My Thoughts... My Reviews...: BOOK REVIEW: Bully (Fall Away #1) by Penelope Douglas

Bully by Penelope Douglas
Series: Fall Away #1
Genres: New Adult, Contemporary Romance
Publication Date: Jun 17, 2013
My Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

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.

We're neighbors,and once, we were best friends. But then, one summer, he turned on me and has made it his mission to screw up my life at every opportunity. I've been humiliated, shut out, and gossiped about all through high school. His pranks and rumors got more sadistic as time wore on, and I made myself sick trying to hide from him. I worried about what was around every corner and behind every door.

So I left.

I spent a year studying abroad and bathed in the freedom of life without Jared. Now I'm back to finish up high school and get the hell out of here forever. I'm hoping that after a year of breathing room, he's moved on and forgotten all about me.

But even if he hasn't changed, I have. I'm not interested in avoiding him or turning the other cheek anymore. We're going to go head to head, because neither of us wants to back down

My Thoughts

You know when you read a great book and dreading to end it? That's what I felt in Bully.

Jared.. the major bully in Tate's life.

I do have a love-hate relationship with Jared.. from the beginning you cannot help but hate this guy. I really didn't know if I wanted to hug or smack him. I have weakness when it comes to possessive sexy tattooed guys and even though Jared is in that category, I hated him! He was down straight cruel to Tate that I just wanted to jump in the book and straggle the heck out of him!

I didn't really understand why he was such a jerk.. well I kinda knew why but just didn't understand why he was doing this instead of approaching her differently.. it took me awhile to warm up on him but when everything was revealed I couldn't help but love him!!! When he decorated the tree with lights.. that was so sweet. grrr!

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

Tate.. I thought she's was going to be a weakling but ended up being a strong kick ass heroine! Tate is hands down my favorite heroine so far. I just loved her strength and the whole transition was enjoyable to read!
I really felt bad for her but when she finally fought back I was like... "Take that bitches!!!!"

Her monologue in the class was one of my favorite scene, it was heartbreaking and I cried a little bit. ^_^
I thoroughly enjoyed their encounters.. the push and pull and sexual tension between these two was uber hot! It surprised me that this book is pretty steamy as I thought it was more in the line of Ya genre.

He’s like one of those piggy banks that you have to break to get anything out of. You can’t just shake him and he’ll give up the goods. You have to get the hammer.” He looked straight at me. “You were the hammer.”

The rest of the characters are awesome as well, specially Madoc... I hated this guy but ended up loving him. He was a jerk like Jared but heck.. he does some silly things that made me shake my head and smile.
K.C on the other hand was a so, so for me.. I liked her in the beginning but it irked me that she lied and briefly dated Jared.. it kinda broke my heart when they were making out.. It felt like I was the one being betrayed. lol.

I was his. And he was mine.

And now we were complete.

The writing is great and there were times that I could predict some certain parts but also surprised me with the twist! I thoroughly applaud the author as I went through a lot of emotions from this book!

Bully is captivating and drew me in every chapter until the end! I tend to read fast but in this book I was holding myself and reading it slowly... call me crazy but I didn't want the damn book to end!

I heard there will be another book but I'm not sure if it's the continuation of Jared and Tate or it will be Madoc's story... because the ending didn't feel right... don't get me wrong, it was sweet and everything but it felt like it has something more... or maybe it's just my mind playing the "denial game" lol.

Overall, Bully is one amazing read!!! Seriously if I could give this more than a 5 star I would! I highly recommend this to anyone and I can't believe this is Penelope Douglas debut book! Thank you for writing this amazing book and can't wait for the next one!!!

About the Author

When my husband texted me from downstairs, wondering when the heck I'd be done writing, I would always say the same thing. "A couple more weeks, honey." He learned to stop believing me, and I learned to ignore the catastrophe my daughter made of the house as I wrote. I live in Las Vegas where I teach second grade, and although it's been hard to juggle responsibilities, I've gotten a lot of enjoyment during the past year trying to put a book together. I feel it's important to keep learning and keep growing. Try new things and set new goals! But...never grow up. Oh no, that would be a tragedy.

Bully is my first book, released in June 2013. Look for Book 2 in the Fall Away Series, Rival, in late 2013.