Okay, I did not go into this thinking I would like it as much as I did.

First thing I'm going to mention is that it's full of female gaze. You always have to worry when it comes to wlw content that it will have a male gaze, but nope. The biggest scene I can say that shows this is the first sparring scene.

This is the first book of the Wicked Villians series I have read, and now this book has convinced me to maybe read more. Is it a true stand alone? No. But you don't have to read the others to understand what is happening. It's more of a stand alone with a thread that weaves through bringing in other characters and situations from previous books. It explains it enough for the uninitiated reader to understand, but doesn't flat out explain what's happened previously. 

Now, I have to compare this to the only other published smut book I've read (where everyone knows going in that it's smut), which is Fifty Shades. If you wanted a really well written, pretty healthy kink relationship, plus enemies to lovers, this right here is your book. It's like if Fifty was actually written well, had developed characters, was edited, and showed a healthy kink lifestyle. 

Let's talk about representation! I didn't expect amazing PoC rep, Queer rep, and Non-Binary rep! For example, Sara. They are referred to with they/them pronouns and that's it. It's made no big deal, it's not all of their character. It's sad that there isn't more representation out there like this. Where yes, Aurora is black, but who cares? It also doesn't fall into any stereotypes that I saw, and I just love that these are real people, and are more character details than their whole character. (I know it's weird that I'm making such a big deal of this, but any minority community understands that there is a difference between a character who is gay and the GayTM character).

The story is written so well. Yes, there are grammar mistakes, but overall the story is believable. 
The last thing I will say is get ready for some hot, kinky fun that is well written (honestly, it was hard to put it down)!

Book TW: Self-harm, abuse, sexual assault, suicidal ideation/suicide, drug and alcohol use.

This is one of those books you don't want to describe. All I knew going in was it was about self-harm and attempted suicide. 

There were several moments where I didn't know if I could finish this book. Sections involving Riley reminded me of my own trauma that I should probably face more than I have. I'm so happy I finished this book though. I think so many people will be able to relate to it. 

This is another book I wouldn't put in YA (where it probably is), but under New Adult. It deals with serious themes and doesn't shy away from them, but is written in a way teens can understand and highly relate to. I think anyone who has or even thought of self-harming can relate to this story. It's so immensely sad, but angelic at the same time.