#anarchy at prescott high

[joysofescapism]

Book Review: Anarchy at Prescott High by C.M. Stunich

There’s one mistake you don’t make at Prescott High, not unless you want me to ruin you. Do not touch my beautifully broken Havoc Boys. Harbin, Fadler, Channing-Blackbird, Montauk, and Park.

Death stalks the halls of Prescott High. Once upon a time, my best friend betrayed me. For over a year, I let that two-faced bitch go. But not anymore.

This time, she’s stirred up the devil in me. We��re finishing up my list; we’re setting our sights higher; we’re taking control of this city. The VGTF, the detective, the pretty young cop.

It doesn’t matter. Because we are Havoc, and I no longer have limits. My boys have corrupted me, and we’re more than happy to bathe in the blood of our enemies.

You can read my quick review below the cut.

Holy. Fucking. Shit.

Yes. That’s the initial reaction.

Anarchy at Prescott High.

I feel like the buffet has finally brought out the best dishes. The previous ones, I could say were either appetizers or something that was just alright. But this one? Oh boy.

Bernie went toe-to-toe with one of her biggest disappointments, Kali Rose. If it weren’t for daddy Aaron getting the fuck out of the clutches of the enemy, Bernadette Blackbird would be a dead bird.

Now, she has finally seen the consequences of her actions and the ending of Anarchy at Prescott High showed some character development from her.

Although, new plot devices came in too late into the series. Trinity Jade. James Barasso. The Grand Murder Party. I guess an antagonist bigger than Pamela Pence and Ophelia Mars was needed.

But hey, it worked! So, I don’t need to have any complaints. Let’s see what’s in store for us at the conclusion of this series.

4 stars. Hands down.

I’m giving Anarchy at Prescott High 4 stars for keeping me on the edge of my seat. I felt like I was gripping my pearls throughout the book, goddamn. This is by far my favorite in the series.

Next!

GoodReads | Storygraph | Substack | Instagram

[fcrtnite]

mobile must list.

* full muse bios can be found here

dc comics. · arden waverly. professional hacker. fc ; kristen stewart · brooke larson. escort. fc ; sophie cookson · emily wayne. college student + heiress. fc ; abigail cowen · gia tedesco. real estate agent. fc ; danielle campbell · jenna wilder. hotel heiress + trust fund baby. fc ; sabrina carpenter · larken forrest. bruce wayne's assistant. fc ; dakota johnson

fandomless. · amelia thomas. college student + royal princess. fc ; elle fanning · antonia 'toni' flores. stripper. fc ; alexa demie · ariana ford. fashion design student + beauty influencer. fc ; cailee spaeny · astrid brooks. bakery owner. fc ; sydney sweeney · aurora gray. professional organizer. fc ; laura harrier · bella corday. reporter. fc ; lili reinhart · birdie clark. vampire + office receptionist. fc ; bailey bass · brynn crawford. high end prostitute. fc ; blake lively · carmen ortiz. con artist. fc ; adria arjona · corey mason. gas station attendant. fc ; taylor russell · devon taylor. werewolf + uber driver. fc ; chloe rose robertson · eliana hirsch. best selling author. fc ; jennifer connelly · estella greenwood. restaurant owner. fc ; phoebe tonkin · felicity carter. figure skater. fc ; phoebe dynevor · freya mancini. mob wife + stay at home mom. fc ; megan fox · gabriela rajković. cam girl. fc ; mirela balić · gemma morgan. bartender. fc ; adèle exarchopoulos · gwendolyn hope. witch + library clerk. fc ; lucy hale · hannah parker. doggy day care + serial killer. fc ; aubrey plaza · harlow gatlin. college student. fc ; madison bailey · hazel wells. private chef. fc ; florence pugh · india hayes. freelance copywriter + novelist. fc ; zazie beetz · ireland cardoza. struggling actress. fc ; camila mendes · isabel jackson. ex-tennis pro + tennis instructor. fc ; camilla belle · jaclyn prescott. divorce attorney. fc ; jenna dewan · josefina delgado. pop singer. fc ; maia reficco · kitty moran. exotic dancer. fc ; ashley moore · leia holt. vampire slayer. fc ; genevieve padalecki · liliana gregory. model. fc ; barbara palvin · lorena silva. psychic. fc ; barbie ferreira · maggie simmons. college professor. fc ; natalie portman · mai hayashi. drug dealer. fc ; anna sawai · miranda westbrooke. advertising ceo. fc ; rachel weisz · naomi ricci. nanny. fc ; kaia gerber · odesa aquino. flight attendant. fc ; kathryn bernardo · paige cole. dj + sugar baby. fc ; khadijha red thunder · piper drayton. vampire + yoga instructor. fc ; dove cameron · quinn strauss. exotic dancer. fc ; belle thorne · ripley ashford. on air meteorologist. fc ; margot robbie · rosalyn suarez. werewolf + entrepreneur. fc ; eva de dominici · ruby harding. medical student. fc ; grace van patten · sienna ledger. retail slave + camp counselor. fc ; maika monroe · sutton barnes. publicist for mlb team. fc ; katie mcgrath · tinsley palmer. professional thief. fc ; ella purnell · valentina alvarez. kindergarten teacher. fc ; camila marrone · willow donovan. barista. fc ; madelyn cline · zoe french. famous tv actress. fc ; dua lipa · zya fox. makeup artist. fc ; coco jones

fandomless / period only. · elizabeth thornton. royal princess. fc ; lea seydoux · genevieve berry. royal. fc ; alisha boe · rose fitzroy. royal princess. fc ; holliday grainger · samira patel. commoner. fc ; anya chalotra

misc. tv shows · eloise belfron. helaena targaryn's lady in waiting. hotd. fc ; rose williams · maricela velasco. narcotics detective. law & order svu. fc ; eiza gonzalez · sylvia becerra. svu detective. law & order svu. fc ; jessica alba · mary turner. doctor's assistant. the musketeers. fc ; gugu mbatha-raw · savannah reacher. fbi agent. reacher. fc ; rosamund pike · thea montgomery. mechanic. sons of anarchy. fc ; riley keough · clementine roy. interior designer. succession. fc ; alexandra daddario · nadia shepherd. hunter. supernatural. fc ; crystal reed · tess reddick. hunter in training. supernatural. fc ; odesa a'zion · stella cabrera. waitress at harvelle's roadhouse. supernatural. fc ; priscilla quintana · zelda mulder. paranormal private detective. the x-files. fc ; margaret qualley

misc. movies · abigail barrett. vampire + waitress. twilight. fc ; madelaine petsch

[blackkroses]

“Victor,

I was eight when I first saw you. Fifteen when I hated you. I’ve loved you for almost a decade. Do the math.

Add me and you together and you get one. One heart beating in a broken chest.

There is beauty in havoc, peace in chaos, and wisdom in anarchy.

Two broken people can’t fix each other, but there are six of us.

Six hearts, twelve hands, ten years of history.

Make me your wife, Victor, and I’ll be as loyal as the tattoo on your forearm.

Do you want me? Please say yes, even if you don’t. Feed me beautiful lies and say I do.”

—Brendetta blackbird, from Mayhem at Prescott high.

[thereallygoodblogshow]

MA Fashion and Textile Practices Major Project Path - 1st September

Last week Heal’s released their New Season Autumn Winter’19 brochure. It’s always exciting to see what new products will be coming into store or available to order. Flicking through the brochure I noticed a lot of the new products bucked the Art Deco and 60′s/70′s trend, and the mixing of the two. Many of the new ranges are named after places in London such as Fitzrovia, Bloomsbury and Brompton, places which are renowned for their architectural, literary and fashionable heritage. Cushions and throws reflect this nod to the era by mixing patchwork, quilting and velvet for a luxurious aesthetic.   

Heal's, n.d. (2019). Fitzrovia 3 Seater Sofa. [Photograph]. Retrieved from https://www.heals.com/fitzrovia-3-seater-sofa.html.

Heal's, n.d. (2019). Bloomsbury Armchair. [Photograph]. Retrieved from https://www.heals.com/bloomsbury-armchair.html.

Heal's, n.d. (2019). Palermo 3 Seater Sofa. [Photograph]. Retrieved from https://www.heals.com/palermo-3-seater-sofa.html.

Heal's, n.d. (2019). Origami Cushion 40 x 40cm. [Photograph]. Retrieved from https://www.heals.com/origami-cushion-40-x-40cm.html.

All beautiful things, especially the Bloomsbury sofa and chair which I love, unfortunately not in my budget! All these lovely new products using a mix of Art Deco and 60′s/70′s aesthetic got me thinking about designers yet again looking back to past eras for inspiration, and Biba came to mind. Biba were already listed on my research mind map as a brand which became successful through strong graphic strategies, especially culminating in the brands stand alone store Big Biba. Biba’s founder Barbara Hulanicki had borrowed heavily from the Art Deco and Art Nouveau eras whilst creating her brand in the early 60′s giving Biba a distinct aesthetic straight from the start. 

Biba

Biba began in 1963, when the daughter of a Polish diplomat - Barbara Hulanicki, and her husband Stephen Fitz-Simon - an advertising executive launched their Biba Postal Boutique selling their affordable clothing in newspapers and magazines. In 1964, Felicity Green, the then fashion journalist at the Daily Mirror, noticed the brand and requested Barbara to design a piece for the papers fashion pages. Barbara designed a short pink gingham dress and matching headscarf  inspired by a dress her mother had made her when she was a little girl. The dress was an immediate success, selling 17,000 pieces in a short time.     

V&A, n.d. (n.d). Barbara Hulanicki and Stephen Fitz-Simon, about 1960, photographer unknown. Biba archive. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London. [Photograph]. Retrieved from https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/biba.

The sale of this dress was to propel the brand into the mainstream, and resulted in the duo opening their first boutique at 87 Abingdon Road, Kensington - a former chemists. The shop was incredibly popular, attracting a mainly female clientele under the age of 25. They came in their droves to buy Hulanicki’s slimline aesthetic inspired by past decades such as Art Deco and Art Nouveau in muted tones of olive, rust and her favourite colour ‘Bruised Purple’. Biba’s signature look was simple and linear, utilising long straight sleeves and ‘A’ line shift dresses which were popular at drawing attention to the legs. The size range was small, size 8 being the most popular. Hulanicki (2014) said of those small sizes:     

“I know that sounds mad but girls in those days, there were no continental foods to get fat on, and no one did exercise, so they weren't muscly. Not like the American girls. We made a few pieces in a size 12 but no one bought them. Of course when the pill came in that changed everything. I remember crossing Kensington Church Street in 1969 and seeing these girls with their thighs and their hips, and thought: uh-oh. Now being thin is a status thing!”

The brands ethos was about delivering stylish yet affordable clothing to the youth of the day. Barbara (n.d) insisted that the clothes remain price conscious:

“I wanted to make clothes for people on the street, and Fritz and I always tried to get prices down to a bare minimum”

Fitz-Simon had worked out that young London females would have a certain amount of disposable weekly income - he’d based his calculations on the average London secretary earnings in 1964 - and kept there prices well inside this figure to maintain a quick turnaround in stock with repeat sales. Their policy at the time was ‘pile it high, sell it cheap’ unlike many other London boutiques who catered to clientele with money and whose stock was minimal.    

Oosterhoff, I. (2015). Biba Kensington. [Photograph]. Retrieved from https://www.messynessychic.com/2015/07/07/londons-lost-department-store-of-the-swinging-sixties/.

Townsend, P. (1964-1969). Interior of the Biba store, Kensington High Street, 1960s. Photograph by Philip Townsend. [Photograph]. Retrieved from https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/biba.

These photographs show Biba’s already strong graphic style. The windows of the store sported the brands logo in large scale and not much else, enticingly minimal as to draw the client in from the street to discover what laid beyond. Once inside they were treated to a dramatically dimly lit array of fashionable merchandise, assistants sporting the brands signature pieces and music blasting from the shops sound system. By the mid 1960′s Biba wasn’t only selling to the bargain seeking youth of London but to influential stars of the day such as Twiggy and Cilla Black, they were the first of its kind to create destination shopping. According to Thomas, Turner and Hulanicki (2006) Good Housekeeping once said of the ways fashion shops now operate:

“If you can’t hear yourself shop for the heavy rock music pouring out of walls and ceilings wherever you you are, blame Barbara. If you can’t see whether a dress is black, brown or navy because you’re shopping in semi-darkness, it’s Barbara’s fault.”    

By 1965 the brand had become well established, and when the Daily Telegraph named Barbara Hulanicki one of the people who made London swing - as part of an article about ‘Swinging London’ - things were to only get better. In 1966, in a bid to expand Biba moved from Abingdon Road to Kensington’s Church Street. Again they gained further success by launching their first mail-order catalogue in 1968.       

Vintagegal, n.d. (2014). Biba Catalogue. [Photograph]. Retrieved from http://vintagegal.co.uk/books-magazines/vintage-1960s-biba-catalogues/.

Vintagegal, n.d. (2014). Biba Catalogue. [Photograph]. Retrieved from http://vintagegal.co.uk/books-magazines/vintage-1960s-biba-catalogues/.

Vintage Vixen, n.d. (2011). Mail-order catalog excerpt with baby doll-inspired fashions.. [Photograph]. Retrieved from http://blog.vintagevixen.com/2011/09/.

A total of five further catalogues were issued until the mail-order department was wound up the same year. In the September of 1969, Biba moved premises again to 124 - 126 Kensington High Street, obviously they had realised staying in Kensington as their main area would continue to prove profitable. The new address was a larger property with scope to add more departments, so here they introduced ladies evening wear, menswear and household, enabling Biba to become a department store. This same year Dorothy Perkins became a major shareholder of the company and by the Spring of 1970 Biba had also launched a cosmetics line.   

LNCRED, n.d. (2018). Biba Cosmetics. [Photograph]. Retrieved from https://thpix.com/media/836543699512579145.

Not to miss out on a good thing, other stores worldwide began to open Biba concessions, such as within the Bergdorf Goodman store in New York, as well as cosmetics counters in Au Printemps Paris, Fiorucci in Milan and Tekano in Tokyo. Things were to take a serious turn in May 1971 when the Biba store on Kensington High Street was targeted for a bombing attack by the militant far left group The Angry Brigade. The Angry Brigade formed around 1968 incited by anti-Vietnam war demonstrations held in Grosvenor Square and the actions of the European anarchist movement. Between 1970 to 1972 they were responsible for a number of bombings, possibly more than 25, across London and parts of England. They selected a number of establishments for their bombing campaign, ranging from banks and foreign embassy’s to the Ford car company and a BBC broadcasting truck which at the time was covering the Miss World contest. In respect of the Biba attack, their message was very much one of anti-consumerism. They had planted the bomb in Biba’s stock room and when the blast occurred thankfully nobody was injured. 500 members of staff had to be evacuated from the building. Their idea was never to cause harm but to gain publicity and promote anarchy. They printed a piece in the International Times - London’s main underground paper at the time - not long after the attack stating: 

“If you’re not busy being born you’re busy buying.”         

The Reprobate, n.d. (2018). BIBA AND THE ANGRY BRIGADE. [Photograph]. Retrieved from https://reprobatepress.com/2018/11/21/biba-and-the-angry-brigade/.

After more bombings in an attempt to gain further publicity the group became easier to locate and track down, and in late 1971 their main leader Jake Prescott was arrested and subsequently sentenced to fifteen years in prison. The trial of The Angry Brigade was to become one of the longest trials in English history with a further four convictions with prison sentences of ten years and later four acquittals. The group re-emerged in the 80′s as the The Angry Brigade Resistance Movement and was a faction of the Irish Republication Socialist Movement but soon dwindled and dissolved. 

A few months later Biba had recovered and launched its cosmetics line across more than 300 Dorothy Perkins stores nationwide. In the December of that same year Biba announced it was to move again to a larger building on the other side of Kensington High Street, which was currently the site of the Derry & Toms department store. Derry & Toms closed its doors in the January of 1973 and within a few months the site was transformed into what would be Biba’s ultimate flagship store - Big Biba.          

[pizza-is-my-buziness]

Yuletide Letter 2017

Dear Yuletide Author!

I am super excited to be participating in Yuletide this year! I have never done it before and I am very excited to be a part of this community. I am certain that I am going to absolutely love anything and everything that you create! I am easy to please because I absolutely love being told a story, especially a story about characters that I love so much. A story is one of the greatest gifts ever and I know without a doubt that I am going to love whatever you come up with! You are great and wonderful and awesome!

Like I said, I am super easy to please. I have such a wide range of interests and I like pretty much anything. I am also a huge fan of AUs so if you ever feel inspired to play around in another timeline or universe then feel free to try out those ideas on me! I love fluffy, domestic stories. If you feel particularly inspired by any of the fandoms/pairings, please don’t feel fenced in by a particular prompt (or lack of a particular prompt). Like I said, I’m open to just about anything and I know I’m going to love it all!

AO3/LJ: JackEPeace

Tumblr: pizza-is-my-buziness

The fandoms I have requested this year are: Baby Driver, The Purge, UnReal, Conviction, Galavant and Scream.

Things I Like: AU fics, scary stories, character studies, fluff, canon divergence, fics centered around a female character, fics about characters that no one else likes (usually I am the only person who likes those underdog characters and I have accepted this about myself), soul mate, femslash, road trips, YA novels and stories inspired by YA novels, high school AUs, zombie apocalypse, happy endings.

Things I Dislike: Character deaths (or deaths of central characters), abusive relationships or dubious consent, unhappy endings.

Fandoms and Requests!

1) Baby Driver

Characters: Baby and Debora

Prompt/thoughts: I would love to see a story about Baby and Debora after he gets out of jail. Where do they go? What do they do? Also Baby and Debora talking about music and sharing songs they like!

2) The Purge

Character: Charlie Roan (The Purge: Election Year) ***I also love Liz from Purge: Anarchy

Prompt/thoughts: I am in love with Charlie Roan and think she is the greatest character in all the movies. I would love to see a Charlie Roan character study -how she was before and after her parents/brother were killed in the Purge, her experiences before we met her in the movie. I am not a huge fan of the Charlie x Leo (romantic) dynamic but I LOVE Charlie!

3) UnReal

Characters: Quinn King and Rachel Goldberg

Prompt/thoughts: I love the Quinn and Rachel dynamic both in a romantic way and as a friendship/partnership. Stories of them working together on Everlasting (future or past season) and scenes of them together and their relationship.

4) Conviction

Characters: Tess Larson and Hayes Morrison (also the entire CIU team)

Prompt/thoughts: Tess is my favorite character and I am a huge shipper for the Tess x Hayes ship. I love their dynamic and think that they pair very well together because of how different they are both in personality and goals. However, I think they complement each other very well because some of the similarities they do have. I would love a ship-centric Tess x Hayes fic. I also love murder mysteries and true crime stories.  

5) Galavant

Characters: Madalena and Gareth

Prompt/thoughts: I love the ship of Madalena and Gareth and would love to see their dynamic further explored. Any ship centric fic about the two of them would be great. Also Madalena centric fics, where Madalena is learning more about her magical abilities and Madalena maybe even being a queen again because let's be honest she definitely deserves it.

6) Scream

Characters: Sidney Prescott, Gale Weathers, Dewey Riley

Prompt/thoughts: I would love to see a Sidney-centric character study. Sidney is such an interesting and complex character and I would love to see her thoughts/feelings and more of her backstory (between movies, after Scream 4 etc.) explored!

Thank you for reading my letter! I know that I’ll love whatever you come up with and I can’t wait to enjoy the final product!

[joysofescapism]

The Havoc Boys Series by C.M. Stunich: This is Ridiculous! I love it.

This may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I sure enjoyed myself reading the whole series. Read my full review under the cut.

And if you want to know my thoughts on each book just click: (1) Havoc at Prescott High (2) Chaos at Prescott High (3) Mayhem at Prescott High (4) Anarchy at Prescott High (5) Victory at Prescott High

I will start this review by saying: I hate bully “romance”. And since these tropes were huge in young adult-high school settings, I don't read those anymore.

But The Havoc Boys was an exception. C.M. Stunich’s storytelling was able to chain my ass on a chair allowing me to finish the whole thing. Not only that, the story didn’t focus much on the bullying and only gave you flashbacks of it.

I didn’t think it will make much of a difference if the bullying element wasn’t included in the plot development since she already had an awful life throughout her teenage years. It felt like it was just thrown out there. The H’s bullying her into "leaving town" didn't hold any merit since we didn't see the consequences of that (i.e. h was still obsessed with these boys who did an overkill on her while she was going through all the abuse). But, it wasn't my story, so.

I think you should proceed with an open mind and low expectations. There were a lot of things in the series that weren’t something to give a comprehensive explanation of. This was for a specific kind of audience and I also consider this a self-indulgent read if you’re looking for something specific, as well as my guilty pleasure.

The Book Cover

The book covers played a huge part in convincing me to read this series. I wasn’t entirely sure about the premise at first seeing that the characters were barely legal and all. And yet, the cover art did an amazing job of pulling me in.

It was your typical shirtless guys, but the focus wasn’t entirely on them. It was elegantly made despite the story environment. It also gave an accurate depiction of the H’s characteristics and their relationship with the heroine.

Havoc at Prescott High was my favorite. While Anarchy at Prescott High was a close second.

Characters

Let me talk about the main characters first, starting with the heroine.

Bernadette Blackbird. I have a love-hate relationship with her. I understand that she was an aspiring writer, however, her monologues... weren’t impressive. She was edgy to the point of being cringe. I don't love her. But I don't hate her either, at least most of the time. How was she able to lust after the guys who made her life a living hell for years? I have no idea. But then again, this is why I hate bully romance.

One of the reasons why I was able to get through the story was because the bullying didn’t happen on the current timeline. I didn’t know if what she went through would be considered “bullying" or just downright assault and abuse. At least you were able to see some form of maturity in her character later on. But, she still embodies that teenager who thinks she already knows everything there is to know.

Next up, the harem. The HAVOC Boys. I won’t be commenting about their physical aspects like how the author did them. I don’t care much about those things. I’m more on how they were written: if they were fleshed out well or if they were only words on the paper with no personality at all. Considering that, we have 5 Hs in this series that fulfilled the usual tropes.

I will say this, these guys don’t act their age at all. Thinking about it now, I could give this series a higher rating if the characters were older. Anyway, more of those later below. Let’s get back to the characters at hand:

You have the over-the-top intense leader/boss, Victor Channing. He was an asshole. But hey, he has to be. He was a gang leader after all. If you are into bad boys (read: assholes) that are obsessed with you and only care about you—and maybe his bros—you'll probably like this dude. Is he a great character? No. But do I at least like him? Maybe. Again, if you like the domineering types, you’ll probably bark at Victor Channing.

Then you have the trying-to-be-the-hero-ex-boyfriend, Aaron Fadler. I hated him at first because his past actions didn't show his supposed loyalty to Bernie at all (don't worry it's not an OW drama). But goddamn me because I like guys who are amazing with kids (and with the elderly). Yes, he was Bernie's ex. And yes, he was there during the bullying (abuse) which happened after they broke up. Among the guys, I believe he was the closest you can get to being "normal." He tried to be a good person but considering everything he had already done, I didn’t think that would be possible. The only way for him to grow was to accept his darkness. Good thing it did happen.

Of course, there’s always going to be the manwhore. Hael Harbin. But he was that type of manwhore who at least respects women. Yes, I know it's the bare minimum but you get the point. He also plays the role of balancing the dynamic of the group. Oh also, he loves vintage cars. He's a mechanic with soft hands, according to Bernie. Among the boys (Yes, boys. They’re minors despite what the author tries to say), Hael was the most chill. He can give pull off a bad romance kind of relationship. The one that's so bad but oh so great. He also falls into that category of being the manwhore who will drop his whore-ish ways when they find the right one.

Next on the list. The gang needs to have a brain and that was Oscar Montauk. While Victor makes all the decisions, Oscar was the one who weighs those decisions. He was also the hater but was actually obsessed with the heroine. He was not great with feelings and he also has a lot of trauma. I think the most awful one as well. Among the characters though, Oscar got the most character development though we could only witness the process, I think it was a good thing. He was also that character who you’ll probably get scared of but also be interested in. He could either go full serial killer or just be a weird dude with dark thoughts. Though to be fair, this was a gang story so all of the Hs are murderers by default.

Last but not least, the most mysterious one and possibly also the most dangerous, Callum Park. He gives off quiet-killer vibe and lurks about most of the time. He was the silent one. The one who prefers to be by the sidelines, just observing. But everybody knows he was dangerous and he could go off like a bomb if anything happened to the object of his fascination. He was the resident pretty boy as well, since he was supposed to be a primo ballerino but because of things that happened in the past he couldn't anymore.

The characters are heavily influenced by the overused western media tropes and archetypes. You know the usual stuff about high school TV shows. They’re cringe, and dramatic, everyone has trauma, the adults were practically useless, and everyone wasn’t acting like their age. Perhaps a little ridiculousness from time to time could be good for your mind.

But, since I do like my stories with vivid storytelling, it surprisingly worked well for me. I also don’t find that much character development with the characters, except with Oscar. Also maybe with Aaron and Victor as well. Hael and Callum’s character growth aren’t that significant but I don’t think they have to since they weren’t presented with something to work on.

Plot

The plot was able to immerse me into the H.A.V.O.C. world and Stunich deserves her roses for a skill like that. One reason why I pushed through was: the action didn’t occur that much around the school setting. This might be your typical high school bully who runs a gang, but the storytelling was what sets it apart from the rest. This trope was highly overused in the reverse harem contemporary romance genre, so the only way for a series to be different is all up to the author’s prowess.

It was a simple revenge plot but the action made it all interesting. There's nothing much special to it but again, this is for self-indulgent purposes. If you can get past the Riverdale cringe, you will enjoy this one.

The pacing was a little fast, and a lot of things are happening all at once. But it was executed well and everything worked perfectly. Despite all that is happening, I loved the feeling of suspense that went through with it. Putting aside all of the things that didn’t work well for me, the plot was well-developed to keep you interested.

If you don’t want to be spoiled, I suggest you do not read the ending section of this review.

Ending

The ending of a well-developed series is always going to be a deal breaker, just look at Game of Thrones and Supernatural. I will say this though, the ending of Havoc Boys may not be the best ending there could be, but considering all that led up to that particular moment, it was perfect.

Stunich used the False Death plot device and was executed well enough that I actually thought the character died. This was the part I cried about and the reason why I still considered this one good for my taste. I think an author who can make you cry just by reading the journey of their characters is a phenomenal author.

In the actual end, we got our HEA. Yay!

Rating

The average rating of this 5-book series was 3.5. I rounded it down to 3 out of 5 stars.

This whole thing was a damn roller coaster ride.

Despite the initial apprehension and almost not finishing the first book, I finished all five with no breaks in between. There might have been elements that didn’t work for me, but the storytelling alone made up for all of it.

A huge suspension of disbelief is needed to enjoy this series. Sure, you won’t be able to gain much but, to be honest, this is not for that. The Havoc Boys series is highly self-indulgent and smut is top-tier. Not too graphic to the point of boring me to death, but just enough. Frequent, yet still enough.

Final Thoughts

Do I want a sequel for this series? I don't think so. Let's leave the ending at that. The characters are lovable enough throughout the five books, but not enough for me to get curious and look at what they could be doing in the future.

Do I recommend this to others? If you want to indulge in a guilty pleasure without needing to think too much and give reasons for everything, this could be a good read. I don't think you should be picking up this book just to find all that is wrong with it. Or if you are not ready to try and experience something out of your comfort zone.

Was this a heavy read? There are mentions of past extreme bullying, sexual assault (on minor characters), attempted sexual assaults, pedophilia, sexual relations between teenage characters, and the usuals when it comes to crime fiction (drugs, violence, murder, etc.). So if you are new to this kind of genre, this might be uncomfortable for you. But if you're not, this is mild. Again, all you have to do is enjoy the ride. Some things might not work for you, and some might, it all depends on personal preferences.

Will I read this again? I re-read the whole series: twice on my own accord just to feel some emotions it brought me the first time I stumbled upon it; another one to relive and remember the plot to pull out this review. It being a part of my “I could read it again” shelf says something.

GoodReads | Storygraph | Substack | Instagram