Thursday, January 5, 2023

Bully by Penelope Douglas

 

DNF @ 20%

Here's the thing about Penelope Douglas-- I think you either love or hate their books. They have a very distinctive style that's very soap opera-y and edgy and kind of feels like a bird's eye view into what it's like living in a small midwestern town. I bought a whole bunch of their books when they went on sale because I remembered actually liking CORRUPT, but now I'm wondering if that was a false memory because I haven't liked CREDENCE, BIRTHDAY GIRL, or PUNK 57. It's not even that I hate their books; they just make me uncomfortable and kind of squick me out. I know some people like that feeling because they enjoy reading books that push their boundaries and sometimes I do, too, because that's how you think about human behavior and what makes people tick. But all of their books are narrated in first person and their heroines kind of embrace internalized misogyny just a little too much for me to fully get on board. Tate, as a heroine, feels like the kind of girl who pulls up the rope ladder behind her because her girl power comes at the expense of other women. Respect for this being, like, the first major popular bully romance but I just couldn't get into it.

1.5 to 2 out of 5 stars

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