Devil May Care (Boys of Preston Prep, #1) (2024)

Another guy who is a self-proclaimed prince of a privileged off-springs' lair/school but turns out your regular basic ass asshole?

Vicious bully? HA-. If someone is as unoriginal and boring and oh-so afraid for their reputation as Hamilton, with the only insult at his disposal being the slu*t, then they do not deserve to be called a bully, just saying. THE NERVE OF THESE AUTHORS TO DISRESPECT THE CONCEPT SO DEAR TO MY HEART. Where is the manipulation? The inSoleNt BeHaViOuR? THE SHAMELESS BOLDNESS?
*using the relaxing breathing techniques*

This guy doesn't have the slightest idea of how to engage in a witty dialogue, let alone win the wicked banter, but somehow he rules the school? The dude is able to intimidate just about anyone by his astounding lack of the sense of humour and charm people's pants off with the enviable absence of common sense.
Did he sleep his way to the top of the school hierarchy?

And don't even start me on the insane amount of slu*t-shaming that comes from the mouths that have seen and tasted everything. PLEASE.

So this one is complicated. At first the “hero” is a real asshole! I’m talking egotistical, entitled, elitist, so basically the douchebag trifecta. As far as verbal insults go he is one of the worst “bully” heroes I have ever seen. At first he and his buddies actually believe that the heroine and her siblings are not good enough to be around simply because they are adopted. Wouldn’t want to taint their bloodlines etc. So at this point you are probably wondering why did I even read this? I can’t help it, I love the dichotomy. There is nothing I love more than seeing a strong alpha man fall to his knees willing to do anything for someone that he once thought was beneath him. And this book is a prime example of when it’s done right. The H in this story has been raised a certain way, and as a teenager I cut him major slack for the elitist bullsh*t. He was raised that way and hadn’t quite gotten to the “question everything that I know” portion or being a young adult. But when it counted he came through. And this heroine was not weak. She may not have understood her attraction to him (and caved a little with him physically) but she never stopped sparing with him and making him work for it. She made him work for weeks for her forgiveness for something that he wasn’t responsible for, and that he had already done the right thing with. That happens several times actually. And he just takes it from her, because he knows that he has screwed up enough in the past that he has earned the verbal but kicking that she is lashing out. He completed a 180 and changed almost everything he believed in, or at least was willing to make the right choices about.

Safety gang:

So cheating. this is hard to explain because he sort of has a gf, but he doesn’t really. He never refers to her by that title and constantly refers to not wanting to give her the wrong idea etc. She is basically his beard, someone to keep others off his back because she is the correct type of girl. He has never slept with her or been intimate with her at all minus kissing. There is one episode of the kissing that we see and it was don’t at the very beginning of the book. He was legitimately freaked out after his first kiss with the heroine. He didn’t understand what he was feeling and he definitely didn’t want the heroine thinking that he wanted her, so he kissed her where the heroine would see and gave her a small hickey (he and his friends have this douchey thing they do where they leave one on a girl they mess around with and call it a “devils mark”). So he was able to send the message to the heroine, in case she thought he was pining or something and also so she’d be wearing his “mark”. The way it was written it didn’t bother me at all and I am the first person to trash a book for any type of cheating.

No real OW drama, though that girl did try to cause problems. It was just obvious there was nothing to worry about, he had never even went to 3rd base with her.
No om drama either.
Brief separation, both are miserable, neither makes any attempts to move on.
She makes him work for it, there is groveling.
She is a virgin and although he isn’t, I wouldn’t call him a manwhor* either. He had plenary of opportunities with the ow and just wouldn’t do it because he doesn’t want to be like that.

2.6
I am sorry but what is so good about Mr hamster that got your panties in a twist madam?

Ahhhh!! Anyone who knows me knows that Bully Romances are my kryptonite!! I am SO obsessed with this book it isn't even funny. I picked up this book on a whim and honestly was glued to the pages for HOURS. I have never read anything by Angel Lawson and Samantha Rue before but I am officially consumed with this series!!

There is NOTHING I love more than a Bully/Enemies to Lovers story. Devil May Care showcases Gwendolyn and Hamilton's love story one angsty step at a time. I FLOVED this story so much! Honestly, it is probably one of the best Bullymance stories I've ever read. I loveeeed the push and pull between them. There was delicious chemistry and the mean bully behavior that I can't help but devour.

Overall, Devil May Care was outstanding! I loved the dual narration more than anything. It gave this book so much heart. I loved being in both their heads and seeing the confusion, turmoil, angst and hate ultimately turn into love. I loved everything about Devil May Care and can't wait to jump on book two right now! 5 stars! ~Ratula

This is my first book by either of these authors, and I’m obsessed with their writing style. This book has just the right amount of angst and redemption.
Boy, did I hate Hamilton. At first. He’s superficial, only caring about pedigree and he looks down on Gwendolyn because she’s adopted, so she doesn’t share her family’s “blood”. He’s so convinced he’s always right. He feels entitled to every single thing that’s been handed to him. He doesn’t realize that he’s just regurgitating the values that his father has ingrained into him since birth.
Somehow, as the book progressed, I started hating Hamilton less. He has some redeeming features. He might actually not be an inherently evil person. He might not be completely incapable of redemption. He might be worthy of love.
I loved how this book gave me all the feelings. It feels far more realistic than other books that deal with similar matters, mostly because of the way that Hamilton is portrayed. He’s an awful person, and the authors aren’t making up excuses for him.
5 stars!

Free 21 Sept 2021:
"You're my everything, Gwendolyn. My best friend. My future. My compass."

He's an awful, nasty little wretch.
She's a worthy heroine and stands strong.

I’m not sure what the word is for someone who reads an entire book despite disliking almost everything about it. But, it’s me... I am that person. Guess I’m just ‘not like the other girls.’ Gag!

I’ve read bully romance before, and there’s always a part of me that is both horrified and a little bit fascinated by it. And whilst I didn’t really *like* this book, there was something *enjoyable* about it... in a mindless sort of way.

Expect all of the overdone tropes and cliched romance lines, teenagers that talk like thirty year olds and illogical drama/angst. This satisfied a mood but it also very swiftly put me out of that mood, so... job done?

LWAD???? I mean this book has few annoying moments and Ofc it does since it’s high school story but I was not expecting I’d give this more than 4.5 star.

This book contains EVERY high school cliché and they served DELICIOUSLY. I’m traumatised by the poppy war so this was perfect way to forget about that for a little while.

The story itself isn’t extraordinary but it was so damn addictive that I finished this in a day. I highly recommend this if you’re looking for typical high school romance with every cliché there is.
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THIRD READ: this book has its problems and annoying stereotypes but the grip it has on me is embarrassing 😭😭 out off all the hs bully- enemies to lovers- this is one of my favourites.
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As I approach my hag days- I stay clear from high school radar. It’s not fun anymore you know?
BUT out of handful and very carefully selected high school favourites- this might be my top. A REAL enemies to lovers with a dash of academic rivals and long history of HATE between one another yet the chemistry is undeniable. As I explained above it has few eye rolling clichés and tropes but damn them are excited SO PERFECTLY that the end result that is Gwenhamilton is worth reading those silly stupid predictions and repetitive points.

This is my FOURTH read and we all know it won’t be the last 🫢😂 a lil light hearted yes a good compelling love story even with basic ideas. I love this book so much.

Forever rr and FOREVER BULLYING PEOPLE TO READ IT

Angst wasn’t as much as I thought there would be. Lol

Safety: H is h’s only lover. H is in a non-physical relationship with ow but gets into a sexual relationship with the h.
ow is a mean girl lol and was only his gf for show.

Trigger: There’s name calling and slu*t shaming of the h and her family by other characters. The h’s younger sister was sexually assaulted in the beginning of the story (forced/manipulated into giving bj’s to multiple men), the H and his friends did not make it happen directly but were definitely there and did instigate the whole fiasco.

Overall, an okay bully romance.

This is one of the hottest books I've read in a long time.

The forbidden aspect was so good, I'm craving more of that trope now. And the sexual tension between the main characters was incredible. The bully aspects was very mild in comparison to other of these authors' stories. I wouldn't even consider this bully romance, this is mostly all based on a miscommunication trope, which I usually hate. But it was really well done here.

I have to give it to Lawson and Rue, they make me love tropes and concepts I usually hate with a passion. I have no idea how they do it, but I'm blaming some sort of witchcraft.

Hmm another conflicted rating. So I settled for 3 stars.

This story is about Hamilton and Gwen. A situation happened with her sister 6 months ago that caused Gwen to be “cancelled” in her high school. She’s invisible and Hamilton is the one who caused this.

They don’t really interact but they HATE each other.

Then, one day they kiss and they’re shocked. They end up late to class and they’re stuck together in detention every Saturday. And THEN they’re also co-captains of the swim team.

The more time they spend together, the more they can’t resist each other.

A brilliant aspect of this book is the development of their relationship, how it went from hate, to friends, to lovers. Another is Hamilton’s character growth.

He really was an ASSHOLE but Gwen does show him that everything he thought, was wrong. This image thing he wants to live up to is BS. He becomes a better person but BEAR WITH ME, it takes time.

I really did think he loved her and her him in the end and I’m happy they got their HEA. They definitely had hot passion and Gwen was NOT a weak heroine. I loved her specially in the beginning when he wouldn’t be able to get the upper hand in their fights because she fought back so well.

So why 3 stars ?

I believed in Hamilton’s redemption, 100%. The dude changes before our eyes. But the Reagan situation annoyed me. Good news ? Hamilton never sleeps with her. In fact, he’s so caught up in Gwen he’s not even INTERESTED in sleeping with her. But she is his “gf” or whatever and in the beginning, he uses her to keep Gwen thinking that what they have isn’t special.

But he should’ve officially ended it A LOT SOONER. Not at 72% when they’ve had sex a bunch of times.

I felt like the Reagan being his gf thing didn’t have appropriate consequences even.

Even though WE KNEW that Hamilton wasn’t having sex with Reagan, why didn’t Gwen question is he wasn’t sleeping with them both? It pissed me OFF SO MUCH!!!! Did she just assume he wasn’t having sex with his gf ? (If she said something like “it’s a small high school I know he hasn’t been with her), I’d be like OK. Or is it that she sleeps with him anyways not caring if he’s also sleeping with Reagan?

I want to clarify, although she’s his “gf”, he doesn’t really refer to her as such and in fact I saw another review which describes her as his “beard” to show his perfect life and that’s it. They don’t spend time together, she’s more his gf by name and what people think.

But again, and if the author is reading this review I would love an answer !!! The fact he had a gf and was with Gwen didn’t seem to bother or annoy Gwen at all. As in, it’s not even in her POV, it’s as if the gf doesn’t exist. But then... does she continue sleeping with him thinking he’s not witb the gf anymore ? How did she not ask if he was with them both? ANYONE would. And again, it’s cause Hamilton wasn’t with the gf that it wasn’t a big deal but Gwen did not know that. Specially cause by then they weren’t only having sex but we’re SO MUCH MORE.

So it was just disappointing that Gwen didn’t seem to question his relationship after the 10th time they hooked up or so.

Let me ask you something, if you spent a weekend with a guy, had slow nice sex, wouldn’t it bother you not knowing if he’s doing that with his gf at the time?

Again, we know he’s not and he actually spends 0 times with Reagan, but GWEN doesn’t know that. But it’s also never even on her mind for a second.

Anyways, besides that, the reason for less stars is the fact Hamilton I think was still a dick for longer than I liked and as much as I loved his redemption, I wish we SAW HIM hold her hand in school and smile and tell everyone to f*ck off.

After hiding their relationship for the whole book, I wanted to see him proud having Gwen on his side and I was disappointed that it was glossed over in the epilogue.

I’ll end in positives cause I don’t like ending in negatives, Gwen was strong and I admired her. Hamilton did become a person worthy of Gwen. And their love was secure and solid at the end !!

Nice little enemies-to-lovers book. Great pace, easy flow, and a story that keeps you interested.

Let me tell you a story, there was once a girl desperate for more Bully / Enemies to Lovers stories that she could devour. So imagine her surprise when she found this one, started to read it, but something didn’t feel right. So she put it aside for a rainy day. That rainy day soon came round and so the girl picked the book back up and something strange happened. She couldn’t put it down.
She fell in love with a rich prick hero and felt sorry for the friendless goody too shoes. Ahhh sometimes you find a book and just think “Well Damn, I liked that!”

Hamilton Bates is your typical dickhe*d rich boy. Daddy issues are his forte, he has a school rival who happens to be the girl that he blames for everything, while secretly he wants to have her.

Gwendolyn Adams, she’s a loner who’s loved, a girl who works hard and wants to achieve. She’s also Hamilton Bates’ thorn in his side.

The story in this is just darn cute. The sexy times were just right, I literally danced for joy while reading this one. Hamilton redeems himself so well. I loved him, even when he was a dick.

The one thing that did annoy me was after everything he did, we deserved the whole list. I wanted to hear all of his sorries. I wanted to swoon hard. And I felt that it was a little on the lazy side that the author didn’t give us, the reader, the apologies we wanted to hear. On the other hand, it was exactly how this couple worked, so I see why it was done that way. It was just a small bugbear of mine.

I can’t wait to read the next instalment!!

Reread 2024
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Enemies to lovers romance, safe and when it comes to relationship development of the MCs, that's the proper way to do it! I enjoyed the angst from the start and the surprise for both of them, when they find out mutual attraction. From enemies to enemies with chemistry, to friends, and finally to lovers 😊

Note: Spoilers ahead

WHAT I LIKED

- The sexual behaviour between MCs was intiated from both Hero and sometimes heroine. So no "rape-like situations" initiated by Hero
- Hero was celibate for fairly long time before the heroine, unfortunately heroine is not aware of it until the end (more in WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE)
- Hero character went through and amazing development. From this preppy Ivy League asshole, he became someone who cares about more important things in life
- The swimming background . Hero is not some typical jock (like football player whether US or European), but a swimmer as well as the heroine

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE

- The Ivy League background,"pedigree" as they call in the book , where almost every single student (including Hero in the beginning) looks at other "normal" kids with disdain
-The OW drama. Hero was "dating" a girl (who was more likely chasing the Hero for any kind of attention he was willing to give) up until 75% of the book. Reader knows that he wasn't sleeping with the GF, but the heroine doesn't know that for sure...
-Yes, so now let's have a look at the heroine! She doesn't really mind that she's sleeping with a guy, who has a girlfriend. Sometimes she wonders if he sleeps with both, but it doesn't bother her that much to even be jealous for a minute. It didn't make her character the best IMO

-And lastly the huge and very unnecessary drama in the end! She steps into a situation, where it seems like Hero betrayed her. She doesn't let him explain whatsoever, and even after weeks pass and she eventually finds out and realizes he may not be the bad guy here, she doesn't come to him. Full of hope, I expected she would, but no she makes him come to her and grovel. It was all unnecessary and almost ugly....

So overall, it was good, I did enjoy it and may come back to it sometime in the future, but it wasn't the greatest for the reasons above. I'm moving to the last book in the series, I'm curious about the ultimate bad guy from this book 😀

I would have probably liked it better if Hamilton just didn’t string his girlfriend around while getting it on with the heroine. Granted he wasn’t sexually intimate other than kissing her outright even after being with Gwen, it still didn’t make any sense.

Textbook high-school bully romance. This was a fast read and I enjoyed this book but it didn't stand out enough to be memorable. Give it a go if you're into this genre.

no bc this is definitely a top enemies to lovers ship what the f*ck

gwenhamilton are laced with crack like there's just no other explanation for it

DNF at mid mark.

Hated how the whor* Hero doesn’t end it with his current gf when hes starting to make out (and eventually sex) with the heroine. Also, heroines a whor* too for going along with it while he has a gf. I recall the heroine saying something along the lines of her thinking/saying I’m not a slu*t like everyone thinks her sister was. Well wake up fictional character you are indeed a slu*t like your sister and the Hero.

I read in another review he doesn’t break up with her until about the 70% mark in the book. Both suck and deserve each other. The End.

Writing is decent. I didn’t much care for the h or the H or their dynamics. Their inner thoughts are cringey at times. Her’s sounding like a 40-yr old woke feminist, and his being a whiney entitled beta dude. The sex was decent and frequent, if a bit repetitive and vanilla. She calls him a dirty talker at one point but I don’t remember him saying much more than “Show me your tit*”. 👀
If you’re looking for a j/p alpha, Hamilton is not going to deliver.

REAL LITERATURE!

hamilton is a #real man

*Received ARC in exchange for an honest review*
Rating: 4.5 stars!
bookboyfriendsdoitbetter.com

At first, it took me a bit to get into the book but when I got past that, I could not put it down!

"'Fight with me tomorrow...Fight me all week, for all I care. But don't fight me right now, Adams.'"

The hate between Hamilton and Gwen is REAL. The hate-to-love is strong in this book and I'm here for it! This is a book where you will hate Hamilton. He'll frustrate you and make you want to throw the book away, but that's the beauty of him. It will be like you're the one in a hate-to-love slow-burn relationship with Hamilton. Your love of him will keep to itself until suddenly it hits you in the face --as Gwen does to Hamilton--and then you have nothing to but accept that Hamilton is glorious and that that charade he puts up is nothing but a front.

"'Never happened. All my fault. You hate me. I'm the worst. Hasty post-coital exit.' He sweeps his own bag from the ground, throwing it over a shoulder. 'There, covered all the bases for you. I'll go ahead and take the last one.'"

As for Gwen? Well, she just captures your heart from the beginning. She steals and doesn't give it back. Gwen knows exactly what she wants and what she must to do get ahead. She's prepared to fight for her family, no matter the consequences to herself. She has a savior complex and while it has been done so many many many many times, it doesn't feel like a trope. We get to see why she is the way she is. Why she feels like she has to be the protector. And finally, why she doesn't bother to protect herself to the same extreme.

"'She's nothing like you. You're a pain in my ass. You drive me crazy. All you ever do is argue with me. And as much as I hate it--'
'You like it.'
God, I really really do."

Their story isn't sweet. Their story has you at the edge of your seat, filled with dread over knowing that at some point everything will be revealed. Their relationship doesn't come easy. This story will have you laughing at some points and then frustrated the next. You want Hamilton and Gwen to just stop being so frustrating and realize that they are perfect for each other. That they push each other to be better not just for the relationship but for themselves. I really enjoyed watching both of them grow together and separately. It's been a bit since I read an actual bully romance --not just a hate-to-love with some bullying sprinkled in-- and I honestly couldn't put it down once I got into the story. Hamilton and Gwen captured my heart and refuse to give it back.

I really enjoyed this book and I can't wait for the next book in this series and who it will be about.

DNF this was just a boring book that was too damn wordy.

(I hate) Slow burn.🙄

Safety

- H cheated on his gf with h.
-he would kiss and neck with the gf in front of the h. This is after kissing, heavy patting, dry jumping to org*sm wit h.
His gf gave him BJs before the h, but as far as I know H never had intercourse with the gf.

Liked this a lot!! True enemies. Lots of tension. Great chemistry! The big bad was it ok as was the grovel. Noticed the 4th book in the series is about Heston, and apparently he gets WORSE in the other books. Not sure if I’ll read them or skip straight to his. 😬

loved this, this is how you do enemies to lovers right

Forbidden relationships, spice, light bullying, funny comebacks between the hero and heroine... seriously this book has it all! Probably one of my favorite books I’ve read this year!!

how do they most atrocious covers have the best stories… anyways gwenhamilton rivals and lovers 😌☝️

im sorry im a whor* for boy obsessed trope and boy falls first IM SORRY I HAVE ISSUES

first half was so good gwenhamilton served e2l well but the second half was such a drag