All Saints High Series – LJ Shen
Once again, I’m late to the game in reading this series by LJ Shen, and I am still trying to prepare myself for the release of The Hunter and the Prey, part of the Boston Belles spin off series coming out in May, so I decided it was about time I read ASH and reviewed them.
The All Saints High series revolves around the Totholes, the children of the four HotHoles from the Sinners of Saint series, although it’s not needed to have read the SoS series, I think it contributes to the reading experience of this series. ASH is set mostly in high school and late teens, and is full of drama angst and heartbreak. Going into these books I was dubious as to how I would feel about them, because I had heard that the original characters don’t act in the way you would expect them to, and in some ways that’s correct, but I am so happy I pushed through and read them.
I have put my reviews for each book in order on this blog post, and all the links to buy on Amazon will be at the very bottom! I need to make it very clear, that there are SPOILERS in these reviews and I would recommend not reading this blog post if you haven’t read the series, or don’t mind finding out what happens. I have written spoiler free reviews on Goodreads which I will link here if you would prefer to read them:
Pretty Reckless Spoiler Free Review – https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2810707408
Broken Knight Spoiler Free Review – https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3042738603
Angry God Spoiler Free Review – https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3024532979
I chose to write some parts of my blog review with SPOILERS, something I don’t normally do because I needed somewhere to write down my thoughts on some of the events in this series, and I think the best place is on my own blog, where it doesn’t run the risk of ruining it for as many people.
This series is a tough read, the roads are not easy and there is a lot of heartbreak and hurt along the way, but I am so glad I finally got round to reading them.
Pretty Reckless (All Saints High Series #1)
I had to sleep on it before writing this review to process all my thoughts on Pretty Reckless. Initially when I was done, I was frustrated with some of the plots and characters, but after thinking about it I realised what makes Leigh’s writing so good, she makes you think about her books long after you finish them.
Pretty Reckless is the first book in the spin off Sinners of Saint series All Saints High but can be read as a standalone. It follows Daria Followhill (Jaime and Mel’s daughter from Defy) and Penn Scully. Daria is a senior in high school, she’s pretty, popular, but the ice queen of her class. She is the It girl. Four years ago, she met Penn, and her jealousy towards Via, another ballet dancer in her mother’s class and Penn’s twin, leads to a petty act which turns into her biggest regret and changes Penn’s life forever. For years, she avoided Penn, now captain of the rival football team, and the guilt, until one night before senior year starts, they are thrown back into each other’s lives and forced to live under the same roof. Penn, the boy from the wrong side of the tracks, has always had a crush on Daria, but ever since that day four years ago, he has been plotting his revenge. What time to start his payback than when he is taken in by the Followhills. But when they spend more time together, the attraction between them builds and they learn how complex their feelings are towards one another, both good and bad. When everything comes crumbling down and their pasts come back to haunt them, who will be left standing at the end?
Pretty Reckless is hard to review, because it brings out so many feelings and emotions. The first few chapters I really couldn’t get into it because Daria was just so unlikable. I couldn’t believe that the daughter of Jaime and Mel could be so spiteful and spoilt. But that’s part of Daria’s character and the more you read the more you realise why she so misunderstood and lonely, with a massive chip on her shoulder. By the end, I could understand why, and I really felt for her, but I just wish she had opened up to her mum more and communicated. I didn’t expect at the start to empathise with Daria as much as I did, I thought I would dislike her throughout, but by the end I admired her strength and tenacity. She has some truly horrible moments, but it’s a defence mechanism and she feels so much guilt straight after, it proves she’s human. Her character development was the best in the book because she truly evolved to be a better person, more her true self and not what she thought she had to be.
Penn, the football playing god with his own secrets, gave the Hotholes a run for their money. He hated Daria for their actions all those years ago, but there is a thin line between love and hate. He seemed to go from hate to love quite quickly and I never really felt that moment when it all changed, it just did. Penn’s personality and humour were one of my favourite things about him, Daria had truly met her match. Their chemistry was undeniable, and I think what sold me most on their relationship was how he saw her. He could see that she was not perfect, she was flawed and jealous and vindictive, but he loved her anyway and he helped her learn to accept that. He was one of the main reasons her castle came falling down, but he was also the reason she knew it would be okay.
The plot itself was intense, as most of Leigh’s plots are, and I did love the twists and turns, although I think there were maybe one or two side plots that were just not needed (view spoiler) and I got frustrated with how many characters there were to keep up with. And the last 20% felt like I was in Mean Girls, but it was an interesting turn I didn’t see coming. The plot did flow well, and I loved the introduction of the other Totholes, especially Knight and Vaughn, you definitely got an indication as to what each of their personalities are going to be like in the coming books! The poems at the start of each chapter were one of my favourite things, it gave a real insight into how Penn and Daria were feeling.
One of the things I disliked the most was how Melody was portrayed. She wasn’t my favourite SoS heroine, but I couldn’t believe she would parent that way, or that Jaime would let it get as bad as it did. It upset me because it almost ruined by image of her from reading Defy. My heart broke for Daria on a number of occasions and I just wanted her to go and speak to Mel about everything. But, on refelction, I think the main point of the turbulent relationship between Mel and Daria is that parenting is difficult, and parents make mistakes. Teenagers are tough to bring up and what you as a parent think is right and helping, could be doing the opposite, which is why you need to communicate, but that’s not always possible. I really felt for both Daria and Mel and both of their situations. Jaime was exactly how it thought he would be as a dad, doing anything for his girls and being on their side always. I really liked how he opened his arms and accepted Penn too.
This is not a flawless story. It is full of teen drama and angst; it did feel like an episode of One Tree Hill like Penn references once. There are some truly horrifying parts which I won’t go into to keep it spoiler free, but overall, it’s a gripping story that I read in one day. By the end (and after I slept on it), I realised that I did enjoy Daria and Penn’s rocky road to their HEA.
Broken Knight (All Saints High #2)
I was a bit nervous to start Broken Knight, having read reviews that it breaks your heart over and over again, but I am so glad I did. This book took me on the biggest emotional rollercoaster, I laughed and cried, and when I say cried, I mean sobbed, my heart was broken and put back together, but in all honesty, I loved every minute of it. It’s a story that shows not every day is promised and you need to live your life to the fullest because you don’t know what will happen tomorrow.
Knight and Luna are inevitable. That’s a given from the very start, it’s just their journey to reach their HEA is treacherous, full of hurt, anguish and heartbreak. On so many occasions I wanted to shout at them to just communicate, but that’s not in their nature. But one thing is they are always there for the other when they need it, in any capacity they can be.
Broken Knight is not an easy read by far. From early on, Leigh’s writing pulls you in to Luna and Knight’s world and you don’t want to leave. My heart was in pieces at times because of the sheer emotions she brought out with her words. At one point, I was sobbing because of the events which took place, but it was so well written, I couldn’t stop reading. Broken Knight is about more than this though, it’s a story about healing and hope, that you can pick yourself up after suffering loss and come out the other side. This is by no means a teen soap opera as other books in the series, it’s about two broken teens finding each other and figuring out who they are. It’s a story of how life goes on, even if you don’t want it to, but you need to make the most of every day.
Knight is Luna’s protector since they were children, but underneath his cocky jock façade is a broken boy who is spiralling out of control for most of this book. He has so many things going on in his life, he starts self-destructing, but he does it so quietly that his family don’t notice as they have other focuses too. His feelings feel so raw and real, he makes some questionable choices but his love for Luna is never ending, he is so caring and compassionate with her, he is willing to put her before anyone else. She is his perfect match, his ride or die, always, whenever, forever.
Luna is silent but mighty, she is a force and her character development is incredible, she changes into the person she was always meant to be, steps out from behind Knight’s back and learns to defend herself and those around her. She no longer needs protection, instead is the strong force who people lean on and in turn, she protects them. Her evolution is about finding herself, but also finding who she can be within her relationship with Knight, an equal. Her actions, although incredibly difficult, are mature and what’s best for both of them at the time, even when it hurts. Luna is officially my favourite ASH heroine; she loves hard and will do anything for her family.
Luna and Knight’s relationship was so different to any I’ve ever read. I adored how they had to overcome so much within themselves and each other but a lot of the drama was from miscommunication and misunderstandings. Usually, this frustrates me but given their age and the situations, it felt so realistic to me. I didn’t like how Knight reacted to Luna giving her virginity to someone else, because she had no indication, he was waiting for her. Giving her the impression of being a manwhore, parading women around in front of her and then expecting her to be their waiting for you, no that’s not on. I also wasn’t overly impressed with his use of Poppy. Yes, he was honest with her from the start and as nice as Luna kept saying she was, I couldn’t understand why she kept pushing their relationship. He’s clearly not into you, he’s very obviously in love with someone else, why are you wasting your time with him? In some ways, I think it was another way for Knight to try and be ‘normal’ and push Luna into admitting her feelings.
Now onto the big point which I wanted to discuss. I decided to do this on my blog because like I said at the start, if you haven’t read this book and don’t want to ruin anything for you so skip to the next paragraph now! Let me start by saying, Ruckus was my favourite Sinners of Saints book. I adored Rosie and Dean, their story was incredible, and I was so excited to read Knight’s story. Having a friend who suffers from Cystic Fibrosis, I know the realities of this disease and how ugly the truth can be. As much as I wanted Rosie to be magically cured, it’s just not realistic or believable. I in no way wanted her to die and I hate the fact that she did, it broke my heart and I sobbed. I was so grateful to have that part from her POV, it made it so much more special. Dean, oh wow, I wanted to dive into the pages and give him a hug. In this story, Leigh wrote the truth and that’s what was needed. There’s an argument that books are meant to be fairy-tales where the characters defy the odds and survive but that’s not her style, she writes dark, tough and realistic plots which are difficult to read, she has written the reality of Cystic Fibrosis. It takes sufferers too young and too soon and I am so glad it spreads awareness of this.
One thing I did adore was the original HotHoles appearance and how they stood strongly united together when times were tough. They acted more in a way that I expected them to, and although Dean’s treatment of Knight was hard to read, I could understand completely that he was grieving Rosie and hurting hard. I wasn’t too keen on how things were left with Dixie. I was all for Knight having a relationship with his biological mother, but I didn’t like the idea of her inserting into the Rosie shaped hole in their lives, even if it was Rosie’s idea. Dean didn’t need to be pushed into moving on, if he wanted to, he could and at his own pace. I am intrigued to see how they are mentioned in Angry God.
The ending and epilogue were super cheesy, but I actually loved it, I think some light-hearted romance was needed after the heavy few chapters and to watch Luna and Knight finally get the HEA they deserved helped my broken heart heal. There are no words to really describe how Broken Knight makes you feel, the plot is something which consumes you. I think it’s a book which you just have to read to fully understand how it makes you feel. I would highly recommend it, it’s not a fairy-tale, it’s a realistic story which deals with hard topics in a sensitive manner.
Angry God (All Saints High Series #3)
To begin with, when this book was first out, there was a lot of hype around it. I am so glad I waited for it to die down and come late to the game so that I could form my own opinion on it without seeing it everywhere. I also went in with low expectations and I think that worked out best for me because I was surprised how much I enjoyed it in the end.
Angry God was very similar to other books in this world, specifically Vaughn’s father Vicious’ book. The plot wasn’t super original, there was a lot of feelings which were masked as hate when really they were more and I unfortunately predicted most of the plot, but I enjoyed it. I wasn’t reading it for the shock factor and to get caught by surprise, I was reading it because I was intrigued by Vaughn and wanted to know his story. Angry God was a good read, I read it all in one go because I was hooked.
If you looked up damaged hero in the dictionary, Vaughn Spencer would be there right next to his father Vicious. He had a dark secret which had controlled his whole life and for years he swore planned his revenge. What he didn’t consider was Lenora Astalis, the girl who would make him feel again, even if that feeling was hate. He was a bully and horrible to her, but it wasn’t too shocking, because I had kind of expected it. He put out this tough fighting bravado, but the way he felt after he’d been horrible to Lenora and the way he tried to make up for it made him more human. The trauma he had been through explains his behaviour, not enough to forgive it but enough to understand it. He was so set on getting his revenge, a plan which was very clever if I do say so myself, that he was almost blindsided by his feelings for Lenora.
Lenora was such a bada$$, I really liked her character. She was so strong, she didn’t care about what anyone thought of her, she stuck to her guns but also gave Vaughn a run for his money, he really met his match with her. My heart broke for why she kept her guard up around everyone and her rebellious actions to get Vaughn back were different but effective. She had her own struggles with loss and her family, and she made it clear she would be there for Vaughn on her own terms. She accepted him for who he was and her support for after he told his story proved how they were meant to be.
The hate they felt for one another I didn’t really feel was justified, I know Vaughn believed she knew his secret, but I think that maybe his hate for what happened to him and for his abuser was pushed on to Lenora as she was there and an easy outlet. I couldn’t really understand why Lenora hated Vaughn so much other than jealousy of her father’s attention. When Vaughn told her he had to feel something for her and that thing was hate – my heart broke, I just wanted to give him a hug and help him heal. Their relationship did do a complete flip quite quickly and although I knew that under their lust and hate was more, it felt quite sudden. Their relationship was crazy and messed up, they were as mad as each other but that’s what made them so right together, they complemented each other perfectly.
The plot itself was intriguing, as although I had predicted what had happened to Vaughn from the very first chapters, I was so interested to see how his plan unfolded and I think that was one of the main reasons I finished. There were some plot lines which once again I thought were unneeded as they didn’t contribute anything to the story but I liked how they all came together at the end. The one I had the biggest problem with was the one with Arabella and Lenora’s dad – why was that even a thing? I guess Leigh wanted Lenora to be all alone, but I mean come on, that was a weird plot line which I didn’t think provided anything to the overall story, other than a distraction.
My heart broke when Vicious arrived, to see him be so vulnerable was so sad. I am so glad that this book in no way ruined my image of Emilia and Vicious in my head, as other books in the series have done for some of the original characters. I was worried that if Vaughn was as messed up as he was that his parents might have had something to do with it or just not been present enough to see it happening, and that is by no means the case at all.
Overall, I really enjoyed Angry God. It didn’t blow me away like Broken Knight and I wasn’t left frustrated like I was at the end of Pretty Reckless where I needed to process my thoughts. It just made sense and flowed well, giving everyone the story of Vaughn Spencer that they so desperately wanted. The ending, although cheesy like the other two, was a welcome reprieve from the heavy topics surrounding this book. A very intense but enjoyable read.
Overall Comments
Overall, I will say that I didn’t enjoy this series as much as the original Sinners of Saint series. I loved reading the Totholes stories and seeing the Four HotHoles as fathers but a lot of the drama in this series felt overdone and repetitive. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy it and it didn’t take away from my reading experience, it just felt like I had read it before in the original series. The characters themselves did pull me in and keep me hooked to see their stories play out and get their HEA, even if at times I had predicted the outcome.
Once again though, Leigh’s writing was a highlight and did bring out so many strong emotions. Broken Knight’s story will ALWAYS have a special place in my heart and although I’m not sure I can take a re-read so soon after finishing, I think that would be the book out of this series I would recommend the most. Knight and Luna were definitely my favourite Tothole couple.
Links to buy Sinners of Saint Series
All can be read as interconnected standalones but for the best reading experience read in the following order:
Pretty Reckless (All Saints High #1)
Broken Knight (All Saints High #2)
Angry God (All Saints High #3)
RosieLovesReading 