Intense and emotional

I've been on an angst-ridden mature YA/NA romance binge listen/read (including authors Tijans Books, Jillian Dodd, Monica Murphy and C.L. Stone---all fantastic), most of the books were pretty screwed up, but this one might take the cake.

The author constructs a situation of a girl being a victim of extreme bullying and humiliation from a boy she once loved. She's pretty much obsessed and lusting after the boy for the whole book while not quite managing to hate him. His transformation over the course of the book was somewhat believable, but not one hundred percent. Her feeling were understandable as well, if not a little hard to digest. There was a lot of heat between the characters, and I definitely was addicted from beginning to end. I loved it mostly, but the emotions were a bit uncomfortable as was her obsession with her tormentor. I'd have liked her to be a little more independent minded- to match her independent spirited actions in the book. But all in all, the blurb gives a pretty good idea of what you're in for, so if it appeals to you, you'll prolly enjoy this one too

13 people found this helpful

Great book , poor naration

What other book might you compare Bully to and why?

It reminds me a bit of Samantha Young novels.

Did Abby Craden do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

She did OK. Her inflection during narration was a bit off-putting.

18 people found this helpful

Snooze Fest 😴

Ok. This book was generally awful. I made it about two hours in and gave up trying to get into it. First off, the narrator was not a good fit for the heroine. I like her voice in general but she sounds too proper and mature for a character in her late teens. Second, I probably would have enjoyed it more if the story was written in a dual POV...not being able to understand the hero’s side was more frustrating than intriguing in this instance. Thirdly, I was bored out of my mind. Nothing about the story entertained me or kept me wanting more. I’ve read a couple other books by this author and thought she was fantastic but this just didn’t do it for me. It’s not even the “bully” theme that was off-putting as I’ve read and enjoyed plenty of books in this particular genre. The female main character is literally the lamest high school student that ever existed. For someone so smart and beautiful, she has zero personality. Ugh I so wanted to love this. I would not recommend unless you’re an insomniac desperately seeking sleep. ☹️😬

6 people found this helpful

Bad Narrator, story not much better

I don't think I could listen to another book read by this narrator. The book itself wasn't that great either. Predictable, and absolutely no witty repartee between the characters, nothing. Very disappointing. If I'd of used a credit instead of this being free in audible escape I'd of stopped listening and returned it. I'm not much of a fan of books read entirely by either a man or a woman. This was told from her POV so it made sense, although I think authors should let you know the book is completely from one side so you know why there is only one narrator. I cannot recommend.

5 people found this helpful

I heart this book

I loved this! Maybe a little unrealistic (not sure if this is the right word)or some "seriously?" moments but I didn't put it down so it definitely held my attention from start to finish.
My heart hurt for Tate, I laughed, had heart palpitations & wanted to smack people all within 24 hours.

I'm not good at reviews because I don't pay attention to the "writing" or the things that most people who read a lot write about in their reviews; I only know if I liked it or not & so .....

I LOVED IT!

17 people found this helpful

Love the story

I read this book a while back in the Kindle version. I was in the mood for this type of storyline so decided to use my credit to listen to it. The narrator would have completely ruined it for me had I not already previously read this book. She sounded more like an English professor than a teenage girl. It honestly felt like I was sitting in a college lecture hall listening to a professor read aloud. It was boring at times. I cannot really explain why this bothered me so, as I am typically a fan of good diction. I guess it just felt extremely weird to hear a teenage girl pronounce words so perfectly. It seemed to make the story less believable. I truly wish this had been performed by someone younger and a little less proper, this narrator did not do this book justice.

22 people found this helpful

Ahhh, tortured teenagers, got to love 'em.....

This story is the typical misunderstood, I have issues from a traumatic experience, pissed off YA teenager story but it's well written (although there is a little at the end I would have edited out) and has a happy ending (YAY). I actually enjoyed the story quite a bit. The reader is great, the writing isn't bad and I found the characters charming and engaging. I was hooked from chapter one and finished within two days. The story made me laugh out loud a couple of times and the characters act their age instead of being written as adults. You can read the synopsis to discover the story line so I won't recap, just know I found the book worth a credit, especially if your looking for something light and easy. This is a stand alone novel so you don't have to worry about finding or waiting for part two although there is another book written from Jarod's perspective (it isn't essential to this story). Have fun discovering how to regrow wings!

4 people found this helpful

WHOA Grease Lightning!

I did not, after glancing over a good deal of duds in the genre, expect this little gift! Oh how I love the brooding damaged bad boy that's got walls higher than Mount Everest but caves when its time to come clean and let someone in! Whew. This is that book. A needle in a haystack for sure. You're gonna HATE Jared...until you can't. Triggers & Spoilers- I'll admit there was a little stomach churning on the child abuse subject, but the details were not in such great detail that I couldn't get through it. The high school setting will always rankle my nerves because its plain unrealistic, but at least the characters were seniors and mature enough to overlook their age. The sex was perfectly placed and meaningful. If you've ever read "Beautiful Disaster" by Jamie McGuire you're gonna love this one too.

3 people found this helpful

Great Story!

What made the experience of listening to Bully the most enjoyable?

It was a great story of a strong young girl who dealt with bullying from her peers. Unfortunately, one of those peers was a long-time friend which made it very hard for her. I had a hard time setting the audio book down when I needed to. I wanted to know what happened next!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Tatum. She dealt with a lot, but she kept fighting when most would have given up.

Which scene was your favorite?

I would have to say my favorite scene was when Tate and Jared were looking for Jared's cell phone in the school lockers and they found out it was Piper who had his phone. The fact that such a horrible thing was done to her and she stood up for herself in front of the school was quite the feat for her!

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

This book did make me laugh and cry. I felt so bad for Tate when she thought Jared sent the video message to everyone in the school. But soon enough, the author had me laughing as Tate and Jared dealt with Evan and Piper.

3 people found this helpful

Hard to love

I had to give up on this book after several chapters. The heroine is SO clueless, willfully ignoring what's evident to everyone else. And the relationship, no matter how "romantic" it's supposed to be, is based on abuse. I mean, this guy makes her life hell for years just to keep other guys from dating her? Why doesn't he just ask her out? Teenage angst, my foot. This is ridiculous. She doesn't even get in trouble for physically assaulting boys at school. And what kind of dad leaves a 16-year-old girl on her own for months, with a house and car--and next door to her abuser?

9 people found this helpful