HANNAFORD PREP (The Complete Series)
Series: Hanaford Prep
Genre: Why Choose
Author: J Bree
Release Date: July 27, 2020
The most exclusive school in the entire country, Hannaford Preparatory Academy, has offered me a full-ride scholarship and a chance to escape the dangerous streets of Mounts Bay.
The only problem is, no scholarship student has ever made it through freshman year.
None of the rich kids understand the need for survival that runs through my veins, the throne I’ve fought and killed to sit on, and there are more deranged killers stalking me than I can keep count of.
The think the can break me.
They’re wrong.
No one touches the Wolf.
We were both born into cages. Mine was poverty, drugs, the threat of gangs and violence.
Did I just binge read this entire series in 3 days? Yes. Yes I did.
The plot, while you do have to suspend your disbelief for, was addicting as hell.
Admittedly, I walked into this series a bit blind. Had I done my research or read all the blurbs, I would have seen that this is set in high school and the MCs are 15 in the first book. Had I read if I knew? Probably not. But by the time I got through the first few chapters, I was already fully invested and couldn’t stop.
This is a series that spans a year per book, so by the time we reach the final book, they’re all seniors. It’s a poly romance with no sword crossing, but the spice doesn’t start until book 3 when the MCs are 17. This actually worked out for me because I couldn’t read it had the spice started before that, but do bear in mind that it’s very much a slow burn.
Now for the plot. Did I have to suspend my disbelief of a 15 year old being a feared member of The 12 (an infamous criminal underworld) and a killer. Yes. Yes I did. Lips has lived a hard life and she’s a survivor. She survived an addict mother, foster care, and every curve ball life threw at her. Desperate to leave that life behind, she comes to Hanford Prep as a scholarship kid, and immediately gets on the wrong side of the reigning kings (and queen) of the school.
My one and only quibble in this series is why it’s set in high school. These kids act and talk like grown adults. The guys are manwhores with a rep in their freshman year of HS and one of them is a famous rockstar. On the one side, it made it easy to age them up in my head. On the other side, I just didn’t understand the reason to base this in high school. As for the writing and the story, it was addictive. The plot and character development is top notch. Which is a feat considering 99% of the POV in each book is Lips. There is one chapter per book that you get of the guys POV but it’s not much. I didn’t mind this, even though my preference is dual POV, because we learn so much about them through Lips and I loved the pacing and development. The romance doesn’t really kick in until book two, and the spice not until book 3. However, the mystery and suspense is what ultimately kept me glued to the pages. Hooked enough that I now want to jump into the spinoff and also read Illi’s book in The Butcher of the Bay.
If you like a suspenseful poly romance with elements of bullying and a fierce heroine and don’t mind it being based in high school with all the drama that comes with it, definitely check this out.
