Falls Boys

Hellbent #1

by Penelope Douglas

The HELLBENT Series—a spin-off to the Fall Away series—is coming!

“The kids are growing up—different from their parents but the same in so many ways…”

ARO
Hawken Trent. So polite. So sweet. Such an upstanding young man.
A virgin, too, I hear. He never gets naughty with a girl. Probably because Jesus told him not to. And now here he is, trying to be the hero by protecting another girl from me.

He calls me a bully. Irrational. Unreasonable. A criminal. He can call me anything he wants, I’ve heard worse.

And he can try to stand between me and my money, but he’s never had to fight for food. That rich, clean, school boy doesn’t have what it takes.

HAWKE
I surprised her. You should’ve seen her face.

Just because I don’t have a record, honey, doesn’t mean I’m clean. It just means I’m better at not getting caught.

That is until I realize I might’ve actually gone too far this time.

She’s there. I’m there. The scene of the crime.

It’s dark. The police show up.

We have no choice. We run. Down High Street, into Quinn’s bake shop, and I pull her through the entrance to the old speakeasy that everyone forgot was here decades ago.

The door locks, the cops circle the building, never knowing we’re right here, and I’m hidden in plain sight, indefinitely, with someone’s who’s awful.

Mean. Rough. Dirty.

A thief. A delinquent.

Until one night, lost in all of these rooms together, I don’t see any of those things anymore.

She’s smart. Daring. Soft.

Hot...

Everything’s changing. It’s this place. It does something to people.

We have a silly urban legend in Shelburne Falls about mirrors. They’re a gateway.

Don’t lean back into them.

But we came through front first.

I don’t care what the county records say. This was never a speakeasy.

It’s Carnival Tower.

*FALLS BOYS is a standalone New Adult romance suitable for readers 18+. Reading the Falls Away series first is helpful but not necessary.

Genres: Romance, New Adult, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, High School, Dark, Young Adult

501 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 21, 2022

About the author

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, coming next.

They live in New England with their husband and daughter.

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Reviews

[Penelope Douglas]

For readers of the Fall Away series, six more books will be coming in a spin-off series titled HELLBENT!



Amazon US---> https://amzn.to/2ZKZRJN
Amazon UK---> https://amzn.to/3u7Wp7f
Amazon CA---> https://amzn.to/3iheZEt
Amazon AUS---> https://amzn.to/37Kz4Ru
Amazon BR---> https://amzn.to/3N22iLL
Paperback---> https://amzn.to/3IrKbLR

Map of Shelburne Falls---> https://bit.ly/3w4qasg
Pinterest Storyboard---> https://bit.ly/3CDz9l8
Spotify Playlist---> https://spoti.fi/35U919U








Questions:

1. Whose books will be in the next generation?

The books will tell the love stories of Hawke, Dylan, Quinn, Kade, Hunter, A.J., and James. There will be a total of six books. For a family tree reference, please visit---> https://bit.ly/3J8PuB3

2. What is the reading order of the original Fall Away series?

The reading order is Bully, Until You, Rival, Falling Away, Aflame, and Next to Never, all available now.

3. Are the Fall Away kids in any other books or bonus scenes available now?

Yep! The Fall Away kids first appear in the epilogue of Aflame and are quite prominent in Next to Never. Here's what you need to be ready---> https://bit.ly/3q0eMtB

FALLS BOYS releases March 21st! Thanks to everyone for your patience. I know I asked a lot of you <3

[Zemira Warner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who here ships Dylan and Hunter? I need to know I'm not the only one.

How long did most of us wait for this series to take off? Since Next to Never came out, which was in January 2017. Way too long but I'm not going to complain cause it's finally here! I read it in two sittings which is rare for me. What I struggled with is putting my thoughts into words.

Ahhh!!! I loved the finger flicking scene so much. It gave the book that feeling of what it's actually like to be a teenager/new adult stuck in an world of adults while most of new adult authors want to present their characters as mature without including any of the playfulness.

Pen sucks me back into their world, no matter what they come up with. I can't resist their writing. Douglas delivered a mysterious, sexy story filled with crime, high school rivalry and we got the chance to reconnect with familiar characters from Next to Never.

I'm sure everyone has a specific ship they are rooting for and mine is Dylan and Hunter. There's just something there when it comes to these two. There's just no way I got this wrong. Penelope wouldn't mess with me like that. Right now, I'm manifesting a steamy fight between these two which will lead them to sort their shit out.

[chan ☆ · Rating 4 out of 5]

my favorite Pen book in a long time. tone was great, romance was great, plot wasn't incoherent. honestly a really fun one!


full spoiler filled thoughts here

[gigi habibin't (mareeva's version) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐

everyone - 1 star. worst PD book ever.
me - well this is awkward 😍 clearly i received a different version of the book because i really enjoyed this 😂

look idk about you guys but i'm pretty sure the books i've rated 1 star actually suck. no romance, dead banter, no character development or plot. like has anyone heard of Bad Cruz by LJ Shen? are you guys really putting fall boys in the same category as THAT book? FOR SHAME!!!

i pray for some of you to find some taste.

i'm just clowning 😂😂

✨ ps. if you want a proper review of the book with the prettiest aesthetic read hala's review who deserves a shoutout for waiting for my slow ass to catch up with her, so we could finish the book together ✨

i totally understand why a lot of you disliked this, yes the plot was messy and all over the place, yes i found the writing confusing at times, i felt like the world was imagined so intricately but the writing fell through (for the first 50%), because PD didn't spend enough time to set the scene and describe how they moved from one area to another.

i get why people were confused about the winslet storyline/mystery aspect, and i only understood that whole thing myself once hala re-explained it to me 😂 the chapters were super long, the pacing was a little off for the first half, the whole book took place over like 14ish days so it was fast BUT BUT BUT and this is a huge BUT...

none of that mattered to me. why? because i adored hawke and aro so so so much!

we all knew going in, this book and the world would follow in the theme of their parents series, but with added mystery/urban legends incorporated into the book. it's not a dark book, but there is an element of darkness due to the presence of gangs and drug dealers.

i actually really enjoyed the aesthetic of the pirates and rebels! it did give me s1 riverdale vibes, like the small town, the rivalry between schools, the drug runners/gangs is like jingle jangle and the serpents from the show 😂 but before everyone starts crying like OmG RiVeRdAlE wAs So bAd. um so what? everyone still ate up the show regardless so pipe down. but it also felt more like the show on my block (gangs) and euphoria (tommy = ashtray).

✨ LET'S MEET THE CAST ✨

ARO - bad bitch extraordinare 🥷

❝So many Mustangs,” Aro coos like she’s dying of starvation.
I look over, seeing my uncle’s old Boss 302 displayed off to the side. Ancient, but the car is a legend here. Dylan will be racing it tonight.
“You like Mustangs?” I walk, pulling Tommy.
“Love them,” Aro sighs. “They’re the easiest cars to break into.❞

schooler (hawkes ex-gf) - *exists*
aro -


HAWKE - virgin voyeur 📷

❝He’s self-righteous, a little uppity, condescending, and his playlist could use a serious update, but… He’s responsible. Honest, compassionate, smart, driven, and he pays attention. He won’t hurt anyone on purpose, and he won’t make kids and abandon them. The other men I’ve met in my life—would-be-fathers and classmates and neighborhood assholes—flash in my mind, and none of them are worth a fraction of him.❞

hawke before he met aro -


hawke after -


tommy - 13 y/o daughter of the guy who secretely recorded tatejared having sex and posted it on the internet, and currently running with the rebels gang


kade - hunters better half. he should've eaten hunter in the womb


dylan (tatejareds daughter) to hunter -


me to hunter -


the plot - jsdhjksdsdk not me clowning the plot of the book i adored 😂


i loved that hawke wasn't sexually attracted to aro straight away. their connection built up due to their forced proximity, and aro opening up slowly and TAKING CHARGE LIKE A TRUE DOMINATRIX QUEEN. every time she guided hawke and told him what to say to her 🥵

aro hunny you can leave hawke for me! for you aro, yes i do the cooking and yes i do the cleaning 🎶

all aro cared about was being able to provide for her family, she didn't care about herself. until hawke, who saw through her and broke her walls down.

there are so many kinds of love, and hawkearo had the protective love. the one where he will put her above everyone else and drop everything to be there for her. i saw that the biggest complaint of this book was people didn't believe in their love and thought it was dry, and maybe i need to go to specsavers and get my eyes checked out again, but their relationship progression and sexual attraction is such a good realistic portrayal of high school love in a romance book.

a lot of people are conditioned to believe that every hero needs to be obsessed and worship the room the heroine walks on from page 1 and that's okay, we all love a boy-obsessed trope, but for this book? we didn't need that. aro doesn't need someone to baby her, she needs someone to just understand and support her.

not every hero needs to be a jealous possessive obsessive controlling CEO DADDY DOM. please, this is not that book. but having that said it doesn't mean that hawke isn't jealous or possessive, he is, but he's secure in the knowledge that aro wants him and only him! the boy was a virgin, waiting for the one he LOVES so he could be like his parents.

i loved that aro was the one getting jealous, and hawke was using it to his advantage to make her jump on him and rile her up. it was fucking hot. why should guys always make the first move?

CHAPTER 21 EXISTS PEOPLE! hello, the angst! the jealousy! the tension! the explosion! aro launching the playstation controller and smashing the tv! inject it into my VEINS!!!

❝You know what? Screw you!” I say, tears welling again. “I don’t want to care! You’re a smart guy. Figure out why!”
He surges to his feet, coming at me. “Get in my bed.”
“Fuck you.”
“Get in my bed!” he yells and lifts me into his arms. My heart drops to my feet as he holds me by the backs of my thighs, and I push at his shoulders, his mouth inches from mine.
“What are you going to do?” I gasp. “Make me blow you so you can compare?”
“I’m going to kiss you,” he says.
And he dives in, covering my mouth with his and cutting off my breath.❞

- NO CHEMISTRY MY FAT FUCKING BADONKY DONK ASS!!

and let's not forget hawke is a virgin, who literally gets a panic attack just thinking about having sex with a girl, yet with aro she made him forget everything, so much so HE TOOK HER VIRGINITY IN THE BACK OF A CAR AFTER HE LITERALLY SAID HE WOULD NEVER HAVE SEX FOR THE FIRST TIME IN A CAR!

that's peak romance in my eyes, and yes i do have 20/20 vision with my GLASSES ON BITCH!

anyways i loved this, i'll stand by this book, and after a string of 1 star, 2 star, and dnf's, this book made me realize why i love reading so much.

i read to escape and be transported into another world. i read to meet characters who may or may not be like me but they show growth and find the happy endings i hope i one day find too.

PD's letter at the end of the story? whilst i was reading this book i told hala i feel like PD didn't write this book for the fans, they wrote this for themself, and after reading their letter it all made sense. a piece of their soul is in aro.

wtf why did i get so cheesy 😂 aNYWHOOBS, i'd like to end on a fun note. the best note. the only note that matters.

TOMMYKADE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I ACTUALLY WON YOU GUYS LIKE YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND.

why was i so adamant about dylankade? I DO NOT CARE, LET THAT BRAT HAVE HUNTER AND HIS WANNABE REBEL CRYBABY ASS KSDJKSSD enjoy your BORING ASS COUPLE EVERYONE 😍😍 i'll be in the corner sitting pretty waiting for the SERVE of the decade with tommykade.

❝Tommy passes by, switching sides, and stands with Hugo.
Kade glares at her. “Get…your ass…back over here.” He bites out every word,❞

- he hates her for what her father did, but he still won't let the rivals have her!!!

❝Kade takes Dylan over the edge, plummeting into the water below and going after the girl.❞

- he was handcuffed to dylan, BUT HE STILL WENT IN TO SAVE TOMMY FROM DROWNING!!!

now the wait for their book begins... please be quiet ones, so i get it quicker but i think it will be night thieves the 4th book 😭😭😭😭

[Mareeva · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

I was going to write a proper review, with a summary n shit, but then I realised I have no idea what the fuck was happening this entire book.

Seriously, if you asked me to visually describe a single thing, I'd show you a picture of a white screen. It's all blank in my head. The writing was that vague. PD should probably invest in a description or two.

The side plot with the texts and urban legends? I am still trying to figure out what any of it meant, who these people are, and why they were there.

The family tree and random names from different book series? I'm not even gonna bother getting into that cluster of a mindfuck. I think at some point I resigned to just nodding my head and smiling as if I'm not totally clueless.

I guess I can do some character descriptions though:

ARO:
🌌 Super duper poor
🌌 Drug dealer
🌌 Part of a gang
🌌 "Bad girl"
🌌 Has a deeply traumatic past
🌌 Hella bitter
🌌 Loves astronomy

HAWKE:
👁️ Super duper rich
👁️ Virgin
👁️ "Good boy"
👁️ Has no other hobbies except for stalking ppl through cameras (hence the eye emoji)
👁️ Apparently obsessed w astronomy too, but he never once talked about it?

I know Hawke be getting a lot of hate right now...and I get it. Boy was privileged, boy was ignorant, but I think boy learned, so I'm not that mad about it.

Actually, I really liked Hawke's stance on sex. He differed from the usual toxic, man-whore, abusive antiheroes I frequently read. He felt uncomfortable being objectified and wanted to have meaningful sex. I appreciated the way he and the heroine created a safe space to explore their sexual desires. I think this is the first time I've ever liked a safe, consensual relationship in my life💀💀 (in fiction I promise). And I suspect I enjoyed it because I could relate to Hawke on a personal level. I understand the deeply uncomfortable feeling of pressure and expectations from partners.

And their sex scene😫?? How dare Hawke be such a cutie patootie I cannot with that boy.

The way Aro was freaking out, thinking Hawke was dazed because he regretted having sex with her, meanwhile he's debating whether or not she can go again🤧.

She starts to tear up. “I know it shouldn’t have been with me. It just happened so fast. It—”
I look up at her. “Can we do it again?”

Overall, Hawke and Aro's relationship development was done fairly well. Sensitive men are rarely represented in romance and when they are, most of the time, they bore me to tears. They weren't the most groundbreaking characters or anything, but I wasn't bored either (at least the first 70%).

[Cristiina♡Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aro and Hawke, two individuals from different worlds whom learn to adapt in each other's lives and become consumed with each other's passion and love...



This book... THIS BOOK! This story, these characters! My gosh Penelope Douglas has outdone herself once again. Bringing this sequel to life, these characters that we have all been craving for, for a long, long time is what we have all been waiting for. And reminiscing the characters from the Fall Away series was a breath of fresh air. IT'S WHAT I NEEDED FROM PENELOPE! Because Aro and Hawke are two clothes from different fabrics that blend so well together to make this ideally, emotional couple that makes you crave more of their romance and story. Page after page, you get hooked and there is no going back.

When Hawke and Aro first meet, it's during a complicated situation that no one would want to be in. Due to the circumstances, they have to go under hiding for a certain time to prevent future problems of possible jail time, or not going to college. With time, they both learn each other's ways and start to become addicted with each other. Hawke is a very particular character, one that I did not see coming. Especially with Pen's previous books and their "kinky" characters. And let me tell you, once you start reading more of him, there is no turning back with how much you instantly fall for him. Fall for his protectiveness, his intelligence, his strong headed ways about being intimate with the "one and only". My gosh, he is swoon worthy and scorching hot in balanced ways. And the way he thinks about Aro is what melts you more for this man;

"She's not a bomb. She's patient, quiet, unyielding, and permanent. She withstands. Like steel. Like an ax..."

Aro on the other hand, is this strong fierce character that represents the best of the latino women. I am beyond glad that Pen has brought our hispanic culture to this series. The way she depicts her as a Latina young lady was absolutely on point. The struggles that Latina women have to go through on a day to day basis when it comes to family is a relatable topic that Pen did a wonderful job at writing in this novel. One that made me cry and smile at the same time because I can truly empathize, and I am sure more readers such as myself will as well. To Aro, her little brother and sister are everything and she will do just about anything to protect them. And Hawke will do anything in his power to protect her.

"'I want to crawl inside of you sometimes,' I whisper. 'Sometimes I want you to be all that I can see and hear. So that nothing exists in the world to me but the feel of you...'"

Aro and Hawke will forever be one of the best couples Penelope has written. With that being said, I am looking forward to rest of the characters in this series. More specially Dylan's and Tommy's stories. Another set of bad ass heroine's that will make this series a top tier of my favorites. But don't get deceived by my review, with Penelope's books there will always be that "kink" kick to it that we will have to love and embrace. And even though this book was a little bit lighter than her other novels that we have gotten lately, that "kink" side to it is not missing **wink wink**.

The Hellbent Series:
Falls Boys ♕ Pirate Girls ♕ Quiet Ones ♕ Night Thieves ♕ Fire Falls ♕ Parade Alley

ARC kindly provided by Penelope in exchange for an honest review coming...

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[Phuong ✯ · Rating 2 out of 5]

– 2.25 stars

He smiles, but it looks bitter. “I should have found you ages ago. Guess they were right about Weston girls.”
“And what do they say about us?”
He slips a hand under my shirt, kneading my breast. “Not for forever, but certainly for fun.”
Prick. But I laugh it off. “Not as bad as what they say about Falls boys. ‘Can pay the bills but can’t make you come.’”

I've been waiting YEARS for this series to start, just to be let down by another 2nd gen spin off series. 😔

I didn't like Aro, but I liked Hawke even less. Why did he still mess around with his ex-girlfriend halfway through this book is beyond me. Aro & Hawke had one or two cute moments (when they were doing Pizza with Aro's siblings 🥺), but overall they were so dry, forgettable and left me feeling nothing. Unfortunately, this book didn't work for me because 1. it was boring as hell and 2. it gave me a lot of Devil's Night vibes with the mystery subplot and things this town has like 'Grudge Night' and 'Rivalry Week' and they act like a weird cult. 🥴

Not even the side characters could save this book since they were all lowkey annoying. Dylan? We don't know her. Kade? I don't know who that man is. Tommy? What is this 13 yr old selling drugs? Schuyler? What kind of elitist name is this? Socorro? The only character I liked was Hunter, cause he wasn't in this book, therefore he had no chance to annoy me by opening his mouth. The dylanhunter crumbs I was hoping to get? AHAHAAHAHAHAA BYE. 🤡

The most intriguing part of this book for me was Hawke's observation of Kade & Hunter's relationship. Hunter and Kade clearly have a very complicated relationship with each other from all the bonus scenes + how other ppl describe them as total oppsites, where Kade has to get all the spotlight, while making fun of his twin. But now that Hunter is gone, Kade is very upset and wants his brother back. Their relationship development is the one I'm probably looking forward the most, cause I just want them to have a good sibling relationship. 🥺👉👈

If you liked Hideaway, then Falls Boys might work for you. Aro and Banks are very similar.

P.S. I love how my name was mentioned in this book just to be misspelled again on the next page. 💀
"Miss Dylan Trent versus Sammy Phuong!" & "Sammy Phoung in her blue GTO are far past the obstruction." find the mistake. 🧍‍♀️

┍━━━━━━━━»•» «•«━┑
HELLBENT SERIES

#1 Falls Boys – 2.25 stars
#2 Pirate Girl – tbr
#3 Quiet Ones – tbr
#4 Night Thieves – tbr
#5 Parade Alley – tbr
#6 Fire Falls – tbr
┕━»•» «•«━━━━━━━━┙

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

ABSOLUTELY A FIVE STAR READ. Without a doubt.

How do I even begin to start this review? I loved every second about this book. Penelope Douglas has a way of creating intense stories with intense characters that you literally never want to leave. From the moment we meet Hawke and Aro, I was obsessed with their dynamic. They're from opposite worlds and opposite sides of a rivalry. Aro has had a hard life and has had to resort to working for some not so great people in order to support her family. She soon finds herself entangled with Hawke and the people he loves. Hawke is intrigued by Aro, though, and isn't willing to let her go so quickly.

This book doesn't take place over a long time, but I truly believed that Aro an Hawke developed a deep and unbreakable bond during that time. They both went through so much and I never felt like there was a dull or slow moment in this book. I started the Fall Away series back in 2014 and it really felt like coming home while reading this book. I loved being back with these characters and seeing our original characters as parents. This plot and the bonds between these characters felt so much like the Fall Away series with some Devil's Night vibes and I am just in awe at Penelope's ability to create such an interesting plot with an all-consuming romance that I can't get away from. It was so interesting watching all of these characters interact, seeing how loyal certain characters were to each other, and watching how this plot was going to play out.

Seriously, when this book comes out, do not wait a second to pick it up! And please make sure you read the author's note at the end! I really appreciated Penelope opening up about their own life and how it relates to Aro's and it made the book that much more special.

[Lacey (laceybooklovers) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Omgggg. I'm trying to get my thoughts together for a review, but I LOVED IT!!!! PD is back again with another fantastic romance. Aro and Hawke were amazing together – the good boy/bad girl dynamic was perfection. I LOVED seeing the original Fall Away gang again, this time as parents. (All the Jared scenes were so funny here??) Falls Boys is an incredible start to a new series that people will definitely enjoy whether or not you've read the original series. The romance is exciting, intense, steamy, and pretty much everything I expected from a Penelope Douglas book. I already have ideas on who the future couples will be!

Full review to come!

*****

YEEESSSSSSSS I AM READY.

[❥ KAT ❥ Kitty Kats Crazy About Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

📚 FALLS BOYS : 📚 Is the first full length romance book in the spin off series (Falls Away) by Penelope Douglas. Spoken in 'Dual Perspectives.'
Back to Shelburne Falls we go.. Where corruption and chaos go hand in hand..

Not long after diving into this the gears started grinding away in the background, making this a high octane read with the drama escalating from the opposing side of town.

Rich vs poor.
The good boy vs the wild girl.
Both worlds collide
Until they have to go into hiding because of one night which changed the course of their lives..



Him always trying to keep the heat off her, to stop trouble finding her or her finding trouble, giving me whiplash the amount of times he became a knight in shinning armour. He captured my heart, she stole my emotions, both obviously from two different sides of the track but once in each others space the differences faded away, they were perfect for each other.

No one has ever had her back until...Him

This held my attention throughout, some utterly compelling unique situations which cemented why I enjoy this author as much as I do, there are a few open/ended paths we're taken down but I'm guessing they are left unresolved as they may be picked up in the next books, this was such a strong start to what I can only imagine is going to be an outstanding series and I am here for the entire ride!!

* Teaser used is off the authors facebook page *

                  

[ellie · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars⭐️

this is a Hawke Trent slander zone!! feel free to hate on him bcos i do (though i will admit after a day of reflection i don’t hate him as much as i originally did... so i will boost the rating a smidge lol).

this felt like Tryst Six Venom, Devil’s Night and Fall Away all rolled into one. so it was completely unoriginal.

PD needs to move on from high school romances bcos i think they’ve exhausted all of their options at this point. it wasn’t unique nor special, and had felt like i have read this a thousand times before.

and bcos of that, PD really didn’t know what they wanted this to be. it was messy. unrefined. exhausting. nearly five years of waiting for this and it was ultimately forgettable.

Hawk “bro-for-brains” Trent (H)

or as i like to think of him as Kim K in her “get up off your ass and work!” era.

his privilege was suffocating. the shit he would think and then say out loud to Aro was truly so ignorant, my god. telling her all she needs to do is find a real job, just escape her abuse and poverty, try harder... all bcos his dad did?? Jax was surrounded by privileged people. he didn’t achieve his success solely on his own, Jared, Madoc, their parents all got his foot in the door!!

he told Aro “people have it worse than you”👁👄👁

“But you’re not stuck in this life, you know that, right?” I tell her, wanting to know more about that man in her house. “You don’t have to do the things you do. Whenever I think it’s bad or I’m feeling like shit, I remember it can always be worse. Always. There are refugees fleeing wars. People starving. Dying of disease…”

Poverty is no excuse to do the things she or any of her pals do.

Our town got richer—with people like my father and my uncles succeeding and giving back with jobs and events that brought in revenue—and Weston got poorer. But struggle isn’t always a bad thing. Only when we’re desperate do we dig in, and Weston found ways to brace themselves. They’ve risen. Disgracefully, but still.

rich people saying all poor, working class people need to do is just work harder and make better life choices make me want to actually stab a bitch.

it’s giving Molly-Mae “everyone has the same 24 hours” bullshit.

and every time Aro clapped back i was living. bitch really hit him with reality check after reality check. he just wasn’t my cup of tea, despite him getting mildly better...

until Schuyler. i could have done without goddamn Schuyler (idk where PD found the name either lmao). i hated her whole character and her involvement in the story. i guess this is spoilery but i imagine some people would want to know, that Hawke still messes around with her and intends to have sex with her almost half way into the book.

kinda undermined the romance. it was gross to read and probably the moment this book died for me lol. there was no coming back from that. Hawke was just... bleh.

i can’t even be bothered wasting more energy on him.

Aro Teresa Marquez (h)

aka, if Liv and Banks had a baby together it would be her.

not mad about it tho bcos i loved Liv and Banks (probably my fave PD heroines) and i really liked Aro... in the beginning. but she eventually lost her edge, that spark i adored. it only ever reignited when she was violent with people😭 any time she slapped a bitch i was living. then the rest of the time i was bored by her. *sighhhhh*

idk. the whole book just bored me lol. can you tell i really didn’t give a fuck bcos i feel like this review is just as blasé and uninspiring as the book. i truly didn’t give a fuck about Aro and Hawke as a couple either.

i thought the premise of the book was very weak. i knew what motivated Aro but not Hawke. it felt very contradictory too— they weren’t supposed to be seen or caught... but would go to parties, run around town, go to the shops and the library, visit friends. it just baffled me? i truly don’t know what drove the book forward? like if you were to ask me the plot of the book??!



so the result was the entire book felt aimless. it was exhausting and so damn boring bcos i couldn’t figure out the end goal.

like the whole “Winslet” scene was just fucking weird. the writing was too choppy to understand wtf was going on. it was too messy and not refined enough to have the impact i think PD wanted. instead of it being edgy, sexy and thrilling... it was just cringey as hell. the story made zero sense to me and the scene playing out between Hawke and Aro made zero sense to me bcos of the way the entire interaction was written. i just cannot articulate how confusing the entire scene was.

then the “Marauders??” i– it really was just a rip off of Devil’s Night just less dark and taboo, with Liv’s storyline used as Aro’s story then Hawke’s life and storyline was the Fall Away series. it was just recycled from their other books.

also, Dylan was meh. Kade was a snooze fest. gimme my baby Hunter rn. im still excited for the rest of the series, but not getting my hopes up, that’s for sure :/

[FictionalDen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 Stars


⛔️ Spoilers Ahead ⛔️

Aro belongs from the “poor” town. At a very young age she was forced to do illegal things just to survive and protect her siblings. Now at 18, after one of her jobs went wrong she can’t go back empty handed so ends up going to where the “pirates” are to get back the money Dylan owes her. That’s where she meets Hawke Trent.

Hawke, isn’t your typical Penelope Douglas style bad boy H, wait who am I kidding 😂😂 just because he is a virgin doesn’t make him any different lmao that STUCK UP ASSHOLE. I hated him in the start. Every time he opened his entitled mouth I wanted to punch his virgin dick.


“You got any more problems with anyone in the Falls,” he says, “you go through me. I don’t want to see your drugs, your shitty stolen merchandise, or your Weston Rebel bullshit in our nice town. Got it?”




“And you’re going to stop choosing losers as friends just because they’re giving you a bit of attention,” I tell her.





“But it’s not funny. Nothing at all is funny about the situation she’s found herself in. “You shouldn’t go back to them.” I tuck the charm away in my pocket and meet her eyes. “Go get yourself a real job and re-evaluate your friendships, honey. Have a nice life”





“Poverty is no excuse to do the things she or any of her pals do. She can make her own opportunity. My dad did”





“What came out of my mouth was not the son they raised.”

Atleast he knows he was wrong…

Here I’m almost in tears because of Aro and then there is Hawke ruining the entire emotional moment for me by opening his big ass mouth.


“I’ll never view the planet any closer than this, it’s the most beautiful thing I’ll ever see. It reminds me that I don’t matter. Not really. It’s been spinning for billions of years, and we’ve been spinning for billions of years—millions of me’s have come and gone. Nothing I do makes any difference”

My heart broke for her and the struggles she was going through, she was one step away from being pimped out by her so called foster brother who “cares” for her. But, Aro’s life didn’t stop her from being a bad ass though


“I raise my eyes, seeing the blonde next to Dylan covering her shit-eating smile with her hand.
The walls close in.
I’ll give her something to smile about.
I fling the money back at him, and before anyone knows what’s happening, I ball my fists and shoot out my leg, the toe of my boot landing right in her fucking mouth.”

The best part, that was Hawkes ex 😂😂😂😂




Anyway stolen wallets, cars, throwing away drugs, fighting a corrupt cop and it being recorded gets them both working together to save themselves. They both are now staying at this secret hideout trying to solve shit without getting the adults involved.

Now Hawke here finally started growing on me, by that I mean I didn’t want to punch his dick anymore. I started enjoying their cute moments/thoughts


One of her hands lays on top of the other, the pillow tucked tightly under her head, and a need washes over me to see her sleep for as long as she wants. To not have to get up and worry or work. I’d like to watch her play a video game or play with a dog or ride shotgun on the rare occasion I race. She’d love that.

“You weren’t born here. You were born billions of years ago, Aro. You’re stardust.” I look over, meeting her eyes. “The stars don’t need to see you. They know you.”

And then the scene happened, where Aro went to his ex to have sex but couldn’t go through with it because he has an issue of overthinking. He really wants sex to mean something to him and to do it with someone he loves. Have what his parents have basically.

Now I didn’t really mind him going to his ex, do I wish it happened a little sooner in the book? Yes. Especially when I could see things starting to change between Aro and Hawke. The thing that did annoy me and made me want to throw my kindle on the wall was

“It looked like it didn’t go well with your ex today,” she says, “so I was thinking…” She looks down, struggling to breathe. “Do you… I mean, would you like to…touch me?”



Aro, darling, you okay? I didn’t know we were running a charity show here. WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT! I WAS ROOTING FOR YOU!! Aro turned pussy whipped or dick whipped and I wasn’t liking it one bit. And I just couldn’t connect with Aro and Hawke anymore, personally for me their relationship development wasn’t that great, they went from 0-10 real quick for my liking.

“I don’t want you talking to her while we’re messing around,” I tell him. “It’ll make me feel bad.”
He turns his head just a little, and I feel stupid for asking this, but he’ll be hers soon enough.
“It’ll feel like I’m not important,” I say. “I know I’m not your girlfriend, but we’re friends, right?”
He nods, so quiet. What is he thinking?
“Just not while we’re doing whatever we’re doing, okay?”
“Okay.” There’s a crack in his voice, but it still sounds firm.
The light turns, and he puts his foot on the rest.
“Aren’t you going to tell me not to mess around with other guys?” I ask, holding him close.
He revs the engine. “I already know you won’t.”
He speeds off, the bike jerks, and I tighten my arms, whispering, “Because you know you’re the one I like.”

The plot went bleh for me after this. I lost complete interest, I felt like the book is being dragged now and I just wanted it to end. I started skipping a lot just to finish the book.

Am I excited for the next book? Yes! Because Hunter is by far my favourite character ahahahaha even though he wasn’t physically present in this book


——————————————————-

- So I did a little thinking, and upped my review to 3 stars.
- The book had potential but it went flat for me because of the messy plot.
- I wish there were more heated glances and stolen kisses before Aro offered to help Hawke with sex, I would have really enjoyed that and Aro still remaining her bad ass self with control and Hawke being the one running behind the “bad influence” he wanted out of his nice town.
- The couple could have been amazing but sadly didn’t for ME.
- Then the whole Reeves thing was sorted out in an instant so I didn’t understand why the book was even that long.
- The winslet part was giving me major devils night vibes and I was convinced it’s them too 😂. I waiting for them to jump out of somewhere.

[gloria .☆ﾟ. · Rating 4 out of 5]

➥ 3.5 Stars *:･ﾟ✧

"You like me?" She bites my ear so soft, chills crawl my arms.

━━━━━━━━━━━ ♡ ━━━━━━━━━━━

Although I don’t deny that this book is evidence of PD’s growth as an author, I ultimately think they should have let go of their past works and started with something new, and standalone.

To start on a positive note, I’ve grown fonder and fonder of PD’s FMCs every time they publish a new book. Aro (h) was a powerful, hard-working, hot FMC with agency and substance. She even reminded me of Olivia, who we all know I love dearly as well. It’s incredibly refreshing to see more of these types of female characters, especially in dark romance, as women tend to be written as meek and plain, but I’m glad to see PD has left characters like Tate, Fallon, Juliet, Rika and Banks behind, and is instead putting forward female characters like Aro, Olivia, Clay and Tiernan.

Of course, as a Latina woman, I was intrigued when I realised Aro would be a Latina character. Though, unfortunately, I wasn’t enamoured with PD’s representation. It’s not something they did particularly terribly, and it’s actually a trap that most media with Latina characters fall into, but Aro only spoke Spanish to swear. Instead, what would have been more realistic, was to also include her using Spanish filler words or saying a sentence in half Spanish half English. More significantly though, I didn’t love the stereotypical depiction of Aro, in the sense that she’s a Latina with a large family, has absent parents, deals drugs and runs away from gangs. Sound familiar? It’s something I can look past, I’m not too bothered about it, but I wasn’t really impressed by the aspect.

Still though, I did feel that her personality shone, and her attractiveness is (in my opinion) irresistible.

Pressing her body into mine, her scent hits me, and liquid heat rushes through my veins as her mouth hovers over mine.
She reaches behind me, and I hear the bobby pin slip into the lock of my cuffs. I brush her nose with mine.
"I've been detained before," she whispers as everyone in the room watched. "A few times..."
She moves the bobby pin around, taking my bottom lip between her teeth. "It's actually not that hard once you get the hang of it," she teases.
I nod. "So, what you're saying is handcuffs won't work on you." (🙄🤢)
She smiles. "Maybe duct tape."
I graze my lips over her forehead, brushing her hair with my mouth and dying to have her in my arms. "I love you," I say.
"I know, baby."

Personally, I know a character is pretty great when I actually like when they use the endearment "baby".

I was also impressed with the more unique route the PD took with the dynamic. Not only did they write a fantastic female main character, but the badgirl/goodboy dynamic in dark romance is rarely explored, and I really appreciated the way in which PD stepped out of the comfort zone they tend to write in, and tried something new and interesting. I hadn't anticipated that PD would execute a somewhat friends-to-lovers premise, while still keeping it in their notorious dark, smutty romance subgenre. Especially since PD's specialty has been bully romances in the past.

"Baby." She kisses my mouth, its corners, my jaw... "Where else does it hurt?" she asks.

However, I feel Hawke (H) could have been even more "goodboy"-ish. I felt that at the beginning, his goodboy character was really working. He wasn't overly arrogant, and I also liked the uniqueness of having a virgin hero, but once he lost his virginity, he was as annoying, arrogant and controlling as ever. I think maybe PD slipped into their usual style there, but it didn't work for me, since here, he was trying to be dominant toward a strong fmc, even calling women "females", and being Aro's saviour often, when I really just wanted Aro to keep being the powerful one in their dynamic. At the end, it's supposedly revealed to us that Hawke speaks/knows Spanish because he 'spent a lot of time out of America' but I didn't like it at all. It's as though he was just copying one of Aro's traits that we already love, hoping that we'd love him too. Not only did he do it wrong, saying "ano" (anus) instead of "año" (year) ...rookie mistake, but he even cockily declared that he knew what Aro was saying when she cursed. She said "hijo de puta" and he was all "hehe I know what that means...motherfucker!", when it definitely means son of a bitch. Then, he also admitted to knowing shit about astronomy, which was also Aro's thing, and then even tried to incorporate it into a sex scene, which I didn't find attractive.

In terms of generally romantic interactions, I felt they were exceptionally done, in typical PD fashion. There was a moment where Aro and Hawke just touched eachother on the sofa and it was such a tender yet tension-filled moment. Really really well-done. But, what disappointed me was the infrequency of these great moments.

Which leads me to say that the plot was absolutely terrible in my eyes, sadly. I believe this is a side effect of PD writing series again, and I think it's one of the main factors that make their series not work for me. I knew that there would be a danger of PD slipping into their past tendencies by writing a companion series to the Fall Away series, but I actually felt that there were many more similarities with Devil's Night...which is even worse. Grudge night is similar to Devil's night, and the whole territory thing reminded me of the way it was in Tryst Six Venom (which had been done unsuccessfully there too, in my opinion).

In writing a series, I saw that PD spent so much time building up a plot that the rest of the series could hang off of, that it greatly took away from the romance. The urban legends were strange and I don't actually understand the hideaway thing. There was even a strange sex scene where it seemed like Aro and Hawke were re-enacting one of the myths? Very weird.

The density of this attempt at shoving in plot resulted in a formatting where there was one romantic moment, then 50 pages of side-plot and drama, then another romantic moment, then 100 pages of side-plot and drama, then what felt like one last romantic moment where the characters are suddenly in love, and then in the last part, PD always shoves in a large chunk of plot and theatrics in the last 20%. This last part happened in Tryst Six Venom too.

So, even though both the book and the individual chapters felt far too long and drawn out, I actually didn't get enough moments of Aro and Hawke alone, having their moments of romantic development. When it got to where they said I love you, I didn't feel like there had been enough to build it up to that.

Something that was even more uncharacteristic for PD, was that the first sex scene was at 70%. Which of course I wouldn't mind too much if there were other romantic moments along the way, but because it was plot-dense and lacking romantic encounters, it felt like I was never going to get to the payoff. And really, I think that PD is so good at writing dialogue, description and length in sex scenes, it's a shame that they included so few. For example, I really liked how it was done in Tryst Six Venom where the characters hadn't yet formed emotional/romantic connections with the other, but the sex scenes actually contributed to their growing affection. Olivia and Clay had sex while they still hated eachother. I think that could have worked here too.

"Look at me." She tugs my bottom lip through her teeth. "Open your jeans."

On another note, there was some OW drama, and though it sometimes lended to some angsty moments of Aro being jealous, it became something annoying because of how often it was brought up, and it was ultimately added to the list of things that took away from Aro and Hawke's actual growing relationship.

In terms of how this book compares to the Fall Away series, I admit that it's far, far better, in many obvious senses, but, I really do think PD should stick to standalones and cut ties with their older work. I was not happy to revisit the Fall Away couples, that are now parents. One of the male ones, I forget which one, didn't let his daughter wear a tank top because it made him 'uncomfortable' - sexualising your own daughter is crazy. Did you refuse to change her diaper too? I also didn't like Kade - a character that reminded me of Jared with the usual brooding, angry-boy persona that is supposedly 'misunderstood' but is actually just annoying, emotionally stunted and uncaring of others.

I have noticed though, that PD has been republishing some of their older work with Berkley, so hopefully that'll give them easier access to things like editors etc, that could definitely fix issues like the representation, length and balance of plot/romance/pacing.

Phew, that was a lot for me to get off my chest, but I can now say I'm satisfied with my review. I think, to be fair, that this is a good book for people who are trying dark romance, since it's not super smutty or super dark, but lingers a little on those aspects.

PD's instagram says they're working on Pirate Girls, the second book in the series, which hurts a little because I was anxiously anticipating Motel. Also, I do think it's a waste for PD to make all the books in the Hellbent series straight, when they could have easily made one or two of them sapphic or gay. Oh well! If you've made it down here, thank you for listening to all I have to say. *Blows kisses to Aro*.

━━━━━━━━━━━ ♡ ━━━━━━━━━━━

[M · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5⭐️

well this is awkward. just like the interactions with hawke and aro. i'm sorry. i knew the minute i read the first 3 pages that this would be my least fav PD book. the reasons why?

1. i don't like books with druggies or drug dealers or child criminals. idk why but i just avoid books with them because i cant stand it.

2. aro being a criminal (with actual real life problems) and hawke being a sports athlete... how did these two worlds meet? beats me because it didn't make sense.

3. tommy being a criminal at 13? wow. half of the "pirates" being 13? wow. that was a fucking mess. i'm sorry but if you wanna make this a trope at least make the characters older because they barely got out of diapers and they already doing GTA.

4. all that rebel and pirate talk... its a sports club not a fucking james bond movie.

ANYWAYS. to the romance now.

chapter 16.

being the worst chapter i've EVER read. and besties i've read a shit ton of books that were awful but i never cringed of embarrassment and awkwardness until now. i just don't how PD went from writing characters like jared, DAMIEN, kai, MICHAEL, KALEB, misha, will, and so on... to...

hawke

:) oh dear lord. i actually love the virign hero trope. but this THIS made me hate it. hawke seemed like a mute and a person who can't process anything instead of being inexperienced.

if y'all read these quotes and still tell me this ain't awkward... ok maybe its me but dear heavens. i just i couldn't.

“You don’t have to worry about impressing me,” she goes on. “And I don’t have to worry about impressing you. We can just…practice.”
“Do you need practice?”
I feel like she’s doing this because she feels sorry for me. She’s trying to help, but I don’t want to use her.

“I just want to touch you.” She stares off, not looking up at me. “And maybe see if I like it.”
Is she lying? I feel like she’s thinking she’ll act like she’s the one who needs help when she’s actually just handling me.

“You can touch me,” she whispers, her breath falling on my mouth. “If you want.”
I…uh…

“She whispers over my skin. “Say ‘you make me hard, Rebel.’”
I grab her ass in both hands, grinding us together just once as I hover over her mouth. “You make me hard, Rebel.”

“I like the way you look,” I tell her.
“I like the way you look, too.”

“Can I…” I start, feeling braver all of a sudden. “Can we do a little more? Can I see…more?”

the only thing i did like in this book was how FAST i read it. i mean genuinly the writing was easy to read but i found the book way too boring. there was no climax. there was no plot. there was no romance. there was no chemistry.

now i just want hunter's book. i don't even care about dylan. this book ruined her for me. but HUNTER <3

dylanhunter <3

“Dylan purses her lips, looking away. “Like Hunter cares. Grudge Night is so far off his radar, I’m sure he’s not the least bit interested in our petty games.” She folds her arms over her chest. “He left me on Read the last two times I texted.”

[Llakshmi · Rating 1 out of 5]

my god, was I supposed to like this?

What a mess. The man was a virgin and hence the one star.

•I did not like it
•I did not understand it
•I liked that he researched sex
•no fucking personality
•I don’t think any of these rich pricks could let go of their egos long enough to try and spell physics
•the rivalry was mediocre
•the sex was good?
•the touchy cute jealous moments were good

[Jessica ❥Chatterbooks Book Blog❥ · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5

Falls Boys is one of the books I've been anticipating most this year, and the reason is simple. Penelope Douglas always delivers. They're one of my favorite authors, because they write like nobody else. If you asked me to recommend someone like them, I wouldn't be able to give you a single name. Their talent is unmatched!

Penelope's books are always fantastically written with creative storylines, intricately woven plots, amazing characters, incredible romance, and spectacular settings. They intrigue me, keep me glued to the page, and make me feel all the feelings! This book was no different.

Aro and Hawke are from two totally different worlds. Aro lives on the poor side of town. She grew up fast doing whatever she had to to provide for her siblings, always worrying about their safety and where they would get their next meal. Hawke resides in the affluent part of town with two amazing parents, a great family, and everything he could ever want. They go to rival schools and live different lives, but one day, fate throws them together, their worlds colliding in an unexpected way.

Hawke and Aro go from complete strangers to lovers in a relatively short amount of time, but it certainly doesn't feel that way. The author does such a fabulous job with the relationship development between these two. It's a gradual build that grows slowly but surely into something solid and beautiful.

Hawke is unlike any of Penelope's previous heroes. In fact, anyone familiar with their work will probably be surprised by the difference in his character. I don't want to ruin exactly what those differences are though, so I'll leave it at that.

Aro is a strong, sassy heroine with the weight of the world on her shoulders. She's selfless, loyal, understanding, and courageous. The way she devotes herself to making sure her siblings are taken care of is admirable. I don't know how anyone could dislike her.

Hawke and Aro compliment each other perfectly. As much as he changes her perspective on life, she does the same for him. I love how they were both a kind of safe space for each other in different ways. The love, respect, and care they have for one another is plain to see. Even though, they are only 18, it's not hard to imagine their relationship standing the test of time.

I look forward to seeing them again as side characters in other books in the series. Speaking of side characters, Hunter, Kade, Dylan, and Tommy have my attention! I can't wait to see what the author has in store for them in the future!

Before I finish this review, I have to mention the setting of Falls Boys. It's a character unto itself! The legends of Shelburne Falls and the rivalries of its residents along with the various annual traditions of the town are some of the most entertaining aspects of the story. Aro and Hawke spend a lot of time in a place called Carnival Tower, a secret hideaway connected to one of those local legends and a possible murder mystery. The whole thing is extremely intriguing, and I'm excited to put together the pieces of the puzzle as the series continues.

New Adult romance and Penelope Douglas fans, this one's for you!

[Christy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars

My love of Penelope Douglas started when I read Bully back in 2014. When I saw she was doing a spin-off of that series, a next generation sort of thing, I was so excited. I couldn't wait to get back in that world. There were parts of this book I really enjoyed, but honestly I found myself confused through a lot of it. Maybe it was just me, but I felt like there was too much going on and too many groups/characters. I wanted to focus more on Aro and Hawke and their story/romance, but there was always something else happening. I'm definitely going to check out the next book, especially because I think it's Dylan's and *hopefully* Hunters.

[hala · Rating 4 out of 5]

✩ 4.25 stars.

”Sometimes I want you to be all that I can see and hear. So that nothing exists in the world to me but the feel of you.”

i’ve waited for this book for so long and i can’t tell you how happy i am that the second generation journey has begun!

t h o u g h t s:
not gonna lie, i was nervous for this release thinking if hellbent will be similar to the devil’s night series. not that i don’t love devil’s night, it’s just that fall away is a totally different dimension and i was hoping penelope sticks to the vibe of that series in the next generation.

when i started reading falls boys, i genuinely felt like i went back to shellburne falls. i was happy that the author kept the essence of fall away in hellbent even though falls boys dealt with dark themes, the core of the previous series is still there which i truly appreciated. the only link i’d give it to devil’s night is the fact that in shellburne falls they have grudge night and falls boys had a hideout which made me nostalgic to hideaway.

read this book if you like:
☾ good boy / bad girl
☾ enemies to lovers
☾ forced proximity
☾ found family
☾ BANKS from hideaway by penelope douglas

aro and hawke’s relationship progression was top tier in my opinion. the way they both disliked each other in the beginning and how they slowly started forming a bond. there was enough build-up to their relationship and i was happy that it was on-page. i feel like the fact that their story happened in the span of two weeks helped with that fitting in the book as present chapters. still, in many cases, it’s always telling rather than showing with the addition of meaningless time jumps. so, i liked that it didn’t happen in this book.

“Congratulations, Hawke. You are finally a typical male, after all!”
He pushes off the couch, all of a sudden not so drunk and spitting words right back at me. “And what do you know… You do give a shit, after all.” His eyes smile as he gloats, staring down. “You fucking little liar.”

something about heroes lying to make the heroines jealous speaks to my soul, okay? and because it’s aro and hawke, it made sense. she kept convincing herself inwardly that he deserves better and pushes him away, telling him to go back to schuyler while acting like she doesn’t care. those jealousy scenes made me love the book even more. sue me, i love stuff like that.

“It’s going to be hard to leave you when the time comes, you know?” I press my forehead to his. “You’re my only friend.”
He slips his hand down the back of my underwear, grabbing a fistful of my ass and grinds himself into me, holding me flush with his body. “Friends can do this, right?”
“Yeah,” I whimper, a light sweat already covering my body. He comes down, pinning my hands above my head and kissing me.’

💫 ”Friends can do this, right?” 💫




now, i always enjoy penelope’s little mysteries in their books. i liked the one in nightfall so much and i truly hoped that we got a novella of will grayson ll but too late to dread now. in this book, i wasn’t that big of a fan of the mystery. which is why i deducted 0.25 from my rating. it wasn’t that interesting to me and i was glad that it didn’t play a big part in the story because it was confusing. however, in the last chapter when hawke found the new phone in his drawer, i wish we were given more of winslet’s story and the twins.

now, moving on to my favorite part to write in reviews,
➳ s i d e ‎ ‎ c h a r a c t e r s:
· 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚖𝚊𝚜𝚒𝚗 𝚍𝚒𝚎𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚌𝚑 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚔𝚊𝚍𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚜: 🏕
kade: “You know…” Madoc grits out, trying to get to his kid without stepping on someone else’s. “Just when I start to think you can’t come up with anything worse, you surprise me every time!”
Kade hugs his pillow to his body, mumbling, “I’m an overachiever.”

tommy: ”Gotta be honest,” she says, buckling her seatbelt. “I’m a little unimpressed. So far we have no money, and two men have succeeded in shaking you down tonight. Maybe you should let me try.”

when both of these energies collide in night thieves! the blue haired rebel owns the series already. i can’t tell you how happy i am that tommy is going to be kade’s love interest. i was hoping for dylankade but after reading falls boys and seeing tommy’s personality? kade needs to meet his match and it’ll be thomasin dietrich. try and change my mind, i dare you! i can’t wait for their book and i just know it’s going to be a good one. everyone who read his letter to tommy knows that we won with kadetommy. <3

no one:
me thinking about night thieves:




· 𝚍𝚢𝚕𝚊𝚗 𝚝𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚜: 🏍
’He was at the foam party. He was the one in the mask. Hunter is with the Rebels. And he has Dylan all to himself in Weston for two weeks.’

i feel absolutely nothing for this couple. i found dylan so annoying in this book, i couldn’t help it. i tried to like her and i think i did when she started being friends with aro… but i don’t see her and hunter being my favorite in this series. even though i’m an absolute sucker for the friends-to-lovers trope. to me, pirate girls will be rival of hellbent. i said what i said. i mean the book will be good, but it’ll be just… there for me. (UPDATE 2023: after reading the excerpt pen posted, i like them now.)

· 𝚓𝚊𝚡𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚓𝚞𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚎𝚛: 🎠
i left the best for last. i can’t tell you how much i adore jaxon and juliet. it’s actually embarrassing how much i love them and their book so much when they’re just fictional characters! after reading hawke’s story, i can just picture them both on a sunday morning drinking coffee together and thinking to themselves: “Wow, we raised well, huh?” just don’t talk to me. the fact that they took matty and bianca and gave them a home…

’My dad had to take the kid to work with him at JT Racing today, because Matty wouldn’t get off his back. Like literally.’

isn’t that so cute?! what more should i say to convince you all that jaxon and juliet are the bestest? i deducted another 0.5 from my rating just because i wanted more scenes of jaxon and juliet together. ;-;

to end this review, falls boys really did meet my expectations. i’m so happy to be back to shellburne falls! <3

[moonlight ☾ [semi-hiatus] · Rating 4 out of 5]

the second half was god tier for me, personally. this could have been five stars for the romance alone, but the first half was just...okay. decent. the plot is still confusing imo (me with basically any PD book: what even is the plot? especially devils night, but i'm here for the romance/characters when i pick up any book so), but i started to truly get invested once the romance began to develop more.

ppl out here saying hawke & aro had no chemistry (which, in that case, to each their own. i respect that opinion) but i was just here sobbing with their scenes in the second half. 😩

ARO'S CONFESSION SCENE??
🏹 The words are soft but clear, and I don't even try to stop myself. "I love you," I tell him.
He turns his head away from the window, toward me, but not all the way.
I take a step toward him. "Don't say anything," I blurt out. "Please. I don't want to know if you don't love me too, and if you say you do then I'll worry you're just saying it because I said it. I just..."
"I want to crawl inside of you sometimes," I whisper. "Sometimes I want you to be all that I can see and hear. So that nothing exists in the world to me but the feel of you."
"I'm scared, Hawke. I'm always scared." I take another step. "You don't see it yet, but your life will change, and I won't be able to keep up. I know this will end, but I need you to know that you're incredible and you'll be my favorite memory. I'll miss you so much."
"This is all there is," I gasp, tears filling my eyes. "You're all there is, and I can't stop no matter how much my brain is telling me to."
I wrap my arms around his neck and gaze up into his eyes. "We're kicking and screaming when we come into the world and kicking and screaming when we leave it," I tell him. "Death is never peaceful or painless. In most cases, we know it's happening. We're frightened and suffering and hopeless, because all we can feel is the agony, and we won't be able to think beyond it, because we're so scared. We don't want to go."
He kisses me, and I kiss him back, memorizing everything I feel.
"We won't be able to remember everything that was wonderful," I whisper. "We won't think of this. It's what's between that's the good part. Between birth and death. Every breath. Every heartbeat. And all the ones that were for you." I bite his bottom lip softly. "I want your arms around me, because I don't know if they ever will be again. I don't know if tomorrow will come or if you'll think of me when it does, so I want it now. Hold me. Hold me as tightly as you can. I fucking love you."
He grips my hair at my scalp. "And I'm never going to let you stop."

OK MY HAND HURTS WRITING ALL THIS BUT I HAD TO INCLUDE THIS SCENE BC IT WAS SO BEAUTIFUL AND I SOBBED READING THIS PART.

hawke making aro jealous, so that aro can reveal her true feelings? chefs kiss.

i thought this was a good introduction to the series tbh and i'm looking forward to the rest of the books (dylanhunter next?? 👀)

p.s. i missed my fall away babies. i loved seeing their cameos here (would have been nice to see them more, but i'm also aware this is supposed to be the kids' stories so i'll take the crumbs). 🥺

[vee! · Rating 5 out of 5]

— 5 stars ✰

i think everyone knows by now that the fall away series is in my top three favorite series. and now.. i guess hellbent is too. it was like coming home after a vacation, seeing all the characters from the fall away series as parents had my heart melting

what is better than rivals to lovers with a mix of the found family trope and forced proximity? and the jealousy trope, lots and lots of jealousy.. in the best way possible, i promise

i love hawke and aro so much. she challenged him, he tried to keep her out of trouble, she thinks she isn’t good enough for him and he assures her there is no one like her. i loved how their relationship evolved, you could literally see everything building up and them using the excuse "friends can do that, right?" makes it so much better

now, about the side characters.. i‘m obsessed with dylan and aro, i have a soft spot for kade and tommy and i am so excited to see more of hunter

i love aro‘s and dylan‘s friendship so much and can’t wait to see more of them in pirate girls

[Lana ❇✾DG Romance❇✾ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 STARS

My name is Aro Marquez,” she says. I meet her eyes. “Aro Teresa Marquez,” she tells me. “And you may not remember me years from now, and maybe no one will think of me and no one will want to, but I was fucking here.”

Penelope Douglas starts this series off with a bang, and I am so here for it!

I fell so hard for this world back when Bully first came out. And when I read The Next Flame, I was pretty much rabid for this spin off. Funny enough, I don't usually enjoy the next generation thing. There's a very select few authors I'd change my tune for, and Douglas is one of them. I was salivating for this series and these characters, dying to see that the apple didn't fall far from the tree.

This book really switched up the usual formula, and was so different from what I'm used to with Douglas books. Why? Well, we get the quintessential good boy meets bad girl, and the vibes were FIRE.

Hawke is Jaxon's son Falling Away but he's not your stereotypical 18 year old male. He's a good guy, a guy with a plan for his future, and a virgin. It was so refreshing to read about a guy who has his own hangups with sex and not shy to open up about it.

Yeah, everyone assumes,” he fires back. “Why can a woman be picky, but a man’s sexuality is questioned if he’s not diving into every short skirt like an animal who can’t control himself?”

Aro and Hawke's story is full of chaos. Aro hasn't had had easy a day in her life, forced to do whatever she needs to survive and take care of her foster siblings, she's stuck in a life she fears she'll never escape from. Then chance and circumstance lands her into Hawke's fancy world, and everything gets turned on its axis.

...you’ve taken over my head, and I haven’t thought about anything else since. You’ve either had me pissed off or naked, so I’ve been distracted.”

Hawke spends the majority of the story trying to save Aro from one thing after another, and I loved his savior complex. While we get just enough development for Hawke to make him endearing, at times he did feel like a secondary character to Aro, and I'm not even complaining about it. Aro was just a complex, multilayered character, and I couldn't get enough of her. My heart hurt for everything she's been through. She never stops fighting for every piece of goodness she can get. And I loved the way that Hawke began to thaw her hard pieces.

I want to crawl inside of you sometimes,” I whisper. “Sometimes I want you to be all that I can see and hear. So that nothing exists in the world to me but the feel of you.”

There's so much that happens in this book, some of it without full closure or answers. So of course I'm already rabid in my need for the next book. There's just a taste given for Dylan, and damn, I'm so desperate for her book that I can't deal.

This was the start of what's sure to be another addicting New Adult series from one of my absolutely favorite authors. It was a character driven story full of emotion and a splash of heat. A tale of two opposites who crash each other's worlds and make it shine brighter.

ARC courtesy of author in exchange for an honest review

Find me on:

[Lauren ♡]

Update (3): ON HOLD. I have made multiple attempts with this book from 2022-2023... and the plot and MCs just do not excite me at all, rather boring and hard to relate to them. I hate to do this for any Pen book as I truly love her style of writing but for now on hold at 21%. Maybe I'll revisit once the second book is out which is TBD. 😵
________________________

It is time!! Hoping for some good crumbs to gain insight on Dylan and the twins 😏
_________________________
Update (2): GUYS. GUYS. GUYS. WE GOT A HUGE UPDATE FOR THIS SERIES!!

↬ We have a blurb and cover, finally!

↬ Pre-order is available on Amazon: March 21, 2022

↬ Pen released a book trailer

↬ Each book surrounded with an urban legend!?

🎪 Fall Boys - Carnival Tower
🏈 Pirate Girls - Rivalry Week
🚗 Quiet Ones - The Night Ride
⛺ Night Thieves - Camp Blackhawk
🍰 Parade Alley - Esplanade Avenue
🏠 Fire Falls - Fraternity Row

_________________________

Update (1):

Today my favorite author dropped a teaser for Falls Boys and released the name of the main h. I never been more excited for anything in my entire life.

"Hawke Trent thinks he is my first rodeo, but I've had foster brothers before.

I still have foster brothers.

And they haven't forgotten about me because I've moved into a new house."

AHHHH, it looks like one of my theories from Next to Never might be right.

THANK YOU PEN. DOUGLAS, I am so excited for 2021 and cannot wait to meet Aro Marquez & get to know more about Hawke Trent!



* * *

HELLBENT SERIES
◇ #1 Falls Boys ↠ TBR
◇ #2 Pirate Girls ↠ TBR
◇ #3 Quiet Ones ↠ TBR
◇ #4 Night Thieves ↠ TBR
◇ #5 Parade Alley ↠ TBR
◇ #6 Fire Falls ↠ TBR

[Penny · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 stars ✨

“Only you’re allowed to touch me. I want to do it all with you.”

🌘 I really enjoyed Aro and Hawke's relationship and how it developed!! i'm surprised to see so many people didn't. they had chemistry and the cute moments between them were 🥰

🌘 my main issue was THE PLOT 😭 all the mysteries and whatever, put that in Devil's Night series not here 💀 i didn't like it and it took me out of the story.

🌘 Hawke was a little annoying at the beginning but he definitely grew on me. I actually really liked both Aro and Hawke.

🌘 Hawke being a virgin and the smut in general >>>> . except for that Winslet scene, but we're not acknowledging that one.

🌘 Jax and Juliet as parents were so cute but I wanted more scenes!!

🌘 teenage me knew what was up loving Rival the most, cause Madoc is still the best and has the most interesting children 😌 fight me.

🌘 the Spanish was pretty great until the end, when they're talking about how long Aro will stay with Hawke's parents and he wants to reply "just one year" in Spanish, yet he says "solo un ano" dhjkdAHFKJFHFJHD that had me laughing like a 10-year-old i'm sorry 😭😭 i'll let you see it for yourself:





just one anus 😭✌

🌘 we should've had more HunterDylan crumbs in this one, because I'm not shipping them that much now. i hope they serve the childhood friends to lovers trope, but if their book is too heavy on the mysteries or urban legends or some other shit i will cry 😭 and PD, i'm BEGGING you, give me all the angst regarding Hunter's relationship with Kade. i'm living for these two 🥺

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

me: i'm reading falls boys :)

alka and manvi: NO YOU'RE NOT YOU LIAR!!!!

me: :(


look at me finishing a book 😌 i read one book this month from start to finish and it had to be this one huh 😌 fuck you brain get some taste 😌


it was surprisingly...not bad. i've read two PD books before and i hated both (yes Punk 57 sucks) but i gotta say PD really improved writing wise since then. at least it was readable.

the plot still didn't make sense though. i have no idea what was happening in this.
there were gangs apparently, which i'm gonna be real with you, i do not believe in teenage gangs. those 18 and 13 year olds (no other age group in this, only THEM) going out threatening each other. like what you gonna do? steal the other gangs diapers? i just don't get it.


at one point our main characters were on the run because they did... something 😌 ... idk why you asking me for details? i don't even know how to read.
so anyway they had to hide right? so far so sensical. just hide in your little creepy hideout that was described so badly i couldn't even picture the most basic four wall structure. they were in a void as far as i'm concerned. there was a mirror somewhere. but those two literally went to EVERY SOCIAL EVENT IMAGINABLE.

"Hihi there's this baby gang looking for us and also some cops, what we gonna do?"

"Idk? Poolparty? The town's biggest racing event? A Waxing?"

"Why not all :)"


there was also this random mystery thrown in about Carnival Tower.
No idea my dudes :) Can't even summarize the most basic information of that :) Someone fucked someone :) Or killed them :) Same thing :)


while i liked the main characters individually (except that Hawke literally went "If you're poor just stop being poor" a few many times) i did not care for their romance. i don't think they had any special kind of chemistry? like i don't mind them ending up together and i'm not gonna be mad about it - to be honest if you go "Hawke and Aro" in two days time i will probably be like "who", that's how much i care - but when they were confessing their love i was like "okay cool, speed it up a bit though, I have a dinner to attend".


hawke was kinda cute. i mean he's a good dude. there were times he was described as "cold" and "distant" and i'm like... uhh.. this softie? are we seeing the same person.
people really complain about him being a virgin, he is EIGHTEEN. do you want him to be a sex god or what.
i don't like highschool romance, mostly because reading about 18 year olds having sex is not my idea of a good time (no offense to you 18 year olds out there), so idk if i just don't get y'all's obsession with an 18 year old to be so sexed up that every woman around him is orgasming on sight, but y'all really wild for hating on him for being a virgin.

he was really cute with all his talk about love and wanting to really feel it and be into the person and taking his time and blabla, you get it. lost opportunity for making him ace though, but that's just my opinion


either way, i had a good time. manvi hates me now but she'll get over it. 3 stars

[Yeasmin Alo]

I haven't even finished reading Fall Away
Still -

[Gina · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can give a really long review about how I think this is Penelope’s worst book to date .. plot + characters wise but I’m really tired so I’ll just list of the shit I thought was really stupid.

Minor spoilers ⬇️


I also spelled ”hawke’s” name wrong several times in this review… eh whatever he ain’t worth remembering anyways




The fact that I knew if they just went too hawks parents in the beginning… I mean the first 50% was just filler but I guess if that happened to early Penelope wouldn’t have a story would they?

To me that spoke volumes about how there was no other ideas for plot



The fact that pen was trying to not make aro a Mexican stereotype but somehow runs with the green street Latina gang…. Okay 👍

The fact that I’m reading this book and 45% in I’m hit with a little ow action for no other reason because I’m supposed to believe it had something to do with hawks characters development




The fact that I was expecting hawk to be at least a little possessive or jealous and he wasn’t at all barely protective imo it came of fake he never even told off his bitchy x who treated ARO like garbage.

The fact that I felt no chemistry or attraction let alone passion between them .. tbh I thought I’d care more when it came to hawk and his dilemma and hang ups .. but tbh he had no real problems there for no depth .. sooo that just made him boring and Plain in my eyes.


I would like to add that I relate to ARO’S struggles especially abt having an addict mom .. but I never really felt like we got to know her more just her background.. oh and she likes astrology but that’s it

It became repetitive how there would be a scene of her hurt crying alone or sad but just worded differently in each scene only for hawk to come in..

if you liked hideaway or night fall by Penelope Douglas I think you’ll like their dynamic

Def gave me more Kai&banks vibes but since I don’t like banks character her and Aro are basically the same person .. I really wished the author didn’t just say repeat but they did so.


Also the fact that I didn’t care abt them as a couple that I skimmed the sex scenes .. and tbh for me they where endlessly cringy

“ say I’m your bad little rebel from the wrong side of the tracks” … okay west side story🤚




Two stars I liked the last 20% of it just wish it was more about the characters instead of some boring ass gang rivalry

Oh well hopefully hunters and Dylan are better in the next book 💜

[h]

patiently waiting to be in the mood to read this, but i fear it’s not gonna happen anytime soon

[J Rulzz · Rating 4 out of 5]

you know in all honesty im definitely waiting for this series. Ive been sticking with this author ever since bully was out.
the thing im most annoyed about is the love triangle with hunter kade and dylan. im supposed to like Kade tbh, since im actually a crazy JARED stan. The thing is, Kade feels like a copy of Jared. I hope he doesnt turn out like that because come high waters Jared was the perfect Bully and perfect person to hate and fall in love at the same time.
I dont feel that vibe with Kade maybe because i think hes waaaaay more reckless than Jared or Madoc.
I really really like Hunter. Idk why. But if Kade got the girl, then i really want Hunter to get everything else. the rivals week and all.
im looking forward to Hunters story more.

[BLuvsBooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Let’s see what two loners can do together.”

A high octane introduction of this new world with familiar elements by Penelope Douglas.
Rivals, Gangs, suspense and secrets fill this fast paced intriguing read.
Aro is from the wrong side of town and does what she needs to help her siblings. She is strong and independent however is alone and without support of parents. She dreams of stars and escaping.
Hawke is surrounded by loving family but feels misunderstood and tries to control that with his protective ways.
They are enemies however need each-other to survive the danger after them. Will they find love and loyalty together or will they stay loners?

Loved this fast paced intense read. Hawke and Aro had smart banter while also showing their strengths and vulnerability. The side characters added an extra dimension to the story and the action had me turning the pages.
Several bread crumbs and unsolved pieces left me in need of the next in this new series.
Can’t wait for more In the Hellbent world!

New Adult. Dual POV
Thank you Penelope Douglas for the ARC.
My opinions are my own and a review was not mandatory for the ARC.



IG:BluvsBooks

[H.D. Carlton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never disappointed

Loved this one from front to back. Hawke is such a refreshing character and I loved everything about him and Aro.