Queen B’s Decree: We first met Oliver in Treacherous and he seemed pretty unredeemable, so I was interested in seeing how the authors were going to spin this. Oliver was still an asshole at heart, but he seemed to want to make amends and move on. Not enough to go to therapy (that boy NEEDS therapy), but enough that I could understand why Savannah began to fall for him. He is loyal and protective, almost to a fault.
One one side of the equation, we have the damaged Oliver with his broken family and on the other, Savannah, with her loving and supporting parents. I think this is one of the reasons why they were drawn to each other. He to her strength and she to his loyalty. After they both get over being enemies, they quickly grow to care and rely on each other.
And then some twists happen. And Oliver reverts to his usual: pushing people away by lashing out. Which I can understand, with his upbringing. But I’m having a hard time getting over and accepting what he said to Savannah. To me, it just speaks of pure meanness. And who wants a hero that can be so mean? Honestly I’m not sure Oliver learned or grew from this fight/argument/whathaveyou.
There was a critical issue (no spoilers!) that occurred in Malicious, and I feel like the end result or treatment was glossed over. It made it feel like a less important issue which doesn’t set well with me.
Regardless, I love when these two authors get together and will patiently be waiting for more.
Book: Malicious by Alex Grayson and Melissa Toppen
Series: standalone, but would recommend reading Treacherous first
Genre: College/New Adult
Hotness: medium salsa
Plot Devices/Tropes: enemies to lovers