TagAngst-AF

Why I’m So Done with “Bad Boys” in New Adult Romances

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Note: There will be spoilers mentioned below.

Anyone else just done with certain types of “bad boys” in new adult romances? I’ve decided to start something new on my blog called an opinion piece which targets issues I’ve discovered in literature and where I use a specific book (In this case After by Anna Todd) to demonstrate my point. I have come to believe that the propagation of certain types of cliched “bad boys” should not be romanticized; what are the damages of rationalizing behaviours that are demeaning, womanizing and, in the context of this piece, abusive? Please remember this is my opinion and you’re welcome to disagree!

Books are works of fiction but at their core, they can reflect the realities of society and therefore what we’re taught as “dismissible behaviour.” Therefore, I think it is worth discussing the impact of the cliched bad boy when they’re depicted in certain ways as media in all forms is such a huge influencer in our lives.

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Summer and Smoke by CoraLee June

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Series: The Bullets

Release Date: December 2, 2018

<strong>Synopsis</strong>
Summer Bright is just a name on a tombstone. A whispered mystery on the long-forgotten Woodbury Lane. Her ghost teases me with fear and perfection. She knows I’m not strong enough to do what I should’ve done years ago.

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.

<strong>Ending</strong>

Cliffhanger
<strong>Representation</strong>
• Bisexual side characters
<strong>Possible Triggers:</strong> Yes
• Violence (including murder)
• Physical abuse (memories)
• Threat to one’s life
<strong>Safety Rating:</strong> Safe with Exceptions
No cheating
No descriptive sex scene with OW/OM
– Blaise and Summer participate in one of Nix’s scenes, as voyeurs.
– During the scene, an OW touches Blaise, and Summer gets jealous and mad. Blaise gets turned on.
– Neither has sex with the OW/OM though.
Does have the one of the Heroes pushing away
Does Not have a separation between the Hero and Heroine
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Format: eARC

Rating: 3.75/5 stars

Warning: This is a review of the second book in the series; therefore, there will be spoilers from the first book below. Click Here to read my review of the first book in the series.

Note: I received Summer and Smoke through CoraLee June’s team in exchange for an honest review.

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Sweet Home, A Series by Tillie Cole

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About the Series

I have a weakness for cliché contemporary romances, especially books with an alpha male, a strong female lead, and an awesome romantic story. Also, since this book was based on the famous Shakespearean Romeo and Juliet, I had to read Sweet Home. It’s up to the reader to see if these reincarnations of Romeo and Juliet finally get their HEA.

The review of the series includes reviews on each of the following books (listed in order of release):

Note: The review of Sweet Rome may discuss spoilers from the first book since they are companion novels. Books 2-5 in this series are Standalone.

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The Lonesome Young by Lucy Connors

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Series: Standalone

Release Date: April 8th, 2014

<strong>Synopsis:</strong>
Get swept away in the first book of the sensational romantic drama that is Romeo & Juliet meets Justified.

WHAT HAPPENS when the teenage heirs of two bitterly FEUDING FAMILIES can’t stay away from each other?

The Rhodales and the Whitfields have been sworn enemies for close on a hundred years, with a whole slew of adulterous affairs, financial backstabbing, and blackmailing that’s escalated the rivalry to its current state of tense ceasefire.

IT’S TIME TO LIGHT THE FUSE . . .

And now a meth lab explosion in rural Whitfield County is set to reignite the feud more viciously than ever before. Especially when the toxic fire that results throws together two unlikely spectators—proper good girl Victoria Whitfield, exiled from boarding school after her father’s real estate business melts down in disgrace, and town motorcycle rebel Mickey Rhodale, too late as always to thwart his older brothers’ dangerous drug deals.

Victoria and Mickey are about to find out the most passionate romances are the forbidden ones.

. . . ON A POWDER KEG FULL OF PENT-UP DESIRE, risk-taking daredevilry, and the desperate actions that erupt when a generation of teens inherits nothing but hate.

<strong>Ending</strong>

HFN
<strong>Representation</strong>
No strong representations of the following:
• BIPOC characters
• LGBTQIA+ characters
• characters with a disability
And doesn’t address fatphobia
<strong>Possible Triggers</strong>
• Drug addiction
• Gun violence
• Drug dealing and running
• Corrupt cops
• Blackmail
• Physical violence
<strong>Safety Rating:</strong> Safe
No cheating
No descriptive sex scene with OW/OM
Does have the Hero and Heroine pushing away
Does not have a separation between the Hero and Heroine
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

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