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.
more
Where do I begin…
Once again Leigh Shen out do herself, how is it possible that she makes you feel all this emotion and make you stop and think.
She covered a lot of emotional issues in Pretty Reckless, the amazing thing is she doesn’t sugar coat it… she deliver the story with a magnificent impact!
I have to pause reading to take a breather… to soak in what I’ve just read.
Who knew Penn and Daria story would capture your heart and understand them fully. That love at first sight do exist and with the journey of this two characters will show you how deep they fell in love but to get there… the suffering and hurts will test their love.
Brace yourself,this is a one hell of ride on a Ferris wheel!
Pretty Reckless by LJ Shen
This book was everything! Pretty Reckless is the first book of the All Saints High Series it is Five plus stars. Wow, LJ Shen PR was incredible! LJ Shen always takes us readers on a wild journey with her characters. Pretty Reckless was filled with all the emotions from beginning to end. I can’t believe I loved Daria so much, she is a complex young person who wants to be seen, heard, and loved. Pretty Reckless is a wild ride, the angst, All Saints High School, Daria and Penn interactions as well as the humor of Daria’s inner voice I loved every word. Pretty Reckless will take you on a wild of emotions. LJ Shen has the ability to make you love the unlovable character that’s Daria. Penn is an amazing young Alpha male on the rise. Pretty Reckless will take you on an emotional journey through out the book. I repeated myself a few times I can’t find the words to describe how much I loved Pretty Reckless. I am in a book hangover!
How many tears could fall down when Your heart is breaking????? Countless….especially when they still didn’t stopped… falling down!
This book is perfect creation from more amazing author !!!! Bravo for L.j. Shen and her first All Saints High Series Book!
Since Today my life will be like : After-reading-Pretty Reckless-mode… I haven’t been well prepared for meeting with this kids and their story ! For sure, reading every new book from all Sparrow’s Queen is like giving heart on golden tray to Mrs. Shen squeezing hands!! But no matter what, with Daria and Penn in the bacground I’ll be first volunteer in the line for that!!!
This day will stay forever in my memories because Mrs. Shen helped me FINALLY to understand what exactly means “have something b****s deep in Your head”… but this time it will be only my heart instead…my head. Daria, Penn and other Todos Santos folks fallen so deply in my soul! They are just.. LIFE, and if someone likes L.J. Shen and her books, will need this book like next breath.
Daria is EVERYTHING what I’ve expected, but also everything what have suprised me the most. Penn maybe is reall Shen’s alpha, but he’s not sure how to fight Daria. THEIR story was sinfull, angsty and hot. Absolutely perfection from this unputtable kind. This author give so many twists, ups and downs.. I feel stupid now, becsuse using B- word so near Daria’s name shouldn’t have happen EVER I should beg this girl for forgivness… on my knees !
Maybe my words isn’t beautifull in pure literary way but I just wanted to share woth You the story of my heart and It’s adventure with Mrs.Shen’s Little Alphas. Pretty Reckless is emotional, and so delicious….. reading it I wanted to savour every word, even if it was crushing my poor heart ! Jesus, I feel still so broken, and so sad… and so empty…
Don’t waste Your time and set up a date with New Todos Santos Drama.
Oh my, LJ Shen is back at her angst filled best with Pretty Reckless. Its a phenomenal start to this new series.
Soon as I started this book I was totally hooked! It was flawless and gave me oh so many feels. The emotions running through this book resonate with you and you honestly feel everything along with Daria and Penn.
Dara and Penn are total opposites, they lead different lives but when their worlds collide so do the sparks. There is a very fine line between love and hate. Their inner battles are so raw and honest. At times I was honestly crying for Daria with her pain and self worth.
Its hard writing this review without gushing about everything that happens but I can’t do that as you deserve to enjoy this book with fresh eyes.
From the first words of this book until the very last, L J Shen made me breathless. Literally breathless. I could not breathe. I kept reading and reading, sometimes swooning, sometimes (many times) crying. And then when it was over, I sat there, staring at my Kindle app, willing this book to keep going.
Penn and Daria appear to be opposites: he has nothing and she has everything. Nothing is secure in Penn’s world: not his mother, his stepfather, or his aspiring ballerina twin sister’s psyche. Daria, on the other hand, lives in luxury with two parents as devoted to each other as they are to their children. Not that Daria can see her mother’s love; she’s too far down the hole of jealousy and insecurity to see it.
And yet Penn and Daria have so much in common. They just don’t–or can’t–admit it to themselves, much less to each other, much less to anyone else.
L J Shen didn’t just rip my heart out with this book. She wrenched it from me, stomped on it, shoved it back in, yanked it out all over again, and beat it with a meat cleaver. I felt every one of Daria’s agonies. I felt her sense of not mattering, of invisibility, of not being enough. I felt her need to be cheer captain and popular because the only place she feels seen is at school. I felt her need to have boundaries, even if she wasn’t sure what that meant. I felt her desperation to be loved by her mother and by Penn. I felt her loss of control when she did some desperate, destructive things.
Penn and Daria may be teenagers, but I would not classify this book as young adult. It isn’t something I’d have wanted my fifteen or sixteen-year-old daughter to read. (When she was eighteen? I’d have given it to her.) It’s just a bit too explicit in its sex scenes for some teen girls. Yet I feel like they would relate to this story. We can all see ourselves in Penn and Daria, as well as Daria’s parents Jaime and Melody. Daria may have the luxury of not wanting things, but she cannot escape the want of acceptance. She yearns for people to accept who she is, who she truly is. Not the girl with all the money and clothing and cherry red car, but the girl who feels inferior and unseen. The girl who does not feel as if she is enough.
I am jealous of those of you who read it this book for first time. I want to read it again, and now I will go do just that.
OMG I LOVE this book! The second generation from All Saints High is here. Yes, you can plan for the bully troupe that this author EXCELS at but this story is more than that. I literally devoured this book in a day. I couldn’t put it down, NEEDING to anxiously know all. EEK!
Let me tell you why I feel so connected with Daria and Penn. (sign, deep breath) Yes I started out not liking them much but still realizing I was so missing pieces of the puzzle that would explained all.
Penn broke my heart frequently especially considering the world he came from but what surprised me was the intense sadness I felt for Daria. My heart actually ached for her.
One of the highlights was having beloved characters from other books in this series peppered throughout this read. They didn’t just make appearances, they gave a fierceness to this storyline. SO FLIPPING GOOD!
The theme of parenting (specifically motherhood) and forgiveness was HUGE! My momma heart couldn’t take it and I might have even cried a little. I recently watched something that discussed how “forgiveness is not a line you cross put a path you take”. That is so true for these characters especially Daria. It wasn’t even about villainizing anyone but finding understanding. Looking at something from someone else’s perspective is not always easy.
One of my favorite lines from the book: “Everyone’s got a story and we all have chapters would rather not read aloud.” When I read that all I could think is, ain’t that the truth I don’t care who you are. Wink.
Help I can’t shut up about this book. If I could give it more than five stars I would. Hope you all enjoy it as much as I did. Another EEK is required! Happy Reading!
ALL … THE … FEELS!
Seriously, this book.
I’m not really one for the whole NA thing, but since I’d read the Sinners series, I figured I should see what’s happening with the offspring and holy crap, am I glad I did. LJ Shen delivers and then some.
With characters that bleed off the pages with their realness, this book will rip out your heart and stomp on it. Penn and Daria are beautifully flawed, broken by life. Does LJ fix them? No, she breaks them some more, shatters them like glass, and the slowly picks up the pieces and glues them together.
So so good.
Was so excited to get this first book in a series that is really highly anticipated and this book did not disappoint.
The thing I love about the first book in the series is that we get to know a lot about the other characters and what there books may be like, in this case I love the way L.J Shen gave us what these characters are like but I felt that their stories will still be a mystery and I love that cause it keeps the anticipation going for the next books.
This book really had it all the angst, the hate, the high school drama, the rich kids vs the poor kids and one hell of a great storyline that just had me turning the pages.
This story kind of broke my heart because I really felt for Daria cause I felt like she was misunderstood but at the same time you could understand why people were mean to her and she was mean to them, some of the things she said just made me cringe and I would dislike her but then when she was going through her issues I felt sorry for her and the relationship she had with the principal really made you understand why she was the way she was.
Penn was an interesting character but I loved him, yes he was mean as well sometimes especially to Daria but I could feel his hurt throughout the pages, I was always thinking in the back of my mind surely he has good intentions but I did question them a couple of times and that’s what I love about a story keeping me unsure.
This book wasn’t just about Penn and Daria, it was about the relationships between mother and daughter and relationships between family and friends. This was much more than a high school bully story it was a book that showed that actions have consequences and they may not be the best decisions.
I loved getting all the Hot Holes back especially being older and knowing they have not really changed. I don’t want to say too much as everyone should go into this blind to get the full experience of surprises and secrets that you find out.
If you’re into secrets, schemes, high school bully’s and just a fantastic story that has you intrigued, keeps the interest, I may have cried a couple of times and laughed in a couple of spots. This was just a well rounded story.
Pretty Reckless (All Saints High #1) by LJ Shen is the story of two kids who cross paths when they were young and do something that is stupid. Their actions set off a chain reaction which follows them years later. Each is emotionally damaged and when their paths cross again years later the emotions they felt have now morphed into something that can have deadly consequences. I love this author and the story she tells regarding these young adults. I enjoy and care about the characters. The emotional journey the author took me on keep me engaged and I really wanted to know where these young people would end up after the dust had settled. I enjoy this author and any chance I get to read her books I jump at it. This story didn’t disappoint me. At one point I was wondering where the author was going to take this story. I was totally satisfied by the time I got to the last page. This book definitely had me feeling a whole lot of things but was left with a smile on my face. Looking forward to the next book in this series. 4 stars for me.
Oohhh my freaking goodness!!!!! This book had all the angst you’ll ever need
It was such an experience going through the motions with the characters
in Pretty Reckless
It was such an amazing read,I looovveedd it Author Leigh Shen is a
fantastic writer, especially when she’s writing about people that are
a little broken & imperfect but with hearts of gold
Looking forward to the next book in this series
If you haven’t read it already,definitely go and One-Click, it’s sooooo worth it!!!
I love how L.J. Shen’s character’s are flawed, messed-up, but so freakin’ appealing. Penn and Daria in Pretty Reckless are no exception.
I’ve never started a book disliking both main characters before but it didn’t take long for me to love them both. Reading how they fell in love and grew as people was beautiful. It was intense and emotional.
This was a great first book about the TotHoles, kids of the HotHoles, and now I can’t wait for the others.
This book was so much more than what I expected. It was truly unexpected and HANDS DOWN the best book I have read of 2019. It truly deserves WAY more than 5 stars because it is that AMAZING.
First off, the cover is seriously hot! But it is the story behind that cover that is so amazing, fantastic and any other adjective that you can think of. This is a new series, so you don’t have to read the Sinners of Saint books to follow the story line, but it does give you some background into the kids parents.
Daria Followhill is queen bee, little miss popular, captain of the cheer squad but life isn’t also so perfect. Penn Scully is the boy from the wrong side of the tracks, has to work hard to make a better life for himself. Daria and Penn together are explosive, tragic, beautiful, and so so so much more. Both their characters are so complex and so deep. My heart broke for the both of them individually, but as the story went on it was slowly mended.
Daria is truly the girl everyone loves to hate, but she is a fighter. Despite her spoiled princess attitude, she has true insecurities she struggles with and you can feel those as you read it. You feel her pain and her struggles. I found myself routing for her to have the happy ending she truly deserved. Penn struggles between protecting his family and protecting the girl he has had his eyes on since he was 14, he doesn’t always do the right then, but he knows his mistakes and when he finally realizes he becomes a totally different person.
This story was unexpected in the best way possible. It was full of angst, love, drama, insecurities, secrets and truths. I could not put this book down and I can’t wait to see what is next for the totholes. Until the next release I may be suffering from PPSD (Post-Penn Scully Disorder).
Holy Marx this book was INTENSE!
I’ll be honest, I went into this thinking I had it all figured out.
I knew the story would be brilliantly written with characters that come to life because this author is an incredibly gifted storyteller, but I was still convinced things would happen a certain sort of way.
WRONG.
I was SO wrong!
This book was completely unpredictable and full of so many twists and turns I’m pretty sure I got whiplashed from ALL THE EMOTIONS.
I did struggle to connect with Daria but only because she’s so young.
My New Adult preference tends to lean more towards college aged characters, so the fact that I found this book to be a little “young” is solely based on personal preference.
Major praise to the talent of the author for keeping my attention despite the fact that I felt a bit like a parent reading her teens diary.
Overall this was a total dramatic page turner and I’m invested enough that I’m very much looking forward to the next book in the series!
Here we go, the time is here, kicking off with this first book in the All Saints High series from LJ Shen. The second generation of the Sinners of Saint and what a fucking beautiful first book it is. It’s packed with so much teen angst and filled with twists and turns that are so unexpected you’re left wondering what the hell happened. It’s takes over, completely consumes you until you’re left with no other thoughts except this book and the characters inside and you won’t regret a single damn second of letting it do so.
Daria and Penn are so…wow, so different and filled with so much hate, it’s crazy, insane and it WORKS.
Daria Followhill, she’s rich, entitled and has everything she could possibly want. But even the most rich and Privileged kids aren’t happy deep inside and LJ Shen really dives into that with her leading female. Daria is different, she’s not your typical rich kid, she suffering deep inside with insecurities that take over her. She’s real and fake mixed together and those struggles she endures and survives are one of the many things that’ll have you loving this beautiful girl.
Penn Scully, The complete opposite to the rich girl. He’s from the poorer part of town. Fighting his way through the tough life he’s been given. He’s a
closed off, angry boy with a broken heart. He doesn’t love many but the few that he does he loves fiercely and whole heartedly. He’s an asshole at times and takes what doesn’t belong to him, he acts out when angry and does things he can’t take back, things that have consequences. LJ Shen really does deliver with Penn, he’s not like most leading male characters he’s so different and you just can’t help but love him.
The relationship between Daria and Penn is something you wouldn’t expect. You don’t expect to see the things that happen, the impact they have or the repercussions.
I just want to put this in here, Seeing Jaime and Melody as parents was also unexpected. I never expected Melody to be the way she was and Jaime, I love that man so damn much. He’s an amazing father and I absolutely love the family aspect of this book what it covers and all the feelings involved.
Just when you think you know what’s going to happen in Pretty Reckless LJ Shen proves you wrong and shows you just how incredible of a writer she is. You expect one thing and the opposite happens and it just blows your mind at how amazing she truly is. Her talent has no limits, everything she writes blows you away EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.
Pretty Reckless is angsty, consuming and mind blowing. It’s a rollercoaster filled with so many emotions and one that you won’t want to get off.
One of the most incredible reads of 2019 by far!
Wow…this is such an AMAZING read, but then again this is a L.J. Shen book. She has yet to write anything that I didn’t fall in love with. I absolutely loved Pretty Reckless and the whole Penn and Daria drama. OMG!! the angst and the drama of their story. Their love hate relationship that keeps those pages turning and the chemistry between them that heated up the kindle was off the charts!!! Penn and Daria are both so broken, but in different ways. Both needing someone to help put the pieces back together again. The twist and the turns of their story had me so wrapped up in their whole story. Daria was at times like mean girls on steroids, but gosh I loved her and her hulk drama. I could feel both of her and Penn’s pain and their love for one another. Their story was such a GREAT start to a new YA series.
Happy Reading Everyone!!!
I was so excited for this book!! I’ve said it once and I will say it again, LJ Shen writes the biggest jerks and I love it!!! This time the female is also a jerk which was new to me because it’s mostly men who are haha! At the beginning, there were just too many characters being mentioned and I kept getting confused on who was who and what each were doing. So that made it hard to get into. I loved how Penn and Daria fought back and forth yet had so much chemistry. And some of their scenes together….. wow! Hotttttt! It was cool to hear how the Hotholes were doing as adults. I can’t wait for the next one to come out!!!
Pretty Reckless is the next generation of the Hotholes. It’s overloaded with angst, emotions, mean girls and money. Daria is the rich girl with everything and Penn is the poor boy from the wrong side of the tracks tracks. Together, they are explosive. The story has all the feels and much more. Ms. Shen does it again with her incredible writing.
Review copy was received for a honest opinion.
This story was more than I expected. I feel it focuses on relationships. Relationships with parents, with siblings, with friends, lovers and, more importantly, the relationship we have with ourselves. I won’t lie, the story had me crying in certain places. My heart ached for Daria and her situation. Initially, I felt irritated by her poor rich girl attitude however that changed the more I read. That was just a facade and not who she truly was on the inside. She truly felt alone and the only person in her corner was her father. Until Penn shows up. But as quickly as he enters her life, their friendship turns into a war that Penn is determined to win. He wants her to suffer. And Daria doesn’t begrudge him. She feels like she deserves to be punished. The deeper I delved into the pages, the more I realised that everyone was keeping secrets. Everyone was guarding hidden truths about the real person they were and they all had insecurities. LJ Shen has written a remarkable story that is so relatable and real. The characters are raw and flawed which is why it makes it so easy to connect with them. Penn and Daria both have to work through their own issues but their connection helps them make better decisions. As for the other characters, Jaime… sigh… For those who have read the Sinners of Saint, they would know about the Hotholes and we get to glimpse them here. And it was brilliant! Plus, we get to see what Jaime is like as a father. And I have to say, he is fantastic. His wife? I’m undecided about her. She wasn’t the ideal mother to Daria and while she does redeem herself somewhat by the end, I still feel like there is more that she needs to do to repair the damage done. It’s great that we get to see the other Totholes (children of the Hotholes) and the personalities they each possess. But definitely Daria and Penn are my favoruites. Their interactions and changes show that while we might have preconceived ideas about a person based on their situation, we never truly know someone until we walk a mile in their shoes. There is angst, love, betrayal and forgiveness. There were so many feels! I hope there are more Tothole stories to come!
How?!?! How do I put into words what I just read? Pretty Reckless was heartbreaking, heart wrenching, beautiful and emotional all in the same breath. I couldn’t put this book down, devoured it within hours and I’m currently craving more. L.J. Shen’s best book to date in my opinion.
It’s rare that a book inserts itself within me, has me thinking about it and needing more of it as soon I finish the last chapter. Pretty Reckless basically ripped out my heart, made me it’s minion and served me a feast of every single feel imaginable. I love when a book is NOT predictable, I thought I had an inkling of an idea to what Daria’s story was about but that notion quickly got kicked to the curb.
Daria is a complex teenager that is so relatable it’s downright scary. We saw her flaws and her other personality. Her story is one of insecurities, selfishness & low self esteem all while being the Queen of her school and still I loved the girl. In other words her mental state was out of sorts, her actions at times were downright mean and unwarranted. Poor girl needed a hug and the right attention. I felt her because I know her, I’ve seen her and I’ve experienced her in friends, myself and many folks around me.
Penn the beautiful man that he is, was the definition of making the most out of the cards you’ve been dealt in this thing we call Life. Despite being broken, chewed up and spit out he was years ahead of his time, brave and still through it all a stand up guy.
My heart ached, I got pissed, laughed out loud and swooned. This book made me feel it all!!!!! Miscommunication, judgments, envy and needing to “front for the gram” played such major roles in this book. These enemies to lovers captured me chapter by chapter. I adored both Daria and Penn because they were far from perfect but in the end, boy did they make me proud. The saying “all is not what it appears to be” would pretty much sum up this book. Loved seeing Jamie and his boys make appearances. Every girl needs a daddy like Jamie. Some parts were hard to read because of the characters who I absolutely adored but it made the story that more interesting and entertaining. What I loved most is that this story was real, so very real. L.J didn’t shy away from giving us the reality of a situation and making us open our eyes and see deep within the depths of what many deal with today. In all, this book was EVERYTHING!!!! Did I say that already? Well it bares repeating…..IT WAS EVERYTHING! L.J Shen, thank you for this masterpiece and I can’t wait for you to give us the other books because I’m ready. There was an unspoken, tight bond amongst the kids that was beautiful to see in this book and I can’t wait to see how deeply rooted they really are. Luna, Knight and Vaughn may just take their parents place in my heart, Daria sure did. I dare you to not read this beauty and feel it all.
LOVED. IT. WITH. MY. ENTIRE. BEING.
Top read of 2019
I have been waiting for this book for what seems like years…and it wasn’t even close to what I was expecting. This book blew my expectations out of the water from the Prologue. You think you know what this story is going to be about…young and entitled privileged HS kids. But it delves so much deeper. It opens these characters up and puts their flaws and vulnerabilities out on display. It represents everything that HS kids go through today – the pressure to appear perfectly on the outside, while inside they are struggling with insecurities and the need to fit in and succeed. LJ Shen has taken these characters and written an amazing book about acceptance, forgiveness, and love between both family and friends/lovers.
Although we receive cameo appearances by the beloved Hotholes, in which every single one brought a huge smile to my face, this book is all about Daria Followhill, daughter of Jaime and Mel. She is the cheer captain, prom queen and Queen B. You want to hate her, but you just can’t. She is so vindictive that she will make you cringe, yet Shen creates her character in a way that eventually you will sympathize with her. You will understand her pain, anger, and lashing out; and eventually you will want to hug her, befriend her, protect her, and tell her to run away with Penn forever. This girl stole my heart. I found myself relating to her and her insecurities with trying to constantly earn her mom’s love and attention. She is broken in a way you do not expect, and when Penn reappears in her life – the push and pull of their relationship is exactly what Daria needs. She needs someone to challenge her – to push back – to show her some type of emotion because that is all she really wants – to know that someone cares.
Penn is the ultimate bad boy. He is gorgeous, built, a star football player – yet he’s from the wrong side of the tracks, he smokes, he fights, he has grown up surrounded by drugs and thugs, and has experienced family tragedy. His apathetic persona is somehow magnetic. The more he pushes people and his emotions away – the more intrigued I was with him. His armor is up, yet deep inside there is still a young boy who is yearning for someone or something to fill that hole in his heart. The connection he has with Daria is indescribable…they are truly meant for each other. Even at a young age, you already know there is a string that connects them; and as their story unfolds over the years, I was completely blown away at the depth of their connection. It is real, raw and organic. All of the angst over the years and the twists, turns and surprises over time build up to something that can only be described as magical.
I cried tears of joy and pain for these two characters; I laughed with the Hotholes and swooned over Penn’s possessive and cocky side; I itched for more of Knight and his charm, and Vaughn and his stoic dark yet loyal side; I empathized with Mel and her desire to be the perfect mom; and I yearned to be included in Daria and Luna’s weird yet close friendship. These characters have weaved themselves into my heart and soul, and I never want to let them go. This book is going on my Top Reads of 2019!! Well done once again LJ Shen – I can’t wait for ASH #2!!