Top #4 in the entire store.#14 Most Sold Book on Amazon“Best Romance Novels of 2019” – Oprah MagazineGoodreads Best Romance of 2019 Nominee“A runaway train of revenge, rivalry and angst. This complex and venomous tale takes on a modern-day Cruel Intentions/Mean Girls vibe. Pretty Reckless is unputdownable and absolute Kindle Crack.” – Kindle Crack Book ReviewsFrom USA Today and Washington Post … Crack Book Reviews
From USA Today and Washington Post bestselling author L.J. Shen comes an intense, high school enemies-to-lovers romance with a twist.
Penn
They say revenge is a dish best served cold.
I’d had four years to stew on what Daria Followhill did to me, and now my heart was completely iced.
I took her first kiss.
She took the only thing I loved.
I was poor.
She was rich.
The good thing about circumstances? They can change. Fast.
Now, I’m her parents’ latest shiny project.
Her housemate. Her tormentor. The captain of the rival football team she hates so much.
Yeah, baby girl, say it—I’m your foster brother.
There’s a price to pay for ruining the only good thing in my life, and she’s about to shell out some serious tears.
Daria Followhill thinks she is THE queen. I’m about to prove to her that she’s nothing but a spoiled princess.
Daria
Everyone loves a good old unapologetic punk.
But being a bitch? Oh, you get slammed for every snarky comment, cynical eye roll, and foot you put in your adversaries’ way.
The thing about stiletto heels is that they make a hell of a dent when you walk all over the people who try to hurt you.
In Penn Scully’s case, I pierced his heart until he bled out, then left it in a trash can on a bright summer day.
Four years ago, he asked me to save all my firsts for him.
Now he lives across the hall, and I want nothing more than to be his last everything.
His parting words when he gave me his heart were that nothing in this world is free.
Now? Now he is making me pay.
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This book – was a book I was unable to put down and ignored everything else in my life. It made me angry, upset, and sad – and mix it with twisted romance- and you have a top read of 2019. This book gave me so many freaking emotions, I was a rollercoaster the whole day. This trope, enemies to lovers is one of my faves, along with this author- another top 10 I read. I have a love/hate relationship with these angry lovers books. It makes me feel dirty for loving it, but I love EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS BOOK!!! I am always anxious to see what this author brings, and she never disappoints. Amazing job lady!! You rock in every area of romance writing!!
5 Stars
Oh. My. Marx!! If you loved the Hotholes you are going to ADORE the Totholes!!! Phenomenal doesn’t even cover it!
Pretty Reckless is the beginning of another incredible series, All Saints High,by LJ Shen. I never thought that there would be anything that could top my love for my Hotholes-but man, Pretty Reckless did just that. It was everything I thought it would be and so much more. My emotions were all over the place while reading. I cried, I laughed, I cringed, and I never wanted it to end.
“It started with a lemonade
And ended with my heart
This, my pretty reckless rival, is how our screwed-up story starts”
The ice queen Daria Followhill seems to have it all from the outside looking in. She is rich, beautiful, but so cunning. When she meets Penn Scully, they have an immediate connection. He’s from the wrong side of the tracks and she’s daddy’s little girl. Will Penn be able to melt the ice queens heart? Or will he go down trying?
There aren’t enough words to express how much I loved this book. Ms. Shen wrote a fantastic enemies to lovers story that blew my mind. Daria and Penn were everything. I am so looking forward to reading the next book in the series!
Shes not the apple of her mothers eye, like she wants to be, needs to be.
She tries to contain her inner hulk but there is so much in her life that ensures she cant.
Raging against what could be brings her peace and guilt. One for a long time, the other for mere seconds.
Hes fighting for their survival. Everything he does is for his twin sister.
But then he sees her and watches her from a distance.
One shared moment of destruction and the future shifts. Nothing right and true gained but so much lost.
Oh my God!! I think my heart just exploded within the confines of my chest!
I feel trapped between wanting to cry a river and throwing my phone, for putting me through the emotional wringer like never before!
I loved it, I hated it, I wanted to strangle most of the characters at one point or another, but my god I would read it all again in a heartbeat, right here, right now!
Daria is stuck in a never ending cycle of hate and vicious words, but underneath her toxic tough girl exterior lies a scared, and lonely girl who’s afraid shes not enough.
She broke my heart every time she lashed out. Her actions justified by others behaviour.
Penn might be from the poor part of town but what he lacks in money he more than makes up for with his big personality.
He turned up with a ripped shirt, looking like a bedraggled rat and aww I just wanted to hold him and tell him he could apply for the position of being my friend.
A very emotional journey from start to finish. Be ready to laugh, shout, beg, plead and cry.
Only when you have gone through all this will you feel at peace for a moment before your thrown into the frey again.
It’s a book that needs to be recognised for what it truly is. A magnificent and epic thorough story that deserves to be put upon the highest pedestal for all to see, and bow down to.
Oh my goodness was Pretty Reckless a ride. The level of angst and sexual tension in this book was off the charts.
L.J. Shen blew it out of the water with this first book bringing the second generation of the Sinners. She brought out all of the feels and held back no punches.
At the beginning of this book I was a little iffy on the characters. Penn is typical bad boy who gives no f**ks. You like him because hes the bad boy, and honestly who doesnt like a good bad boy. He is the Hothole 2.0 version, all yummy and snarky, and completely delicious.
Then we have Daria Queen Bee. Man oh man are we really sure shes Jamie’s kid? Cause woah girlfriend she brings some serious vicious vibes. This girl is next level mean girl. But even with all the bad Daria does you feel for her. L.J. Shen really makes you feel for Daria, there were times I cried right a long with her.
Pretty Reckless is a long book with a lot of character growth. Not just amongst the main characters but also with secondary characters. It’s a long messy ride that’s completely worth it in the end. I cant wait for the next books, I’m dying to read all the other kids stories as well. This book seriously deserves way more than just 5 stars!
I kindly recieved and ARC for an honest review.
I loved this book so much! L.J. Shen is my new favorite Author! Amazing!
It is a fantastic read. If you have read the The Sinner of Saint books you are sure to love reading the next generation. Seeing Jamie as a dad is amazing! Daria’s story is not what I was expecting but that does not mean it did not deliver on so many levels. I liked that in many ways it was surprising but found some of it to be a bit much. It is YA so I get it but that is the only reason it is not getting 5 stars. Full of angst that will break your heart and love that will glue it back together. It is a lot of story and will keep you interested from the start. I felt for both Daria and Penn and loved them equally. I can’t wait to see the other totholes grow up.
Daria Followhill has everything you could have a girl who is the daughter of one of the combined business. The girl is a cheerleader, is shopping at designers, and the whole world is at her feet and is just waiting for its request.
However, it was not always so. Daria when she was fourteen, her mother Melody passionately wanted to wake up the girl in love for ballet. By the way, arousing jealousy in it, favoring another participant in her lessons. One day, Daria received a letter that was not addressed to her, but the girl and so she opened it and found out that Sylvia called Via briefly got into the Royal Academy of Ballet. Daria went bad after the lemonade is not giving anyone the letter and there met a boy who took care of her time-paper, tearing and throwing it into the trash. And then asking that all this remains his first times for him.
Thus Daria met Penn, who four years later turned out to be its greatest enemy.
Worse … living under one roof.
The girl had to fight for position with their parents, although her father was always supportive of her, not necessarily mother.
Penn Scully turned out to be not only the enemy, but also the guy who took as he promised her all the first times that he left.
How I was angry with this book I am the only I know!
Leigh Shen once again spread me on the shoulders of your story!
“Pretty Reckless” beyond my wildest expectations!
It was worth the wait for the first part of the “All Saints High”!
Although … now I’m waiting for “Angry God,” which tells the story of Vaughn, who is the son Vicious and Millie.
Ah … the waiting.
I hate this.
Jamie Followhill turned out to be a wonderful father, who is a support for their daughters and sees his wife’s behavior towards the oldest of them. Jamie, who is not suspected on the state of the wall Daria, turned out to be a trustworthy confidant of secrets and a man who has gained in my eyes. Although as HotHoles does not belong to my favorites and so it ranks high. It’s really great!
Daria beginning with a slightly irritated me. It was a typical princess. But later, when the action began to develop, the girl turned out to be a hard art that although many of the logs under your feet can fight for her. I love a heroine, because Daria quickly became my favorite.
Penn … well … all in all I like it, but this is not the end. Apparently all that showed was a rational sense, but in itself does not suit me. Of course, I cheered them from the beginning, but if I had to choose it (surprisingly!) Daria is better for me.
Of course, you do not run other heroes. Vaughn appears and Knight, who is strangely close with Luna. In addition, we know little sister Daria – Bailey. But really, my eyes focused harder when I saw the word in the text of “Vicious”. What do I help it if my husband from Leigh on par with Wolfe Keaton of ” The Kiss Thief” ?
Returning to the “Pretty Reckless” Leigh Shen showed that can surprise. From the first pages got me into the world of Daria and suffered every time when I had to put the reader. Moreover, to the end it was not really clear, as will happen to the characters.
“Pretty Reckless” is a book, which I recommend to anyone who likes and does not like Leigh Shen. It seems to me it’s one of the better books I have written, but here the opinion may be divided. In any case, if you read “Sinners of Saint ” and polubiliście those heroes is here you will feel like a fish in water. I would recommend!
Pretty Reckless was a wonderful read full of complex, compelling characters. I thoroughly enjoyed the twist on the bully romance and loved seeing the redemption of the characters. Great read!
Good lord when I saw all of the hype and people loving this one, I knew I needed to read it STAT. Let me just day I could not put it down, except to sleep, and devoured this one!! Now I need to go and read the other books about the parents.
Penn and Daria, well their relationship is anything but typical. He being from the wrong side of the tracks and her being a rich kid who lashes out to others to maker herself look better and hopefully needed by her peers. I can say the bullying is strong but unfortunately it is life these days but I do love how this was handled in the book.
I love these 2 and can’t wait for more from the ASH crew!!
If you read all the Sinner’s of Saints we had a glimpse of the “Hot Holes” children in the epilogues and we knew Daria was going to be a handful and lordy is she ever and L.J. Shen did not disappoint in this story, this is one fantastic book the different emotions shown by both Daria and Penn along with her parents Jaime and Melody made it such a page turner I honestly did not want to put this book down. This book deserves all the recognition it gets and a definite must read!!
No words I write could truly capture how much I loved this story!
Everything about it, from beginning to end, was perfectly imperfect in every way.
Daria, the woman who everyone thought had everything. The loving family, all the money, the popularity, the perfect life. But behind that facade there was so much more. The insecurity, jealously and the need to be loved exactly for who she was, not for who people saw her to be. Daria proved just how strong she was. How after everything, she learned she has to take care of herself, be her true self, because the facade wasn’t a life worth living.
And Penn Scully, my goodness. This man, who was dealt with a crappy hand at the beginning of life, was given a second chance. The second chance was not without bumps, bruises and scars. But he finally found a life worth living and someone worth living for.
Daria and Penn started out innocent, became “enemies” or so they thought, and then so much more. They were two halves of a whole. They may have fought, lusted and loved one another but they were exactly who the other needed. Together they might have been pretty reckless, but they were reckless knowing the other would be at the end of tunnel waiting for them, for their forever.
I absolutely LOVED this story!
L.J. Shen is the master of stringing beautiful words together and weaving them into a story that will keep you turning pages.
A good start to the series.
Daria does and says some really vicious things but underneath she is scared, angry lonely and very insecure. Yes she comes across has a bully but there is so much more to her and her actions and a shocking outcome with how she repents her sins.
Penn loathes daria and wants her to pay for what he thinks his her fault and he does at the start but he then starts to see the true daria and things take a different turn.
I liked Penn but I didn’t love him, for me something was missing with him.
Via is Penn’s sister and she turns out to be vindictive and manipulative, I really did not like her.
Secondary characters were good, a bit shocked by how knight comes across in a few of the scenes in this book so I’m looking forward to what his story is and more in the series.
I recklessly loved this book! 5 stars
This book took a wrecking ball to my heart in the best way. I was enthralled from the first chapters, then as the story unfolded I cried so much reading this book. I cried, because LJ Shen wrote this story & these characters so brutally but so beautifully that I felt everything they felt. I felt their heartbreak, their pain, their love, their vengeance, their atonement, their forgiveness & their happiness. This book took me to another world where only it existed, and I am not sure I want to come back. I highly recommend this book, but be ready with a Kleenex box!
Daria Followhill is the rich daughter of a ballerina teacher who has everything money can buy. What she doesn’t have is the love and respect of her mother, who lavishes it on another student, Via, who has more talent than Daria.
Daria’s meeting with Penn gives her a First kiss and a chance to exact revenge on Via. Penn unknowingly assists with this and gives Daria his most prized possession. The repercussions from that interaction affect both their lives.
Four years later, Penn is back in Daria’s life, and in her house. He has a score to settle with her, but the attraction they both experienced 4 years ago is still strong, and as much as they hate, they can’t fight the pull. The slow burn between them is palpable. She is still his Skull Eyes. But both have secrets they are unwilling to divulge to the other. There is so much drama around them, so much angst.
Of course everything comes out. The black book. Via. Gus. The Principal. The holes in the shirt. Skull Eyes. This book is amazing! It will do what all of Ms Shen’s books do; rip out your heart, shred it, then put it back together in your chest. Painful but rewarding. I love her books for this. You are fully vested in all her characters. These are the children of the Four Hot Holes, which is another series she has written. You will recognize the parents in the neighborhood as well as Daria’s father.
This is another definite top read, five star, amazing book! You will be lost in this amazing world of Ms Shen’s!
A coming of age story with a twist.
L.J. Shen is brilliant with her twists…writing heros and heroines you wish you could hate, but grow to love. Characters so perfectly flawed, you sympathize with their inequities and long for their redemption.
When your first kiss is sweetly given. A promise of firsts shyly given in innocence.
Your youth shattered when you discover you’ve kissed the one person you are supposed to hate. The one person who is supposed to be your enemy. The one person you should never have feelings for. The one person you should never save all your firsts for.
Four years later and the revenge of what was stolen isn’t quite long enough to make revenge taste quite so sweet.
No.
Revenge needs to include obliteration. Take away everything and make the enemy feel less than zero.
What happens when revenge meets recklessness?
What a fantastic read!!! I enjoy this book immensely!! I can honestly say I was hooked only at 5% and usually it take more for me to be all in!!! Holy Marx!!! What a ride!! I highly recommend this one!!
Pretty Reckless is the first book in the All Saints High series and this is a spin off of this authors amazing Sinners of Saint series…let me tell you it is just as intense, angsty and hot as we have come to expect.
I was honestly a little worried that it wouldn’t live up The the other books but I have never been so happy to be wrong.
Daria and Penn met when they were 14, they had a series of first in a matter of minutes and within days it turned to hate. Now four years later and they are once agin forced to be faced to face and nothing but revenge and lust keep them connected.
I loved the brokenness of both of them and even though they were both so strong, no one could have survived unscathed. Their determination and overflowing emotions kept me hooked and not wanting it to end. I can’t not wait for more of this series!
I went in with really high expectations for this book and I have to say………………
it exceeded them all!!!!
Two bullies? Yes, please!!!!
I was invested in these characters from the first chapter and just continued to fall further and further the more I read!
I can’t wait for ALL of the totholes!!!!!
There are no real words to describe how good this book is! I’ve hardly slept page-turning it to get to the end. I just adore L J Shen’s work, she takes messy and unloveable characters and makes you adore them.
Daria is jealous, she believes she has ‘The Hulk’ inside her that makes her do selfish and nasty things when she feels provoked. So when her mother spends extra time doting and supporting her arch enemy Via, Daria can’t help but channel her energy into wanting to take her down.
When the final blow comes in the form of a letter, Daria is determined to make it count, she steals the letter and ends up unknowingly recruiting Via’s brother to help destroy it. Little do they know what consequences their actions will have.
When Penn is left alone without his sister and in the arms of a drunken doped up step-father, he wallows in his own situation. But when the nail in the coffin comes from the overdose of his mother, he is determined to ruin all those that ruined him, his first target … Daria.
There are so many levels to this story. There is the childhood crushes, jealousy and spite, through to teenage angst and hatred. I love all the characters because they are honest and raw, and a human to their cores.
Daria is relatable, she is an insecure teenage girl who has been spoilt with endless materialistic items when all she’s ever really craved is to be truly wanted and loved. As she does not love herself, she struggles to see how anyone else in the world could adore her.
Penn is broken, a true ‘Tin Man’ who is so tortured he can’t fathom the difference between love and hate. He wants revenge, when really he is lost in his own misery and is just dying to get out.
I love the twists and turns of the story, so many unexpected moments. One minute I was laughing at how brutal Penn and Daria’s words were, the next I was completely captivated and wondering whether Daria was ever going to come out of the other side from her problems.
It was an amazingly well written book that just had me from the get go. I love how it does not show a beautifully rainbows and roses world, it shows hate, spite, violence and all consuming love. One of the most compelling books I have read this year and I am so excited for the next book in the series.
It is a must read to all romance lovers, or people just wanting to read an incredible book. Can not recommend enough to readers.