.png)
Series: Untouchable #1
Publication date: November 4th, 2019
Pages: 426
Spice Rating: 🔥🔥
Synopsis:
When it comes down to acclaim in the yearbook, my class rank would probably earn me my only entry, but probably very little else. I don't wear cosmetics, do my hair or really give a damn about my appearance in general. I don't need to be cool, and I've managed my high school career navigating all the different groups from the nerds to the jocks to the theatre kids and the band geeks.
Kicking off senior year, my only focus is to make every AP class count and keep my grades up. Shouldn't be hard, particularly with my so-called untouchable status. Oh yeah, imagine that--I had a reputation. Hadn't been a blip on my radar until the end of junior year when one of the girls' dropped that little nugget on me. Apparently, the guys at school considered me the best girl to hang out with for fun or homework, but nothing else.
While I'm not looking for a date, it's a little hard to swallow that I ranked as the best bud and tutor, but would definitely never fall in the Girl Most Likely To Get Asked Out.
Pfft. What did I care? One more year and I was off to college, so what if the numbers of female friends I used to have drifted off and I'd scored a permanent seat in the friend zone. I had subjects to study, grades to maintain, and colleges to get into. Fine, I didn't care about the rules or status before, and I wouldn't now.
181 class days to go, and I'll graduate. No problem, right?
*Please note this is a reverse harem and the author suggests you always read the forward in her books. This is the first in a series and the story will continue through future books.
Available at:
Review:
Frankie is a delightfully unique character. Don't get me wrong, the mousy, nerd girl who catches the attention of all the most popular boys? That has been done but there is so much more to Frankie that I relate to. She is neglected by her mother and is forced to go it alone but instead of taking advantage of all the alone time to get into trouble she spends it studying and spending time with her platonic group of predominantly male friends. She is an overachiever but also has emotional damage that makes it so her wants and feelings are never taken into account of. She suffers a betrayal and instead of confronting the perpetrator she isolates herself until she can swallow all the emotions she felt. She never allowed herself to want for anything other than a way out of the life she was living. So she buckled down, stuck her nose in her books, and left the dating and relationship stuff to her best friends. However, she always thought that the reason nobody asked her out on dates was because they just didn't find her at all interesting. Come to find out, she had been marked as an untouchable by her friends so that any guys who wanted to ask her out her deterred. This gave Frankie the first taste of anger at those she felt closest to until she snapped and finally let loose her emotions. It was met with shock until the smoke cleared and her best friends saw being with her as an actual option. Now she is dating all four of them: Jake, Archie, Coop, and Bubba/Ian. As with any relationship there are pitfalls, secrets to be discovered, trust to be earned, and firsts to explore. In Frankie's case she has all that... times four.
I liked that each of the male characters had their own set role in Frankie's life and the vastly different personalities.
Jake: He is the protector. He is the first in a fist fight and the first that would jump in front of a bullet for Frankie. He is very possessive and only relinquishes that possession where it pertains to the other friends. He is the strength Frankie lacks.
Archie: He is the man with no filter. He says what he means and doesn't mince words. His words can be scathing and he will do what he thinks is best for Frankie whether she agrees or not. He is the person who speaks up for Frankie when she can't do it herself.
Coop: Is the calm golden retriever best friend. He has known Frankie the longest and is the one who can mellow her out when her life feels crazy. He will always make things easier for Frankie however he thinks he can.
Bubba/Ian: He is the most selfless of all the guys. He will do anything for Frankie. I think even though they all love her to a degree, Bubba/Ian has a very selfless love. He shows her the beauty in herself and around her. He give her the passion to do anything and everything she could ever desire doing.
I thoroughly enjoyed this first installment of the series, especially the text message back and forths between the boys while they tried to make the five way relationship work best for them and Frankie without stressing her out by involving her. The lengths they would all go for Frankie is phenomenal and made me love them even more (But Archie will always be my favorite).
Take it from someone who reads a lot of reverse harem. This is a very unique take. It's more realistic in them having to negotiate dates so everyone is accommodated, argue boundaries, discuss jealousy and feelings so that it works for them. Most reverse harems simply just exist with no discussions or pitfalls in the heroine dating more than one guy at a time.
Rules and Roses is a phenomenal first book in a series I have a feeling I am going to love.
