Loving the reaper is the second book in the silver falls university by Lola king. You have to read the books in order, the stoneview series, then rose’s duet, the north shore series next, and the silver falls university series last.
Trigger warnings & spoilers : https://www.authorlolaking.com/series-content-warning
There will be spoilers ahead.
Story : ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Plot : ⭐⭐⭐
Rating : ⭐⭐⭐
Writing style : Lola’s writing is exceptionally good, but this book was really boring, this book was annoying me, especially when pen kept fighting wren all the way, but then the end plot twist had me in its grip, and I found some interest to finish this book, i was almost wanted to dnf this book.
MMC : wren hunter — this pathetically yearning of a psychopath — ⭐⭐⭐⭐
FMC : peach / Penelope sanderson Menaccihunter — ⭐⭐⭐
side characters : the characters from the other books always stand out for me, Xi, Alex, Kayla, Nathan. I loved their cameos. I love these interconnected books and universe.
Story setting : dark college.
Summary : wren has done nothing in his life but yearned for the woman he can’t have, so he gives her a choice, again and again, but she rejects him, holding on to their friendship, they’ve been best friends for years, and wren has obsessively yearrrrrned, by God, this man goes to enough lengths, god of death will be on his knees. He literally kills for her, doesn’t remember anything, but keeps a piece of paper with their names written down, so he knows who he killed.
When he’s had enough of her rejection, he does the one thing he always wanted, when she is initiated into a secret society, of course, he wasn’t planning on letting her go, so he takes her all to himself. She makes a deal with him that if he finds her biological parents then she’s stop fighting him. He accepts and then they have this friends with benefits relationship. She is also blackmailed by hermes, who knows that she is a murderer, but she doesn’t tell anyone. Not even wren. Wren doesn’t remember who he kills when he snaps, and then when she gets taken by f•••••• who think they’ll have torturing and raping her, she kills them, and tells wren about all the others who she killed, because they either hurt her, or used her in some way, or were planning to hurt her. God, I love pen. She’s annoying, but she’s strong. She gets kidnapped by Elijah, our dear Elijah, (i really thought that he was hermes, for a second, and then the plot twist after twist had me reading so fast, only to find out that he wasn’t Hermes, but he did blackmail her) wren seeks help from nathan, my mannnn, and Xi to save pen, and then they have a happy ever after. The secret society stays, the President, Achilles’s father stays, but wren’s dad and brother …offf.
Dedicated to by the author : this story was dedicated to the women who stay silent when they want to scream, i did like the ending, and i appreciate that at least in a story, a woman does what she wants, and is offing whoever stands in her way, or hurts women in general. That part was my favorite.
Pacing : sloww to fast.
Tropes : best friends to lovers, secret society, elite college, dark college romance.
Type of romance : dark.
Tags for the book : contemporary, spicy, read the trigger warnings, plot twists.
What i loved : i loved the character growth of Penelope. Wren was the same throughout the book.
Favourite parts/ highlights : I can’t help it. Men exist, and I feel the need to challenge them for their audacity of breathing the same air as me. 🤏🏼🤏🏼🤏🏼🤏🏼🤌🏼🫠 Clock iittttt!!!
”Because there has never been anyone else in my heart but you, Peach. You take all the space in there with your attitude and sassy mouth. You left no one else a chance because no one has your eyes full of challenge, your soft hair, your perfect skin. No one has two crooked lower canines like you, three freckles that make an equilateral triangle on their right shoulder. No one makes my heart beat. And I don't mean they make my heart skip a beat, or make my heart palpitate. I mean that when I'm not around you, I don't feel my f•••••• pulse, do you understand that? I feel dead unless I can hear your voice that’s always a little too loud and opinionated, unless I can see that little vein on your forehead when someone angers you.”
Out of nowhere, his strange fascination with me returns. “Yes, I do. Except you haven't in years. The last time was freshman year.”
The front door is painted fuchsia, and there are frames of the couple everywhere on pink shelves she probably made him put up. Some are of them and the bunnies. Some are only the bunnies. So when Xi walks in, wearing jeans and a white tank top, and I notice how big his arms are, how lethal his entire body is…when I think about the fact that he's probably killed people for the gang he used to be in, I want to burst out laughing. The man has pet bunnies.
Men should be more careful of the women who take their s••• silently. They suffer and smile through injustice. They suffer and watch men enjoy their tears. They suffer and suffer and suffer. And one day…boom. (F•••, I love this plot twist) Now, it is getting interesting, hmm).
”Initially, Nate comes from the Cosa Nostra. He was meant to become the head of one of the families, the Biancos. Except he went rogue instead, got rid of his boss, and did his own thing. He united the North Shore when we were at war. He built his own army. And now every-f••••••-one eats from the palm of his hand. The Italians, the Irish, the f•••••• Russians.” (my man is backkk) yuhh, it’s finally getting somewhere.
“Yes, all of you,” I agree. “From your grandfathers, your fathers, to you, and soon, it’ll be the sons you raised to make the same selfish, dangerous, destroying decisions you did. And do you know who suffers?”
“Your mothers. Your sisters. Your daughters. Women,” I confirm. "Since the dawn of time, all you’ve allowed us to do is suffer. Every day, we’re forced to live with the consequences of your actions. Hide your bodies, show yourself. Be quiet, smile more. Give us children. Raise our daughters to fear our sons and raise our sons to abuse our daughters.”
“Protection. What f•••••• protection? Every day in this world, you men start wars, celebrate your wins, mourn your fallen soldiers. But do you know what you forget? The women you raped. You crush laws under the heels of your shiny shoes, revert us to old times because you’re scared. But do you know what you rejoice in? The women who bleed to death. You celebrate us if we stay in our place. If we don’t become threatening. If the minorities who are smarter and more qualified than you don’t get too close to power. If the privileged women stick to their internalized misogyny. If the people who are different from you keep fearing you.”
“It’s your bodies,”I say softly. “But it was my choice to bury them. And it was a pleasure to watch every single one of you die painfully. So…” I shrug. “Burn me at the stake, Shadows. Because this is what happens when you don’t let us be part of the system. When you don’t let us change things from the inside. A revolution. And if you think you’re safe now that you're putting me away? Think again." I lean forward, lowering my voice to a whisper. “Who says I acted alone? And who says any of you are safe with your Hera?”
Is a part of a series : yes.
Series name : silver falls university.
Series order number : 2 of 3.
Plot or character driven : plot driven.
Loveable characters : depends. I liked peach, and wren. I’ll update the review again.
Strong character development : no.
Flaws of characters a main focus : yes.
Interconnected/ or standalone : interconnected standalone.
Recs from the same author : if you unhinged MMC’s, then read lawless god, please, or read heartless beloved, Xi is unhinged, but not so much of a psychopath as nathan white and wren hunter.
Last details : the red walls of their college, the secret society is based on Greek mythology, so the statue on the cover is that reference, the pills for when peach takes them to forget about how messy her life is, and the card of her name …mm, i can’t guess it, this story was annoying, so i’ll just have to update this review again. And the blood being the killings done by both of them. Oh, we can’t forget about the notes wren writes in his notes app, because he does not wish to forget anything about penelope, so he writes everything about her down in his notes.
Lovely psychopath we have here.