The Hero: Cole – He and two friends were kidnapped when they were eight and it changed him. He is one of the four horsemen at Royal Elite and is called Famine because he is silent and deadly on the field. Xan standing by while Kim's being bullied😑🤬. Look. I get it. He finds out why they can't be together and it breaks him, leads him down the road of addiction, but standing by and watching Kim get bullied p!ssed me off to no end🤬. Not only is Kim fat shamed, but there are other things that happen that cause Kim to be extremely unhappy, leading to her attempting soo-i-cide more than once. Where's the comeuppance? 😐... This leads me to… Xander and Kim are my favorite couple in the Elite series and also the most heartbreaking one. Their love was so beautiful as kids, and I hated that it was ruined by such a huge miscommunication and misunderstanding but honestly who can blame Xander for thinking or believing something so massive? anyways they were cute and all but still meh. finally finished this series and my sanity is long gone serves me right for binging in two days. the epilogue with all the kids was cute but my mind can't comprehend that the aiden king is a dad- praying for those poor kids 🙏 Rina Kent's books happen in the same world, but with a slightly different timeline and therefore, many characters pop across different books.

Flavorless heroine. Silver was pathetic, no soul, nothing in her nogging except some nonsense about how Cole's green eyes remind her of the top of trees... okay...? It's like Rina forgot she could have written these interesting parts of the story and not leave them out.She ruined it. She ruined everything. She killed the small living part in my chest, and now,I’ll kill her in return. This story is an excellent read- moments felt like therapy. I wish we’d gotten to live into the recovery of our characters a bit more, seen the non-linear process that healing takes- but that is perhaps a whole other story. And, to be honest, I’m not 100% sure about the twist (this book does have several MAJOR twists) still- even though they were necessary for both the conflict and conflict resolution- but the resolution of them felt easy, but maybe that is just the juxtaposition we need to see just how NOT easy Kimberly and Xanders journeys are- both in facing their own demons and in figuring out how two people, trapped within themselves, can be soulmates. That was the story that compelled me, that left me crying, exposed, and raw multiple times. And that is why you should read this book. also, i just wish that once Kim and Xander became a couple, there were more scenes of them WITHOUT doing sexual things and instead emotionally connect. plus, after she forgave him, there were time jumps and their cute couple moments were mostly told and not shown. i needed more sentimental moments considering their history AND considering that Xander was literally one of the reasons why Kim hurts herself. all in all, by the end of the book, i had the feeling of wanting more, so i wasn't satisfied with some aspects of the book.

i just thought this was an ok book. even though i shed a few tears when it came to Kim, i didn't have the overwhelming emotions that i usually feel with the dark subjects that are presented here. i guess it was how it was written and all. I have been waiting for Xander and Kim’s story since Deviant King when Elsa befriended Kim on her first day of school at Royal Elite. Elsa saw a kindred soul in Kim, someone who was doing her best not to be noticed and was lonely like her. Though Elsa was targeted by Aiden and the rest of the four horsemen (the Kings of the school and the team’s football heros). It soon became apparent that Kimberly used to be in with those people but something occurred to change things and now she was hated at the school and Xander Knight who lives across the street from her was her main bully. The car disappears around the corner. Xan doesn’t stop. He keeps running and running, even when Aunt Samantha and her monster car vanish from sight.There were moments in the book when he just got on my nerves because of his bad behavior towards Silver. Rina Kent hates women; I am sure now. This is the hundredth time she's featured a "bad, mentially ill, fat-shaming mother" in this series of books.

She also included another mother figure who's even worse. Since it's a spoiler, I won't mention what makes her worse, but jesus H Christ... Sufrí con su separación y la manera tan horrible que Xander trataba a Kim pasó de ser su mejor amigo una de las personas más importantes en su vida a la persona que más la lastima and when he finds out she was pregnant while it happened and he legit just says “sorry🤷🏻‍♀️” while she’s all like don’t even worry about it, i forgave you when you cleaned my wounds afterwards :) This story is raw and real- and Rina doesn’t just scratch the surface of dark and heavy subjects or experiences as an exploitative plot device. Rather, she brings them front and center, unmasks and exposes them and asks us to sit in them as our characters do- to breathe their air. This story hurts, it's painful, it's visceral- but in that you find emotional resonance, some peace and hope- either because you see aspects of your own journey or because she has so richly, tenderly and carefully crafted dimensional characters whose feelings have almost become your own. (or in my case, both). That said, there are multiple triggering subject matters dealt with- this is not sensationalized, it feels personal and gritty and real. Rina has been very proactive in sharing a warning with this book, which some readers may need to heed. And while, Xan and Kim’s relationship was undoubtedly center piece, I was also very happy to not only see some fantastic four horsemen interactions (which I absolutely loved) but a few little breadcrumbs hinting of Ronan & Cole’s future stories.

My life has become an image. I act a certain way, speak a certain way, and even walk a certain way. I have to sway my hips gently, but I can’t walk too slow like a slut or too fast like a nerd.

I’m not sure I would call this a bullying romance, although bullying is involved. But H’s bullying is not typical bullying and when you will find out why he did and said the things he did it will blow your mind but you will understand.Then after the revelation, they immediately jump into bed together, with us finding out he's a virgin, Broken Knight anyone? I mean, I'm glad he is, but that still doesn't excuse any of his previous behavior. We don't even get groveling. Zero. Nada. Nothing. He hates her the entire book, while her weak self does hardly anything, then they find out there is no reason to hate each other, they jump into bed, then they live happy ever after pretty much. She doesn't even demand an apology really. All she says was she was really hurt and it's not gonna go away, but it sure seems like it did exactly that. The only thing I liked about her was with Ronan and letting Xander suffer seeing them together. Everyone needs a Ronan in their life👏 Kim and Xander had been best friends since they were kids🥹. They were inseparable and had the connection of also loving her younger brother, Kir. When Xander was 6, his mother abandoned him and he's been scarred since. Kim lives life with an unloving mother, a mother who's there but constantly belittles her and makes her feel fat😒. As time progresses, Xan started getting closer to the boys (RES boys), and when they were 11, something happens that separated them for good. Kim no longer had her best friend in her corner; he was her enemy now. i need my bby Nicole to team up with Silver to put Astrid and Elsa in their place, along with their creepy boyfriends. They became each other addiction , and in Silver and cole's case everything was amplified . I wasn't ready for all that chemistry and sexual tension (and others interesting stuff 😉)