Series: The Bullets
Release Date: August 19, 2018
It’s a nickname I haven’t heard since I lived on Woodbury Lane, where the houses were pretty but the secrets? Deadly. It was a pet name known only to the Bullets. Rough, violent, and ruthless, they laid claim to the town — and my heart.
I wasn’t supposed to fall for a boy from the wrong side of the tracks—especially not four of them. But they were the only ones who understood that sometimes hell hides in plain sight.
I was the girl with all the conveniences a privileged upbringing could provide. The world only saw two loving parents and a pristine home life, but I knew the truth. And it was going to get me killed. So, I disappeared, from everyone and everything I’d ever known. I changed my name and my appearance, but the scars I carry, they’re still the same.
The Bullets are all grown up now, too — a crime boss, a pro fighter, a bounty hunter, and a federal agent. Life took them in different directions, but they once shared the bonds of a brotherhood forged under the harshest conditions. Together they were fearless. Brutal. Unstoppable.
I’m praying they can find that unity again. If I’m going to survive this, it’ll take everything they have. Because that’s the thing about running from the past.
Eventually, it catches up to you.
• Violence (flashbacks and present)
• Severe PTSD
• Grief over the presumed death of the Heroine
• BDSM (One of the heroes–Gavriel–agrees to protect Sunshine in the present for a price: she must submit to him)
• Does have descriptive sex scene with OW (in the Past, the heroes hook-up with girls right in front of Sunshine at parties. Can’t remember if there’s a sex scene in their POV, but there is A LOT of OW).
• Does have the Hero and Heroine pushing away
• Does have a significant (~5 years) separation between the Heroes and Heroine
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.
Format: eARC
Rating: 4.25/5 stars
Note: I was lucky enough to have received an ARC of Sunshine and Bullets (this novel was given in exchange for an honest review)!
•••
Sunshine and Bullets is a dark and gritty story about a girl named Summer – nicknamed Sunshine – who befriended the members of the Bullets, a gang in her small town. The Bullets are comprised of:
- their leader, Gavriel,
- the charmer, Balise, and
- the fighter, Ryker.
However, neither their town nor any of their relationships are idyllic – despite their first impressions. After a series of events – which the reader gets to experience through flashback chapters – you start to understand how Sunshine has been missing and presumed dead for the last five years. Sunshine and Bullets is set in the Present-day, which takes place over four days, while the flashbacks spanned a few weeks five years ago.
Sunshine and Bullets was extremely raw, which became all the more apparent when comparing the Past to the Present. Sunshine was a very sheltered, naïve young girl at 17 who took pleasure in her small rebellion against her father, the Sheriff and image-obsessed mother by befriending the boys of the Bullet gang. As a consequence of her rocky home life and her mandatory perfect façade, these boys were her only friends… well, them and Callum, who is a rookie cop on her father’s police force. Their friendship is the making of a perfect storm, though, as there are secrets abound that – unknown to Sunshine – place her friendships with the boys on a precarious see-saw. Ruining her relationships with them is possible with one wrong decision as the Bullets only have two rules:
- Gavriel’s in charge, and
- don’t touch Sunshine.
Sunshine’s docile temperament and eagerness to please and maintain the status quo unknowingly test these two rules. However, it’s the reveal of an unexpected evil that instigates the resulting story of the Present.
What I typically love about RH novels is the foundation of dedication and devotion required for the relationship to foster; there’s a sense of security and surety to these kinds of books. However, Sunshine and Bullets is a sharp reminder of harsher realities, i.e. the double standard girls like Sunshine face where they’re both revered and mocked for being too sweet, too nice and too innocent. In the flashbacks, this was a point of contention for me since the boys could screw their way through the small town (which they did, btw). Yet, they crashed Sunshine’s dates, and they (Gavriel) made fun – maliciously – of her lack of experience when they wanted to create distance between themselves and Sunshine, not realizing – or maybe I should say, not caring about – the hurt they were inflicting. Her relationship with the boys existed in a weird reality of double-standard-ness (which she noticed but didn’t really do anything about). It was OK – even expected – for the boys to hook up with random OW – even in front of Sunshine. But she was to remain untouched and high up on a pedestal. The only saving grace in the Past was Callum – now that man was perfect, and the only thing keeping them apart was their age difference since he was in his early to mid-twenties, and she was 17, almost 18.
The flashbacks were definitely needed to set the foundation for Sunshine’s relationship with each boy as they helped add context to their eventual reunion. However, there were many times where I wasn’t really interested in reminiscing about their past, as it really emphasized the imbalance in their relationship (double-standards galore). Sunshine actually explains it perfectly: at the beginning of the Past, she comments that the Bullets are her secret since she has a specific image to maintain as the perfect daughter. But towards the end of the Past, Sunshine has a revelation where it’s her that is the dirty secret of the Bullets. She’s a secret they keep so they can have their cake and eat it too (the Bullets get all of Sunshine’s attention and only have to “share” her with their “brothers” while they get to screw around with whomever they want for “relief” – yep, I went there).
Sunshine and Bullets is incredibly well written, and the character developments are incredibly well thought out. There are no cookie-cutter stereotype men in this RH; each of them is layered and complex, as each has dealt with the disappearance of “their” Sunshine in different ways. Another issue for me was that the devolution of the boys’ friendship in the Present is laid at Sunshine’s feet and reasoned as “because Sunshine left us.” They don’t even think for a moment that they had the power to be mature and stick together to figure out what happened. On the flip side, it did bring Callum into the fold, as they all bonded over their – initial – commitment to discovering how she disappeared and why. The reality of the dynamic between the Bullets is also disillusioning. It becomes apparent in the Present that they’re not a rag-tag bunch of boys who’re like brothers to each other – Gavriel rules with an iron fist and if you benefit from him in any way, you are in debt to him which means he controls you and isn’t afraid to say so.
Each of the men is mad at Sunshine for leaving, but for different reasons. Their anger was also a product of them failing to put the situation into perspective and focusing on their hurt feelings. Ryker is the perfect example: he’s absolutely pissed at Sunshine for leaving, and even (acts like he) hates her; it takes a long ass time for it to get through his thick skull that she was scared for her freaking life. Thinking about it rationally, when the only response is to fight or flee, the kind of girl Sunshine was at 17 would only think RUN – fast and far – as if distance and anonymity could make her forget what she now knew.
In the Present, Sunshine’s around 23 and still is attempting to run away from her past by putting off telling her men what happened all those years ago. Gavriel and Blaise act particularly sore (Gavriel way more so) because Sunshine didn’t run to them for help. Even in the Past, Gavriel saw himself as the indomitable leader of their group and believed (believes) there’s nothing scarier than him. As you can imagine, Sunshine’s childhood relationship with the Bullets was a recipe for teenage confusion and heartbreak.
My biggest issue in Sunshine and Bullets was how Gavriel and Ryker were both so righteous in their anger. After getting some context, you can understand Ryker – although how he treats her is unacceptable. Period. Gavriel letting Ryker get away with it was worse, in my opinion, since, as a price for Gavriel’s protection, Sunshine must submit to him. I don’t take issue with Gavriel and Sunshine’s relationship, but what annoys me is when BDSM relationships are not founded on mutual respect. Gavriel letting Ryker say what he says and treat Sunshine how he did – with no respect – reaffirms how she’s felt for the past five years: as if she’s literally nothing, absolutely worthless.
Gavriel’s anger at Sunshine came across as more like a bruised ego; he’s overcompensating with anger towards Sunshine because he’s embarrassed he cares so much. Gavriel also tells Sunshine she can’t just pick up where she left off with them and says to her that Sunshine has to pay recompense for what she did, which made me question why Gavriel was even in the RH. Sunshine’s obviously in love with him, but this need to punish her suggests she’s spent the last five years living it up and not starving, stripping, prostituting herself to survive and killing to protect herself. For him to be so self-absorbed about how he hurt was unacceptable and incredibly narcissistic.
The two days that Sunshine demands to get used to the idea of saying aloud what happened all those years ago was brilliant. It operated as both a confirmation of Sunshine’s innate unwillingness to confront her problems and an ingenious plot device that June used to develop the erotic relationship between Sunshine and her men. However, despite how heated Sunshine and Bullets was, there’s a distinct lack of romance (although in hindsight, the Present only covers a few days). That being said, I loved the care both Callum and Blaise have for Sunshine in the Present. While Callum was all-around excellent, Balise, in the Past, very much so thought with his “little head.”
Blaise in the Present is much more vulnerable and comes across as more emotionally available (and romantically interested) since he’s already lost Sunshine and doesn’t want to ever again. Callum was the definition of the perfect boy-next-door but, he was both sweet and naughty, seeing as how he acted on his feelings for Sunshine when she was still 17. Now, despite all my issues with Gavriel and Ryker: Ryker ends up getting better, and I really liked him. I still don’t like Gavriel, but I appreciate his character. He’s also a very compelling character to read about. What I love about June’s characterizations is that she’s honest to them and doesn’t make them likable or even palatable all the time; in this way, they are authentic.
Sunshine and Bullets was a rough-around-the-edges novel; June includes scenes that aren’t really necessary for the storyline (like Sunshine walking in on her BFF/roommate Nix dominating a married couple), but they set the tone for the kind of book you’re reading. It’s unforgiving; it’s dark; it’s twisted; it’s a story where the good guys are bad, and the bad guys are worse. It’s a really great read.
Buy Sunshine and Bullets
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Other Books I’ve Reviewed by CoraLee June
Summer and Smoke (The Bullets, #2)
Quick Take: A surprisingly compelling and angsty sequel that focuses on character growth, yet Summer’s martyrdom creates a tedious subplot.
The Bullets are united once more, bonded by their demand for blood. There’s a vulnerability in their friendship, though.
Gavriel craves control.
Blaise fears losing me.
Ryker fights his guilt.
Callum’s moral compass will get us killed.
Chesterbrook may be where the old me died, but it’s also where I learned that hell isn’t a place, it’s a person. And if we aren’t careful, our plan for revenge could go up in smoke.
Tags: Angsty-AF, BDSM, Dark Romance, Emotional, Organized Crime, Reverse Harem Romance, Romantic Suspense
Wings of the Walker (The Walker, #1)
Quick Take: A gripping dystopian reverse harem romance that prioritizes the transformation and new-found independence of its Heroine. However, its consistent ostracization of the Heroine stops it from achieving 5-stars.
Josiah’s unexpected engagement has me squinting down the barrel of heartbreak, and to make matters worse; I find myself traded to Cyler Black and his leadership council in a distant Providence.
Soon, Cyler and his team of passionate leaders start to feel like family, and I’m promised freedoms I never imagined were possible; But Josiah’s not through with me yet, and war is on the horizon. Can I find happiness in my new home? Or will Josiah finally choose me?
This is a slow-burn reverse harem romance and the first book in the series.
Tags: Dystopian, New Adult, Reverse Harem Romance, Slow-burn Romance
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