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Bully

(Fall Away #1)

Penelope Douglas (Goodreads Author)

3.95 · Rating details · 152,822 ratings · 10,962 reviews

My name is Tate. He doesn't call me that, though. He would never refer to me so informally, if he referred to me at all. No, he'll barely even speak to me.

But he still won't leave me alone.

We were best friends once. Then he turned on me and made it his mission to ruin my life. I've been humiliated, shut out, and gossiped about all through high school. His pranks and rumors ...more

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ebook, 3rd Edition, 333 pages

Published February 18th 2014 by Intermix (Penguin Group (USA) LLC) (first published June 17th 2013)

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· 152,822 ratings · 10,962 reviews

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Aug 10, 2013 Emily May rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: romance, 2013, new-adult

I am conducting what I'm shelving as a "New Adult (NA) Experiment". I'm going to work my way through some of the popular New Adult books and see if I can weed out the crap and hopefully find some surprising gems. Here's hoping!

Dear book,

I was ready to like this book. I was ready to be forgiving of the small negatives. I was ready to make excuses for it, try and justify the bad and pretend the good overshadowed it. I don't even remember the last time I wanted to like a book this much. Despite wha ...more

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Jun 23, 2013 Penelope Douglas marked it as finished-writing · (Review from the author)

Thank you to EVERYONE who has left reviews and messaged with feedback. Truly. As a new author who had no connections and no network, I cannot tell you how much your support has meant. It has been a wonderful year and a half since Bully's release, and now three books later, we complete the circle.

Jared and Tate will continue to finish up the series. Look for Aflame in April 2015!

(Note: This is not the cover. Just a teaser pic.) Thank you everyone again!
...more

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Jul 06, 2013 Aestas Book Blog rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: book-1-of-my-fav-series, favorites

Bully was a wonderfully addictive read that kept my heart racing from start to finish. I could not put it down! 5 stars!!

He loves me... He loves me not... He loves me... He loves me not...

Jared and Tate grew up next door to each other. Jared was sweet, generous and friendly and they were the best and closest of friends. But not anymore. The kid who had held her hand through the pain of losing her mother, who had climbed trees with her, and who had snuck over for sleepovers was gone and now he s ...more

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Jul 07, 2013 the burning dreamer. rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: NOBODY, GET OUT OF HERE.

Recommended to the burning dreamer. by: MY NAIVE MIND.

Shelves: 14-year-old-rants, give-it-a-break-woman, my-kinda-trope, ew, words-cant-explain-how-awful-it-is, massive-disappointment, why, skimmed-it, fictional-non-fiction, dear-lord-have-mercy-on-me

First off, I admit: I'm a sucker for love/hate stories. And after reading the premise for Bully, I was super psyched to see where it would take me.

Alas, I feel like I've stepped into a trap.

I've come across a thousand FANFICTIONS that were so. much. better. (Hell, comparing it to that feels like an insult to fanfictions themselves.) But this is simply yet another blasted romance novel suffering from the 'new-adult-unoriginal-cliche-itis' that's been circulating around and contaminating 80% of th ...more

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Jun 24, 2013 Val ⚓️ Shameless Handmaiden ⚓️ rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 0-top-reads-of-all-time, loved-you-since-childhood, young-adult-new-adult, 5-stars, favorite-couple, romance-all-time-favorites, alpha-male, friends-to-lovers, enemies-to-lovers

5 HUGE Asshole Stars

I REALLY enjoyed this book.

Now, I know bullying is a serious and highly sensitive issue. And I'm not downplaying that or tying to make light of that.

I am speaking about this strictly as a 30-something, non-impressionable ADULT reading a work of complete fucking fiction.

So I'm not going to get into any social commentary regarding this books portrayal of bullying and all its evil.

description

My review is from an entertainment (aka how "un-put-downable" was it?) standpoint only.

And th ...more

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Jun 28, 2013 Kristen rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: authentic-and-realistic, endearing-heroine, drama-for-drama-sake, what-a-jerk, cruel-hero, happy-for-now-ending, what-does-she-see-in-him, mild-to-medium-steam, underdeveloped-characters, young-adult-mature

3 Stars – I have very mixed emotions about this book.

While I liked this book for the most and was captivated by the author's realistic portrayal of bullying, I must admit, this book left me with mixed feeling.

Bullying is a real-life problem and I felt the author did a great job showcasing its powerful ability to hurt the human soul while at the same time showing the resilience of the human spirit.

For me, though, this book had some undeniable stumbling blocks. This story was too Young Adult for ...more

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Aug 16, 2015 Lana ❇✾DG Romance❇✾ rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorite-authors, steamy-romance, part-of-a-series, keeper-shelf, auto-buy-authors, faves, best-of-the-best, highschool, favorite-heroine, kick-ass-heroine

5 Stars

I had loved Jared once, but now I knew, without a doubt, that "my Jared" was gone.

God. This book. I mean, THIS BOOK. Words fail me to describe just how much I loved this. I've had this in my kindle for what feels like ages since I got it as a freebie way back in 2013. I've seen it making the rounds on Goodreads and for some reason I still hadn't read it. If I can kick my own ass for not reading this sooner, I would, because this book? This book reminded me about all the reason ...more

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Jun 20, 2013 Christy rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

4.5 Crazy good stars!!!!!

photo 675d5263-c07e-436f-b425-ff16c4af2841_zpsa257d1c3.jpg

For her whole high school career, Tate has been bullied. By one person in particular... Jared. Jared is Tate’s neighbor and used to be Tate’s best friend, but now, he isn’t. He is just someone who enjoys making her life hell.

photo 340a1bbb-32fd-4f26-bc86-93220a3f4f3b_zpsbac637a2.jpg

I had loved Jared once, but now I knew, without a doubt, that ‘my Jared’ was gone.
 The worst part about it? The summer before their freshman year of highschool, Jared went to stay with his dad. When he came home, he was different. He wan ...more

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Jun 20, 2013 SueBee★bring me an alpha!★ rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommended to SueBee★bring me an alpha!★ by: Geri Reads

Shelves: series-g-contemporaries, series-cr-stand-alone, series-check-on-sequel, heroes-troubled-tortured, 4-stars, read-contemporaries, kindle, read-stand-alones-cr, heroes-bad-boy, student

photo DouglasBullyTitlebySueBee_zps7ec4472a.jpg

photo tumblr_mj90nm1buO1rdw96to1_500_zpsac62760f.gif

★★★★! Bully, a debut by Penelope Douglas. Broken, jaded & sexy high school senior deals with the aftermath of having bullied a girl he can’t forget!

“You were my tempest, my thunder cloud, my tree in the downpour. I loved all those things, and I loved you. But now? You’re a fucking drought. I thought that all the assholes drove German cars, but it turns out that pricks in Mustangs can still leave scars.”

As the title would indicate this story is about bullying. And ...more

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Jun 20, 2013 Rose rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: quick-read, new-adult, tough-subjects, contemporary, realistic-fiction, dropped-series

Initial thoughts: Not worth the time taken to read. I honestly thought it would be a better read than it actually was - it wasn't terrible in the beginning, but at the same time, as it went on, it glorifies and romanticizes bullying to no end. I have a lot of words to say about this and I'll try to be as constructive as I can about what went wrong with this read after I meditate a bit over it.

Full review:

This is a difficult review for me to write, but I'm going to start this reflection with a fe Initial thoughts: Not worth the time taken to read. I honestly thought it would be a better read than it actually was - it wasn't terrible in the beginning, but at the same time, as it went on, it glorifies and romanticizes bullying to no end. I have a lot of words to say about this and I'll try to be as constructive as I can about what went wrong with this read after I meditate a bit over it.

Full review:

This is a difficult review for me to write, but I'm going to start this reflection with a few thoughts about current trends I see in popular literature. I think it's fair to say that conflict drives much of what we read and the experiences that we get from that conflict in a work make us value it in a myriad of ways. But one thing that I absolutely loathe that I see on the rise is the fetishization (not sure if that's a word) of problems at their deepest roots, that entail suffering without context for what it is or having any moral consequences. I've read stories where rape is glorified, where abuse - physical, mental, emotional - is championed and desired over respect in a relationship, and in the case of Penelope Douglas's "Bully", bullying is seen as something that's desirable despite of a victim's experiences.

I'm not going to take away from Douglas's narrative in the fact that it is compulsively readable and that it starts off with a heroine that does stand up for herself in the face of torments that she endures from the people who surround her. "Bully" had me, I went along with the story for a while. But then it lost me as it became clear that in all the measures surrounding this story, it glorifies falling in love with someone who torments you. Regardless of whatever issues the hero had, it doesn't justify what he did to Tate, and I sincerely doubt after all that Jared did, Tate could forgive and lust after him as easily as she did.

Tate (Tatum) is a young woman who returns to town for her senior year after being away for a year in France. Her father is out on business, leaving Tatum by her lonesome at home, with a grandmother who occasionally checks in on her (though that was a little hard to believe, I suspended my disbelief enough to follow the story). Tate was once friends with her next door neighbor, Jared, but after he returned home after a stay with his father, he started to bully her. Some turns of his bullying is horrific to say the least, alongside his friends and jealous girlfriends who join into making Tate's life miserable when she returns to town. Still, I liked how Tate stood up for herself in spells, and her retorts in places were actually humored well. I don't know how I felt about the monologue - I know some people would think it's emotionally resonant, but for me, for all the considerations of what Tate went through, it didn't hit me as hard as I would've liked.

After a point, it was obvious that Tate was championed as having a love/hate relationship with Jared despite the horrible things he said and did to her. I hated that because there's a line between the whole "I love you/I hate you" dynamic and having a hero who obviously gets off on hurting others while the heroine still succumbs to lust in light of that. This actually could've been a narrative where it clearly established Tate lusted after the boy that Jared used to be, but that measure was lost in the foray of the current actions that Jared did to her.

I still think one of the few authors who managed to portray a hero who was a jerk but was truly repentant of his ways and manages to be likable in turns was Kody Keplinger. Granted, "The DUFF" is YA, and this is NA, but at the same time - that felt more real of a story than this one and truly had something to say about its characters and the issues/conflicts it presented. "Bully" was shallow, underdeveloped, and fetishizing a major social and societal problem in comparison.

It forces the point home when Tate is a victim in so many ways and shouldn't have had to endure it, especially with other people in her circles simply dismissing Jared's actions so casually and them telling her in so many words "give him a chance". Eff NO. Yes, it's true that in order to understand the root of bullying and bullying behaviors, you have to see what factors play into the behaviors that are displayed and come to an understanding about why the bully engages the victim in the way they do. Usually that comes with getting help and having the bully deal with with what's perpetuating those behaviors in proper context. But to come at the expense of the victim and in not so subtle terms put the responsibility on the "victim" to change the "bully"? No, just no. I don't care what age group this book is intended for, that's not a good attitude to approach the matter.

Even when Tate figures that K.C. goes out with Jared for a time, I found it hard to believe Tate would turn a blind eye or feel guilty for distancing herself from a friend who would do that. Granted, I know the lot of us have different coping points and thresholds for forgiveness, but this narrative asked me one too many times to overlook some jarring conflicts in an attempt to see how the leading love interests "get together." It was milked and manufactured and I did not see the constructiveness of its portrayal here.

Overall, I was very disappointed with the narrative here and I couldn't get behind the relationship or the insinuations made on the subject matter here. It's drama for the sake of drama, with characters that I'm supposed to believe fall in love, but it didn't progress with any kind of realistic terms for me to believe in it.

Overall score: 1/5 ...more

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Jan 25, 2014 "That's All" Ash rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: omg, couldn-t-put-it-down, heartbreaking, best-heros-2014, amazing, intense, best-heroines, consuming, favorite-books, favorite-moments

____________________________________________

“I like storms. Thunder, torrential rain, puddles, wet shoes. When the clouds roll in, I get filled with this giddy expectation. Everything is more beautiful in the rain. Don’t ask me why. But it’s like this whole other realm of opportunity. I used to feel like a superhero, riding my bike over the dangerously slick roads, or maybe an Olympic athlete enduring rough trials to make it to the finish line.”
____________________________________________

...more

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Aug 14, 2017 Melanie rated it really liked it

Recommended to Melanie by: Paloma *The Romance Queen*

Shelves: romance, contemporary, steamy-scenes, new-adult, read-in-2017

“You were my tempest, my thunder cloud, my tree in the downpour. I loved all those things, and I loved you.”

Hi, my name’s Melanie and all I want to read this summer is New Adult Romances. This is my third Penelope Douglas book and, again, I’m so impressed. I loved Bully and it might be my favorite book of hers I’ve read so far.

Before I go any further, I just want to point out again for people who follow my reviews mostly for the Fantasy I read: I rate smutty books differently than o ...more

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Jun 22, 2013 Pavlina Read more sleep less blog rated it really liked it · review of another edition

3,5 STARS

Yesterday lasts forever.
Tomorrow comes never.
Until you.

Tate and Jared are neighbours and they were best friends...

description

One summer..Jared turned on Tate!He began to bully her..Spreading vicious rumours,humiliating her..Time passed and things get worst..

“What was worse than losing you was when you started to hurt me. Your words and actions made me hate coming to school. They made me uncomfortable in my own home.”

description

Tate comes back for her senior from France..But coming home she's tired of being ...more

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Jul 31, 2014 Ramona Popescu rated it it was amazing

Shelves: hot-romance, favorites, love-this-series

When I think about how I've started reading contemporary romance, the first book that pops in my head is Bully. I was fascinated by a lot of elements, mostly the striking way in which the love scenes were described, but the list can go on forever and ever.

Now looking back after reading around 300 books, I think that "Bully" is unique in plot and in theme provided. There weren't a lot of books that had this approach, making you question the morality of the characters and really raising awareness When I think about how I've started reading contemporary romance, the first book that pops in my head is Bully. I was fascinated by a lot of elements, mostly the striking way in which the love scenes were described, but the list can go on forever and ever.

Now looking back after reading around 300 books, I think that "Bully" is unique in plot and in theme provided. There weren't a lot of books that had this approach, making you question the morality of the characters and really raising awareness for a difficult problem.

"Bully" was intense from page one and managed to catch my attention immediately. The story between Tate and Jared is one of a kind and when you drawn the line, it is very confusing to choose sides. Let me explain more in detail:
Tate and Jared were close, super close and had a wonderful friendship. Tate loved Jared, but was afraid to tell him that, because he was super popular and she wasn't confident enough to share that with him. It is all pink with ribbons until Jared goes to stay with his dad for the summer holiday and comes back different but in an ugly way. After that, he becomes Tate's bully, harassing her with every chance he got, and believe me it was not pretty.
This book confused me so much, because of the mixed feeling it generated. You want them to be together, but in the same time you want Tate to kick him in his manly parts and move on.

On the first hand, I would of want Tate to fight harder and not to forget easily the way Jared treated her. He brought down her confidence and self esteem and she should have made him work harder for her love and forgiveness. If I were to think better, she is very admirable for managing to forgive him, because what he did was not ok. She had to go to France to get away from him:)

Jared on the other hand was very tormented and conflicted, that went through a traumatic experience, but nobody deserved to be treated this way because of it. He blamed Tate for his past, but he was so wrong. Maybe he felt stronger, wiser and could forget what happened then, but in the end I don't think either of those things work. The pain still remains and he inflicted it on a person that loved him so much.

So, I am confused. I loved them as a couple and for their endless sexual chemistry and intensity, but on the other hand, maybe it was better for them to be apart, because I just can't understand how you can love somebody that damages you so badly. But I know, in the end you can forgive and move on when you truly believe that person is sorry. I know, but it is not fare.. She was too king and carrying and sweet to put up with all his baggage and stuff.

I can write an essay for this book, but for me is still special, an example of love and hate towards the hero, because he is my main target. I didn't managed to completely love Jared, because I am a person who can't forget depending on the damaged made. Lucky for him Tate did:)

description

For more reviews please check https://readwithloveblog.wordpress.com ...more

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Jan 30, 2018 Bibi rated it it was ok

Gaaaaah... oh dear sweet Jesus, someone pls save me from books with unnecessary and excessive angst.
Admittedly, I am not the target demographic and if the author's writing skill hadn't been so darn good, I would have chucked this down to "that book that is loved by everyone else except for me", however, I did enjoy the enemies turned lovers story and I totally get the appeal.

But...

But....

I. Didn't. Like. Tate. She's just so beautiful that all the boys wanted to date her or whatever. 🙄🙄🙄🙄😴😴. Yeah

...more

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Jun 21, 2013 • Lisa • rated it really liked it · review of another edition

4 FALLING IN LOVE STARS.

"I want to touch you, I want to feel what's mine. What's always been mine."

description

What's it all about?
Two former friends Jared Trent and Tate Brandt now find themselves as mortal enemies. After years of being inseparable the duo find themselves in the ultimate love/hate relationship. Tate has suffered for years at the hands of Jared's constant taunting and pranks so after a year away in Europe Tate returns to Shelburne falls high school determined to be stronger. In a stando ...more

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Jun 11, 2015 Katerina rated it it was amazing

Recommended to Katerina by: NiCoLeTa E. {Addicted To Books}

Shelves: contemporary-romance

I didn't want light and sweet romance.I needed angst and pain and tears and fights and all kinds of feelings.
And I found them all in Bully.

“This is how bullies are made.”

How bullies are made?Is there a reason for their behavior and the pleasure they find in physically and emotionally abusing innocent people?Do they feel a surge of power when they belittle others?I can't say I was a popular girl in school (you see,I was the geek,the perfect student and that didn't exactly make me Miss ...more

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Jan 04, 2014 Katrina Passick Lumsden rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Gah, another tough one to review. I don't understand quite a few things that occurred. Really. And I consider myself a fairly intelligent person. A lot of this just didn't make any logical sense.

Jared and Tate used to be besties. The summer of their 14th year, Jared goes to stay with his father for a few weeks and comes home different. Now he hates Tate. When the book begins, they're both 16, and Jared has spent two years bullying Tate. He's also enlisted the help of his friend, Madoc. No one r Gah, another tough one to review. I don't understand quite a few things that occurred. Really. And I consider myself a fairly intelligent person. A lot of this just didn't make any logical sense.

Jared and Tate used to be besties. The summer of their 14th year, Jared goes to stay with his father for a few weeks and comes home different. Now he hates Tate. When the book begins, they're both 16, and Jared has spent two years bullying Tate. He's also enlisted the help of his friend, Madoc. No one really knows why Jared hates Tate, not even Tate herself. She's meek, weak, confused, sad, etc. Then she goes away to study in France for a year. When she comes home, she makes the decision that Jared isn't going to take her senior year away from her, so she begins to fight back. And here's where the hilarity ensues.

Only not really. None of this is funny. It's confusing and taxing and cruel. I give the author props for the way she wove some serious angst into this tale, but so much of it was just completely unnecessary. I understand how things could turn out this way if the people involved chose to act the way these characters did. But I just can't see real people acting that way. If my best friend of four years suddenly started bullying me with no obvious reason, you can bet your ass I wouldn't quit hounding him until I got some answers. Tate just...well, she apparently just gave up. It was like Jared said a few mean things to her and she stood there confused, then just shrugged and said, "Well, whatever" and accepted the new situation. And she wondered why Jared thought she was a self-serving bitch?

You know, I was going to say that it seemed like one of them deserved better, but now I think they really did deserve each other. In all their emotionally stunted glory.

Why did no one ever get Jared psychological help? Dude went through a lot, and no one thought it prudent for him to see a counselor? K.

I just...wanted to love this. I really, really did. It was just a wee bit over the top for my taste. Especially toward the end when things start really spiraling out of control what with a sex tape and everything. It was like a teen drama on MTV or something.

Oh, and let's not forget K.C. Dear me, how could I forget? If one of my friends started dating a guy who'd bullied me for three years and basically told me I just had to deal with it....yeah.

Last but not least, I am sick to death of the way female sexuality is being portrayed in books like this. The girls who have sex are "slutty" and/or "not nice girls". Most of the sexually active females in this book are evil. Jared ends up being Tate's first, and that's oh-so-romantic since they've loved each other since they were kids....but it was perfectly all right for Jared to be out screwing everyone and their dogs beforehand?

Sheesh. I disliked this book more than I thought.

Even for all that, I thought the message was....no. I don't know what I thought. This book confused me, and for that, I can't forgive it. ...more

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Jul 16, 2018 Jessi ❤️ H. Vojsk [if villain, why hot?] rated it liked it

ATTENTION ❗️ nearly-rape, child-abuse, alcoholism, bullying

“I like storms.
Thunder torrential rain, puddles, wet shoes.
When the clouds roll in, I get filled with this giddy expectation.
Everything is more beautiful in the rain.
Don't ask me why.
But it’s like this whole other realm of opportunity.”

Story ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Tates life is a living hell. Jared, her former best friend, is bullying her and making her school life miserable. But after one year gone she’s not the vulnerable weak girl anymore. ...more

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Jan 13, 2017 Clumsy Storyteller rated it really liked it

Shelves: chick-lit, the-power-of-love, 2017-reading-assignment, falling-in-love, favorites

These are my favorite quotes:

“Acting like you don't care is not letting it go.”

i just LOVE THE WHOLE CONCEPT.....can't wait to read the next book! :D ...more

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Nov 30, 2017 Jessica ❥Chatterbooks Book Blog❥ rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: new-adult, angsty-af, bully, romance, favorites

4.5 stars

Bully has been on my tbr for a long time. I decided to finally pick it up on a whim last night, and I'm so happy that I did! It was exactly what I needed! This is one of the best books I have read all year, and I think I'm falling in love with Penelope Douglas! 😍 ...more

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Jun 20, 2013 Jen rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: ya-na, contemporary-romance, friends-to-luvahs, good-girl-meets-bad-boy

”You were my tempest, my thunder cloud, my tree in the downpour. I loved all of those things, and I loved you. But now? You’re a fucking drought. I thought that all the assholes drove German cars, but it turns out that pricks in Mustangs can still leave scars.”

For 3 years Jared has been making Tate’s life a living hell. He taunts her at every turn, makes up nasty stories about her and threatens any guy that even tries to get close to her. The kicker? Tate and Jared were once the best of frie ”You were my tempest, my thunder cloud, my tree in the downpour. I loved all of those things, and I loved you. But now? You’re a fucking drought. I thought that all the assholes drove German cars, but it turns out that pricks in Mustangs can still leave scars.”

For 3 years Jared has been making Tate’s life a living hell. He taunts her at every turn, makes up nasty stories about her and threatens any guy that even tries to get close to her. The kicker? Tate and Jared were once the best of friends and Tate has no idea what she did to piss Jared off. Up until their senior year, Jared’s ruined any chance Tate has had at a normal high school existence and girlfriend is DONE!

I definitely enjoyed this book. The story’s told from Tate’s POV and we really get to see how much Jared’s bullying has messed with her life. Academically she excels but socially she’s completely unsure of herself. The wonderful thing is that she’s in no way unsure of herself as a person and she knows exactly what she’s worth. To see her finally stand up and start taking charge was absolutely awesome!

Don’t touch me and don’t talk to me.” I hovered over him, sneering. Madoc’s eyes were closed as he breathed hard. “Did you really think I would go out with you? I hear the girls talk, and contrary to popular belief, good things do not come in small packages.”

There’s nothing more entertaining than seeing a formally abused girl turn the tables and knee a jackass, in this case Jared’s best friend, in the balls. I could read that shit for days! While Tate had me from the beginning, it took me a long time to warm up to Jared. At about the fifty percent mark we start to see chinks in the armor he’s erected around himself and he finally starts to actually show signs that there might be a decent human being lurking under all of that animosity. It’s obvious from the beginning he harbors some deep feelings for Tate and when he finally, after much coaxing, lets Tate in it’s a beautiful thing.

As much as I loved this book, I still had some issues. This poor girl was bullied for years by a popular boy and everyone just fell in line with it, no questions asked. She’s beautiful and smart and at some point I would hope a few brave souls, excluding her one best friend, would question why she was being turned into a social pariah. At times she was physically grabbed by Jared’s cronies and no one seemed to give a shit. And no one seemed to question Jared's relentless pursuit in making her life a living hell. I also didn’t fully buy Jared’s reasoning for the bullying. If he truly loved her to the extent he said he did, he would never have made her as miserable as he did and then be SURPRISED about the fact she didn't trust him. Although I loved reading this from Tate's POV, a chapter or two from Jared's perspective might've helped me understand his character and his hurtful actions more.

Bottom line, this is a really fantastic book. I’m already looking forward to Madoc’s tale and considering he was asshole number 2 in this story, I think that says something about the great writing that went into creating this book. ...more

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Sep 30, 2013 Dayana rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: No one literate.

Recommended to Dayana by: Goodreads

Shelves: bookclub

- Glorifying destructive behavior? Check.
- Reinforcing negative gender relations stereotypes? Check.
- Normalizing violence and sexual assault? Check.
- Romanticizing bullying? Check.
- Exclusively female centered slut shaming? Check.

Rarely (read: never) does a book make me wish for stronger censorship laws. This book being advertised as YA did that.

** EDIT **

... and then the author went and extracted a single part of my review to share on her Facebook page out of context.

Stay classy Penelope Doug ...more

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Feb 16, 2014 mark monday marked it as unread-forever · review of another edition

Shelves: romantica

so nice to see the topic of bullying being turned into a romance! that is definitely the way to deal with bullies. they just need hugs and kisses and your virginity! poor misunderstood bullies. Jared the manly wittle bully with daddy issues just needs to be wuved by someone. bullies just pick on you because they are secretly in love with you. why even bring up the idea that bullying can cause kids to kill themselves. that's not romantic, yuck!

in the words of one of our top reviewers:

"This may ma ...more

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Jul 01, 2017 chan ☆ rated it liked it

Shelves: audiobook, 2019, enemies-to-lovers, 2017, new-adult

reread 11/24/19: all my thoughts are pretty much the same as the first time but especially the bit about p. douglas books working SO MUCH BETTER as dual POV. kept wanting jared's thoughts but he remains kinda one note because we don't get his POV. not bad, not my fave of hers'.

--------------------

I was hoping we could move forward without looking back.

the good
This is my second book by Penelope Douglas and wow was it a trip. This book focuses on the former friendship and hate-to-love relationship reread 11/24/19: all my thoughts are pretty much the same as the first time but especially the bit about p. douglas books working SO MUCH BETTER as dual POV. kept wanting jared's thoughts but he remains kinda one note because we don't get his POV. not bad, not my fave of hers'.

--------------------

I was hoping we could move forward without looking back.

the good
This is my second book by Penelope Douglas and wow was it a trip. This book focuses on the former friendship and hate-to-love relationship between Tate and Jared. Tate and Jared were friends in middle school until he went away the summer before high school. He comes back changed, and bullies Tate by spreading rumors and teasing her.

What I loved about this book was the level of introspection that Douglas manages to add to her stories. For me, I can't relate to a character unless I can get inside their head. I also find it hard to justify shitty behavior if they don't explain it as well. Tate's reactions to her treatment are complex and make sense given the circumstances. She's a well fleshed out character and I definitely wanted her to get what she wanted.

the bad
While this was my second book by this author I believe it was the first one she ever wrote. And it definitely shows. If anything I am incredibly impressed in how her caliber of writing has changed over a 3 year span but this book had a lot of bad NA tropes. Namely, the attitude of Tate towards other females in the book. She becomes incredibly possessive of a guy she's not with and tears down her friend because of it. AND!!!!! (view spoiler).

I also think that Punk 57 worked so well (and a lot of other NAs do too) because it had dual narration. In this one, it was REALLY hard to sympathize with the love interest because he was a dick but you couldn't really figure out why until the end of the book. I am ALL for the hate-to-love trope if it's done well but it wasn't that convincing in this book. Bullying your former friend for almost all of high school is more than just a little psychotic and the explanation given, while heartbreaking just doesn't really add up. The quote I included in this review was a direct result of this... how do you expect someone to look forward after the torment you've caused them without stopping to ask more questions???

I definitely didn't hate this book, and I sped through it because it kept me entertained. But I'm going to have to read more from this series before I really pass judgment. ...more

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Aug 16, 2017 ✰♊ Angie ♊✰ rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: alphahole, enemies-to-lovers, love-my-library, ya-and-na, 2017-reads, friends-to-lovers, contemporary, favorites

Holy shite... I L.O.V.E.D. it!!!
I mean, I loved it hard.
I could not put it down.

description

*the GIF above is representative of my excitement for this 5 star read upon my completion of it at 3am.

Who's a sucker for complete alphaholes?

description

Jared is a complete and total alphahole. And, boy, did I lurve the big jerk.

description

I can take it. Judge away! I'll just be sitting here blissfully reliving all the yummy feels this book gave me.

description

...more

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Nov 01, 2013 Mo rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This is how bullies are made

This one was all over my feeds a few months ago but I think I had been burned by jumping in and reading a FIVE star book that turned out to be only OK for me. So I decided to wait a while before starting this one. Was it good? Yes, it was. I am now 48 = when I started it I sort of said, Maura, do you really want to be reading books about kids who are younger than your son and THIRTY YEARS younger than you??? Not really, but went for it.

This is how bullies are m ...more

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Jun 27, 2017 Lo Bookfrantic rated it really liked it

Shelves: high-school, young-adult, angst

4.5★★★★Stars

Genre: YA-Contemporary Romance
Type: Standalone Book 1 of Fall Away Series
POV: First Person – Female

teaser 2 6-28-17

“You were my tempest, my thunder cloud, my tree in the downpour. I loved all those things, and I loved you. But now? You’re a fucking drought. I thought that all the assholes drove German cars, but it turns out that pricks in Mustangs can still leave scars.”

Tatum "Tate" Brandt has been bullied by one person in particular her entire ...more

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Jun 20, 2013 Geri Reads rated it really liked it · review of another edition

4.5 surprising stars

Wow! This book really took me by surprise. I haven't read YA in a while but this was a freebie on Amazon right now, so I one-clicked it. I was intrigued by the premise and at the same time cautious because the bullying thing might be too much for me to handle. But I ended up really, really liking it.

What I liked

- I loved the writing. It has great dialogue and really well developed characters. The story didn't lag. There were no wasted dialogue or purple prose which seems to 4.5 surprising stars

Wow! This book really took me by surprise. I haven't read YA in a while but this was a freebie on Amazon right now, so I one-clicked it. I was intrigued by the premise and at the same time cautious because the bullying thing might be too much for me to handle. But I ended up really, really liking it.

What I liked

- I loved the writing. It has great dialogue and really well developed characters. The story didn't lag. There were no wasted dialogue or purple prose which seems to be common in this genre. Very well written.

- The characters, Tate and Jared. I loved them, Tate especially. She was a tough cookie and I loved it when she finally fought back. That was the best part of the book for me. I also personally connected with them. Now, I didn't always agree with their choices, (Yes, I'm talking about you, Jared) but that doesn't mean I couldn't relate to them.

- The plot. I thought the bully thing would offend me especially since it seems like the heroine, who was bullied, had the thing for her bully. But then I realized that they were actually friends before, and may or may have feelings for each other before they had a falling out. Their falling out was dealt with as the story progressed. And we get to see Jared side of the story. His explanation seems shallow at first but after I thought about it and putting into consideration what happened to him at the hands of his father, I could totally understand his reasoning. Again, not saying I agree with it but he was 14 or 15 when these changes occurred and by the time he was 18, he just fell into the pattern of making her life miserable.

Bullying is such a sensitive topic right now, so I will let each reader judge for themselves but it's safe to say there was no physical bullying involved or anything like that. The bullying was more like in the vein of telling a guy who wanted to date her she had lice so he won't ask her out or something like that. But of this was set in high school, so rumor like that would totally make you a social leper. So Tate did suffer because of that. I did feel that Jared redeemed himself at the end, and what made his actions a little easier to understand was the fact that he was never a school bully per se. He didn't bully other kids. It was just Tate, which makes the reader wonder if there was more to it.

- Loved that monologue that Tate delivered in front of the class with Jared listening. Loved it. I cried with her. And Jared's reaction. Wow!

“Everything still hurts, but I know none of it is my fault. There are a lot of words that I could use to describe you, but the only one that includes sad, angry, miserable, and pitiful is “coward.” In a year, I’ll be gone, and you’ll be nothing but some washout whose height of existence was in high school.” My eyes were still on Jared, and my voice got strong again. The ache in my face from trying to hold back tears eased. “You were my tempest, my thunder cloud, my tree in the downpour. I loved all those things, and I loved you. But now? You’re a fucking drought. I thought that all the assholes drove German cars, but it turns out that pricks in Mustangs can still leave scars.”

- The steam level. Again, this was YA, so I wasn't expecting any steam at all. But this one was surprisingly steamy. There were a couple of hot scenes and very hot dream sequence which are NSFW material. It fit with the characters though, so totally on board with the steam. :D

This is definitely one of the better YAs out there and if you can stomach YA or the sensitive topic, then this book will definitely work for you. Enjoy!
...more

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Apr 01, 2021 TJ ☾ rated it did not like it

Shelves: noping-the-fuck-out-of-here, shes-on-my-last-nerve, hes-on-my-shit-list

DNF @ 80%

nah y'all can keep it 😪 this girl makes me wanna go WWE ...more

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About Penelope Douglas

Penelope Douglas

51,592 followers

Penelope Douglas is a New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author. Their books have been translated into nineteen languages and include The Fall Away Series, The Devil’s Night Series, and the stand-alones, Misconduct, Punk 57, Birthday Girl, Credence, and Tryst Six Venom. Please look for The Hellbent Series and Motel, coming next.

They live in New England with their husba ...more

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Fall Away (4 books)

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Quotes from Bully

“I like storms. Thunder torrential rain, puddles, wet shoes. When the clouds roll in, I get filled with this giddy expectation. Everything is more beautiful in the rain. Don't ask me why. But it’s like this whole other realm of opportunity. I used to feel like a superhero, riding my bike over the dangerously slick roads, or maybe an Olympic athlete enduring rough trials to make it to the finish line. On sunny days, as a girl, I could still wake up to that thrilled feeling. You made me giddy with expectation, just like a symphonic rainstorm. You were a tempest in the sun, the thunder in a boring, cloudless sky. I remember I’d shovel in my breakfast as fast as I could, so I could go knock on your door. We’d play all day, only coming back for food and sleep. We played hide and seek, you’d push me on the swing, or we’d climb trees. Being your sidekick gave me a sense of home again. You see, when I was ten, my mom died. She had cancer, and I lost her before I really knew her. My world felt so insecure, and I was scared. You were the person that turned things right again. With you, I became courageous and free. It was like the part of me that died with my mom came back when I met you, and I didn’t hurt if I knew I had you. Then one day, out of the blue, I lost you, too. The hurt returned, and I felt sick when I saw you hating me. My rainstorm was gone, and you became cruel. There was no explanation. You were just gone. And my heart was ripped open. I missed you. I missed my mom. What was worse than losing you, was when you started to hurt me. Your words and actions made me hate coming to school. They made me uncomfortable in my own home. Everything still hurts, but I know none of it is my fault. There are a lot of words that I could use to describe you, but the only one that includes sad, angry, miserable, and pitiful is “coward.” I a year, I’ll be gone, and you’ll be nothing but some washout whose height of existence was in high school. You were my tempest, my thunder cloud, my tree in the downpour. I loved all those things, and I loved you. But now? You’re a fucking drought. I thought that all the assholes drove German cars, but it turns out that pricks in Mustangs can still leave scars.” — 774 likes

“Yesterday lasts forever.
Tomorrow comes never.
Until you” — 727 likes

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