Rate: đź’–đź’–đź’–đź’–đź’–
Spice: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Favorite quote: People are apples. Good apples. Bad apples. Too ripe or too raw. Hard or soft. Sweet or sour. And in every apple, there’s a core. A heart. Something that makes them uniquely themselves.
Wow. Just wow.
Pretty Reckless by L.J. Shen is fantastic. It’s a gripping tale of love and betrayal, heartbreak, and eventually redemption.
The story is told from a dual POV, following Penn and Daria—two lovers who seem destined to fail due to past conflicts and the divide between their social circles. Yet, despite their differences, they’re forced to live together thanks to Daria’s mother, Melody. Melody’s act of kindness toward Penn and his twin sister, Sylvia, sets the stage for a story full of tension and unexpected connection.
Daria is the 18-year-old queen bee of All Saints—cheer captain and the golden girl who was never taught how ugly jealousy can be. On the other hand, Penn Scully is the football captain from a rival school, a self-proclaimed street rat, and Melody’s charity case.
Four years before the main story, Sylvia (often called Via) was Melody’s first charity case. The twins grew up poor, trapped in a home with a drug-addicted mother and her abusive boyfriend. Via found solace in ballet at Melody’s studio, where she and Melody developed a close, almost mother-daughter relationship—leaving Daria feeling neglected and desperate for attention.
One day, Daria finds an acceptance letter for Via to attend a prestigious ballet academy in London—Melody’s own dream school. Consumed by jealousy, and unknowingly sabotaging Via’s escape from an abusive household, Daria burns the letter with Penn’s help. This act of betrayal sets off a chain reaction: Daria runs away, and Penn harbors deep resentment toward Daria, blaming her for ruining his sister’s chance at a better life.
Years later, on his 18th birthday, Penn’s mother dies of an overdose, and her boyfriend kicks him out—leaving him homeless. Melody, still mourning the loss of Via, offers Penn a place to stay, despite his reluctance to accept charity. It’s better than being on the streets.
From there, the story follows Daria and Penn as their relationship evolves from enemies to lovers, filled with hate-fueled passion and raw emotion. It’s a classic “too little, too late” trope, but it’s done with such intensity that you can’t help but be captivated.
If you’re looking for a raw, angsty romance with flawed but redeemable characters, Pretty Reckless is definitely worth picking up!