I first read this on wattpad and it was well okay but.

Well, let's get started and say that this is PUBLISHED. It's no longer on a free site, but is actually on shelves and ready for people to buy. This shouldn't be amateur work anymore. . . but it is.

This is riddle with stereotypes and cliches. Honestly. The Queen Bee whose perfect and beautiful, and is a 'hoe'? REALLY? And all the pretty girls are superficial and mean and so very unlike our very own protagonist? I mean, really? Do we have to keep representing women in this way - and constantly degrading them by calling them sluts?

This book could discuss so many issues: parental abandonment, grief, alcoholism, bullying, etc but it just doesn't. So I feel like this novel really lost something there - the chance to connect with readers. While I felt for Tessa and herself being bullied this book shows that the way to get back is to bully itself. To bring up dirty secrets of the bullies. Why not tell a teacher? Even the parents and other adult figures (like Travis) knew about the bullying but it was dismissed. With the case of Cole bullying Tessa, they all ignored it because "he loved you." SUUUREEE. It's just not great is it, really? Come on.

So I don't know. I did have a lot of issues with this book and all of it's over-used tropes, I didn't hate it. It could be cute at times, but for a published novel, I expected a lot more depth to characters and plot.

In a paragraph that could anger a lot of people, I guess since this was, and is, extremely popular on Wattpad, that's all that matters. When there's a fan base out there ready to buy it, it's going to be published! Screw whatever issues it might have, right?


I did like the sassy title headings, but. . .

WHAT AN ABRUPT ENDING. It just finished. Bye. Then we had two random Cole chapters which is the "really cool exclusive and bonus content" and then done. That's it. The end. Obviously cliff hangers are done to get the reader to move on to the next book but this . . . honestly it's like they just forgot to put in the next couple of chapters

Tessa's childhood bully, Jay, is back in town. But will Jay turn out to be more than just a bully? You'll laugh out loud as Tessa and Jay get to know each other all over again in this sweet and romantic romp.

Drama, drama, drama! In this book, Tessa has had a major crush on her friend Jason since they were small children. He was nice to her when no one else was. Well, no one other than her best friend Nicole. Nicole and Tessa were inseparable. Neither of them were popular and for a long time that didn’t seem so bad because they had each other. Until they didn’t. As they got older, Nicole changed. She was a natural beauty. As her popularity grew, she distanced herself from Tessa. While Tessa tried to accept this and move on (even though she didn’t understand it at all), that wasn’t enough for Nicole. Instead, Nicole became a bully to Tessa and made her life terrible. Tessa went on to lose weight and transform herself, but that wasn’t enough for Nicole. She continued to bully her. Was it really just to keep her popularity?

This is where our hero enters. Or, is he a hero? Jason’s step-brother Cole returned from military school for their Senior year. For Tessa, this is terrible news. Before Nicole was her bully, Cole was there to fill the role. But was he cruel, or was he confused? Did he mean to harm Tessa in all the ways she remembers, or was he trying to get her attention without any idea how? Cole is seeking redemption and trying to show Tessa he is sincere and she has fallen for the wrong brother, but can he change something that has been set in stone for so many years?

I have to admit I devoured this book. It isn’t thought provoking, life altering literature, but it is an interesting storyline with characters that either make you cringe or care. I really liked Cole. While he was incredibly flawed, he cared deeply and stood up for what he believed in. While he started out on shaky ground, he worked hard to prove himself and he showed up when it mattered. At times I really liked Tessa, but at other times I really wanted her to grow a backbone and fight for what mattered leaving behind the things and people that weren’t worth the fight (mostly Jason). I mean, how long can you think you are in love with someone who never takes a stand for you? However, she has been through a lot and she is very loyal to those she loves. I absolutely detested both Jason and Nicole. They completely deserved each other and had no redeeming qualities. I loved Megan and Beth. They were great friends for Tessa and added great comic relief.

The writing was okay, but the vocabulary could use some improvement. My biggest complaint, however, was the cliffhanger. I needed to know what happened next and felt like this was an awkward place to leave it hanging. However, I headed over to Wattpad to see what happened next. The first book is much longer on Wattpad which I appreciated. However, when I finished it I went on to the sequel. As much as I think the drama is over the top, it seemed to suck me in. I will say, the editing was much better in the book than the original on Wattpad. I very much appreciated the editing done for the book. If you can wait to read the sequel when it’s published, it’s a much smoother read (or at least this one was).

Overall, if you are looking for over the top high school drama, this is an interesting read that drew me in and wouldn’t let me go until I was completely finished. Thanks to Netgalley, Trident Media Group, and Blair Holden for providing a free copy of this book in exchange for this honest review.

This book really wasn’t what I expected, because it was so much more than that. I know this is a series from Wattpad and I will have to look into the rest of the series but Blair Holden had you hooked from the very beginning. The characters were multi-dimensional and interesting to say the very least but what really got you was the story.

We meet Tessa and her friends who are constantly bullied by her ex best friend Nicole, while she is deeply in love and crushing on Nicole’s boyfriend Jason. This is a classic story and one that always catches my attention because you just know there will be jealousy and drama from the get go. But throw in an even hotter step brother who just also happens to be in love with someone who doesn’t even suspect it and the book just got a million times more interesting.

Cole is a bad boy who has terrorized Tessa for most of her life, little did she know that there was something more to it than just that. It’s so cute when boys are so obviously trying to get a girls attention probably not in the best way but it’s still so noticeable to everyone but the involved parties. Again another classic story but still the way it was developed throughout the book, bringing him back after being away for a while and him finally being in touch with what he really feels and knowing how to express that. Bonus.

I really liked all the characters they bought life to this book and kept me wondering what would happen with them next. It dragged a little in the middle with the transition of the story continuing but overall I can’t wait to read what happens next to these characters and how their lives are about to change in college.

Don’t get me wrong I feel like this was almost two short stories in one because it could have easily stopped with a happy ending for the two finally getting together, but then it kept going. I was surprised and worried at the same time like where is this book going to go to next. The way it ended left me breathless and my heart in pain. You have to read this book from the very first line to the very last. I am thoroughly impressed.

This is not your typical YA novel. And don't bother reading the synopsis, it doesn't come close to giving this book justice. The story basically revolves around a 17 year old girl, Tessa, who is incredibly low on self-esteem due to her ex-BFF, Nicole, who's made it her actual job to make Tessa's life a living hell.
Meet Cole, Tessa's childhood stalker/bully. He comes back after being away for 3 years at military school. Sounds creepy? Wait until you actually meet him. Though he's not the guy he used to be. Instead, he's turned into this sweet guy with a soft spot for anything that has to do with his little Shortcake.
This was incredibly swoon-worthy, hilarious, and oh-so-sweet. Recommended to anyone who's into a light-hearted and witty YA read.

This book had so much potential. In fact the first half of this book was an incredible read. It had everything in it that I look for in a YA novel but somewhere along the way everything got lost and jumbled and seemed to drag on and on and so many scenarios and problems and dialogue became utterly repetitive. The story line was stuck in stasis and going nowhere and the one character that I loved, championed and rooted for from the beginning became someone unrecognisable, uncaring and that stalwart integrity and conviction he held from the start fell by the wayside in order to create some mind numbing drama when I felt that I had stuck with the story, even when I wanted to give up, because I assumed (wrongly) that my happy ever after was waiting for me. I was utterly bereft by the direction it all took and quite frankly even though it ended on something of a cliffhanger, I will definitely not be reading the next one. It seemed like two different people have written this novel. The first half, like I I've already said, was terrific. The characters where established and they were complex, funny, sweet and real., particularly as we got to see the real person underneath the exterior. But it all fell to the wayside once the hero and heroine became an item. The writing started to read like a High school kid writing fan-fiction. It dissolved into an incoherent litany of made up drama and popularity with the dialogue barely registering with me. I had such high expectations for this book, especially since it started out so strong.

This book gets 3 stars because I loved it when I first came across it on Wattpad. However, looking back, I was blind to the many cliches and barely there plot. While I absolutely cannot say that I hate the book, it really is just good as a light read (as I'm finding many books published are nowadays).
Overall, I would happily recommend this story to any reader who's having an 'I can't get emotionally attached to a story/ plot/ characters today' day.
But if you're looking for something of substance, this is not the book for you.

This book has got some great reviews and some very negative ones. I can't understand why people complain about the author's writing when to me, it was very good, actually. Not once did I think this book had been published on Wattpad by a no-name-author first. Surely, Blair Holden can write! However, I can't see myself rating this any different than three stars. Maybe half a point extra, but that's it. The Bad Boy's Girl started off great, I really enjoyed it. It was like a teenage comedy turned into a novel - I could picture every single scene in my mind. But then the story went on and on without actually developing.

Cole's an awesome book boyfriend, I'll give the author that. But his motives are low. Like, really, really low. I didn't buy that story of his for a second. Sure enough, bullies sometimes treat their victims bad because they secretly like them. But that's so kindergarten and thinking of a teen still doing it for that reason... Just, no. I don't even want to think about that, nevertheless if it happens or not. And when Tessa started thinking about how she always liked him... No, either! I couldn't understand why. Did she like being bullied by him so much? Did that enchante her? Yes, I liked their chemistry and loved their scenes, but the story behind it didn't seem right to me.

And then there's Jay. I'll be the first to admit that I liked him. That's probably because Tessa crushed on him like crazy and he seemed nice enough to be worth it. Of course, his relationship with Tessa's enemy Nicole is kind of a turn off and his behaviour is as well, but sometimes I got the feeling the author put him in some place he didn't belong. He wasn't that much of a douche bag. He was turned into one. I would have liked to see more of his good sides, yet somebody had to be the bad guy, I guess.

I hate to think that girls only get confidence by having a boyfriend. I'm sure the author didn't mean to make it sound like that for her book, but it was only after Tessa started going out with Cole that she started being more confident, stood up to Nicole and Jay. She didn't do these things on her own. She didn't do a lot of growing up on her on, it was all about Cole. It sounds like I'm hating this book, but let me tell you that's not the case. It's just that writing this review makes me think of so many aspects I didn't like.

Let's get to Tessa's friends. Because those were awesome (and I can finally quit complaining). I had Beth's future romance all figured out very fast and I just adored Megan and her boyfriend. They were so super cute. Also, I usually tend to dislike the main character's best friends, but that didn't happen with Beth and Megan. They were supportive of Tessa, always held her hand. In most books it's that the friends at one point of the story get into a fight, just to make things more interesting. I'm so very glad that didn't happen with The Bad Boy's Girl. It would have made zero sense to me. And Tessa was going through enough. No need to add things to the existing problems.

So, this review is probably not that useful. But... If you're looking for cute young adult read with a hero that knows exactly what he wants and fights for it, who's swoon-worthy and makes you wish you were the heroine of the story, then I suggest you pick this one up.

Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for sending me this in exchange for an honest review.

Why two stars you ask?

Well, let's get started and say that this is PUBLISHED. It's no longer on a free site, but is actually on shelves and ready for people to buy. This shouldn't be amateur work anymore. . . but it is.

This is riddle with stereotypes and cliches. Honestly. The Queen Bee whose perfect and beautiful, and is a 'hoe'? REALLY? And all the pretty girls are superficial and mean and so very unlike our very own protagonist? I mean, really? Do we have to keep representing women in this way - and constantly degrading them by calling them sluts?

This book takes on a variety of different issues. This will contain spoilers so continue reading on at your own risk. I have warned you! Basically, at a party that Tessa attends, her ex-best friend and bully arranges for this drunk guy, Hank, to go in and abuse her. Tessa is man-handled and groped against her consent by him . . . and ugh. It's just then used as a plot device to move Cole and Tessa together, and to fuel Tessa's anxiety in the book. This could be a good thing - showing how people deal with and live through sexual assault . . . but nah. It's used as nothing more than as a cheap plot device. Considering the fact that Hank never gets charged - just a fist to the face and transfers schools is annoying. There should have been more discussion on reporting sexual assault.

We have a line here by Cole,

It's a good thing, in fact it's the best news I've had all day. You're mine,
Tessie, and if another guy had touched those lips of yours I would lose it right now.


UGH. Okay is this meant to be romantic? Sure. Maybe my hearts a bit too cold. But honestly - here we go again perpetuating this idea of "innocence" and that once women have sex or other sexual relations with someone they're no longer "pure". Like really? This is just harmful. Your worth shouldn't depend on the idea of how much sexual experience you have. ALSO - Cole is such a HYPOCRITE. He's freely admitted he's had his "distractions" in military school, many of them, so what's the difference? How come he can have sex with as many women as he wants, but the idea of Tessa being with another man prior to him makes HIM angry? Oh please piss off with that possessiveness. It ain't cool. It's sexist.


This book could discuss so many issues: parental abandonment, grief, alcoholism, bullying, etc but it just doesn't. So I feel like this novel really lost something there - the chance to connect with readers. While I felt for Tessa and herself being bullied this book shows that the way to get back is to bully itself. To bring up dirty secrets of the bullies. Why not tell a teacher? Even the parents and other adult figures (like Travis) knew about the bullying but it was dismissed. With the case of Cole bullying Tessa, they all ignored it because "he loved you." SUUUREEE. It's just not great is it, really? Come on.

So I don't know. I did have a lot of issues with this book and all of it's over-used tropes, I didn't hate it. It could be cute at times, but for a published novel, I expected a lot more depth to characters and plot.

In a paragraph that could anger a lot of people, I guess since this was, and is, extremely popular on Wattpad, that's all that matters. When there's a fan base out there ready to buy it, it's going to be published! Screw whatever issues it might have, right?

DNF. 57%

HOW can I be at ONLY 57% !?!?! I feel like I've been reading this one for days, like big time reading and it never seems to end !!

So when I was feeling like I did not want to continue I thought, well, let's check how far along I am.. Maybe if I'm like +80% I will finish this, I can do it ! But then.. 57% !?!?! How is that even possible !!

I feel like the plot was already starting to wear thin (like 20% ago)... and now it turns out I'm just halfway !! What could they possibly have left to do !?!

No way, I'm done.

I really enjoyed this story and I was totally invested in the characters but a cliffhanger ending has thrown me a little. I loved the H/h they were great together for 90% of the book but in the last chapter Cole became someone I didn't recognize and I'm not sure how I feel about him. This just means I will be keeping my eye out for the next part of the series.

I don't consider myself a harsh book critic. Truly, this book is awful. It is riddled with cliches and populated with stereotypes. This book is repetitive and I think insults the reader by underestimating our intelligence.

Tessie used to be overweight and now she's not because of perhaps an eating disorder that is mentioned but then seems to go away. She is bullied by basically her entire school and is also sexually assaulted - her assailant is beat up and then magically transfers schools = problem solved. There is tons of family dysfunction that is also thrown into the mix. Literally every trope imaginable is thrown into this narrative.

Perhaps the worst offense is the message that the boy who tormented you only did it because he liked you and so that makes it ok. Excuse me . . . . what?!?!?!? That is a terrible message to send to readers about what a healthy relationship should look like.

This book was painfully long (where was the editor on that one?).

Verdict = I couldn't wait for this one to be over so I could be out of my misery.

Wattpad-users might know Blair Holden who can be found on Wattpad under the name JessGirl93. When you start reading this book, you realize very quickly why this book has been read more than 160 million times on Wattpad.
This book was a very nice surprise as it kept me indeed swooning and laughing - and getting furious and upset - most of the time. From the moment Tessa (and I) heard (or in my case read), that her nemesis Cole Stone would come back, well, the story kept us on our toes. I think that I realized a lot earlier than Tessa why Cole acted the way he did but I loved to see her gain confidence and trust in herself and also in, well, guess, whom? Nope, it's not her long-time childhood infatuation Jay Stone.
This book showed once more how easy it is to manipulate the masses, actually. It depends on who says what, whether your school life will be hell or nice. Seeing Cole try to make up for everything that happened in the past and - alright, he might have some other ideas as well that are not completely altruistic.

I loved most of the book but I must admit that the end - nope. I hated it. Simply hated it and it spoiled a bit of the rest of the book for me. I hope that the next book in the series will mend that otherwise, my reader might not survive. Apart from that, I enjoyed reading this book and I'll definitely read the next book as well.

I feel so bad.
I just couldn't read it.
I didn't like the writing style and I kind of hated the characters. This book hurt my poor, feminist heart. I don't like books where a guy bullies a girl 'because he had a crush on her'. All that 'mine' shit got on my nerves. I couldn't finish it. I feel so, so bad, because a lot of people love this book and the author worked really hard on it but I just hated it. I'm so, so sorry. I just couldn't.

1.5 stars.

Honestly 1.5 stars is me being overly nice. This is just not a well written book. In addition to the horrible writing it is full of cringeworthy stereotypes, and the plot is just so obvious from the very beginning.

It's clear from the writing that the author is young so I'm cutting them a little slack but I'm still very surprised they managed to get this published.

I've read some good books that started on Wattpad and then were published traditionally, sadly The Bad Boy's Girl isn't one of those books. The cliches are numerous, the writing is sub-standard, there is very little character development, there really isn't a plot, the book is overly long and the ending made me want to throw the book across the room. I really should have stopped reading long before I finished the book. There are ever so many better YA books out there.

The Bad Boy's Girl is one of those YA books I'd have enjoyed a lot more in my teens. Why there wasn't more books like this back then I'll never know - I just had to make do with Judy's books!

We have the story of Tessa who after losing her bitch of a best friend (Sorry but there's no nice way to put it) to the boy she always loved (Jay) drops and shed load of weight and in doing so doesn't really change. Then we have Cole who is a great bad boy and also Jay's brother (Step brother if I remember right. The status really isn't that important).

The story is fairly good for a YA and I loved how we say the relationship of Cole and Tessa change throughout the book. Finding out why he used to prank her and pick on her all the time was just to get her attention as he liked her was fairly cute. But my issue with this book was how we had so much fat shaming. Don't get me wrong I know girls can be bitches but it was constant. Add to that that Tessa treated herself the same way. Now being a ' big girl' myself and someone who's weight has yoyo'd throughout time (From pre teens onwards due to eating issues etc) I just didn't feel at times it set a good example and it almost felt at times it was made out to be 'ok' to voice things the way they do. In honesty I almost wish Tessa hadn't lost the weight in this book in the first place as it would have set a better example. I don't mean to pick. But when you have 3 teen daughters like I do, all very different. Weight issues etc is something I'm very conscious of because I don't want them having any problems, I want them happy in themselves.

Other than the whole weight thing, the book was just fine but there were elements I just didn't like. This was a solid 3 star and a good read, I just felt the whole Tessa weight loss thing could have been dealt with better - kids are shallow but not always that shallow.

Review

I am torn with how to rate this book so I didn’t, I enjoyed the overall story but I didn’t like how it all came about.

Tessa has loved Jay Stone for a long time but it was his step-brother Cole who always paid her attention, not often in a good way; he was a bully and tormented her growing up. When he left town for military school it was a relief for her so when he returns after a number of years he is nothing like the person he was when he left and it beyond confuses her.

I liked Cole in the now, his character (until the end) made me really fall for him, I was glad we didn’t meet the tormentor that he was. I found Tessa to be annoying and quite whiny; she had a lot of self-doubt and insecurities which stemmed from the bullying, not only from Cole as children but now from her ex best friend Nicole.

Tessa had a lot to deal with throughout the book, parents going through a separation, an alcoholic brother, bullying and a lack of confidence with anxiety; I felt the author dealt with it well.

The aspect I didn’t like was how the bullying was justified, it didn’t sit right with me at all; Tessa fell for a boy who had always infuriated her, yes he was a child when it was all happening but I can never condone intimidation and mistreatment of any kind and have it warranted as harmless no matter what age they are.

Without this aspect, I enjoyed the progression of their relationship and how Cole came to support, defend and gain her trust. Tessa had some great friends but she also had some enemies, Nicole and her clique being the main ones. Travis was interesting and I would love to read a book from his POV, Jay constantly grated on my nerves but I adored his mother.

I didn’t like the ending at all, I did instantly search Amazon to start on the second book just to see what would happen (but I couldn’t find it). I’m not sure if I will now read it.

Overall, without the bullying aspect and the ending I would have preferred this book a lot more. I enjoyed the authors writing style and I thought Cole kept things entertaining despite his past.

Thank you to Trident Media Group via Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review The Bad Boys Girl.

Maybe 1.5 Stars

I honestly could have DNF'd this, but it was so mind-numbing that I could read it really quickly, so I didn't see the point. The Bad Boy's Girl is a really long book with not much substance. A lot of things seem to happen, but there is no weight in the story at all.

Things I Liked:
Beth is the most developed character in the entire book, and she's the most likable. It's probably not a coincidence. Beth is a fun and honest character with a great personality. She was a bright spot in the book.

I LOVED the chapter titles. They were so fun and goofy. They reminded me of the chapter titles in Rick Riordan's books.

Things I Didn't Like:
This book jumps from one cliche to the next, so there never feels like there is any substance to the story or the characters. We don't really get any history between Tess and Cole, besides being told he bullied/pranked her - there isn't much detail. There were also some moments where a story line was dropped, or something is mis-referenced from one paragraph to the next. It just seemed to lack clarity or a strong direction. A bunch of stuff happened in the story, it just didn't seem like we were moving toward anything.

There was A TON of slut shaming in the story. And I think because it was against the "mean girls" it was supposed to be okay? It was really excessive and seemed to be Tess' favorite insult.

Tess is probably the most boy-obsessed MC I've encountered in a while. She's been head over heels in love with Jay - even though he's a terrible person, and later becomes obsessed with Cole once they start dating. Her entire stoyline revolves around boys or her insecurities about boys. I would have liked more development for Tess as an individual.

This line: "I think it's always been Cole. Even when he was bullying me, making me making my life miserable, he made me feel special." This is not the only instance of Tess normalizing and romanticizing Cole's abusive/controlling behavior.

The book really starts to feel too long around the half way point. Honestly, if it has ended around then it might have gotten a better rating from me. And even with this length there is a non-ending. The book literally cuts out in the middle of a scene.

This book wasn't engaging and is mostly forgettable. It wasn't a waste of a reading experience, but this book just wasn't for me.

I received a copy of the book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Quick, easy read that is still packed with emotion. DIdn't like the cliff hanger ending though!