The Angels: A Dark High School Bully Romance: Raven River Academy, Book 1

SYNOPSIS: Born and raised in Raven River, Ember is public enemy number 1 when her parents manage to steal over 25 million dollars from the town and leave without a trace. Ember and her brother are reluctantly taken in by their wealthy aunt and uncle, and immediately shipped off to the prestigious Raven River Academy. The whole town believes that Ember knows where her parents are hiding and where the money is, resulting in the students of Raven River openly shunning and belittling Ember at ever turn. Life only gets worse when Ember catches the attention of four “Horsemen:” Royal, Cassius, Clay, and Hiro. They too believe Ember knows where the money is, and they have an entire gang backing them until they get what they believe they deserve.THOUGHTS: This story is confusing af at first. There are two rival groups:The Raveners: the rich kids. Julian, Leo, and Nolan, and company including their girlfriends and a bunch of tertiary characters. They were introduced first, so I seriously thought it was supposed to be about the, especially the way Julian acted, and I actually had to read the book detail again to be sure. Spoiled and entitled, they target Ember because they all believe she knows where her parents disappeared to and they want their (their parents) money back. They bully Ember, jumping her in the locker room, down talking her, etc.The Angels: part of the Horsemen gang. Royal, Cassius, Clay, and Hiro. They also believe that Ember knows where the money is. The entire school is scared of these 4, literally scared to even look or speak in their direction, including the teachers. They give Ember a deadline: have a certain amount of money within the next couple of weeks, or reap the consequences.Ember’s character is seriously undecided. She goes back and forth between threatening everyone, saying she’ll end anyone who hurts her brother. And then the next second, seeming unassuming and non-violent. She can’t get over the guys are in gang, and do illegal things even within the school, especially because her and Royal have history (a one night stand where she lost her virginity... ???). But can seemingly forgive them for the HORRIBLE defacement of her property and self.Ember can’t come up with the money, but by that point Cas and Clay have already fallen for her, and her past with Royal comes into play, so they come up with alternate options for her.What bugged me most was everyone seems to believe that Ember knows where the money is, but not her brother Eli. Eli is “just a kid.” Um, he’s 14. Everyone acts like he’s 4. Give him some sheesh.I will continue the series, just because I like the idea of the plot rather than the execution. Plus, cliffhanger 🤷‍♀️CHARACTERS:Ember: ⭐️⭐️Royal: ⭐️⭐️Cassius: ⭐️⭐️⭐️Clay: ⭐️⭐️Hiro: ⭐️

The Angels is the first installment in the Raven River Academy series, a dark high school bully romance by Ruby Vincent.While I’m disgusting by the shocking amount of ignorance all of these ‘smart’ children and their parents possess, given their misguided treatment of Ember for her parents crimes. The writing and prose definitely shaped a beautiful story of woe, intrigue, and confusing angsty teenage emotions.Ember Bancroft is barely an adult and already facing such tumultuous circumstances with a staggering amount of maturity. I imagine this can be attributed to her little confession at the end of this book.The boys:Royal Cruz is the boy who saved her. Talked her off of a ledge and treasured her through her first time, only to disappear in the morning. Bumping into him at her new Academy comes as a shock, only outclassed by discovering his gang affiliations. But everything that should scare her away from him doesn’t stop her from remembering her savior, and fantasizing about a second chance.Clay and Cassius Walker are two mischievous twins. Blonde adonis’ adorned in tattoos and mystery. Cas implores the broken girl inside her to acknowledge their common ground. Clay has yet to really come out of his shell but you can sense the building tension between them.Hiro Saito is the most reclusive, most hidden of their group. Always quick with a sneer, always dismissive. But it’s more difficult to not imagine them together in the future, than that they won’t overcome their current differences.I just adore the relationship Eli and Ember have. It’s made more special by their speaking only in sign language. It’s almost as if they live in their own happy bubble when they’re talking to one another. They share a beautiful bond, and I only hope nothing will destroy it.A lot of the plot is still a mystery. And that cliffhanger definitely adds to it. Along with the two massive truths dropped in the final chapter. Where are her parents? Are they really evil criminal masterminds? Did they truly care nothing of leaving their children behind? Who is the culprit behind Eli’s attack and the cryptic locker threats? Can Ember truly trust these four new men in her life? Or will they only further bury her?

Different than many HS Bully /RH I've read recently. Worth a read if you are into this genre.I'll try not to spoil anything.Really Liked* She is NOT obsessed with the guys shes interested in... she thinks they are hot and has a connection with Royal, but the world doesn't stop spinning* There are 2 sets of guys, so your not sure which at first she will fall with, but it could change in future books... maybe?* Awesome cliffhanger that if you didnt like the book you could stop with this book* Hope they do something with the trust fund clause, but maybe I still have HAVOC in my head.* Her truth is awesome and how it comes out just makes the scene that much more powerfulDid Not Like* She goes by so many names, I can't tell you what her actual first name is* EVERYONE holding her responsible for her parents' actions AND No on believing she didn't know where her parents where or the money was . It got old in the first 3 chapters, but dragged on for the entire book. And people expecting her to come up with $25mm!?!?!?!?* Twins are too similar, that I could not keep them apart, but I feel like they were supposed to be different enough. Hope this gets fixed in next book.

They cliffhanger through me for a loop, was not expecting that at all. I am sooo glad this series is already completed so I am going to run into book 2 and find out what happens next! I highly recommend this book! There is bullying but it is not super terrible. I have read a lot worse bullying scenarios than what is in this book. The plot itself is unique and is making me question what I thought I knew about parental unconditional love. Very good story line and I love Ember's personality. I hope we figure out the answers to what everyone wants know soon.

The Angels (Raven River Academy 1)Ruby VincentWasn’t sure what to expect with this story, Ember and her brother Eli are taken in by the less than welcoming aunt and uncle when their parents abandon them and head off into the sunset without their children but taking a good sum of stolen money with them.Ember and Eli are enrolled in Raven River Academy by their new guardians so that they don’t have to deal with them (boarding school) but this leaves Ember fighting for survival as she tries to ensure not just her own, but also her brothers safety at the Academy.The Angels are circling Ember as they think she knows where her parents are and what they have done with their ill-gotten cash.Not just the Angels but also most of the kids at the academy seem to have lost something to their parents.Bribes, illegal transactions and car heists are all par for the course in this book and I did enjoy it.4⭐️

it was enjoyable, became better the more i read the book and more readable as time went on (as in it flowed better). Slightly diff from other books in the bully genre. Good storyline, ends in a startling cliff hanger (cliff hangers are something that I cant stand) however in this case it didnt distract from the book. I liked that more information was revealed as time went on but it didnt feel as though that information was missing leading up to finding things out.Will def buy the next book.

I kind of enjoyed this book, the only thing is the relationships all feel kind of flat.The sex scenes are rushed and basic and the chemistry isn't really there.The 'twist' at the end wasn't really that interesting or groundbreaking really and Rio is a weird character.I'll read the next one out of interest, as its free on KU.

What happens next? That will be your question come the end...I honestly think this is a very well written book. It's not predictable in a lot of ways. There are so many twists and turns into the story. For instance who is blackmailing Em? Why the locker? Who is selling the drugs. How do they get on and off campus so easily at night when they need to get a pass 5 days in advance. Such a good cliff hanger. I honestly did not expect what the hidden message was!Worth the read!

Ruby Vincent you are the freaking queen of perfectly executing jaw dropping twists!I dove straight into this book after flicking through my kindle recommendations in a major book slump and didn’t really give too much attention at first glance as I was just grasping for any book to make me feel involved again. Boy, am I glad I read it!At first the story definitely had something there to keep me turning the page and not give up on it but I was concerned that the heroine was going to be soft and a bit of a pushover with the way the story started out with her aunt & uncle at the beginning. I soon sharp found out that this was in fact not the case and she definitely came across as kick ass the further the book progressed! I loved Em from the beginning with her fierce need to protect and love her brother, such a strong character all round even after everything she had been put through. I love the boys too and their sexy bad boy appeal and alpha traits. Royal has this mysterious closed off side about him that makes you want to pursue and peal it all back. Cassius & Clay with their sex appeal and the fact that they can relate to the heroine as the book goes on (fiercely protective) & they certainly redeem themselves. Although I haven’t quite worked out my feelings on Hiro yet, I am not quite sure there’s been a lot in the book for me to personally connect to his character... we will see if that changes with the next book!Anyways... that freaking ending! I haven’t read a book that’s had me so involved that it literally made my jaw drop and heart race in a real good while. It was so well put together and I just never expected it coming... rendered me speechless! As I said in the beginning I dove into this book without giving it much glance so when I got to the end and saw that the author was Ruby Vincent, well I certainly was not shocked. Evergreen Academy had this exact same affect on me. Incredible author, yet another insanely great book, now for book 2 !