This has been on my Kindle awhile so I’m not entirely sure how I got it, but I believe it would’ve been via a newsletter promotion.

The Premise

Trailer-park tough chick Chastity — “Chaz” — is suddenly thrown into the lifestyles of the rich and famous when her mother becomes engaged to one of her patrons at the strip club. She now has a new family — with a seemingly kind-hearted stepdad Atticus and a surly stepbrother Seth; a new mansion of a home; and a new school — Everly Prep.

The exclusive academy contains uber-rich, uber-spoilt cliques — “The Rogues” and “Roguettes” as she terms them, and they soon place her in their sights as an object to torment. She knows she doesn’t fit in, but can’t understand why she’s attracting such venom from all directions — even the teachers. When “Rogue” Mason approaches her, their passion soon escalates — until everything spirals out of control. But is everything as it seems?

The Pros

This was a fast-paced read with spunky characters and tight writing that kept me intrigued all the way through. I enjoyed the rags-to-riches arc as Chaz struggled to come to terms with her new lifestyle. I loved the supporting character of Joshua who was awesome and brought life to the story, and the mean-girl and antagonistic teachers’ actions were shocking and interesting to see portrayed.

The Cons

Though I enjoyed the story, there were some instances that didn’t take me all the way there. A few events happened and then were told in retrospect — I wish they were happening in the present, rather than being told in the past tense. Also as it is a series, the ending seems abrupt as you never quite find out the reason for the bullying… it will be revealed later in the series, but it may annoy some readers that they have to read further to get to the root of it.

Conclusion

This was a good book and I would recommend to other young adult readers (later teens and older, as there’s profanity). The character-building throughout is well done, and there are great messages here that will speak to others, especially if they have also endured cyber-bullying. I look forward to other books by this author. I also note she writes in other genres, and I would particularly like to see something entirely different with her writing skill, as I think this type of story may not have done justice to what she can produce.

Purchase your copy