From USA Today bestselling author K Webster comes a MM high school bully romance called Hood River Rat! Hood River was supposed to be the change I needed.A fresh start.An escape from my painful past.Better in every way. I’m a popular guy. Approachable. I make friends easily.Cool car. Nice clothes. Good attitude. Everything will be fine. School is school. I’ll keep my head down until graduation …
School is school.
I’ll keep my head down until graduation and try not to stick out.
College will be here before I know it.
Yet my first day proves to be anything but easy.
The Hood River Hoodlums—our school’s most notorious group of bad boys—have put a target on my back.
Their leader, Roan, hates me.
He calls me Rat.
To him and his friends, I’m a loser who doesn’t belong at their school.
I could pretend I don’t care about their hate.
If only Roan wasn’t so hot.
He’s mean, cruel, and sexy as hell.
My nemesis is impossible to ignore…and a secret part of me doesn’t want to.
Here I thought being gay was the worst of my problems.
Turns out, being gay and crushing on your enemy takes the cake.
This is a full-length high school enemies-to-lovers and new adult romance with high angst, suspense, and gutting emotion. It’s book one in the Hood River Hoodlum series that will have interlinking storylines. Hood River Rat can be read as a standalone and starts off a four-book planned series that gives each Hoodlum a book. This is the only MM story. The others are MF.
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“I think I just somehow earned points with my boyfriend’s psycho best friend who tried to kill me.”
Hollis I LOVE YOU!
Ugh. My heart. Everytime Roan did something or said something to Hollis that was sweet my heart GALLOPED. I got actual butterflies. Because he started out so ruthless. They were the most perfect couple miss K Webster has EVER written. Roan slowly made peace with his sexuality and it was an amazing thing to witness. He just drove right into it. Hollis. My poor boy. He had the weight of the world on his shoulders. I was so sad for him. But Roan was there for him every step of the way. So much hardship. I just wanted to hold him.
I am so excited for Jordy and Roux. I had a feeling with how possessive he was over this girl that something was going to happen. And then that last chapter!!!!!!! Omg. And GRRRR I was getting sooo mad with the mom/Roux situation. Mad because THATS HOW LIFE REALLY IS. Man, this book was pure ecstasy and perfection from beginning to end. I need moreeeeee. Little Hoodlum is going to be even better!!!!!
I enjoy anything from this author. It’s always super good, the characters are amazing and grow on you that they become part of your family and friends. She always leaves you wanting more. But over she gives the best reading experiences! She’s my go to author and no matter which book you grab you’ll love it!
This story was so good. From start to finished. I can’t wait for more and what’s to come.
Great Beginning to a New Series!!!
Hollis and Roan had me at hello!!!! Okay well maybe Roan had to work just a little passed hello…, but once he had me there was absolutely no shaking me lol. I swear it had nothing to do with the level of hotness he exhumed, I swear! It might have had a lot to do with the level of love he had for his little sister or it might have a little something to do with how vulnerable he was about the love he felt for Hollis. I mean the possibilities are endless with that boy, I just know once I fell for him I was a goner.
These two proved beyond a shadow of a doubt, you can come from totally different backgrounds but still be equally broken. I loved how they came together and put each other back together piece by piece. It was perfection. They were exactly what they each needed to grow into the honorable men they were destined to be.
This new series introduced some amazing characters and I can’t wait to get to know each and every single one of them.
I found this in the Bully Me Anthology and new I had to check the whole book out. And boy am I gal I did. This puts two of my favorite genres together. Bully romance and M/M romances.
Hollis and Roan are fabulous characters who each in their own way will have you eating out of their hands. Hollis is the clean cut sweetie while Roan is the the tough guy from the other side of the tracks, who once you met you see he has the biggest heart. This is so much more than just a great M/M read, it has a great plot that will keep you engaged all the way through. Loved it!
*review by Michelle
I’m going to start off by saying Hoot River Rat by K. Webster is a must-read!! When I first read the synopsis for the book, I imagined something like The Outsiders only with the MM aspect. I was wrong. It’s really not, and it is so much more!
Let me start off with the story. It’s engaging and original, and it will have you turning the page. I had a hard time putting it down. And then the emotions it envokes. Hate, love, angst, hope, fear…you feel it all. And you want to wrap Hollis in your arms and slap Roan alongside the head. But then you want to hug both of them. Basically, be prepared for a whirlwind ride with the book. Finally, the cast of characters breathe life into this story, pushing it forward. They are original, and I can’t wait to read book two in this series.
4.5 stars. This book is one you really need to pick up for yourself and dive right on into. It will push and pull, and you won’t know which end is up, but you are willed to keep turning the page. One-click today!
Wow. What a fabulous read. This was my first K. Webster book and I’m looking forward to more. The story was well written, the characters realistic and well defined. Everything worked to produce a book I didn’t want to put down.
This is Hollis and Roan’s story. A new guy in town, trying to keep his head down, and a school bully would tries to disguise his disadvantaged home life. Two very different character, drawn to each other from the star.
Hood River Rat is a MM Romance, the first and only, in this series. I’m looking forward to reading more from the hoodlums.
4.75 Stars!
I wasn’t too sure what to expect when I requested this book to review, but the blurb sounded good and I kinda roped my co-blogger into reading it with me, which IMO made the experience even better.
After coming out to his parents and having his father throw him out of his house, Hollis’s life is uprooted as he, his mom and his sisters move from their home in the East coast to his aunt’s house in Oregon. He doesn’t want to make any waves at his new school, but when he starts off with the wrong foot with the Hood River Hoodlums, his life takes a turn for the worse. Between the anxiety that the move and dealing with the Hoodlums causes, his attraction to Roan (one of the Hoodlums) and the guilt he feels for dividing his family and an underlying medical condition, Hollis has his plate more than full.
Roan’s life is no walk in the park either. His father is in prison, his mother is a junkie and her boyfriend is a piece of work. It’s really no wonder that they turned to Jordy and the other Hoodlums for support when they didn’t really have anyone but them, Mike (their mom’s ex) and Hollis’s aunt for help. He hates Hollis at first sight, for he seems to have an idyllic life, and Roan isn’t sure why he’s so drawn to the other boy, when he’s always been attracted to girls only. As they get to know each other and he realizes Hollis’s life isn’t all that great, they find some common ground and start getting closer.
Hollis was sweet and caring, but he was also strong and fiercely loyal. I felt so bad that his father had thrown him out when he came out and was so thankful he had an amazing mom that would do anything for him, even if she didn’t tell him the whole story until almost the end. I wasn’t sure how I felt about Roan at first, he was prickly to say the least and ready to jump to conclusions about Hollis, but my heart broke for him when I saw firsthand how bad things were for him and his sister Roux at home.
Together, Hollis and Roan were dynamite and I loved the push and pull and the scorching chemistry between them. I really liked that while Roan freaked out a bit with the being attracted to Hollis bit, he accepted it pretty easily. And I was very thankful there was little to no drama with their friends when they actually came out as a couple, as well.
While I really didn’t like Hollis’s father, the worst parent award went to Miranda, Roan’s mother. I hated her and her boyfriend with the fire of a thousand suns, and was happy that they got their comeuppance, although I think Alejandro needed to suffer a whole lot more for what he tried to do.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book, it has unforgettable characters and I was totally invested in their story. Yes, I had to skim forward and see that Hollis would be okay at some point, because my anxiety levels were spiking, but it wasn’t as bad as I expected it to be. Even Jordy, who I thought was a world-class sociopath at first, turned out not to be as horrible as how he started out and I’m actually looking forward to reading his book, even if it’s going to be MF. So, all in all, I have no trouble recommending this book.
*** Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie for my reading pleasure, a review wasn’t a requirement. ***
3 Stars
“In all honesty, I want him to wreck me some more. I want him to decimate me.”
I had high expectations going into this book, as I’d been looking forward to settling into a K Webster bully book. It had the makings of a good story but there were some things that let it down in my opinion. Does a mother who leaves her husband because their son is gay, ignore his health. If I saw my son struggling to eat, losing colour he’d be at a doctors ASAP. Without a spoiler, there is an outcome towards the end that was just ridiculous, no consenting adult would of allowed an eighteen yr old to go down the path he did. A best friend would of stood beside him and intervened.
The English family are new to town. They’ve moved into their aunts house, when Their father couldn’t accept that Hollis was gay. Guilt for the demise of his family, anxiety at all the changes his family has had to make for him. He goes from being popular to being a “Rat,” but he keeps it all to himself not wanting to make things more difficult than they are. Hollis tries to make himself as invisible as possible, but the hoodlums keep seeking him out.
Roan and his sister Roux live with a mother who’d rather be high than put food on the table. Her choice of boyfriend, comes down to whether or not he can aide in her lifestyle. Their father is in prison, so Roan takes it upon himself to protect Roux at all costs. He becomes the person she can count on to always be there, to ensure she is fed and safe. Finding an easy target for their anger in the new boy, Roan and his three friends bully him for existing. Things become twisted up when they both end up at the principals house.
This is the first book in a new series, but it is a standalone so you can one click without fear of being left hanging. Hollis has moved to a new town and has a hard time fitting in. Roan is the leader of the Hood River Hoodlums and he dislikes Hollis. But they soon become an unlikely pair that you need to read to understand. Although this doesn’t end in a cliffhanger, the epilogue will leave you anxious for the next book in this series.
#MSBB
Webster is an automatic click for me, so when I found out there was more to the snippet we got in the anthology, I was all over that, like white on rice.
Roan & Hollis have such an interesting, engaging dynamic, that it was hard for me to focus on doing anything except for finding out what was going to happen with them. I loved the side characters, the life lessons, the unwavering loyalty in these pages.
The only thing that was off putting for me was towards the end. I wanted more than time lapses & glimpses at what else was going on, but I am certain it ties in with upcoming characters books.
I still have much to learn about this crew, & I’m excited for the next installment.
Oh, my freaking heart! This book was Amazing! This was a tough one! It gets you with all the feels! I read the first 14 chapters of this book in the Bully Me anthology and I had to have more! I loved Hollis so hard! Everything he’s going through, the same for Roan and Roux, they break me! This story is Everything! It’s incredibly intoxicating and sensual, it’s hella sexy! I was completely captivated, lost in the pages as Hollis and Roan deal with everything on their plate. This book was new and sexy, I cannot stress just how Incredibly Sexy it was and it’s hella angsty! Webster keeps pulling me in with her amazing talent! This may be a different read for some because it’s MM. This isn’t my first MM book, but it’s the most intoxicating one I have ever read! It’s easily one my favorite reads all year! Please don’t pass this book up because it’s different, go in with an open mind, and fall in love with these characters! It’s so real and gripping! You root for the characters and want to fight for them! I loved Kelsey and Mike and Roux and Jordy! Oh my heart, Webster really pulls at those heartstrings! I got super emotional and teary! I’m so in love with these characters, and I’m dying for Little Hoodlum! I cannot wait for the next book in this series! I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Please give me more! Absolutely loved Hood River Rat. K Webster has once again brilliantly given us a great MM bully romance. These characters were wonderfully written and their story was so emotional. Hollis and Roan story will keep you on the edge of your seat and arts will break your heart.
If you are a fan of MM, or enemies to lovers, this slow burn romance is definitely a must read.
Hollis and Roan were steamy hot together. This is a bully romance that had me on the edge of my seat. Roan is the leader of the hood and he about to make hollis life miserable. But this book will have you in your feelings there journey is not easy both guys have tough background. But I truly enjoyed this book.
This book was so good. It started out a bully romance but Roan and Hollis were the ultimate couple goal. They overcame many obstacles and always had each other’s back. This was not your usual bully romance. It was an emotional journey for all characters involved ultimately seeking to be love and accepted.
K Webster is a master storyteller that always brings something fresh and exciting to each story!
A bully romance is never easy to read and Roan and the Hood River Hoodlums were vicious to Hollis. Even when Roan was feeling the connection to Hollis, he still fought his feelings by taking it out on Hollis.
I love the chemistry between this couple. So many obstacles in their way, so much angst they had to deal with separately and together. I just adored how devoted they were with each other when they admitted how much they needed one another to simply breathe.
As much drama and angst packed in this story so was the heat! Nothing like reading a great sexy M/M scene that leaves you squirming and panting!
I love the start of this series, K Webster brought her A game! I can’t wait to get my hands on the next!
I swear K Webster never disappoints me and delivers phenomenally written stories each and every time. She is a master storyteller at its finest. This book slayed all my expectations and is my new favorite bully romance. Hollis and Roan were everything. Both boys have weaved their way into my heart, even Roan who is definitely an a**hole that you want to strangle half the time and the other half you just want to hug and squeeze him. I devoured this book in one sitting because I literally could not put this book down for a second. This story was addicting, gut-wrenching, and delicious.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher/author to review for Stephanie’s Book Reports.
Hood River was supposed to be the change I needed. A fresh start. An escape from my painful past. Better in every way. I’m a popular guy. Approachable I make friends easily. Cool car. Nice clothes. Good attitude. Everything will be fine. School is shool. I’ll keep my head down until graduation and try not to stick out. College will be here before I know it. Yet my first day proves to be anything but easy. The Hood River Hoodlums-our school’s mot notorious group of bad boys-have put a target on my back. Their leader, Roan hates me. He calls me Rat. To him and his friends, I’m a loser who doesn’t belong at their school. I could pretend I don’t care about their hate. If only Road wasn’t so hot. He’s mean, cruel, and sexy. My nemesis is impossible to ignore…and a secret part of me doesn’t want to. Here I thought being gay was the worst of my problems. Turns out, being gay and crushing on your enemy takes the cake.
Oh my goodness y’all I loved this book so much. I love to read a good m/m romance and this one is really really good. It is enemies to lovers, high school bullies. There are a lot of things to love about this book. Hollis has recently came out to his family as a high school senior and his dad loses his mind. His mom takes up for him and soon the family find themselves living with their Aunt in her house till their mom can get on her feet. Hollis is also fighting anxiety and blames himself for ruining everyone in his families lives. However there is more to the story of the family that your not getting from me. Then you have Roan. Leader of the Hoodlums that are made up of his four friends and they include his baby sister as “little hoodlum” His friends know his story and not to many other people do but they are just as protective over his sister as he is and this is the first thing your going to love about Roan. There is so much more to him than meets the eyes at first. Together he and Hollis have quiet the story to tell and I devoured it. I fell in love with them and am so curious about some other characters in this series. I can not wait to get the other stories but this is a no cliffhanger story and can be read as a standalone. Though all the stories will interconnect. You do not want to miss this one. It is emotional and breath taking and it wouldn’t be a K Webster book without a few twists and turns. I can not wait to get the next story in my hands.
I have read so many bully romance recently, but Hood River Rat was a refreshing surprised. I loved Roan and Hollis; they were realistic characters with tangible problems. Their slow burning enemies to lovers romance was emotional and gritty. Their intense and passionate story brought out all the feels that gripped my heart.
Roan and Hollis grew up in different worlds but somehow they see each other. The turmoils and unfair situations that they faced were real and relatable. They started as enemies but as time went by, their interaction became natural and true. They were both trying to figure out who they were and how to survive in this cruel world. There was an element of suspense in Hollis that kept me on my toes to whole time.
The author had built a bewitching world filled with interesting characters. I can totally see the potential in developing other realistic stories that will capture my heart.
I voluntarily reviewed an advance complimentary copy of this book. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
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***5 Big Fat “Hoodlums!!!” stars***
“How is it a boy I barely know has stolen every part of my soul?”
Wow!!!! Just wow!!!! This book blew my mind!!!!
I finished it in one breath a couple of days ago and i still can not shake it from inside of me!!!
Honestly, i don’t know why it had such an impact on me, but i’m sure that i can’t get over the story soon!!!
This book was my first M/M story and Roan and Hollis were just perfectly imperfect and so right for each other…
This book made me see things differently and I love K. Webster for that reason.
“It’s going to kill me.
Wanting him.
Caring for him.
Being with him.
I feel it in my bones.”
Well, it’s already known that I’m a sucker for bully romances and it’s a fact that even though i wanted to try once a m/m book, i was much of a chicken to do it!!!
But then a teaser of this book came across and i became obsessed. I just knew that i had to read this story and my instict was right!!!
This story blew my mind and i can assure you that my heart was given freely to Roan and Hollis to live in there for the rest of my life…
I’m obsessed with their story and I’m obsessed with the Hoodlums!!! I just need more and more of these guys!!!
“Don’t forget that I hate you.”
“Don’t forget that you hate me when you’re jerking off later.”
With those words, he leaves me with the hard-on he promised.
Well, Hollis is opening a new chapter on his life…
New home, new school, new town…
Hollis is gay and recently, he did it known to everyone around him.
Unfortunately, his father didn’t react well in that fact and Hollis with his mother and his sisters are starting a new life away from him…
Unfortunately for him, in his new school, the Hoodlums are the big deal and from the very first moment, they are making his life difficult!!!
The worst thing of all??? Hollis is drawn toward Roan, one of them!!!
“I’ll skim throught the next four months unnoticed and when I go off to college, I can be the Hollis I was meant to be. Guilt-free and gay. At Hood River, I plan to be invisible Hollis.”
“It’s a shame he’s such an asshole. He’s hot. Really hot. Distractingly so.”
Roan is one of the Hoodlums. He is someone on this school and all the girls are on his feet.
But Roan had a hard life outside from school…
His only care on the world is to protect his little sister and provide for her, no matter what.
And it doesn’t help the fact that the new guy, who Roan has a beef toward him, is always in front of him…
And the worst thing of all, is that is caughting himself to looking at him all the time in a weird and strange way…
“I can see right through his facade. He wants everyone to think he’s as perfect on the inside as he is on the outside.
He’s not and we both know it.”
“I’m not going to lust over my fucking nemesis, especially when I don’t even understand why I feel this way in the first place. My dick may be confused, but my mind knows exactly what’s up. Hollis is a little bitch who’s getting in my way.”
The beauty of this book is that Roan was staight… Hollis was gay, but it didn’t seem like the usual stereotype… He was athletic and strong….
I don’t know why, but these two were fitting so beautifully together…
I loved how they were between them from the very first moment… I was enjoying seeing them flirt with each other, even though they couldn’t realize that they were doing it!!!
And now, after reading this book, i realize that love is not about genres, but about peoples that are speaking into our souls and that’s what was Hollis for Roan!!!!
“Hollis fucks with my head.
The hate I have for him feels a lot like desire.
Strangest fucking thing ever.”
“Beneath all the asshole exterior is a vulnerable boy curious about the one in front of him. It gives me hope. If I can crack him, maybe he’ll let me in.
Why do I want to be let in?
Because he’s different. I’m drawn to him.”
This book was above the romance…
It was about love in general in every form… Romantic love, parental love, friendship, love between siblings…
This story was about Hollis and Roan, but it went above them…
These two were two troubled young boys that were trying to find their footing upon this earth… And together they were stronger…
Honestly, i will carry this story inside of me for a very long time…
“I feel like he’s mine. Like he could be mine. If I take the time and effort to find him.”
“I’m unsure if I’m able to handle whatever this storm brewing between us is. I don’t know if it’ll end with fists and broken bones or kisses and broken hearts. It’s too intense and cataclysmic to not end in destruction, though. If it’s not hate, it’s something close. Hate destroys and decimates. Whatever this is, it’ll ruin too.
Ruin me.
Ruin him.
Probably ruin everyone in this room.”
I loved Roan with his macho attitude but his heart of gold.
I loved Hollis with his fragile heart and his sweet ways.
These kids had too many shits to face. Both of them…
I loved that Hollis had a mother that put her kid above everything else… I loved how caring and accepting she was…
I loved the Hoodlums, even though they had a shitty attitude toward Hollis in the beginning, but toward their boy, they were so loyal.
I loved Roux and I loved Jordy whom I didn’t like, but he made me cry like a baby and i can not wait for his turn!!! Hopefully with Little Hoodlum!!!
“Anger bleeds from me and defeat consumes me in the darkness.
Why is life so fucking hard?
I just want to be normal and have normalcy for Roux.”
“It’s what we do. We’re Hoodlums. We don’t let life fuck us. We get on our feet and fuck life.”
What else can I say???
Honestly, i want to say too many things, but at the same time, nothing more at all…
This story spoke volumes!!!
You just have to pick up this book and start reading…
It’s a big fat YES from me!!!!
“Roan has stuck his hand inside my chest and plucked my heart from its cage. It beats like crazy in his fist. He can keep it, or he can crush it. No matter what he does, it won’t matter. I’ve given it to him, and it scares the shit out of me, because I know I’ll never get it back.”
“I feel like the devil who’s somehow managed to capture something he’s not supposed to have. Hollis is too good for me. I know this, but I don’t care. I’m greedy and selfish enough to keep him anyway.”
***I recieved an ARC for the exchange of an honest review***
I read part of Hood River Rat in the Bully Me anthology and loved it so much it immediatey went onto my TBR. I have been patiently waiting for the entire book. I’ve never read an MM book that held my attention and that I loved as much as this one! To be honest, I’ve read a few over the years but none grabbed me like K. Webster has with Hood River Rat. I had begun to think I just wasn’t into reading MM romance, but maybe I just needed the right characters mixed with the best writing! K. Webster has done it for me, I’m so far gone on her words! She’s made me a lover of a genre that I had given up hope reading and being able to enjoy!
I immediately felt for both Roan & Hollis. Both of them needed someone to love and take care of the other; to feel safe with someone else and they found that within each other. Every one of their interactions were so intense and left me wanting more of them immediately. It wasn’t even that their scenes together were that hottt! I mean…they definitely were! It was so much more than that though! I feel like they both finally found someone that could truly SEE the other.
I love how protective Roan is of his little sister, the sacrifices he was willing to make and that he did make to protect her brought tears to my eyes at times. As I was reading, I could make connections between other people in the book that I sincerely hope get their own story…some of them hopefully together! Oh goodness I love that Sidney wasn’t a mean girl; which tends to be the usual situation. But instead she turned out to be a great friend for Hollis; which was such a breath of fresh air.