Riot House (Crooked Sinners)

I couldn’t wait for this series to start and it didn’t disappoint! I wasn’t sure what exact genre it would be and I also looked forward to that. I like not knowing what to expect. I’d say it’s a bully romance but so much more. Suspense and steaminess kept me engaged! I can’t wait to read the other characters’ books! These are standalones with no cliffhangers.

I really enjoyed this book! The mystery had me at the edge of my seat! Wren Jacobi was the perfect bad boy. Elonie was a badass to be honest. She had been through something out of a horror film that she seemed to really push forward and overcame a lot. This book was well written and flowed so smooth. I did not see that twist coming. I thought my heart was going to explode in panic! I love Callie Hart’s books and I’ve never been disappointed. This book is added to the “I’ll read it again” pile!

Holy Shit! I love this book. You start off reading and you think you’ve got everything figured out, but you don’t. It’s heartbreaking and beautiful

“Of all my sins and misdeeds, making you fall in love with me will be the very worst of them all…”

First of all, the cover of this book is gorgeous, in my opinion one of the best and hottest I’ve seen and totally reflects the high school rebels this book talks about. I really liked this story, this is the first book in the Crooked Sinners series, and the boys at Wolf Hall are claiming my fragile heart!!

Elodie Stillwater knows what is to live in fear; the daughter of Coronel Stillwater is not afraid to move into Wolf Hall Academy, a place where very rich, important, cruel and influential people send their kids. Wren Jacobi just as Elodie, he’s the son of a retired Coronel; as one of the most popular boys in Wolf Hall, what he, Dashiell and Pax say, is rule; they are reckless, rich and gorgeous. But something in Elodie is calling Wren to destroy her, to take everything she has and break her; but Elodie knows how guys like him work, so she doesn’t want anything to do with him.

I can´t wait to follow the rest of the characters, Callie Hart is just brilliant; her writing captures you from the very first page, and in this series you’ll get the full bully high school romance experience; go for it, you’ll thank me later!!

I am a huge fan of Callie Hart so when I got the chance to read Riot House I jumped at the chance. From the first word to the last I devoured this book. But I just could not give this book 5 stars. The characters are beautifully written and the story is strong, but I have to admit that the book is long! Just under 500 pages. I had to sit back go do something else and come back to it. I am not one to do that. I hate having to take a break and come back to a book. Hell, I hate having to go to bed and start the book again in the morning, so walking away from Riot House was hard for me.

I will continue to read the rest of the Crooked Sinners, as this series has a great start to it. I am just hoping the books are not all so long.

This is a really good young adult high school students kind of a book. Mysterious boarding school? Popular asshole kids? New student? If you are into these sorts of tropes in books, then you are after the right book! Riot House is super angsty, at times super dark and very intriguing book. The romance plot-line is at times overshadowed by the mystery hiding between the school walls.

Wren is an asshole with capital A. The dark kind of bad boy you do not want to cross or mess with. He hides behind the facade as to not let his true face show. Elodie is such a strong character! Unlike anything I’ve read before. She is fierce and knows how to stand her ground, she is smart and do-the-right-thing kind of a character.

Epic story with quite the ending! It left me with my mouth wide open!

Wren and his two best friends have assumed the power position of Wolf Hall Academy and they are determined to keep it with no regard to the cost. They have created their own world off campus where they bond together and make plans to show the others in school that they are a force to be reckoned with and how better to assert their control than with the new student.

Elodie has a strength and resilience that you don’t see in many people her age because of what she has had to endure. Being sent by her father to attend school could not be any worse than what she has overcome in her past so when Wren is determined to make her stay as difficult as possible she says bring it on.

With every interaction between them Wren is finding Elodie more captivating both for her beauty and her personality, but they are so many obstacles that they must face not only from outside forces but from themselves as well. Dark, suspenseful and filled with so many twists that will keep you entertained until the last page.

Quote: He’s brutal, and he’s mean, and he’s rotten down to his very core. I can’t escape him, though. There’s a very real danger that he’ll hold his cup to my lips, and I’ll drink down his poison like I’m dying and he’s the cure.
All I can do now is brace myself and hope that the end will be quick.

First and foremost, can I just saw holy shit?! That cover… wow!! This cover had my attention for not just a glance, but a completely drool worthy moment of time devoted entirely to this perfect likeness for Wren Jacobi—which coincidently, I couldn’t have painted better myself!! After you’ve read this outstanding story, I’m utterly certain that you’ll be in complete agreement… so I’d tell you to stop yourself there and just buy the book but if you feel the need to press on through my review… far be it for me to stop you!

Quote: Goddamnit, she’s too fucking beautiful. It’s like staring at the fucking sun… Elodie Stillwater’s the most enchanting thing I’ve ever fucking seen.

Riot House by Callie Hart was absolutely phenomenal. I loved this coming of age, dark, bully romance!!! No one delivers a dark romance quite like Callie Hart and truth be told, I feel like I waited absolutely forever to get my hands on this one. And in no way does Callie disappoint. She wrapped me completely under her spell from the first page and I literally spent an entire night and half the day reading this book. I actually didn’t even realize that the night had passed reading this mammoth book until my kids were pestering me for breakfast and I still hadn’t been to bed yet! But copious amounts of coffee to survive the day after an amazing read are nothing new to me and with a small power nap, I was up and running. Still I will admit to being in a bit of a book funk after I finished this one. It was hard to invest myself after my heart was wrenched so completely under the spell of Wren Jacobi.

Quote: …my first thought when I saw that girl’s smiling face, was that I wanted to make myself hate her.
Why, you ask?
Why the hell not?
Just for the fun of it.
For a way to pass the time.

Quote: Why am I so dead set on her?
Because she’s innocent, and I’m not.
Because she’s wholesome, and I’m not.
Because she’s untainted, and I’m not.
And, most importantly of all, because she’ll be so pretty when I make her cry.

From the beginning, I knew this book was going to hold onto its secrets and it didn’t disappoint. The twist and turns did not stop until the very end. However, despite the size of the book, a whopping 450+ pages, the story moves at a fast pace and I felt like I’d only just gotten into it when I was wrapping up the final chapters. Callie painted a very sinister and utterly compelling story that will grab your attention with its uniqueness. I read a ton of bully and dark romance, and yet Riot House was an original.

Quote: “I’ve always been a depraved and dirty thing, Elodie Stillwater, but the idea of you has corrupted me to the point of insanity.”

The setting—Wolf Hall, an academy attended by Military brats and disregarded teens alike—was stately, imposing and cryptic in the way the first Harry Potter novels depicted Hogwarts. Yet, where Hogwarts offered magic and youth, Wolf Hall relayed cruelty, treachery and untold horrors for its residents. This school was for the elite, the youth belonging to societies crème de la crème, who were placed among the hallowed halls of an academy to be forgotten they too would join into the elite ranks of society. And to survive their tenor at Wolf Hall, they also had to carve out a space within its hierarchy or remain a bottom feeder. And the characters? They painted a picture of the most epic of bullies and the Riot House boys—Wren, Pax and Dashiell—were the worst of the bunch. The school was their playground and their games were legendary. Still appearances were deceiving and as secrets were unveiled, the transformations of certain characters redeemed even the most unlikely of the bullies. Of course, I mean that last tidbit to be completely ambiguous and if you want answers, you’ll definitely be forced to read the story.

Quote: “You are going to be mine, Elodie Stillwater. Of all my sins and misdeeds, making you fall in love with me will be the very worst of them all.”

The antihero/hero of this story, Wren Jacobi, is the leader of this band of bullies and a icier, more removed asshole has never existed. He has every reason to be the epic alphahole of this tale and yet, the deeper we delved into his character, the more under his spell I fell. (Don’t read too much into that, I really have a thing for assholes, and probably need therapy for this obsession! ) His pursuits of Elodie are definitely the stuff of a horror movie and not the love stories you’d expect but they worked for this odd pair. (And by the conclusion of the story you too will be eating right out of his hands.) Regardless of my obsession with all things Wren at this point, when all is said and done, the real showstopper of this story in my humble option though, will always be the kickass heroine, Elodie Stillwater. This is a heroine that will have you cheering for girl power, no joke. She’s fierce and tough as nails and offers her tormentors as good as they gave. And the spark between this pair will surely set fire to your kindle—and likely your panties as well—so be well prepared with your spouses on standby or your batteries charged when you dig into Riot House. This story is not one that that you walk away from without feeling the burn of the seriously depraved kind of sexy that Callie Hart is well known for.

Quote: … everything about Elodie is a deception. She’s small, yes, but she can defend herself. She’s made out of tempered steel, not wafer-thin glass, and she sure as hell doesn’t need keeping safe. Underestimating her would be a regretful mistake. One a guy wouldn’t walk away from uninjured.

I can’t continue to paint the picture for why this story was absolutely phenomenal without offering spoilers which I won’t do, so just buy the book and read it. If you’ve never read a book by Callie Hart, you’ll be a diehard fan much like myself after reading Riot House. And if you’re a fan of bully and dark romance, this one is sure to hold you as captivated as I was and will be a much read addition to your kindle or paperback collection!

Quotes:
I needed to fuck with her. It’s been the only thought that’s consumed me for weeks.
I wanted to wreck her, but back in the attic, kneeling alone in the dark, I saw everything so much clearer than before. I came to a stark and horrifying realization that’s turned my entire existence on its head.
I will not be the one to wreck Elodie.
She’ll be the one to wreck me.

“My heart’s a grenade. It’s safer where it is, locked in its cage. You take it outta there and you’re essentially pulling the pin.”

She’s everything good and light in this world and being in her presence is like emerging from a prison cell after so many long, dark years and finally feeling the sun on my face.

…up until now, I haven’t made for a very good, honorable, or kind human being, and this new skin I find myself wearing now feels like a pretty suit that I stole.

5

If you’ve never read Callie before than I would most definitely start here. This book will consume you from the moment you read the prologue until the very last second of the epilogue. The way the Callie creates her worlds is done with such a sense of imagery that you can see yourself within her words. Everything that happens you can feel it as if it’s happening to you it’s such an amazing talent, and has you lost within the pages.

’ ’ , ’ ’ ’ .

Wren and Elodie are two characters that have had very similar backgrounds. The way they were raised and the type of people their parents are allow them to form a connection that neither was prepared for. They were both thrust into this Wolf Hall Academy and left without a second thought. This connection is what brings them together and it’s what binds them so intricately. I loved watching as their relationship evolved from one rife with tension and anger to one that they don’t even really understand. They’ve never had what they have with each other with anyone else before. It scares them and has them second guessing almost everything. But it’s that soul deep connection that allows them to see the truth.

“ , . , .”

Callie has created such an all-encompassing read that you will not be able to do anything else until you’ve finished. This story and these characters were created with such precision and with so many layers that you can’t help but get lost in them and everything that happens. I don’t want to give too much away but this is definitely a story that will stay with you long after you are done. The emotions that this story elicits and the connections that you have with the characters does not happen everyday and it’s something that should not be missed. This is a Must Read of 2020 without a doubt.

Elitist high school, hot students, bullying, and mayhem! What a fantastic setup for a new series by one of my favorite authors. I loved the fabulous group of students ensconced at Wolf Hall Academy. For teens their actions and behaviors are more of the maturity level of people in their mid-twenties. As Elodie joins the sophisticated students for her last half of the school year it changes the complexion of the group. Wren is immediately intrigued and that upsets several folks at the Academy. Elodie is a terrific heroine. Fierce, smart and a fighter. She is great, except for her love him/hate him obsession with the hottest of the bad boys, Wren. Now Wren is the ultimate bad boy. Rich, tortured, jaded, smart and too good looking. You just know when these two get past their squabbles it will be explosive. And it is! Sizzling chemistry between these two teens with a freaking hot level of sexual maturity. There’s a lot going on in this story. Evil parents and faculty, a missing student, several romances, murder, cover ups, revenge, evil twin, sex, sex, sex, and more. Almost too much and some was inconceivable to me. The bad boys of Riot House, Wren, Pax and Dash, are a strange mix. Most of the time they don’t get along but they have each other’s backs when it counts. For me there was too much happening and it seemed disjointed at times. The extent of Wren’s malcontent was a mystery. The thoughts of the person in the box was another element that interspersed in the book seemingly at random. The victim and the tormentor were not a surprise. The first half of the book moved slow and was mostly Elodie dealing with her love/hate emotions over Wren when he was just being a mean boy. The story picked up in the last half with our couple going hot and heavy and questions being answered. The twist at the end was fairly obvious but the was an OMG element that threw me. I guess the moral of the story is that love can change you if you find the right person and Elodie is Wren’s person. As much as I love this author’s storytelling (Zeth and Sloane forever!) this one was a letdown for me. Dang it! Still an intriguing read and I look forward to more stories in this series. I guess Dash and Carina are up next but the introduction of the new teacher at the end was an interesting addition. I can see her and Pax as an item. A little age gap anyone? Oh yeah! I voluntarily reviewed an ARC.