She’s an English Rose and I’m about to be a thorn in her side.She doesn’t belong here. From the moment she steps foot in Rosewood High— it’s clear she must go.And I’ll use my power to get rid of her. The betrayal I’m reminded of each time our eyes lock must end.She’s a lost rich girl, trying to recover from the death of her parents. But none of that is my concern.This is my life. My rules. My … concern.
This is my life. My rules. My senior year. What I say goes.
And I say she’s done.
Until she proves me wrong…
Dear readers,
THORN is a little differnt to my usual, it’s a high school bully romance with high levels of angst, drama and emotions. It is an upper YA romance and not intended for readers under 17.
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TOTAL RATING:
ARC RECEIVED FOR AN HONEST REVIEW
This was the first book of Tracy Lorraine that I have read and I really liked it. The bullying aspect of the book was good and the characters were pretty good. Reading bully romances is one of my guilty pleasures and this one did not disappoint me and i really liked it.
Here we meet Amelie , who has just moved to her gran’s house. She later meets Jake at her school , who hates everything about her and what she reminds him of and makes it his life’s mission to bully her. Later he realizes that she not just some timid mouse who is going to bend over, and his feeling of hate morphs to somethings else. The author did a pretty good job of hiding the reasons of why the bullying took place and i liked that suspense.
however once those reasons came to light, they seemed pretty dumb to me.I mean i get it why the hero did so, but Amelie was not directly related to any of that.
I wold recommend this to all the high school bully romance lovers .
Absolutely loved this angsty high school bully romance. I would give it 20/10 if I could!!
What a fantastic start to The Rosewood series
First off I’ve finally popped my Tracy Lorraine cherry and I already feel so connected to her writing and especially to the characters in this series. Everything thing in this book is written with the right balance to keep the reader hooked from start to end; giving us a glimpse of the other characters in the books to follow without taking away from the main characters,
I love Amalie and Jake’s story, the angst and tension was there like an undercurrent pulling me under and against the current.
Jake is the King of Rosewood High but had his own secrets he’s hides despite being the popular jock and Amalie the new girl, from London, becomes his instant target. She’s surviving her own personal loss and tragedy and just wants stay out of the limelight and to survive high school until she can graduate.
The tension is high as they collide despite Jake setting out to ruin her, their story hits deep. I enjoyed Tracy Lorraine’s take on the tormentor bully and the new girl in this Enemies To Lovers YA High School romance.
5 Thorn-y STARS!!
Rosewood High series
Author Tracy Lorraine
THORN: A High School Bully Romance (Rosewood High Book 1)
This book was good bully romance at it best. This is my first time reading from this author and I really enjoyed this book.
Jake & Amalie was good to read, I really enjoyed how these two turned out at the end. I voluntarily read an advance reader copy and my opinion are my own.
This is the first book in this series in the Rosewood High Series book #1. This book will totally make you feel and the life that these characters have had and everything that they have been through really had me feeling for them both. This enemies to lovers story is a fanatic read and I cant wait to dive into the next book Paine book #2.
This is Amalie and Jake Thorn’s story and you will not be able to take your eyes of of either of them.
Amalie is a beautiful British girl, the English rose and she has had a complete tragedy in her life and ends up needing to go and live with her gran from London all the way to America and goes to an American school her life has been totally up ended and its hard. Losing her parents, moving to America and going to a new school and now she had the added problem of the unwanted attention from Thorn.
Jake is the king of the school and everyone listens to him, he is also a very tormented dude that also has had things very difficult and he is also an arrogant cocky dude but he is also the extremely popular football player on the team. Jake has also been through a lot in his life like Amalie has but he instantly takes a dislike to her because she reminds him of ‘HER’ and he is a total ass.
This author has an awesome writing style that is really easy to follow and this story completely flows throughout and she writes these characters absolutely fantastic. At first I absolutely hated Jake and I wanted to throw my kindle he made me mad and I loved Amalie and when an author can make you feel those kind of feelings while reading there books its awesome. The chemistry that these two have between each other is hot and they have a strong connection and even though they both have these kinds of feelings inside each other, I was hooked seeing how these two would navigate each other. I loved how we could see them develop throughout the book and getting to know everything. This bully romance will keep you hooked and reading right until the very end. I loved all the other characters in this book to they are all very intriguing and I cant wait to read more about them throughout this series.
This was my first Tracy Lorraine’s book, and won’t be my last! This is the first book in the Rosewood High Series, an amazing High School Bully Romance.
Amalie and Jake’s story is emotional, filled with angst, and drama. The storyline is intriguing and captivating. I loved it! Rachel Woods and Patrick James did an amazing job with this duet narration. I love their voices together. Looking forward to read or listen to the next book in the Series, Pain.
So, I really do love bully romance stories. I just love how the bad guy…or girl realizes that they have f*&^ed up and they were wrong and really are truly in love with the object of their obsession. That it was not hate but really love, awww. Thorn by Tracy Lorraine is a great and I do mean a great high school bully romance, but it is not intended for high school readers. Oh no, this is definitely an older YA to adult bully romance. It has a wonderful back story and lots of interesting characters and it is book one out of three stand alone books in this series. The story around the main characters Jake and Amalie might end but it leaves off on a cliff hanger for their best friends Mason and Camila. So, Paine is the next must read, because with the way Thorn ends you will not be able to resist. Thorn by Tracy Lorraine is a 5-star read, hands down.
Amalie Windsor-Marsh should be starting at the university in London but circumstances beyond her control have her in the States. Now, so that she does not fall behind at an American college she is enrolled as a junior in high school and living with her grandmother. Amalie’s first day at Rosewood High starts off awful and goes downhill from there. Rosewood’s senior football captain and quarterback Jake Thorn hates Amalie from the second he sees her. Amalie represents everything that is bad in Jake’s life. Jake is going to make Amalie’s life a living hell even if Amalie has no clue why. It does not matter that Amalie does not know Jake he is out to destroy her and since he is the king of the school, he can get everyone to help him do it.
Jake Thorn is the star quarterback, the king of the school, and the guy every girl on campus wants… except for Amelie. From the first moment that they met he put a target on her back and made it his mission to make her time at his school horrible. Everyday she dreads going to school for fear of what he has planned for her next…
Amelie has just endured an unimaginable loss, her parents lost their lives in a plane crash and now she is left alone, save for her grandma in America. Leaving London was heartbreaking, she left everything she knew for a place that she knows nothing about. But her grandmother promises this new change is going to be wonderful for her, which she has serious doubts about once she meets some of her knew classmates… especially the uber-sexy, and Grade A jerk Jake Thorn!
Between the pages of Thorn readers will discover a heart-wrenching and dark tale of loss, healing and first loves. Jake and Amelie were quite the pairing, both suffering unimaginable losses, he was abandoned by his parents at a young age, and she lost her parents in an accident. These two carry a lot of hurt on their shoulders, and it takes recognizing their mutual pain in one another’s eyes to finally put them on common ground, an once they do all bets are off. The initial distaste for one another starts to fade away and love begins to bloom… but not before many little bumps along the way. I enjoyed watching this one play-out, watching them go from enemies to lovers, and both finding a way to heal and overcome all they had endured. I highly recommend you get your hands on this one, it was so darn addictive, once my eyes found the words I just couldn’t pry them away!
I absolutely love bully romances and Thorn is just that. Amelia moved to the states after the death of her parents only to be her new schools outcast.
Jake is the king of the school, everyone loves him or wants to be him. Quarterback for the football team and the hottest guy in school has him ruling the school. He is riding his high until she shows up, all it takes is one look at her and he automatically hates her.
I loved this! Jake and Amelia are fantastic characters and each of their stories are heartbreaking. You’ll definitely want to read this especially if bully books are your thing.
*review by Michelle
2.5 forced stars
I struggled through this book , it’s meant to be a bully romance but for most of the book there was a lot of ‘thinking about making her life hell’ and not really a lot of doing… he said a few mean things but to be honest I think it would have been more effective to NOT have thorns POV In the first half and got to know him later and learn why he was acting that way …
I really didn’t connect with either of the MCs and I pushed my way through the book in hope of it getting better but ended up feeling meh .
I’m not sure if this was one of the authors first books as I’ve read one of her other series and it was much better …
Genre; Bully dark adult romance
Amalie & Jake
Notes
Drama lama’s , enemies to lovers, high school seniors, loses, surprise, love, hate, new friends, family, sport.
Omg this book had me on a reading sprint, I started it in the afternoon and finished it in the middle of the night.. I needed to know how it was gonna end before I went to sleep.
The characters are addictive to know more about, the broody males, these guys all have a story to tell and this one is about Jake, but you get some sneak peaks for the other characters male and female.
It was a rollercoaster but a good and exciting one
A 5 star read for me
This book undone me x
Jake and Amalie
I love a YA bully romance and this one ticked all the boxes and more. I was sucked in and couldn’t put it down… why oh why did it have to end… I love Jake and Amalie.
I love how messed up Jake is ( I appear to have real soft spot for dark a holes) and love how Amalie helps sooth and calm him. I love how he finally claims her. How strong she is.
Loved every emotion I was put through x
“No, never. Never dated and never kissed anyone.”
Never been kissed…
Overall, I enjoyed THORN (Rosewood Book 1) the dark high school bully romance story of Thorn and Amalie. The steamy connection between the two is undeniable, and makes for a good start to the series. Initially, intrigued by the premise, and then confused about how their parents influence suited the story…almost suspenseful until revelations were made, and letdown took place. While the building angst was engaging, I found some aspects in the storyline rushed, or a bit unrealistic. However, I will continue with reading subsequent novels in the series, so stay tuned!
Thorn is the first book in the Rosewood High Series. I love a high school bully, enemies to lovers read.
Tracy Lorraine does not disappoint. Jake Thorn is a Grade A Alphahole with a gigantic chip on his shoulder. It’s hate at first sight for Jake- Amalie represents everything material he cannot stand.
Jake is the football god. Him and his friends Mason and Ethan rule the school with the cheerleaders at their beck and call. Amalie is the new girl in town, having moved from London to American to live with her grandmother after the unexpected and tragic death of her parents. She is quickly taken in by Camila and Shane’s friend group, despite all tries by Jake to make her an outsider. She cannot understand Jake’s animosity towards her and although, she would avoid him to not rock the boat, her new friends won’t allow it. Every time Jake feels he has the upper hand, Amalie comes in with a high five and shows him just how strong she is. They both must confront their pasts and in order to have a future together. The only obstacle standing in their way, is Jake’s ego “Dismissing Brit Like I did in front of Chelsea was physically painful. Why couldn’t I just grow a pair and admit that things have changed? The girl I quite happily have never seen again when she first arrived has somehow managed to bury her way under my skin and no matter how hard I try, I can’t get her the f**k out.”
Jake is a very wounded soul. His abandonment issues run deep. His only goal is to graduate and leave town to start over under no ones shadow. As he sets out to make Amalie’s life a living hell, she turns the tables by standing strong. The more he pushes Amalie, the more determined she is it have answers to why his hatred for her is so strong. But, there is a fine line between Love and Hate and once they cross it, there will be no turning back.
This story, these characters, their tribe- I cannot wait to learn more in the books that follow. I also appreciated Jake’s friends standing up to him and calling him out on his bad behavior- holding him accountable for his actions when he was so deep in his emotions he was acting irrationally.
3.5/5 Stars
Disclaimer: I received an Advance Reader Copy at no cost from the publisher/author. All opinions in my review are my own.
Bully romances are usually hit or miss with me. This one got a lot of things right but there were just as many things that didn’t work for me.
I really didn’t click with the author’s writing style. There were things about it that I liked and some that I didn’t. I liked how inviting that narration was. It felt very natural and was very smooth. Unfortunately, for me, it just wasn’t very compelling. It didn’t grip me with feels. While I liked some of the plot points in the book, I felt that the overall plot could have used some work. This is a bully romance novel and the bully’s reason for hating the heroine so much was a little ludicrous. The reason just felt too loose and immature. There were definitely some good scenes in the book but there were also some that felt unrealistic.
The characters in this book were definitely interesting. Both Amalie and Jake were characters with a lot of baggage. They had a lot of depth and some great character growth. It took me a while to warm up to Jake’s character. He may have been dealing with his pain but he made some immature decisions while doing so.
The romance in this one didn’t really work for me for the most part. Amalie and Jake definitely had chemistry and formed a connection with one another but their coming together just didn’t feel natural to me. It was a little rushed and felt unrealistic, even for a bully romance story. I just didn’t feel that sense of urgency that you want to feel about a romantic couple in a book.
Overall, this was a bully romance with plenty of angst and drama. I felt that the romance could have been a little bit more believable and the narration could have used a more intimate style but other than that the story is pretty solid. I really got into the characters and I am excited to read the next book in the series.
After suffering the sudden and tragic loss of her parents, Amalie is forced to move to the states to live with her grandma. Not only must she leave her home in London but she also has to start at a new school a year behind everyone her own age. On her first day she gets a less than stellar welcome from the head cheerleader and the king of the school, Jacob aka Jake Thorn makes it very clear that she is not welcome at Rosewood High. From the moment that Jacob sees Amalie he instantly hates everything that she stands for and where she comes from. He blames her for all the bad things that have happened to him in his life and he vows to make her pay for it all. Until he realizes that Amalie is nothing like the woman that hurt him and he regrets every single thing he did to her.
Jake was an absolute jerk and although the motivation wasn’t explicitly revealed right away I knew what it was pretty early on and my heart ached for him. I felt so bad for the troubled boy that was still struggling with his pain and was taking it out on Amalie. I wanted to hug him and tell him to give up the hate. I thought Amalie was pretty strong and had a pretty good back bone considering all she went through. I really respected her except when it came to Camila. She rubbed me the wrong way with how she didn’t seem to are about Amalie’s apprehensions. But Amalie was pretty awesome. I loved how she didn’t cower and back down to Jake and his antics. And then when she found out what his issues were she was there for him 100% even though he didn’t deserve it. Jake and Amalie were pretty amazing together and their chemistry was intense. Loved this story immensely and highly recommend it. Tracy Lorraine is quickly becoming a one click for me.
I listened to Thorn on Audible, the narrators did an awesome job. Jake and Amalie are something else. Jake takes one look at Amalie and decides he hates her. Amalie, though nervous about starting a new school weathers Jake’s treatment.
She stands up to the school star no matter what, her sarcastic responses had me dying while listening!
Rosewood High is a new series I am going to enjoy, cant wait to read book 2.
Thorn is the first solo book I have read by Tracy. Jake and Amalie story held me captive. I enjoyed reading Jake and Amalie’s story. I am looking forward to more of Rosewood High series.
Amalie Windsor-Marsh’s life has been turned upside down with the death of her parents and her being forced to move from London to her Grandma’s in the United States. When she arrives at Rosewood High she is subjected to the most hatred glances that she has ever received from some guy she doesn’t even know.
Jake Thorn hates Amalie “Brit” the moment he meets her but that doesn’t stop him from declaring her off limits to the rest of the boys on the football team. Jake is the quarterback and captain of the football team and gets away with lots in the school’s quest for a championship. Jake blames Amalie for ruining his life and in turn is going to ruin hers.
But as Jake keeps doing things to ruin Amalie’s life part of him can’t stay away from her and is balancing on a fine line between love and hate. Jake has kept certain parts of his life quiet from everyone else but soon Amalie begins to discover what Jake has hidden away.
Can Amalie break down Jake’s walls before Jake breaks Amalie completely?
This was such a good book and I must admit that I am loving these high school bully romances!
Amalie’s life has changed so much and I felt horrible for everything she went through in London and then to get uprooted to her Grandma’s. I loved her relationship with her Grandma though and how she really wanted Amalie to get out there and enjoy life and gave her quite a bit of freedom but that being said Amalie was already 18 and technically an adult. I loved the friendship she formed with Camila and how they began close with each other and Camila included Amalie with her friends and activities.
Jake was one of those characters that you hate at the beginning but you can also tell almost right from the start that he is closed off and extremely private and hiding a lot of pain. I was shocked at where he lived and how he didn’t have much at all to his name. You are never sure at what happened in his past until almost the end but although he was the most popular guy at Rosewood High almost no one really knew him and his circumstances.
I was shocked at the stuff that Jake did to Amalie and my heart broke for what she was going through. I had no clue why Jake hated her so much and what she represented to him but I realized that Jake was hurting so much and lashing out protected him from getting hurt. I hated Chelsea, the cheerleader, who constantly was hanging off Jake or anyone else she could sink her claws into. She hated Amalie so much and you could tell that she was going to do what she could to ruin her as well.
The back and forth between Jake and Amalie was intense and at times heartbreaking. Amalie couldn’t figure out how Jake could be caring one moment and then absolutely hate her the next. I liked that Jake’s best friends Ethan and Mason also began to question Jake and wanted him to back off of Amalie as she didn’t deserve what Jake was doing to her.
Towards the end of the book you learn why Jake is so angry and the pieces begin to fall into place and I really felt bad for Jake as he was another innocent victim. I loved that he allowed Amalie to get away with him and the two really opened up to each other.
When Amalie receives certain news I understood why she needed to leave but I knew how heartbreaking it would have been for Jake after everything they had just gone through. I felt horrible for him and knew why he lashed out.
The very end was so awesome and I did a huge happy dance and then the very end with the look at the next book has me super excited!!
By Rebecca
This is my first time reading anything form this author, and I really enjoyed this book. This is the first book in the Rosewood High series, and the story of Jake (Thorn), and Amelia. Amelia is the new girl, and when Thorn see’s her for the first time, he is attracted, but she reminds him of his painful past. Unable to deal with his conflicting feelings, Thorn torments Amelia, who despite the bullying, feels an attraction to Thorn. This was an intriguing read, the characters are well written, and kept me interested the whole book. This was emotional, steamy, dramatic and twisted.