Crooked Sinners

“We look before and after,
and pine for what is not.
Our sincerest laughter;
With some pain is fraught.
Our sweetest tales are those
that tell of saddest thought.”

— Percy Bysshe Shelley

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1. RIOT HOUSE by Callie Hart

SYNOPSIS

They might be richer than gods, but they’re morally bankrupt.

As far as the boys who run America’s most exclusive international academy are concerned, I’m an unwelcome interloper, an inconvenience, and they’re determined to make my life a living hell.

When Wren Jacobi sets eyes on Wolf Hall Academy’s newest inductee, all he sees is an easy mark. A reserved little girl with a target painted on her back. He knows nothing of my troubled past, though. Nothing of my mother’s suspicious death, or the horrific treatment I’ve had to endure at the hands of my psychotic father. And he has no idea of the lengths that I, unassuming little Elodie Stillwater, will go to in order to break the savage beast who dreams of breaking me first.

There’s a wolf stalking the forests that surround my new school. Little does he know… There are far scarier predators lurking out there in the dark.

BOOK REVIEW

Callie Hart’s writing style is truly breathtaking. It never fails to amaze me with its enchanting darkness and thrilling grittiness. Riot House was no exception. The book was filled to the brim with exciting suspense as well as soul-crushing lyricism and romance, of course.

The story setting was around Wolf Hall Academy in New Hampshire (the place Elodie Stillwater ended up being stuck in after her sudden forced exile) and a so-called ‘Riot House’ that wouldn’t let anyone come out the same, a designated place of infuriating neglect and perpetual numbness from never-ending loneliness and fear. The house hosted three extremely handsome but equally dangerous boys, the creatures of sweet dreams and twisted nightmares. Pax, Dashiell, and Wren.

“My heart is a grenade. It’s safer where it is, locked in its cage. You take it outta there and you’re essentially pulling the pin.”

Wren Jacobi was the king of Wolf Hall Academy who preferred solitude to spotlight. He had so much depth to his enigmatic character. He was raw and dominant in everything he said and did (being highly intelligent and well-read definitely helped). Wren posed himself as fierce and heartless, yet his feelings were sharp and real. His reality was calm waters that transformed into raging waves after the appearance of Elodie Stillwater.

“The past and the future. Fear of death. Phantoms and ignorance. It’s about how even the sweetest love songs are tinged with sadness. And how a man can never be as free as a bird.”

Elodie Stillwater was like lightning in a clear sky. The strong and resilient girl was so much different from all the girls Wren had ever come across with. She was a suppressed soul with a very dark secret, yet she possessed a free spirit and an innocent little dream.

Elodie quickly became his maddening obsession. And the new girl who was initially supposed to be a target of fun torment and manipulation turned into soul salvation and a source of long-awaited peace. Wren was drawn to her and no longer wanted to tear Elodie down. Rather he wished for her ruin but in a wholly different nature.

The picture of the future with Wren was terrifying and bewildering and so fucking exciting for Elodie that she just knew she should have been less sure about the answer she wanted to give to his possessive and selfish question. But she was certain... “Damn it all to hell, this is the stupidest thing I’ll ever do in my life, but I say the words. “Yes, Wren. I still want it.”” was all that lit a match and set the pages on scorching fire...

Even the poets entrusted their foolish hearts into the hands of others. Especially the poets. That was both their salvation and their ultimate downfall; without knowing the joy of loving another human being, they would never have been able to write about the soaring joy that always made my heartbeat quicken. And they’d never have been able to capture true desolation and sorrow without enduring the kind of suffering that can only come from lost love.

Riot House was sexy as hell and deliciously sinister but also refreshingly sweet. All the twists and turns in the story were shocking and jaw-dropping (I didn’t expect half of the things that dropped out of the blue and wrecked me pretty bad). The book was almost perfect if not for the presence of minor misses in the plot. Overall, it gave me all the feels in a truly terrific ‘Callie Hart’ fashion. Riot House is a must-visit!

2. RIOT RULES by Callie Hart

SYNOPSIS

Carrie

You think you know me, but you’re wrong. You look at me and see Carrie, the girl with the wild hair and the wild clothes. Reliable Carrie. Friendly. Quirky. Perhaps a little strange. What do you really know about me, though?

The details of my past are up for debate. I’ve been careful to hide my sins, and even more careful to follow the rules. I do as I’m told. I keep to myself. I don’t mess around with boys, and I’m always ready to run. At least that’s what I tell myself, anyway.

Since I met him, I’ve broken every single rule in the book. He’s impossible. Arrogant. Terrifying. If I’m not careful, Wolf Hall’s golden boy will do more than make me break the rules. He’ll wind up breaking me.

Dash

First, they hate me, then they hate themselves for wanting me. That’s how it always goes. I’m the smart one. The charming one. The guy with the accent that makes girls go weak at the knees. As a resident of Riot House, I’m destined to rule Wolf Hall. Doesn’t matter where you come from. How much money you have. What your future holds. Cross the path of a Riot House Boy and you’re guaranteed to pay the price.

The girl isn’t special. She’s just another cog, turning in the wheel. So why, then, am I protecting her? And why am I keeping her a secret?

Call me a monster. Call me a fiend. Call me reprehensible. Call me Lord Dashiell Lovett IV.

3. RIOT ACT by Callie Hart

SYNOPSIS

Want something? Pax will take it from you. Love something? Pax will destroy it. Love him? Heaven help you. You’d have to be the stupidest person to walk the face of the earth.

Pax

I don’t do complicated. I sure as hell don’t do love. With graduation in sight, I’ve made it almost four years at Wolf Hall without getting tangled up in BS with girls. I especially want nothing to do with her: Presley. Maria. Witton. Chase. The timid little mouse with the red hair, who can’t even look my way without hyperventilating. She’s nothing to me. Beautiful, sure, but I’ve had plenty of beautiful women. I’m perfectly content ignoring her… until her life is suddenly in my hands.

Pres

I’ve loved him from the moment I laid eyes on him. The cruel, inked anarchist of Riot House. He’s wicked, and he’s cold, and there’s nothing good left in him. I fear him almost as much as I crave him. With only a few weeks left until graduation, all I have to do is keep my head down, and then I’ll be free; I can leave Mountain Lakes and my obsession with Pax Davis in my rearview mirror. But the demons I’ve been hiding for years now are growing restless… and Pax is thing that will keep them at bay.

This is not an act of kindness. Not an act of love. Not an act of forgiveness. You’ll find no redemption here. This is the final riot. Act accordingly.