve been introduced to Natalie and Penn then.
Natalie is an aspiring author in the beginning, but unfortunately, she has not won over any of the publishers with her current books. In the meantime, she is the one you call to watch over your beach house, mansion, etc. when you are away. The current beach house she’s watching over for a couple of months happens to be the Mayor of New York City’s beach house. While she’s watching over the house, she’s determined to write a story that will grab publishers attention. She is not going to give up, which is something I liked about her.
Natalie never expected to run across the guy who she had a one night stand within Paris, France while babysitting the beach house. Natalie ends up finding out who Penn is while watching over the beach house. She gets thrown into Penn’s world, where the rich and powerful hang out with each other.
She doesn’t fit into Penn’s world, and she promised herself she would never get with the one person who walked away from her in Paris. She’s different now. Now, Penn is trying everything to prove to Natalie he is not that kind of person anymore. Unfortunately, Penn is going to put Natalie in the middle of his world, and she may end up not liking this side of him and some of his friends. He may even have a secret or two that Natalie may not like about Penn. Sparks will fly between the two when they are together, but there are other factors in place, where they may never get the chance to get to be with each other.
Cruel Money is full of drama, tension, and steamy scenes between the main characters and the secondary characters. I really enjoyed meeting Penn in One Cruel Night, but he is a different person in Cruel Money. This is due to him being back in his element and world. Some of his friends I didn’t like and others I did like in this story.
K.A. Linde manages to always write her stories and characters, where you either like, love or hate the characters. This book is no different. I did mention before that I didn’t like some of Penn’s friends. This is due to how they treated Natalie. Natalie is less naive in this story, but she ends up getting hurt again and again. The ending of the story, which is what breaks her and ends up breaking me too. Poor Natalie. She ends up putting herself out there to be hurt again. I wanted to go inside of the story and tell her to run from the beginning. There were parts, where I think she could’ve easily walked away from the drama that was unfolding. Although, it definitely would be hard to walk away from Penn and his charm. Penn in the story is different, and it made me not like him that much. Don’t get me wrong he’s handsome and has a way in the bedroom, but he should’ve told Natalie the truth before she got hurt.
Fair warning there is a cliffhanger at the end of Cruel Money. This will definitely make you want to read the next book, which is to release in April. I’ll be anxiously waiting for the next book to publish.
Overall, I give this book 4 stars and recommend it to Contemporary Romance readers and fans of K.A. Linde. This book reminds me of one my favorite shows, which is Gossip Girl and how the rich and the powerful are the ones you look up to and want to be, but they have a dark side and if you are pulled into their world you are likely to get burned.
OMG!! WHAT THE HECK DID I JUST READ??!! Ms. Linde shows readers a bit of her darker side with CRUEL MONEY. They don’t call Penn and his friends the Cruel Crew for no reason. While not necessary, I do recommend reading the prequel, ONE CRUEL NIGHT, first. I felt it gave much more understanding and emotions to why Natalie despises Penn. I loved every second of their story, even when I was screaming at Penn. I CANNOT wait to see what’s going to happen in the next book. BRING.IT.ON!
This book definitely gives you a Cruel Intentions vibe! The birtchy character even shares the same name! HAHA I’ve never seen Gossip Girl, so I can’t compare it to that show.
Natalie is my swoon in this book! Girl crush central right here! From her attitude to her spunk to the hair I’ve been trying to achieve for the last few years! I love her boho style, it’s just so me!
Penn….ugh….I don’t know what to say about him. I do believe he may actually care but I don’t know if he’ll get through his games enough to learn. I mean, it seemed like he did for quite a while there. But, I’m not quite convinced just yet!
Lewis, he definitely can be the game changer.
I’m not quite sure about how I feel about Rowe and Lark yet, I guess we’ll have to see what roles they play in the future.
Now, let’s get to Katherine. OMG!! I just really want to cut a birtch!! Seriously!!! What a conniver! I’m quite sure she was behind the suprise visit!! She just can’t let go. Even when asked, pleaded and begged. She just HAD to come out on top. Well, guess what, you actually didn’t!! So. Now we wait to see if she actually paid her portion of the bet!
I cannot wait to see what’s coming next!
Hurry up April!
Cruel Money is the start of Linde’s newest trilogy and one that is riddled with drama.
Penn and Natalie have a chance encounter in Paris that and one that ended with neither ever expecting to see the other again.
Cruel Money shows the sheer difference in society between classes. It also shows how one should never be judged by looks alone.
Linde delivers a fast-paced, dramatic and angst filled story that promises to deliver one hell of an epic journey.
Penn and Natalie may come from different worlds, but they both hold their ground and refuse to be judged by it.
Bring on the next book!
Natalie’s job takes her to different places. She is a vacation house sitter for the wealthy. Taking the job in the Hampton’s doesn’t seem to be any different. That is until she sees the one man she never wanted to see again. Penn doesn’t recognize Natalie at first. He does however, appreciate the beautiful naked woman in front of him. This awkward reunion only gets worse when his wealthy friends are in the house waiting for him. Natalie finds herself feeling surprisingly comfortable with these people who grew up rich and are still rich. But, when a bet is made and truth becomes a gray area Penn and Natalie’s relationship will crumble. Will Natalie and Penn find a way to fight through or will things break irrevocably?
This book takes place 6 years after the prequel One Cruel Night. You don’t have to read this before reading Cruel Money, but I would recommend it. It is currently free to read. One Cruel Night introduces us to Natalie and Penn. You get a little insight into why Natalie feels the way she does. That being said, Cruel Money, launches the complex relationship of Penn, Natalie and his “crew”. Early on you know what the major sticking point with Penn and Natalie will be. It truly isn’t a surprise. That being said the drama and emotional turmoil the reader goes through with them is incredible. If you have seen the movie Cruel Intentions this will feel familiar. It has a lot of echos of that movie. Natalie and Penn are fantastic complex characters. Penn’s crew adds the drama and the dynamics between the ultra rich and the normal person. This book will leave you begging for the next in this trilogy. If you like drama, emotion and dynamic characters then you will love this new trilogy by K.A Linde.
This was a great read, fast paced full of drama and intrigue, backstabbing friends and secrets!! Penn and Natalie have history together (prequel One Cruel Night) and never expected to meet back up. Now they have the road before them is filled with hate and resentment, hot sexual tension, and a connection they just cannot ignore!
They come from completely different walks of life – Penn is from the uber elite society where money is no object, Natalie is just ‘the help’, a house sitter looking after what turns out to be Penn’s parents house! She is there trying to fulfill her ambition of writing a book, but keeps getting knock back – I love that she doesn’t just give up and keeps on going, she’s strong and independent and doesn’t hold back giving Penn as good as she gets.
Penn is a hot sexy professor, he is also trying to write a book, and has a character that I loved to hate! He aspires to be a better person that the one he has been, but keeps finding himself going back to his old character during the story. It is very apparent that he cares for Natalie as the story progresses, but the game he is playing with his group of friends (the crew) is just nasty!!
I really enjoyed this, filled with some very interesting characters that really made for a drama filled read! The members of the crew really got to me, their attitude and their treatment of Natalie has you on the edge of your seat! I can’t wait to read the next book in this trilogy!
K.A. Linde goes back to her angsty writing roots with Cruel Money, book one of her new series, the Cruel Trilogy, and in doing so, she creates the perfect world, New York City & the Hamptons to explore and to expose the personal and professional boundaries that some people seem to not mind crossing while others strive to stay true to who they are and what they believe in no matter the cost.
When Cruel Money begins, it’s beyond clear that Natalie Bishop doesn’t belong with Penn Kensington’s crew, not because they’re too good for her or because she’s not anywhere near their financial wealth/stability; no, the reason she should want nothing to do with this Elite Squad of New York’s Upper East Siders is because she’s better than them not inferior…because what they show on the outside is nothing like what lies within and that idea does not describe Natalie or define the woman she is, which means she’s too good for their games, their bets, and their pettiness, no matter how much Penn makes her want to play.
Penn Kensington is definitely a larger-than-life man – one who is also a bit of an enigma given his family name, his need to pave his own way, and his position as an ethical professor. He’s someone who studies the ethics involved in any given situation, which I find quite ironic due to the situation he finds himself in when it comes to his second chance with Natalie, and while it’s clear that he struggles to right wrongs that could end up destroying the new connection that he’s made with her, the fact that he does nothing until it’s too late makes me wholeheartedly agree with Natalie’s assessment of Penn at the end of Cruel Money because no one who understands what it means to be an honorable man and human being should find pleasure in messing with other people’s lives simply because he can and he finds it too difficult not to prove his crew members wrong.
There’s one particular woman in Penn’s inner circle that I would be more than happy to bitchslap; she’s devious and duplicitous and she doesn’t care who gets hurt in the crosshairs of her deceptions; in fact, other people’s feelings, even those in her crew, she refuses to concern herself with, which I’m hoping, in the end, will lead to her downfall.
I’m not sure where Natalie and Penn go from here because it’s clear that regardless of how much time passes, how much heartache they incur, and how much space they put between them, their feelings for one another aren’t just going to dissipate, no matter how much one or the other might want them to, so heading into Cruel Fortune, I truly have no idea where K.A. Linde plans to take her characters…what I do know, though, is that I’m sure readers for in for quite the bumpy and angsty ride.
4 Poison Apples
Cruel Money by K.A. Linde is the first book in her new Cruel Trilogy. If you want to know about the story before the story, I recommend to read One Cruel Night – a short story the author just published. Cruel Money is not a standalone and ends in a cliffie.
Meet Natalie and Penn.
Natalie is a young woman, a writer who jobs as house-sitter. Penn is one of the old money heirs and son of NY’s mayor. He’s practically royalty. Only he shares a past with Natalie.
Cruel Money is difficult to put in a box. It’s nothing I read before and I greatly enjoyed this book. The story shows Penn and his friends’ shallowness. They’re more than egotistical and play with other people’s lives like it’s a game of chess.
Cruel Money left me breath – and speechless with a major bookhandover.
Favorite Quotes:
” I enjoyed the journey the characters take and style of prose. The author definitely knows how to tell a captivating story and keep you on the edge of your seat.”
I recommend this book and really can’t wait for the next installment. 5 stars.
Wow! Cruel Money is probably my newest favorite from KA Linde. This book is full of drama (the good kind), heat and so much intrigue. There is so much to say about this book, but I don’t want to give anything away! GAH! Pick this one up today!!
K.A. Linde is an author who can easily switch what she writes about. Last year a paranormal trilogy and now a trilogy with characters on the Upper East Side where everything may not be as glamorous as it seems!
Natalie is still dreaming of being an author and until she gets that career going, she stays at houses that need to be monitored while people are on vacation. She’s now staying a really nice house and plans to get a lot of writing done. What she doesn’t expect is seeing the man who left her alone and naked in bed six years ago.
Penn has lived a pretty easy life being rich. He remembers Natalie, but doesn’t seem to really care at first. His ‘crew’ is with him, which is a group of all rich friends who seem to have their own issues. Penn remembers Natalie from six years ago, but doesn’t seem to want his friends around her.
I loved Penn’s crew. They’re all pretty quirky and maybe kind of mean, but I think my favorite one was Lewis. He seemed to be the most down to earth and just plain nice to Natalie. Seeing how Katherine kind of thought of Natalie as a project, that was just wrong. It’s clear she had some other intentions.
The chemistry is definitely still there between Penn and Natalie, but Natalie is a strong independent woman and will not let him decide how things go down. I really liked Natalie. She stays herself even when she’s tossed in a world of the rich. Even being made over makes her feel out of place. She seems really genuine and that’s not always something I get to see in romance stories.
There’s definitely more that meets the eye when it comes to Penn. To the outside world he may seem arrogant and act like it, but with Natalie he’s different. I loved that even if his family didn’t want him to, he want after his own dream and became a proffessor. I think my only complaint is that I would’ve loved more chapters from his POV. There weren’t enough!
Besides the romance that I loved to see grow, the crew definitely hangs in circles that aren’t always that nice. There is a lot of drama and trouble. And the ending of Cruel Money really leaves us hanging!! I need the second book now!!
Once again, K.A. Linde created a world I can’t get enough of! The different characters are amazing and I love how it all fits together. I can’t wait to see how she continues this amazing story!
This was good overall. I’m giving it 4 out of 5 stars. This review is for an ARC, and reflects my honest opinion.
I read the prequel before reading this, and I’m glad I did; it gave me a little more insight into these characters before diving right into the present. This was dual POV, but to be honest, at least 90% of the book was Natalie’s POV. I liked her as a main character since I could see a lot of myself in her (especially the writer parts), but based on the summary, I was expecting most of the book to be Penn’s POV. I can’t be alone in that mindset, right??
Without going into much detail, I was conflicted about Penn. I liked him most of the time, but he hadn’t fully won me over. He had some stupid, jack*ss moments for lack of better words. I’m 99% sure he’ll redeem himself, but we shall see. The ending was a bit of a cliffhanger, so I can’t wait to get my hands on the next book in the trilogy, Cruel Fortune.
Regarding the side characters…on the one hand, there were some that drove me nuts, and then there were ones I thought were okay such as Lewis, and Amy. I loooved Aristotle (Totle). He was so beyond cute! I’ve noticed that all of this author’s books (at least the ones I’ve read) feature a kind of tormented hero, so I guess that’s her thing. I’ve enjoyed the brooding, flawed men so far, so I’m here for it!