Book Review: Alpha Bully by Renee Rose

Wolf Ridge High Book 1

USA Today bestselling author Renee Rose delivers on this intense bully romance with a paranormal twist.

SHE RUINED EVERYTHING... I WILL MAKE HER PAY. Her mom robbed my dad of his job. Destroyed his life. Now I have to look at her every day. The girl next door. A human. A hot little nerd. She doesn’t belong here—not in Wolf Ridge, not at our high school, definitely not in my life. She doesn’t know what I am. Which makes it all the easier to take revenge. I will bring her to her knees. Pierce her heart. Make her bleed. For me. All for me.

NOTE: This New Adult book features steamy scenes with characters over eighteen and is for an audience that is also over eighteen.

---

I wasn't sure I wanted to read this initially. This is why I gave the book a chance, from the author's newsletter:

Do you trust me to deliver with my new series?

“I thought I wouldn't be interested in Alpha Bully, but I should have known better... it's a Renee Rose. Yeah, I'm in…” --Melissa MH after reading a snippet from Alpha Bully in the Romper Room.

Bully romance is the new dark romance catch-phrase, just like reverse harem took over for the term menage a couple years ago.

As you know, I’m working on a spin-off to Bad Boy Alphas, set at Wolf Ridge High (where Garrett, Sedona, Jarod, Trey and Sheridan went to school). I already had a story in mind when bully romance started showing up everywhere, and I realized this book would be a good fit.

Unfortunately, a lot of people have a reaction to the word “bully.” The word carries a negative charge, for sure, and so I deliberated over putting it in my title or using it as a genre descriptor.

Before you judge, let’s break it down. What the heck is this bully romance, anyway?

To me, it’s the same as a dark romance with an alpha-hole hero. It’s enemies-to-lovers set in high school. It’s angsty, hot and delicious in that everything-is-larger-than-life-when-you’re-18 way.

What makes the usual dark romance hero a bully? It’s his age. There's a mixture of rebelliousness in there because he's not in total power of his life yet. The younger hero has all the swagger and cockiness of the dark romance hero, all the dominance, but he has limited power. Unlike one of my mafia heroes, who truly wields and owns his power, this hero still lives under the constraints of parents, teachers, school. And an alpha, if he’s in a wolf pack, like my young hero in Alpha Bully.

And while some bully romances are written for a YA audience, mine will not be. My characters are 18 and the book is for READERS OVER 18. Because hey. It’s me. I'm dirty. There’s going to be #buttstuff. And kink of course! And super steamy hot sex. The characters may be young, but there will still be hot dominance, unavoidable conflict and of course, the hero will eventually end up on his knees for the heroine before they get their HEA.

There is a reason I fell in love with bully romance and the author responsible is LJ Shen. If you haven’t read her Sinners of Saint or or All Saints High books, DO IT NOW! Lee Savino first recommended them to me and once I read one, I couldn’t stop. I love them so hard. Her latest release is Broken Knight and it hit #1 overall in the Amazon store this week. Yeah, she’s that amazing.

So tell me, did I convince you? Will you give Alpha Bully a try when it comes out? Do you trust me to deliver it the way you like it?

I promise, I will…

---

My Review:

I'm wondering “how do I put into words what I just went through?” I spent the first half of the book not really sure if I was going to be able to get past the ‘bully’ aspect. I don’t like bullies. Especially in a young or new adult setting, they take me back to memories I’d prefer to leave buried. But the story and writing are so compelling I couldn't stop reading once I started. This book took me to places I wouldn’t have gone willingly if I’d been paying attention to the warning signs – it pushed me so far outside of my comfort zone. I'm sitting here looking at the blinking cursor and realizing I haven't quite recovered from the book yet and I don't know if I will. The reason behind that? For every chink in her armor that Cole exploited, Bailey pulled a brick from his defenses. I can fully love this book and not hate myself for it because Cole is well and truly humbled by the end. We see him grow and change throughout the story. And he is made greater for it. Bailey isn’t spared from learning lessons either. And it’s pretty fantastic watching her discover her personal power. Will I read more bully romance in the future? Maybe. Will I read more from this author? Abso-F-ing-lutely! I received a complimentary advanced copy of this book through Booksprout.