We have a trio of heroines that center this story- and a barrage of all things new adult that makes for all the good drama. Young love, school life, bullying, elite world responsibilities, and lots and lots of secrets. While this certainly is a bully romance with a ample amount of mystery and suspense, it also still has that Devney/Will flair- amazing characters, meaningful connections, a well constructed and steadily meted plot, and butterfly moments, too. Ivy, Cassia, and Elora are all intriguing leading women, each with their own secrets and agendas. Different parts of their stories and character arcs resonated with me in different ways, but what I love most of all is how distinctly they drive this story. We have plenty of romance and some yummy leading men- but the girls are the queen bees.

Elora is the ice princess. All her life she was taught to not cry and to hide her emotions. Her silence doesn't help when she falls in love and keeps a secret: Elora is in a secret relationship with Zain Clarence (Ivy's oldest brother). And gosh, the way I felt so sad and bad for Zain. He truly loved her and accepted being kept a secret to be with her. He always ended up hurt and both were left bleeding but couldn't stop seeing each other. Their relationship was a full circle of pain. She/he would end it but their bond was so strong they could not not be together again or see each other which led to more heartbreaking. There's nothing really great about it though. It seems to attempt in it's moral to promote acceptance of difference. That's a fine moral.It does a brilliant job at making the characters very real and human who are just doing their best to survive and navigate complicated relationships . This was such a treat! It’s angsty and twisty and follows three heroines/roommates who live at Clarence Manor.

I would love to see this author write some more stories like this one! It wasn’t “dark,” but it has some definite edge!! But it also highlights that no matter how much you try to put on a facade there will always be people who will see right through you and will tear down your walls and accept you for who you are. And by “it,” I mean the secrets, the lies, suspense, twists, turns, betrayal, sex, love…what a wild ride!When troublesome Scarlet mysteriously disappears from Rookwood School, terrifying Miss Fox invites her quiet twin sister Ivy to ‘take her place’. Cassia Collins is the latest victim who seems to have wandered in this poisonous den to be devoured by Ivy. its a big fat book. Three stories about three couples enmeshed in one, because these characters are crazy about each other, make each other crazy and end up falling crazily in love. Ivy Clarence is wound around the Mansion, looking beautiful from afar but it hides venomous snakes of lies, betrayals and an obsession with control.