All the boys in this book are scum and cannot be redeemed. If the author had made that clear instead of making excuses, having them owning up to them… I would still have thrown the book into the fire but I would have not jumped in the remaining skeleton of it just to make sure it was completely destroyed. CONS: I wasn't particularly comfortable about the ring scene. I won't go into much detail but I feel like he initially treated it as a trophy and I wasn't a fan of that. However, his later dialogue (at least, for me) made up for it. Even the older girls, the upperclassmen, were drawn to her. Completely captivated by a seemingly innocent green-eyed girl who has barely spoken ten words to me in the entirety of her time here. Now he’s the villain in my story, yet I can’t help but chase after that feeling only West can give me. Despite our hatred for each other, we somehow burn brighter when we’re together. So what happens when you helplessly fall for the one person you know is bad for you? honestly, this book just wasn’t for me. it all felt wrong and wired to me, and it was actually impossible for me to find any cute moments, because i hated the mc’s, therefore it was very hard to find anything involving them cute.

But let me be clear - I loved this book because of Crew Lancaster. That man… I have no words. The way he was so respectful to her (most of the time), the way he was so freakin patient - literally everything about him! I was not expecting him to be that way and I was definitely surprised in the best possible way! Him pining for her since the moment he saw her was standard but when he went all out with her bday/Christmas gifts????? My material girl heart grew ten sizes 🥹🥹 he def won me over by the end. The fact that he never gave up made me love him more. He took her leaving as incentive to prove himself to her and I loveeddddd this. so instead wren focuses on her school work, covering up her rapidly developing body (as a big boobed girl myself, i related so hard to her struggles with clothing, getting leering looks and her mother looking at her body in disgust😭), until a psychology project puts her and crew on the same path. I shouldn’t be drawn to her. She’s not my type. Until we’re forced to work together in class and realize we might have more things in common than we originally thought. Soon enough I find myself completely obsessed. I will do anything for this girl to make her fall in love with me. Attending lavish parties is not a common affair for Summer Savage, her family are on the fringe of society but her stepfather wanted her to get used to the glamour of it all. Her fourteen-year-old self sips leftover champagne as she watches the party in awe. Captivated by a boy who is around her age, yet seems older than her then steals her first kiss before calling her a whore. Telling her about her mom’s affair with his father and that she is probably on her knees for him. Summer suddenly saw the world differently after that night.

Games

side note to the lollipop scene; have y’all ever watched riverdale (that series on netflix) ? because the only thing going through my head besides disgust, was that ringtone on betty’s phone when the serial killer / her dad, called her. please tell me i’m not the only one. A few years later and her world has been thrown several curveballs. From the unwanted attention from her stepbrother who repeatedly raped her, her mom’s affair made public knowledge and a house fire that killed her stepfather and stepbrother. Now she is about to transfer to the elite Lancaster Prep for her senior year but any ideas of a new start are shattered when she discovers that Whit Lancaster is in her year and set to make her life hell. Turning into a high school bully that isolates her from everyone but somehow still makes her want him.

he literally threatens a pedo teacher to stay away from wren, and then gets him arrested for having sex with underage girls It’s been three years, four months, two days and a handful of hours since the first moment I set eyes on her. Ladies and gentlemen we are stopping our usually broadcasted review to bring the news that Daughter of Paper and Stone is tired of trying to form coherent thoughts and is just going to leave very specific reactions to the horrific book up ahead. Be warned that some of the contents may make people implore with the outrage that she did as well.

Christmas Cards & Gift Wrap

in reality, you get the cringiest...no *creepiest* romance?? between our two main characters, wren and crew.

wren’s entire personality is being a virgin. she is a high school girl who is infantilized by everyone around her, and the author intentionally slut shames every other girl to get this point across. Wren was cute. I liked her growth in confidence but she was a bit stupid sometimes. I liked that she added the art aspect to it but didn’t make it her whole personality. The whole thing with her being a virgin and then losing it was basically the point of this book. It’s obviously gna be repeated a lot which I was prepared for, so it didn’t really annoy me. FINAL THOUGHTS: If you aren't running to read this right now, what are you doing? I'm so glad this is the first work of hers that I've read because I cannot wait to read more!! And the thing with the dad was so annoying. I’m glad the author didn’t make the mum the villain as well, I liked her redemption arc. Spending time with Crew, Wren finds that he pushes her boundaries, questioning her life and finding that they have their differences but also their similarities too. Crew finds himself feeling protective and possessive of Wren especially when a teacher with a certain reputation starts to show an interest. They start to spend time working on other subjects and Crew encourages her to explore the feelings between them without pushing her to do more than she is ready for. But as others begin to learn of their ‘friendship’ they are pulled apart but Crew is not giving up without a fight and proves just how much she means to him.

Retailers:

The characters, the storyline, the spice and everything in between was executed beautifully. I think what everyone will enjoy the most is how the author brings the title of the book into play. It was one of my favourite scenes and I hope someone appreciates it as much as I did! The virginity of the female lead was one of my concerns before reading. I was wary about how it would be handled—whether she'd give it away to the first boy she sees or whether she'd be heavily pressured into it but after meeting Crew, my doubts just flew out the window. Wren Beaumont is quite possibly the last virgin in her senior class at Lancaster Prep. Making the promised to her father in a ceremony a few years ago and she has kept it ever since. Working hard to keep her grades she is not happy when she is forced to work with Crew. Even though he is gorgeous he is grumpy and crude towards her, he manages to open her eyes to the life she leads, the friends she thought she had (but were simply one-sided) and the opinions that others have of her.