Things I Wanted to Say (But Never Did) by Monica Murphy-Review Tour

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date July 29, 2021.

Whit Lancaster burst into my life like a storm. Dark and thunderous, furious and fierce. Cold, heartless and devastatingly beautiful, like the statues in our prep school gardens. The school with his family name on the sign. He can do no wrong here. This is his domain.

He’s a menace on campus. Adored and feared. Hated and respected. His taunting words carve into my skin, shredding me to ribbons. Yet his intense gaze scorches my blood, fills me with a longing I don’t understand.

When I stumble upon him one night alone, I find him broken. Bleeding. My instincts scream to leave and let him suffer, but I can’t. I sneak him into my room. Clean him up. Fall for his lies. Let him possess every single part of me until I’m the one left a gasping, broken mess.

When he leaves me alone in the dead of night, he takes my journal with him.

Now he knows all my secrets. My hate. My truth. And he promises to use my words against me. I’ll be ruined if my darkest secret gets out.

That’s when I strike a bargain with the devil.

I’ll let Whit Lancaster ruin me behind closed doors instead.

•••••

REVIEW:THINGS I WANTED TO SAY (BUT NEVER DID) by Monica Murphy is a contemporary, stand alone, young adult/new adult/ adult, dark, erotic bully romance focusing on Whit Lancaster, and Summer Savage.

WARNING: Due to the nature of the story line premise there may be numerous triggers for more sensitive readers.

Told from dual first person perspectives covering approximately twelve years THINGS I WANTED TO SAY (BUT NEVER DID) follows the acrimonious, bully relationship between Lancaster heir Whit Lancaster, and Summer Savage. At the ages of fourteen Summer Savage met Whit Lancaster at a Lancaster party, and in the ensuing years never forgot that fateful encounter. Three years later, the fall-out of a society scandal found Summer Savage struggling at the prestigious Lancaster Prep School, a school where she would become the target of bullies but more specifically the target of the boy she could never forgot. Becoming persona non grata at a school for the elite, meant Summer awakening each day worried about the who, how and why of each personal attack, attacks seemingly orchestrated by Whit Lancaster. Exiled from most of the school population, it was only a matter of time before the administration took a dislike to Summer Savage. What ensues is the tempestuous and caustic relationship between Whit and Summer, and the ongoing fall-out of betrayal and vengeance, aimed at our story line heroine, as she struggled to move on from the demons of her past.

Summer Savage has struggled with issues of low self-esteem in the wake of her family life spiralling out of control. Following a society and media nightmare, not of her making, our heroine is ‘hidden’ away for all intents and purposes but coming face to face with the boy that has continued to star in her nightmares and dreams was about to push our heroine to the edge of reason, as she battles between head and heart knowing that Whit Lancaster would be her ultimate fall. Whit Lancaster is an entitled bully who controls Lancaster Prep, and in this controls the entire student body and staff. When Whit places a proverbial target on our heroine’s back, it is only a matter of time before the fall-out destroys what is left of Summer Savage. Whit Lancaster uses emotional, physical, and sexual control in his position of power that he lauds over our heroine, and the school, at every opportunity. He is feared and loved in equal measure, using his name and family position to rule at the ripe old age of seventeen.

The relationship between Summer and Whit is angry and spiteful, and I struggle to call it a romantic story line. The bullying, humiliation, emotional and mental abuse is continuous; the sl*t shaming is excessive. Whit Lancaster cannot stop obsessing about Summer Savage, and in this, he is determined to know all of Summer’s secrets in an effort to claim every part of our story line heroine. The $ex scenes are intense, dramatic and not without some question of consent-the relationships and friendships play out like a game wherein Summer Savage is the ultimate pawn.

The mean girls (and boys) and relentless bullying is tantamount to assault; the adults and parents are unforgiving, ruthless and cruel. Summer Savage is not the perfect heroine but an embattled life makes for questionable decisions, decisions that often place our heroine in the direct line of fire. She didn’t deserve the humiliating treatment, treatment that affected her choices going forward, often taking the blame for catastrophic events in her life.

THINGS I WANTED TO SAY (BUT NEVER DID) is a story of secrets and lies, betrayal and vengeance, abuse, bullying, power and control. THINGS I WANTED TO SAY (BUT NEVER DID) may be a difficult story for many readers. I struggle with the bully romances, in general, as the victims and intended targets do not deserve the abuse at the hands of piers, strangers, family or friends, and in the wake of real life, sometimes the bullies hit too close to home. The premise is dark, heart breaking and emotional; the characters are broken and cruel; the romance is questionable on so many levels. Monica Murphy is a gifted writer-she was able to break my heart, and make me cry in a matter of a few pages.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

Monica Murphy is the New York Times, USA Today and #1 international bestselling author of the One Week Girlfriend series, the Billionaire Bachelors and The Rules series. Her books have been translated in almost a dozen languages and has sold over one million copies worldwide. She is both self-published and published by Random House/Bantam and Harper Collins/Avon. She writes new adult, young adult and contemporary romance.

She is a wife and a mother of three who lives in central California on fourteen acres in the middle of nowhere along with their one dog and too many cats. A self-confessed workaholic, when she’s not writing, she’s reading or hanging out with her husband and kids. She’s a firm believer in happy endings, though she will admit to putting her characters through angst-filled moments before they finally get that hard won HEA.

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