Book Review: Pretty Reckless by L.J. Shen

We were supposed to be best friends
But turned out to be worst enemies… 

Penn
They say revenge is a dish best served cold
I’d had four years to stew on what Daria Followhill did to me, and now my heart was completely iced.
I took her first kiss. 
She took the only thing I loved.
I was poor.
She was rich.
The good thing about circumstances? They can change. Fast.
Now, I’m her parents’ latest shiny project. 
Her housemate. Her tormentor. The captain of the rival football team she hates so much.
Yeah, baby girl, say it—I’m your foster brother. 
There’s a price to pay for ruining the only good thing in my life, and she’s about to shell out some serious tears.
Daria Followhill thinks she is THE queen. I’m about to prove to her that she’s nothing but a spoiled princess.

Daria
Everyone loves a good old unapologetic punk.
But being a bitch? Oh, you get slammed for every snarky comment, cynical eye roll, and foot you put in your adversaries’ way.
The thing about stiletto heels is that they make a hell of a dent when you walk all over the people who try to hurt you.
In Penn Scully’s case, I pierced his heart until he bled out, then left it in a trash can on a bright summer day. 
Four years ago, he asked me to save all my firsts for him.
Now he lives across the hall, and I want nothing more than to be his last everything.
His parting words when he gave me his heart were that nothing in this world is free.
Now? Now he is making me pay.

L.J. Shen never fails to bring me to my knees. Pretty Reckless is an angst driven, wrong side of the tracks romance. Mean girls, bad boys, misunderstood, envious, soul wrenching kids of the Hotholes. High school drama times four. 

Pretty Reckless is the first book in the All Saints High series and it sets the bar high for the remaining books in the series. This story brings teenage angst to a new level. 

"Some fairy tales are screwed up,"

Daria Followhill, All Saints High cheer captain, rich bitch, little miss popular with a black book of sins. Daria is the daughter of Hothole Jaime Followhill.  Jaime has his own story to tell in Defy. Daria is in a constant fight with her hideous little monster of envy and pettiness. She does things that caused me to wince. She's a mean girl who is lost and wounded by the unintentional infliction caused by her mother.  When the cause of the rift returns times two, Daria finds her life spiraling out of control. 

Penn Scully, is Las Juntas wider receiver and captain of the rival football team.  When his mother passed away and he has no where to go, Daria's mother steps in and brings him home. Penn's twin sister had disappeared four years ago because of Daria's actions and now he's out for revenge.

The story hides nothing. It's true to it's core. Misunderstandings, inadvertent actions, lack of parental affirmation, teen angst keeps you turning the pages and wanting more. 5 Stars