It’s been a week since August started, and I dove into my monthly vibe, Worth the Hype. In that week, I have finished two books and am partway into a third one. So far, I have read Corrupt by Penelope Douglas and Icebreaker by Hannah Grace. They are two very different books, and I have had two very different reading experiences with them.

With Corrupt I picked it on a whim, just because the series had recently been republished with a traditional publishing house. A lot of people enjoy Penelope Douglas’s books, and she is a super popular author on TikTok. I had previously read Punk 57 by her, and while I didn’t hate it, I wasn’t wowed either. I keep waiting to see what everyone else does so I thought I would give this book a shot. It took me four days to read, and I probably picked it up a million times. Here are some thoughts I jotted down after I finished it, the things that stuck with me.

• I still don’t care for bully romance, but Penny does make me think maybe I should sit on the fence. Maybe it’s comfy. (Is this one a bully romance? Maybe it’s a revenge romance. That’s a thing, right?)
• Forbidden fruit- I can’t have her (Yummy, one of my favorite tropes)
• I have loved you for forever
• Can you be quiet? (Me, yes. Rika, barely.)
• Why didn’t you just confront me? (Nope, I will wait 3 years and fuck up your whole life)
• Umm, how can you just forgive him?!
• I chose you over my friends! (Took you like 70% of the book to do so. Yeah, not getting any points from me.)
• This is a series, right? How the fuck are you going to redeem that disgusting, morally bankrupt character? Do I even want to read the rest of the series to find out cuz I kinda hate him?
• Welp, I was not expecting that… but god, was it hot.
• Undercover psychopath…
• “You’re not a victim and I’m not your savior.” (Yes, girl! Took that shit to heart and saved herself!)
• Fratricide, but I am going to tell momma the truth.
• Turning an old church into a home for a happily ever after, sign me up.
• Fear as a kink.
• Emotional pain as a kink. (Yeah, I don’t get this one either.)
• Mutual corruption.
• I LOVE all the rock song references in this book! (And I know most of them!)

Now, with Icebreaker I devoured every bit of it. I read it in two sittings, which would have been one if sleep wasn’t a necessary part of life. I am not really a sports fan. I don’t watch any of it, don’t know any of the players, and the rules are totally lost on me. That did not stop me from giving this book a try. Some thoughts about it.

• Oh! Grumpy and sunshine. Even better, he is the sunshine!
• What, college kids that actually study!
• Yes, figure skating is a sport.
• This makes me want to watch The Cutting Edge. It has been so long since I saw that movie.
• There it is, the quote Emma used to convince me to read this book.
• We love healthy platonic m/f relationships.
• Lola is such a fun character.
• This is maybe the only book I’ve read with a friends-with-benefits scenario where they are actually friends and not looking for more.
• Yes! Therapy rep that isn’t toxic!
• True communication, like healthy, open, we-are-talking-this-out-even-if-we-don’t-agree-in-the-end, communication.
• Yes girl, stick to your guns, hold to your boundaries.
• He falls first.
• Oh, hell no, he did not!
• Girl best friends done right.
• Why did it take me to the end of this book to realize that JJ is gay?
• Okay, this book was healthy and hot as fuck.

My full reviews of these books will be posted at the end of the month, along with everything else I have read. In the meantime, be on the lookout for updates like this one, which contains my random thoughts with absolutely no context. That’s what makes it fun, right?

Until the next page,

Dani