Even though I’m not a dancer I enjoyed the story and how dedicated heroine Pen is to living up to her goals.

While I wanted more of a dance school drama this is that plus a whole lot of gang activity as the future harem are part of it as is the heroines brother and sadly they’re all dragged in. I couldn't believe that they fell in love with one another without enough history as to how and why. Actually, I’m fairly sure I’m a born again virgin, and my hymen has grown back for all the lack of use. Let's all feel bad for Pen, who literally has no redeeming qualities whatsoever other than carrying for her little sister. If you love dance, your men on the criminal side, alpha hot holes and the friends-to-enemies-to-lovers trope, this is for you.Yes, the author provided flashbacks when they were together, year through year, from they first met to their last days. Characters are diverse and pretty deep and this Step up meets The God Father like story is exactly what I was hoping it would be. Freestyle is book one of this new gritty, contemporary reverse harem academy trilogy for 17+ readers and deals with adult themes and some subjects you may find upsetting. As I said the first book in the series Freestyle begins with the protagonist’s, Penelope or Pen, audition for a chance at a new life, at a dance school. There were times where I had to re-read a sentence a few times to understand how the body was moving.

They can't just own up to mistakes they make, or maybe admit not knowing the full in's and out's of the truth. I’m a glutton for punishment and will likely read on but I really think imma jump into some fluffy nonsense to tame this fire in me first 😅 Here’s to hoping Pen and the guys can find their ways out if this crazy masked party and the clutches of Jeb and her brother. It was a really interesting contrast; Pen’s reaction to seeing Xeno, York, Zayn and Dax again – she couldn’t decide if she loved them or hate them – and that made everything much more interesting. I just wanted her to be a baddie and not show them any emotions she obvs still has for them and be a cold motherfucker.We also only learn about characters that seem to be really important at the very end, even though Pen already knew that person. Pen and her men have a messy past and this is truly a love to hate to love romance and it was done so well.

If you are looking for a new and exciting series to start that is intriguing, different and spicy – then pick this one up for sure. This ends in a cliffhanger, but damn, that’s a pretty good one because I feel like that’s when the spice really starts! Not to mention, Bea so carefully sketches the emotional architecture of Pen to each guy- carefully constructed so that each relationship feels not only intimate and fully realized but also fundamental to the bones of these characters, and fundamental to the crew.However, this is still a 4 star read because of the men and the world building - and I can't wait for the 2nd book in the series!

It wasn't done terribly here but I still didn't love it and I feel like it pushes authors to use very heavy foreshadowing and we definitely got that here. I think each chapter being past and present played into that for me as it took awhile to see their connections.What she didn’t expect to see was the boys – the men that changed her life, but also tore it to shreds.