This review contains spoilers - read with caution. Content warnings include: Sexual assault, death, grief, past abuse, substance abuse, mental trauma, past child neglect, past child abuse, child sexual abuse, abuse, graphic violence, past sexual abuse, and torture. Reader discretion is advised. You can read my review of Dangerous Little Secrets on my blog, now!
Sure, it has been about four and a half years since I read the second installment of this series, but considering I was able to remember everything even after all that time, I would say that this series certainly left a lasting impression. Lacey, our leading lady, is what I consider to be the greediest girl on the planet with her not one, not two, but THREE boyfriends. Like girl, please leave some for the rest of us, this is getting out of hand. And how is this possibly socially acceptable to the town?? It is fiction, so I will live in bliss, but this is one of the reasons I typically do not venture into the world of why choose or reverse harem - I will always imagine the group breaking up after the end of the book. The only thing that surprised me upon returning to this series was the fact that I forgot one of the boys is literally named Banjo... I just cannot believe it.
Lacey may be a greedy little girl, but boy oh boy....the spice was there and readers will be forever grateful for it. For a why choose, I do think the author could have written more scenes with all four involved, as it felt like we were watching Lacey go on a world tour of getting bent in new ways by one or two of the boys at a time, but we only got a couple scenes with the whole little gang. To be quite honest, it would have been more impactful if these polyamorous amateur detectives spent more time together doing freaky stuff.
Did I have to look back at my review of Dangerous Little Secrets to remember what exactly happened before this final installment? Yes indeed. And thank goodness I included spoilers in that review, because while I did begin to remember the events after getting through a few chapters, so much goes on with all of these characters and perspectives, it can get overwhelming. I do wish we got to see more of Banjo's perspective - his characterization definitely deserved some more attention, especially since Colt was basically the number one boy whose attention consumed Lacey. And on that note, it truly felt as though Lacey put Colt on a pedestal and the other two boys felt like consolation prizes by the end. I would have been fine if it ended with Lacey and Colt together and having Rafe and Banjo as their own pair. With a why choose, I should be rooting for everyone to be together, not splitting off - the chemistry needed some work when it came to the four of them as a whole.
Owen is still a little nasty piece of work that apparently has two favorite activities - drugging people and assaulting girls. He is like a little gnat that will not leave you alone, and every single time he showed up on page, I wanted to throttle him. And with the father he has, I am not surprised that his behavior has been brushed aside and even encouraged. Meredith had me wanting to pull my hair out at the end - my girl, you were underage and sleeping with a married man!! Truly had me gobsmacked when that was revealed, but the second Lacey noticed her tattoo, I knew it was only a matter of time until the dots were connected. Lawson can rot deep down for the rest of eternity.
I hate, hate, HATE the accidental pregnancy trope, even more so when it happens to high schoolers... truly nauseating. Especially with everything that Lacey and the boys are dealing with, I cannot imagine them thinking that having a child at this very moment was an alluring idea. It really did not make sense for the characters - you would think that the polycule would want to be child-free for a long time, considering their extracurricular activities. It felt like the author was trying to put a bow on the ending, but it came off as though this child would basically be the security to tie the group together so they would never break up or separate. Realistically, I would imagine this group would not want to have child, if ever, for years to come.
The slow reveal of what Lacey's mother was put through and the true horrors that Lawson inflicted upon both his family and a handful of girls in town was diabolical. I felt like I was doing a complete 180 on my feelings towards her mother and truly felt bad for her by the end. I always had a lingering feeling that Lawson was up to no good, but for it to be this insane and vile was something that nauseates the reader. While there are certainly characters that still should have received the same fate as Lawson, one can only hope they meet their maker sooner rather than later. This series was entertaining, shocking, and I had an overall enticing experience - considering the content warnings, this may not be the series for everyone, but the author maintains reader engagement. I flew through this so quickly and could have read another one hundred pages if Thorpe provided it. If you are new to why choose or bully romance, this may be the series to kick start your adventure.
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