Review: Plier by Jane Washington

Plier by Jane Washington

Series: Ironside Academy #1

Publication date: July 11th, 2023

Pages: 470
Spice: 🌶️

Synopsis:

Ironside is more than a regular academy. It's also the biggest reality TV show in the world... and a very elaborate, very luxurious prison.

Their hallowed halls are ruled by the Betas, Omegas, and Deltas--but this year, the officials are stirring things up.

Isobel Carter--the only rare Sigma to be accepted--is the first sign. But there are others. Many others. A sudden influx of powerful Alphas will turn academy life, and Isobel's life, upside down.

She might be the lowest rung on the ladder, but in order to survive Ironside, where social media is king and consequences are deadly, she will need to make her mark.

She will need to climb.

This isn't a game for the faint of heart, and those who rise should be prepared for a beautiful, brutal fall.

Beware the pretty posers, because this social media game just got dangerous.

The Hunger Games collides with America's Got Talent, and you've just been invited to binge it all in high definition. But here's some viewer discretion before you continue:

This series has as many love interests as enemies, with all the focus on the main character. Expect a delicious slow burn where you'll never have to pick your favorite shade of morally gray.

Readers, meet your new guilty pleasure.

Now it's time to grab some popcorn and dive right in!

Available at:

Review:

Going into the book absolutely blind and purely off cover appeal was one of the best decisions I ever made in this book's case. I have no idea what it was about or even what genre it was. I downloaded it off Kindle Unlimited a month ago when my internet was down and I needed more reading material. It was just a random book on the romance page and I decided to throw it on my kindle so I had plenty to ready while I waited for my internet connection to be restored. Yesterday, with a random dice roll of luck, I started reading. I feel into a world of Alphas, Betas, Omegas, Deltas, and a lone Sigma who are trying to garner popularity points while navigating a televised school to try to win rewards and ultimately be crowned the winner of the games. Enter a lone Sigma who is the lowest rank within the school. Her room is not even a room but a custodial closet and the others above her find nothing more entertaining than belittling and tormenting her. That is except for an Alpha named Theodore. He pulls the little forgotten Sigma into his world and introduces her to the other 9 Alphas on campus. What unfolds is a story of mystery, slow burn romance, and a world that combines some of the best features of television and movies of today into a new and bright world. 

I loved Isobel as a character. She was submissive as she was meant to be as an abused Sigma of her domineering Alpha father but she had a backbone that she started to show more and more the more people pushed her. She was afraid of the other Alphas but was also stern when she needed to be. She stood up for herself on a few occasions which had me pumping my fist in pride for her. She does tend to get hurt and almost die a lot. But she's a survivor. I'll give her that. 

Of the 10 Alphas I have only really noticed a choice few. However, I kind of have a peaked interest in Oscar. He is the token bad boy who always makes women swoon but there is something more too him. I want to see what that is. I honestly want to see what lies under all the masks of the Alpha men who seem to know a bit too much about the overall production at Ironside. 

I ate this book up and dove for the second the minute I read the last sentence in the bonus scene. I don't hand out five-star ratings often but this one was just so unlike anything I had ever read before that I have to give it the props it deserves.