Poison Ivy: alternative cover edition: a dark bully romance: 1 (Stonehurst Prep Elite) Paperback – 24 May 2022

Star Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Spice Level: 🌶🌶🌶🌶Darkness Level: 💀💀⚠️: murder, revenge pörñ, non-conI loved this. Every single sexy, funny, suspenseful, feelings-packed second of it.High school bully books tend to have quite a bit in common, and this one is no different. But these guys! 🥵 I love all 3 of them. Steffanie brings all the elements together, hooking me from the very start. Except for essential breaks, I was glued to the sofa reading this.There were a couple of times where mistakes were made (the FMC is blind) regarding things she could see, and The Incident wasn't as huge a deal as I was hoping for. But these didn't take away how much I enjoyed this, and I'm jumping straight into book 2.And the best bonus...it's broken me out of a 3 month reading slump 😆💯 recommended

A really good plot with a jaw dropping twist at the end! There were a few parts that seemed to drag on a little but overall I was pretty gripped to this story and its characters. I really liked Fergie to begin with, then I hated her when she got so consumed with her men, but I feel by the end she had come full circle, so very interested to see where book two takes us.

Easily one of the quickest five stars I’ve given to a book this year. This was fast paced, steamy, angsty and exciting.Fergie is an interesting character, she’s blind but let’s nothing get in the way of her disability. A scandal takes her away from her old life and into a new one Which is full of danger and intrigue. She catches the attention of Cas, Victor and Tor who form the secret poison Ivy club.There are so many twists and turns and I and I had a lot of ‘what am reading moments too, but in a good way.Can’t wait for book 2.

Well that ending really wound me up I hope cass gets his ass handed to him by fergie and his mam he just had to jump in the deep end I hope he finds out they messed up at the begging of book 2 and fergie kicks his ass through the book gonna have to read another book now cos I'm wound up and book 2 ain't till August so annoying lol

I enjoyed this book up until Fergie made the request for help from the Poison Ivy Club. I liked her up until this point, afterwards not so much .How the fact that she is blind is dealt with is another confusing element-so it's established that she can distinguish between light and dark, but no other real visual element is described but then you'll read of her describing the colour of her underwear and the clothes she is wearing, also the dimensions of rooms. Maybe she can distinguish dimensions of rooms with her cane and the clicking that she described but the colours of things? Going back to why I went off the character after the request. She changed personality and was quite nasty to the Euri character. Also the reason for her and her father ending up in the town in the first place I found to be quite weak, something like what happened to her wouldn't be enough to ruin your reputation in this day and age I don't think .A shame because apart from the last one third of the book I did enjoy it.herfather ending up in the town the way they did I found to be quite weak.That I feel would not ruin a reputation in this day and age.A shame about the last third of the book,because up until that point I had quite enjoyed it.

Lot's of suspense and intrigue and enough twists and turns to keep a rollercoaster going for weeks 😉Fergie is a great FMC. I liked the guys Torsten is my favourite 😍Cassius definitely has some grovelling to do 😠Eager for book 2.

Poor fergie I really wanna no her secret now but I bet when it comes out the boys will be the ones to look silly.Can't wait for book 2 now

I stayed up all night reading this I got so into it I couldn’t put it down. I love Fergie she’s such a badass and takes no bull from the guys even though they all want her Cass lays the law down and demands Victor and Torsten keep their hands off her. They also mark her as theirs at school so no one will talk to her as they fear the guys so much. Loved when they all finally decided they belonged together but hated the ending in a way I hope they don’t redeem themselves in book 2 and she gets her revenge but I really want them all back together.

I’m still reeling from that cliffy. I can’t even wrap my head around it and I’m still thinking about it hours later. I’m not sure how the MMCs are going to come back from that but holy crap do I ever love Fergus. She’s an absolute badass and the way she was wrote being blind could not have been better. It made me want to get every book recommendation with a blind FMC. While all the boys have a special place already (well maybe not one certain someone at the moment) but Torsten, my sweet little cupcake, will forever be cemented in my own dream RH. Their relationship is just perfection. Dying for book 2. Like.. I might cry.

This is the best Stephanie Holmes book. Fergie is a strong fmc with realistic reactions and personality. Her and her dad move from Kansas to California after her dad remarries. Fergie has to adapt to a new family, school and friends but after an incident in Kansas she just wants to be left alone. She's roped into the world of The Poison Ivy a school club her step brother and his two best friends run. The boys are ruthless, deranged and a little innocent at times. Fergie can't help but to be instantly drawn to them. I love that there are a few different differing abilities discussed in this book like Blind and Autism. Although, Autism isn't stated out right it's strongly implied. Steffanie writes about these differing abilities that sheds light on what they are and hardships but also the strengths these characters have because they don't fit the norm. I thought it was tasteful and well done. All the characters have secrets and they're complex. I devoured this book in one day. I also loved all the steam. There is no slow burn in this book but the plot is also amazing. Easily a 5 star read.

I was not prepared for this book.I could not put it down.It’s not usually my thing, but for the love of god I could not stop reading it.Looking forward to the next one.

Poison Ivy is the first book in a reverse harem series featuring three notorious bad boys: Victor, Cassius (usually referred to as Cas) and Torsten. For those of you who don’t know what reverse harem means, it’s basically a story where the heroine doesn’t have to choose. She doesn’t need to choose one of these three as her love interest – she can have all three of them, and the boys don’t mind sharing.Despite that these types of relationships often are a lot more problematic in real life than they are in books, what with jealousy and all (not saying it is not possible in real life, just that I imagine it’s a great deal more complicated than in fiction), the books of this genre often feature at least somewhat realistic scenarios. Here, not so much. It’s not realistic that the three guys in question would run the school, or that their families would have that much power. And even if I’m willing to somehow accept that, the whole Coach Franklin plot (I won’t go into detail because of spoilers) is just too outrageous and over-the-top.Still… despite the plot certainly being a far cry from believable… I did enjoy this book.First of all, the writing is great. Steffanie Holmes can conjure up descriptions that are vivid and original, and some even made me laugh out loud. She makes her main character, Fergie, sound like such a great person: on the one hand, a total badass, but with a vulnerable side. That’s the second point here: the heroine is pretty awesome. She does have her flaws, though, like how she treats her best friend – not cool at all – but generally, her heart is in the right place and she’s just dealing with some messed-up stuff. A lot of messed-up stuff, really.Plus, I do have to applaud the author for writing about a main character who is blind. Fergie reads Braille, her descriptions of what is happening are mostly based on auditory sensations, and honestly, it’s quite believable. When reading the Fergie chapters, I feel as if I’m blind–it feels slighty suffocating, and although you can rely on Fergie’s other senses, it sometimes feels claustrophobic to read these chapters because you know her sense of sight is missing. It’s a strange sensation, and I’m sure it was difficult for the author to write this character and no doubt it also took some research, but in my opinion, the author really pulled it off.The three love interests were interesting, too. Especially Torsten, since it’s obvious he doesn’t quite experience the world the way others do. It’s never mentioned what exactly is “wrong” with him, but there are hints that he has trouble functioning in certain circumstances. I liked how Fergie never judged him for that and instead tried to find ways that did work for him, and allowed him to set the pace for things between them. Then there was Victor, the savior, the knight in shining armor, probably every girl’s dream guy. I could certainly understand why Fergie was drawn to these two.But then, there’s the last love interest. Cassius. Cas. Who happens to be Fergie’s stepbrother. I don’t mind that trope in general, but what I didn’t like that much, was how instant their relationship was. And although it was basically fueled by desire and anger at the start, it never really develops from there. Maybe it will in the second book, but Cas seemed like the least likely person to do any kind of developing. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Characters – like people in real life – should grow and change, but not everyone does that at the same pace. In fact, given his personality, it’s to be expected that Cas would fight any type of change or growth. But I hope that in the second book, he can at least learn from his mistakes, and keep some of his worser traits in check.As far as contemporary reverse harems go, I rather liked this one. The main downside, for me, was the sometimes rather unbelievable plot. Also, I had expected more bullying from the guys. But they don’t really bully Fergie, except at the start, and Torsten never really joins in. If anything, it’s basically just Cas doing the bullying, and Cas bullies just about anyone except his two besties.I already purchased the second book, and can’t wait to start reading.

I almost dropped a star because the author mentions herself as an in-universe author three times, which would normally be an unforgivable sin for me.If this book wasn’t so perfectly feral and unhinged. I devoured this book from beginning to end and as soon as I’m done with this review, I’ll be diving head first into book 2.Let me tell you, it does end on a cliffhanger. And it’s not exactly a new concept of a cliffhanger. But knowing exactly what’s coming still did not prepare me for the way I had my nose glued to the Kindle the entire time.I couldn’t put it down.Cas is my absolute favorite type of dark romance mmc- the revels-in-carnage blood covered psycho. Babygirl.Torsten is the cinnamon roll we all want to wrap up and protect and I love that the author didn’t make the FMC magically cure his neurodivergence. (It happens so often in books with “representation” and it’s so disappointing.)Victor is another dark romance staple: the suave, ruthless-for-his-family one. His nickname for Fergie is my favorite and I love the shit he puts himself through about his need for her.And Fergie? Fergie is a goth-rock goddess. She’s angry and finding out how rage can change a person from the inside out. She’s learning to embrace the rotten core of herself and its f*cking beautiful.I gave the book five stars and I would do it again.