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From the Ashes #2

Pretty Little Psycho

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Growing up in a big family means things slip through the cracks.
My parents have never made me feel unwanted or unloved, but we aren’t always honest.
After all, they run the most notorious street crews in Ashburn Valley.

When their enemies took my brother’s life, everything changed.
We all coped differently, and no one would understand my need for taunting death.
They can’t find out I’ve been racing illegally on the streets instead of the track.

My mom and I are close, and she’s always supported my decisions.
It was no surprise to anyone when I came out as gay, and she said she’d always known.
I guess she can’t judge me since I have nine dads.

My best friend Luna Hendricks is the hottest girl I’ve ever laid eyes on.
Everyone says I’m breaking my own heart, but I can’t seem to let her go.
She doesn’t seem so straight when I finally get her under me and she begs for more.
No wonder her boyfriend hates me.

My name’s Riley Donovan, and I’m in love with my best friend.
Even I know good girls are bad girls that never got caught.


*This is an FF, college aged, friends to lovers, dark romance. This book can be read as a standalone, but for the best reading experience I suggest reading the series in order.

Kindle Edition

Published November 9, 2022

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About the author

R.E. Bond

28 books1,140 followers
R.E. Bond is a dark romance author from Tasmania, Australia. She is obsessed with reverse harem books, especially if they have m/m! She collects paperbacks as a hobby, has read or written every day since she started high school, and constantly needs music in her daily life. She loves camping and rodeos in the summer, and not getting out of bed in the winter. Coffee and books are life, and curse words are just sentence enhancers.

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5 stars
248 (49%)
4 stars
153 (30%)
3 stars
65 (12%)
2 stars
18 (3%)
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20 (3%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 130 reviews
Profile Image for Kursed Reads.
633 reviews5,425 followers
November 9, 2022
Riley Donovan, the sassy street racing siren has loved her best friend, Luna Hendricks, for as long as she can remember.

As Luna’s relationship with the domineering loser, Stanley, falls apart, she begins to appreciate the unwavering devotion and affection Riley has shown her. But when chaos erupts, their fledgling romance is tested.

I grew to like Riley more as their story evolved. I never really got over wanting to thröat punch Luna though.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
Burn: 🔥🔥🔥
Darkness: 🖤
Heat: 🌶️🌶️
Range of Emotions: 😩🥺🥵😫😍
Ending: 💗 {HEA}
POV: 👩🏼‍🤝‍👩🏻 {Dual}

🗂 Genre: Contemporary Romance

✨ Tropes: 🏳️‍🌈, Friends-to-Lovers, Mafia/Bratva/Crime Family, Touch-Her-and-💀

💋 Kinks: n/a

⚠️ Warning: The angst in this medium-burn will edge you to the point of combustion!

🚩 Safety Squad: Homophobia, Mild VïoIencė, Off-Page UnaIïving, AssaüIt (Not by h)

📣 Type: Pretty Little Psycho is part of the From the Ashes series, but can be read as a standalone. However, these books will be best enjoyed when read in order.

🛑 Be Advised: My Goodreads shelves are … explicit in both senses. As such, they could be considered spoiler-y.
Profile Image for Sky. .
350 reviews
May 8, 2023
Dnf 46%
I tried to finish it really i did but I just can’t
I always wanted to read a book where the Mc is a playgirl (is that what they call it?) but this is sooo disappointing!!!

The Author wrote Rilay like a man and not in a good way (is there a good way anyway?) whatever

And Luna? What do you want honey! Seriously what do you want! One minute she want Rilay, the second she doesn’t?
She has an abusive boyfriend (who he and his friends raped her) but she kept making excuses for him! And kept going back to him, why girl! Don’t you have some self respect??????
Also she knows Rilay is in love with her yet she asked her to fucked her to experiment or whatever?
I may not have liked Rilay very much but that’s low

Do i have to say more? No I think not, i am tired of this 😭.
Profile Image for Kates.
72 reviews22 followers
November 17, 2022
3.5

slowly but surely I became INVESTED in this couple oh my

I read this as a standalone, with no knowledge of the previous book nor the previous series. This made it quite laborious to keep up with all the characters and plot lines, not to mention their significance. Whilst understandable, there was a heavy emphasis on these elements that distract a lot from the main romance of the book. Given this is already a long read, my attention was lost, but to someone who knows all these characters intimately, this may be more immersive. Not for me though.

This made the beginning rough, and in this gritty, dark world, building sympathy for the main characters was slow BUT when I got attached. I got ATTACHED. Riley, who is obsessively in love with her best friend, and Luna, who gradually sees Riley in the same manner, come together in a blooming relationship. I loved their care and safeguarding of each other, it was so cute!

Their first kiss! Their hurt/comfort scenes! Their complete devotion to each other! I liked.

Every other element, aside from the romance, was lacklustre. I didn't care for the other characters or the plot. Though an exception is made for Cruz, he's a little cutie. The writing flowed and the world is immersive, but I don't think it's for me. Neither would I recommend reading this as a standalone.

tropes
- player girl x innocent girl
- secret pining
- best friends to lovers
- touch her and I'll kill you vibes
- illegal street racing
Profile Image for freyleyce.
435 reviews248 followers
December 7, 2022
i have some thoughts..
the good:
-enjoyed the angst of friends to lovers
-it’s a wlw book that’s dark so i’m thankful

the bad:
-the length. why tf does this need to be almost 500 pages! i did not care. there is so much side character shit i was so bored. maybe if you read any previous books/love the characters it would be fine though
-the stereotypical feel of one of the heroines cause if it wasn’t mentioned that she was a woman i would literally have thought she was a guy. it felt exactly like a MF romance with FF smut
-the smut and dialogue pissed me off, especially "if lesbians don't like guys, why do some still like dildos?" because not only does that make for mediocre smut, it’s a common misconception that’s getting old
-the smut being boring and pretty non existent compared to the plot
-the “i’m with him so i can’t be with you”
-WHY WERE THERE SO MANY GODDAMN CHARACTERS! utterly pointless and confusing
so yeah, did i enjoy it? not really. i liked the first bit though
3.5/5⭐️
3/5🔥
Profile Image for cloudy.
443 reviews61 followers
November 18, 2022
this was disappointing. i can't fault the book for the fact i didn't read the previous one nor the first generation series so i couldn't connect with the multitude of characters and different dynamics. even though the author should be able to make the readers care for, at least, the female main characters.
nevertheless, i had a few issues with this. first of all, there were no trigger warnings and the story didn't lack darkness and heavy subjects, even if some were only mentioned in passing.
second of all, this was a love triangle with cheating and that wasn't how the book was marketed or advertised.
but most of all, the way sexuality was dealt with felt ignorant and downright disrespectful to me as a lesbian. not everyone will be offended with some of the terms used (e.g.,"pillow princess"), but personally i was, there was no shortage of stereotypes portrayed and reinforced such as that one. there was one particular line of dialogue that made me as sad as it made me mad "if lesbians don't like guys, why do some still like dildos?", which got a gendered answered, ending with the fact that there are tentacle sex toys but people don't want to fuck octopus.
the fmcs were two opposite extremes, the straight girl that was only attracted to her best friend and the womanizing lesbian, so the internalized homophobia was never properly addressed, even though there were more queer characters in the book; it all boiled down to sex, which is diminishing and fetichizing, especially given that aside from the main couple they were all queer men. the female lead was wrote like a man making it feel like more of a mf romance, which takes away from the queer experience, diminishing her identity. she's still a lesbian, masc or not, fuckboy or not, and yet the author seemed to brush off the struggles of said sexuality/label by having her spend the entire time flirt with everyone. homophobia was only mentioned in regards to the girl who identified as straight for the whole book, having her deal with homophobic and fetichizing comments, when the other girls' inner monolgue stated that thst was something she had experienced her whole life, never to be talked through, as if only the baby "gay" (if she can even be called that) was affected by it.
Profile Image for Taz.
16 reviews1 follower
January 11, 2023
this was such an exciting book to read, there was non stop action which was paired with the perfect amount of slow burn sapphic romance.

riley’s character was such a delicious badass and fit perfectly with luna, a sweet damsel in distress so to speak. there were heaps of other enjoyable characters throughout the book as well, which at times was challenging to keep up with, but provided a perfect off set for the romance chapters. the author’s other books for this series centre around a handful of these characters.

the downfall of this book for me was the characters attitudes towards sex. everyone in this book is hyper sexual and it is established that almost everyone has a very active sex life, which is great, although i found it odd how parents and other family members had conversations around this. everyone seemed to be extremely comfortable with hearing each other fuck, which was sort of unbelievable. furthermore, some parts felt really out of character; ie, minimal reaction to stanley’s SA over ryder’s and luna’s somewhat underwhelming reaction to riley’s car crash.

this book was pretty devoid of any sort of visual imagery and relied mainly on the interaction between characters, which wasn’t a problem, just be prepared to have heaps of hot people pre-imagined in your brain.

overall, it was super enjoyable and the romance between riley and luna was paced perfectly. the action with gang affairs, thievery, street racing and ultra violence was also super entertaining and kept me hooked all the way. gonna miss these lesbians!

here’s my mycast for this book: https://www.mycast.io/stories/pretty-...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for MC Johnson.
Author 4 books25 followers
July 18, 2023
For me, this book didn't really pick up until the 30% mark. Overall, the story was alright. The spicy parts were very well done, but it was totally worth a full read-through.

I was interested in the world, but the plot took a while to pick up. But once it did, I enjoyed it.

Overall rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️1/4
Characters: 4/5
Prose: 3/5
Plot: 3/5
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Profile Image for Amanda.
65 reviews9 followers
January 13, 2023
This was one of the worst things I've ever read. I can not stress enough how god awful this was...like embarrassingly bad.
Profile Image for Murphy.
707 reviews
November 8, 2022
“Good girls will be bad for the right person”

Well, we definitely know Riley got it from her mama! The apple definitely didn't fall far from the tree. This was my first FF book and I think I am still processing.

I loved Riley's character so much! I thought she was a little bada$$ and was just all around an amazing character. Luna - I particular didn't care for. The push and pull and back and forth is consistent yet every step of the way, you can't help but root for their HEA!

This book was good! Like all of her books, I really enjoy the writing from RE Bond and the topics this author tackles in all of her books! I am looking forward to Ryders story and enjoyed this unique take on a new genre from her.

*Overall 3.5/5
*Heat? 2/5
*Multiple first person POV
*Med/Slow burn
*Ends in HEA

Profile Image for Felicia.
1,794 reviews91 followers
November 4, 2022
Pretty Little Psycho by R.E. Bond is a FF friends-to-lovers romance. This is the second book in the From The Ashes series.

I absolutely love Rachel's books! I loved the relationship between Riley and Luna. It was messy and a bit of a rollercoaster. But I couldn't help but root for them. I really enjoyed getting both of their points of view throughout the book. It really brought the story to life.

I can't wait for the next book in the series Prince of Pain to be announced so I can get Ryder and Tempest story.

I would recommend this book if you like FF romances, dark romances, friends-to-lovers romances, or romantic suspense.
Profile Image for Batwoman.
477 reviews3 followers
November 13, 2022
RE Bond is one of my absolute favorite authors and she never lets me down. Luna and Riley are a tornado of emotions. Even though Riley gets mad easily she usually has a right to be mad. Despite other characters saying shouldn’t be. Luna made me mad quite a few times with her cowardliness. But I loved reading them work through all their issues. I loved seeing the street racing crew more. I very highly recommend this book if you like FF with street racing mixed in.
Profile Image for Rebecca Norvitz Norvitz .
637 reviews20 followers
November 28, 2022
Riley and Luna

This is Riley and Luna’s story. Riley and Luna have been best friends forever but Riley always wanted more. Luna didn’t feel the same way until she did. This is a FF dark romance that follows the next generation from RE Bond’s Watch Me Burn series. This book does not end on a cliffhanger and could technically be read as a standalone but I highly suggest reading The Watch Me Burn series and book 1 of this series to get the full enjoyment.
Profile Image for Anjil.
228 reviews
April 9, 2023
Dnf @ 8%

Riley gives me such an ick bro. Like can she not go a second without thinking of pussy??😭😭

Anyway, lowkey thought that this was gonna be a good book, but Riley is so infuriating, I can not actually even deal with it anymore.
Profile Image for XxnightxowlxX74.
951 reviews8 followers
November 23, 2022
Oh Riley…

Riley Donovan has been in love with her straight good girl best friend Luna for years but she’s got a boyfriend. Riley is just biding her time with one night stands, street racing, drinking and pummeling people with her baseball bat.
She doesn’t take crap from anyone even her crazy wild family.
If you haven’t read the first generation series Watch Me Burn I highly recommend it. That series brought this author to me and I have loved everything she’s put out.
I’m loving the second generation and getting glimpses of Riley’s mom Rory and her sexy bunch of men! These stories have a wonderful crew of characters that flow in and out bringing a little edge to what’s going on.
This is the first strictly FF book I have read. I liked that there was meat to this story along with the steamy sexy bits between Riley and Luna.
When Luna starts seeing Riley in a different light she’s timid and nervous because she’s straight but she loves Riley. She’s confused but wants to see where they go but Riley is keeping secrets from her and even her own family that could get her killed. There’s lots of push and pull between Riley and Luna, Riley’s family and the new friends Riley has picked up along the way.
This took me for a ride, it had me turning the pages to see what was going to happen next.

There are some triggers in this that some may find disturbing so read those before jumping in.
Profile Image for M Mendes Bookstagram.
685 reviews46 followers
November 9, 2022
O.M.G…I loved reading all about Riley and Luna. Riley has this bigger than life presence and attitude. Luna is almost her opposite but they make it work and they have always been best friends. I really hope to see more of the second generation. I believe I speak for all readers that we are going to want to read all about Ryder, Angel, Landon, Tempest (not sure if Ryder and Tempest would work but then Archer and Lexie had a toxic relationship too and worked it out), and maybe a follow up on Beckett, Jett, and Maddox as it seems not everything is all sunshine and roses. Maybe even a story about Marla. I would want to know if she does leave and does find her way back to the family. Maybe even a spin off with Logan, Zavier, Reid, and Raven. That will definitely be a story I would want. If there is only going to be one more story in From The Ashes series then I definitely want to know if Ryder makes a full recovery so he can find his HEA or as much of one as he can with the crazy that happens in the crazy family that Rory and all of her guys created. I highly recommend Pretty Little Psychos, From The Ashes series, Watch Me Burn series (I recommend readers read Watch Me Burn before the From The Ashes series, and R.E. Bond as an author. I have never been disappointed in any of her books. Love all of her dark romance books the most. Happy Reading!!
November 19, 2022
I have been waiting on Riley's story ever since she and Luna were mentioned in her brother's story King of Carnage. I've not read to many FF stories, but I know this arthur and her talents in bringing a story to life. It was the best decision ever.

You know what’s the bad thing about being in love with your straight best friend is? That you get to watch her relationship slowly go down the drain, because your happy it's over, but then, you're also sad that the one you love is hurting.

Riley is angry at herself for being in love with her best friend, and loses herself in one night stands and alcohol, continuously hurting Luna,
as she's starting to feel the rift widening with Luna, but then it could also be those lies she keeps telling for her illegal activity chasing that adrenaline high she needs hmm.

Luna is in a relationship with Stanley who treats her like crap and she finds solace in her best friends arms, but she starts to see the little things in Riley & what lengths Riley will go for her, and see that even if they are two completely opposite people, that they are perfect for each other in every way. Definitely would recommend.
Profile Image for TrinityORC  (Evelyn).
9 reviews1 follower
August 26, 2023
Pretty Little Psycho is one of my All time Favorites.

Riley and Luna's relationship is one of the best written ones I've read. They've been through up and downs but at the end they were ment to be. Luna is a character that shows about finding themselves and learning about your needs/desires but also true affection and how to give balance and love to your partner in equal ways. Riley herself I just love so incredibly much the fact how strongly build in multiple ways she is also towards others and her love for Luna how she learns to express it and receiving it in return, makes this books so incredible.


Luna is an incredible character honestly and in not a single situation did I thought of her as annoying or something like that. Her situation reminded me a bit of Jades story ( surely I can't compare it and won't because Jades been through so much and it's on a different level of trauma) but the relationship she had with Stanley gave me a few vibes of Jades book.
At first Luna never really gotten to explore what she wants in the bedroom and well her kinks because she wasn't able to communicate with Stanley about that, Stan is well and fully an as*hole and the insecuretis she got were so reasonable, like the fact that people compared her to her older sister or themselves ( like Penny) body wise made her insecure about her body even though she is perfect and thinking she never be enough for somebody because of the way she got treated. And also that Stan was so manipulative and treating Luna just for his needs showed so much why she acted the way she did. The fact that she wasn't able at first to leave Stanley knowing the relationship made her miserable didn't made her weak in my eyes it showed that she was afraid of leaving, being alone and ending with nothing, thinking she isn't enough for anyone even though for the right person she is because they basically would just want Luna as a person and also letting go of something she tried to make work even though, knowing it couldn't because reasons like Stan cheating... and also knowing she craved something with/from Riley but also not knowing if it would last and if she would gain more out of it or losing her best friend and what she had with Riley completely if it wouldn't have worked out. But through time Luna was able to voice what she wants,needs but also can give as a person and where her limit's are. Also the forgiveness and understanding Luna showed in certain situations was heart melting.And the tension and heat in the s*x scene's between Riley and Luna were freaking incredible.

And what I also loved about Luna is that through the book she shows and learns more about herself and her sexuality. Like she isn't a Lesbian as she also said in general,when she eyed half naked women in Wet Dreams she didn't feel the need or want to have something sexually with them. She also isn't fully straight not being completely comfortable with guys and also because ( well Riley is her Girlfriend an not a guy). So neither does she really fit in the bisexual or straight category in my opinion and that I loved that she is with someone together regardless of the gender and the fact that in her relationship with Riley she got equality, she is with Riley mostly of her personality, the connection she doesn't have with anybody else besides with her and the fact that Riley is her safe place just as much as Luna is Riley's safe place in their world. So yeah I loved that we fully got to see Luna finding herself and what she actually wants and craves with her lover (Riley).

Riley is so incredible and she isn't just a girl with anger issues and craving pus*y all time, No. She is the person who kinda built a safe place for her friends and that is within echother mostly. Through the book we see the loners and the others without a connection for each other first but Riley is mainley the reason why her friends slowly were able to build connections with one another and being able to spend their time with people who share same hobbies, having more opportunities and also just enjoying each other's company. Through the whole book she helps her friends in need and never thinks less of them because she could with lots of money and bragging, No! She basically shows them a safe place and that is within her and in her whole friends/family group.

Within the story Riley also finally gets to experience love and making love with somebody she loves. And not just fu*cking with no fully connection behind it. Also having intimacy with someone she communicates with on a deeper level and going after her wants/needs but also being able to giving her partner the possibility to communicate about what they actually like and want. She is able to make her partner feel equal and not less ( and not many people can actually do that in my opinion). The feeling of protection, acceptance Riley showed towards others is something I adore so much.

It was also well written about Riley's anger issues, especially at the beginning because you can see how much the want for Luna is ( not just for her pus*y) she wants all of her. But also the hurt/frustration seeing her loving someone else at first. And Riley slowly thought she could never have Luna and trys to let her go but trying to letting something go you so badly want, hurts sometimes more than bumping your big toe on a damn chair.

Riley's adrenaline rush and the love she basically had for Street racing was so well explained and also how she basically grew out of the Street racing but not racing itself, knowing why she had to. Not just because of the danger. The fact how Riley handled her demons, with the fear but also not really the fear of death but not wanting to actually die was just insanely good written.

And I also loved the fact that Riley's friends didn't just feel like side characters for me, they made the story complete. Like the friendship with Ander, she gave Ander so much just as he did for her, like having her back and respecting echother as people, regardless of what other had to say about they friendship. They both basically made their own pictures of eachother and building a stronger friendship like that.

Also the relationship between Riley and her siblings was well written, Riley and Beckett sure are hotheaded and not seeing eye to eye in certain situations. But the trust and family bond they have is just beautiful. I also loved that we got to know about the path Marla takes, and it honestly was so we'll explained that it was easy to kinda understand the reasons why she decides to take her complete, differently own path in live.

And one of the last things I insanely loved, is the interactions between Rory and Riley. Their mother and daughter bond is so special and Riley being able to read her mother differently than others was just beautiful.

Riley takes your heart, she is incredibly funny her sarcasm and humor freaking awesome and also seeing how strong she just is and so different from others but just being perfect in her own way in my eyes.
Luna the gentel soul but also strong women makes your heart melt. The self learning and confidence you get from her in the book is just insanely good.

So yeah the author created an incredible, perfect book that got my damn heart and is highly recommend to read. 💙 And sry if I wrote things that didn't make sense or my English hehe, English is not my first language but I'm trying.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
188 reviews7 followers
February 12, 2023
I really liked this book. It is the first book that I read in this series. And only the second book I have read from this author. This book could be read as a stand alone. I was able to read it that way. It does have alot of reference of side characters. That was a little overwhelming. But once you get into the story it is not that much of a problem. I really liked the main characters Riley and Luna. I loved that Riley was a badass that carried a baseball bat. A race car driver. All around super cool and in love with Luna her straight best friend.







CAUTION --- DO NOT READ BEYOND THIS POINT UNLESS YOU ARE WILLING TO SEE SPOILERS. I WRITE THIS PART OF MY REVIEW SO THAT I CAN REMEMBER DETAILS OF THIS BOOK. I READ SO MANY BOOKS AND I HAVE A TERRIBLE MEMORY.....



THE LIST
1. ABUSIVE EX (CURRENT BOYFRIEND) = Luna's current boyfriend who becomes her ex boyfriend is abusive mostly emotionally and sexually
2. BADASS-HERIONE - Riley carries a bat, fights, drives fast cars, races for the thrill of it, death doesn't really scare her
3. CHEATING = couple doesn't cheat on each other. But Luna cheats on boyfriend and if I remember correctly she stays with boyfriend and is just friends with benefits with Riley for a little bit.
4. DOMESTIC VIOLENCE - Luna shitty boyfriend abuses her. But Luna thinks she wants it. And than he just gets too aggressive
5. FIGHTER - If I remember correctly Riley fights and her sister fights. But maybe Riley doesn't fight
6. h IS RAPED - I don't think it is full force rape. I think that Luna's boyfriend takes liberties against her in the bedroom. But she doesn't leave at first.
7. h OUTRAGE - Luna is held against her will. Riley goes to get her brings her bat and her posse. And beats the hell out of the ex's car. The ex dies but not at Riley's hands
8. INSECURE h - I felt that Luna was insecure and she wanted her boyfriend to like her at all costs
9. KIDNAPPING - At the end the ex boyfriend hold a knife to Luna's throat. But he doesn't really take her anywhere so it isn't kidnapping
10. SAPPHIC - it is two females
11. SEXUAL ASSAULT - by the ex boyfriend
12. TRUTH OR DARE - the game was super steamy
13. TOASTER OVEN - Riley does get Luna to come over to the wlw side. The whole time Luna said that she was not into woman. It felt like a true gay for you romance.






SUMMARY TO THE BEST OF MY MEMORY WILL BE IN THE NOTES SO IT STAYS HIDDEN.....

Riley is a race car driver. She drives on the track but has picked up street racing. She is doing everything she can to keep that private. She is racing with some common friends and some not common friends. Slick is one of the goes she races with but he races dirty and she has to watch him extra close. A couple of the people she races with are common friends with her sister. And one person in particular no one likes. But she trusts him as much as she can
This whole part of the story was a little hard for me to follow. Because there was so much name dropping. I don't understand street racing and there was some questionable deals happening but I didn't understand it.
Luna is Riley's best friend. Riley finally said somethings to Luna in anger. Something about don't come around if you don't wanna fck. Which sent Luna right back to her boyfriend. Her boyfriend is really shitty to her. He cheats on her and treats her kind of trashy. At one point he exposes her top and lets his friends touch her. But she doesn't share this with Riley. In fact she ends up double downing and trying to be everything she can be to her boyfriend.

It took me awhile to write my summary. I am going to try my best to wrap it up.
Luna's boyfriend is abusing her. Riley is in the races. Luna ends up being assaulted by some of her boyfriends friends. She ends up driving drunk to get to Riley. The family takes her car away. And her boyfriend convinces her to move in with him. But obviously things get worse.
I don't exactly remember how but Riley and Luna end up together. But Luna is saying that she just isn't into girls. Although she very much lets Riley show her a good time. Riley is clearly in love.
One day Riley is called to a race. And Luna begs to come along. Riley doesn't want to bring her but she does. During the race Luna is begging her to stop because she is scared and Riley is reckless. Riley is an adrenaline junkie. They fight and Luna breaks everything off because she felt like Riley should not have hesitated.
Obviously they do make up at some point. Luna is kidnapped. Riley meets the kidnappers at a diner. But she brings her group with her. This is where you find out that one of Luna's boyfriends friends is also an enemy to Riley. Riley beats the shit out of the boyfriends car with the bat. I would have liked more for her to use the bat to beat him.
Riley's friend kills the boyfriend and hides the body. Luna was much loved by the boyfriend's grandfather and the grandfather leaves a huge inheritance to Luna.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Maddie (Bookaholic_Dreamer).
782 reviews56 followers
November 6, 2022
3.75 ⭐️

Pretty Little Psycho by R.E. Bond is the second book in the next generation spin off From The Ashes series.
The interconnected Standalone follows Riley Donovan and Luna Hendricks in this Best Friends to Lovers story through their dual POVs.

If there’s one thing R.E. Bond knows how to do, it’s to take you on a wild, crazy, hectic rollercoaster ride when it comes to the narrative she delivers with her books.
And Pretty Little Psycho just so happened to be the perfect example of that.

From the get go Riley and Luna’s story had you diving right in bringing many explosions in the form of drama, mystery and angst.
However it wasn’t without the build up of suspense surrounding it, since before anything could really hit you hard. You were having to wait in anticipation first before it all came exploding out.
Plus with the many events and situations that arose throughout the story, it made this ride seem never ending. Especially given the many surprises and twists that came out of the woodwork without you even realising or expecting.

The narrative did feel a little too prolonged for my liking, when you took into account the amount of times the pace of the story felt slow moving.
On top of that, IMO it felt like the storyline seemed to have lost its way, considering the many subplots that took over veering the focus away from the main characters Riley and Luna and their story together.
There just didn’t seem to be enough development presented within their relationship, unlike the amount shown in their own separate personal lives.
Seeing as it was Riley and Luna’s story, it just seemed like IMO how there was quite a fair lack of in-depth detail given into the further exploration of their relationship that could’ve been. Ultimately causing the story to fall short for me in the end.

Honestly there was even times it felt like you got to know more about the secondary characters than you did Riley and Luna and their budding relationship IMO.
And with the introduction of some new secondary characters, it’s what caused me to get lost, especially when it came to trying to keep up with them all. Although that was partly due to their sub storylines that were brought forth as well.

Despite my issues stated above, Pretty Little Psycho was still a good read, particularly when it came to getting to know more of the second generation.
In this case Riley and Luna, alongside some of the others given the peeks we were showcased.
After reading this book must admit it has me super intrigued and keen to read Ryder’s story for when it comes!




*I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Profile Image for Renee.
4,188 reviews55 followers
November 10, 2022
I received a copy of this book from the publisher/author to review for Stephanie's Book Reports.

Growing up in a big family means things slip through the cracks. My parent have never made me feel unwanted or unloved, but we aren't always honest. After all they run the most notorious street crew in Ashburn Valley. When their enemies took my brother's life, everything changed. We all coped differently, and no one would understand my need for taunting death. They can't find out I've been racing illegally on the streets instead of on the track. My mom and I are close, and she's always supported my decisions. It was no surprise to anyone when I cam out as gay, and she said she'd always known. I guess she can't judge me since I have nine dads. My best friend Luna Hendricks is the hottest girl I've ever laid eyes on. Everyone says I'm breaking my own heart, but I can't seem to let her go. She doesn't seems so straight when I finally get her under me and she begs for more. No wonder her boyfriend hates me. My name's Riley Donovan, and I'm in love with my best friend. Even I know good girl are bad girls that never got caught.

This is a dark FF romance. You will want to heed the warnings in the beginning of the book.
Welcome to the world or Riley Donovan. She is a sassy little thing that loves street racing and is in love with her best friend Luna Hendricks. She has been for as long as she can remember. Luna does however have a boyfriend, Stanley but oh my goodness I wanted her so far away from him so fast it made my head spin. Yuck I didn't like this guy. He is very domineering and just run, run as fast as you can. However when this all happens Riley realizes just how much she appreciates her dedication to her and the affection that she shows her. Could there be a chance for these two?? Well you have to read to find out. I sure can't tell you and there is much more to this story than what I am saying too. I went into this book blind and I do believe that is the way to go. I have to say also that this is my first FF book and I really enjoyed reading it. It has everything you need in a dark romance going on though I left the dark stuff out of this review. You just need to experience all that for yourself too.
Profile Image for Brandi.
281 reviews8 followers
November 5, 2022
Being honest, I’ve never really enjoyed FF books before not because I have anything against it just that I couldn’t really get into them. I was wary reading this one but because I have loved every book by this author I decided to try it. I was surprised by just how much I loved this book! It was emotional, action packed, steamy, had lots of drama, and was full of so many great characters!

I’ve read all of the Watch Me Burn series and the other book in this series so I am well acquainted with all of these characters and I couldn’t wait to see how this was going to work with Luna who was straight and had a boyfriend, and Riley who didn’t want any relationships but was also in love with Luna. Their journey to their happy ending was not easy and had so many struggles but in the end it was just so beautiful and touching and worth every screaming match and all the pain to get there.

I swear I’ve never felt so many emotions reading a book before lol The absolute hatred I had for some characters was unreal. Then growing from dislike to absolutely obsessed with some of the side characters like Ander. I need more of Logan, Reid, and Cruz! Them and Ander are some of the best side characters I’ve ever read! I also liked seeing more of the characters from the Watch Me Burn series. It was also nice to see Beckett having some arguments with her guys because it just makes it seem more real because every couple fights etc and it’s not always perfect all the time. Oh and Riley’s bond with her mom, Rory, was the sweetest thing in this series! They are so similar that it was crazy and I loved seeing Rory be so close with Riley. That plot twist….it got me, it got me good. Did not see that coming and after I read it and looked back I realized I should’ve seen that coming but didn’t, I was quite surprised!

This book will have you on the edge of your seat because there is just so much going on with these characters and their world. It’s definitely a wild ride and the Donovans never do anything the easy way, but it is always a great read and you’ll be left begging for books for every character you meet!
November 17, 2022
Pretty Little Psycho by R E Bond is an incredible FF contemporary dark romance novel with organized crime elements. Riley Donovan is an impulsive, independent, fiercely loyal daughter, sister, and friend. The problem is her best friend Luna is the one girl she can't have, and to make things worse, Luma's boyfriend Stan is a creep that doesn't deserve her. Riley's and Luna's families run a lot of legal and illegal enterprises. However, after the loss of one of their own, they keep the cars on the track and have strict rules when it comes to driving.  So if Riley's friends and family ever discover she's street racing, she would be in a lot of trouble.  When Riley's carefully separate worlds start to collide, and she finally lands the girl of her dreams, will she be able to keep her secrets and the girl, or will Riley end up crashing and burning with a broken heart?

    I could not put this book down once I picked it up.  There is so much action and drama in this story that it is intense. I felt a lot of emotions as the characters took over my thoughts. Bond blew my mind with these multidimensional and authentic characters that continued to amaze and surprise me throughout the book. The story has multiple issues keeping readers engaged and entertained. I enjoyed the dynamics of various relationships.  There was a broad representation of relationships with a reverse harem, MM, FF, and MF, and they all worked in their own ways, and no need for any of them to identify their sexual orientation…they just liked who they liked. I felt Bond put much thought into her inclusion of homophobic characters and drug use by ensuring these things were met with negative consequences and not glorified or seen as acceptable in any way.

  I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars. It's appropriate for adults only due to graphic sex, violence, and various adult topics and situations.  If you have triggers check the content warning as there is dub consent, assault, sexual assault, and quite a few more.  If you enjoy intense books filled with action from organized crime, relationships that transcend typical boundaries, and true love that makes you risk it all, this spicy medium-burn friends-to-lovers romance story will check all your boxes!
Profile Image for Micky Luciano NefariousReads.
335 reviews46 followers
November 14, 2022
I absolutely adored Riley and Luna's love story! I am so happy and honored to be able to add this F/F best friend to lover romance novel on my shelf to add some more diversity to it! R.E. Bond is quickly becoming a one click author as this is another novel to blow me a way! This book is action packed, full of angst, and these girls have some dirty mouths which I am an absolute sucker for. I can count on my fingers how many book girlfriends I have, and Riley was quickly added to that list. She's strong, independent, confident, sure of who she is and gives zero sh*ts about what anyone else thinks, is loyal, and her family is her priority. She's a complete bad *ss, but she's a total softie for her best friend. I love that Luna and Riley complement each other so well. They are like leather and lace, hard and soft, and skulls and roses, complete opposites but look better together. I loved seeing the confident sure side of Riley, but I also loved seeing Luna struggle with her sexuality and grow into the relationship. I think their love story was beautifully crafted.
As perfect as the romance and action part of this story was, I do believe that there were parts I skimmed over to the complexity of the world building. I think it is an absolute talent the way the author is able to weave a complex set of main characters, a unique family dynamic, and give personality to a variety of side characters. In some fashion I totally appreciated this considering I did not read the first-generation books yet. I do think the introduction with the amount of side characters and their ties and rolls in the world got a bit confusing to keep track of. I believe a lot of it is necessary for the reader's understanding, but I do think maybe some of it could have been trimmed out.
That being said I am still obsessed with this series, and I am obsessed with this couple! I cannot wait to continue on with the series! If you want a F/F dark romance with fast cars, an adrenaline rush, and a dirty talker than look no further!
Profile Image for bookish.nova.
404 reviews19 followers
November 7, 2022
ARC Review

Pretty Little Psycho by R.E. Bond

Ratings:
⭐️: 4/5
🌶: 3.5/5


Quote: “You’re the only person in the world I want to kiss forever, but I don’t want you to hate me.”

Tropes: friends to lovers, FF, crew
romance, grumpy/sunshine

——————————————————

A crew romance between two best friends, Riley and Luna. Riley is open, confident, and loves having one nights stands while she silently pines for her best friend. Luna is shy, innocent, and has a knack for choosing crappy boyfriends. One dare at a party starts to shift things between Riley and Luna, and they had to decide if that shift was for the better or not. I’ll be honest: I was definitely a huge Riley fan by the end of the book, but I can’t say that Luna really grew on me. I didn’t hate her, but I wish we’d gotten more time of Riley and Luna being together after Luna stopped questioning everything. They do have an undeniable connection (which is why I think I was getting so annoyed with Luna). One of the things I love about friends to lovers is the built in connection between the characters. Luna and Riley were able to read each other so well. Don’t get me wrong, they still have their drama and mistakes, but we didn’t have to focus on them getting to know one another. Instead, we could focus on their journey of taking their relationship to the next level with a different type of intimacy.

This is quickly becoming my favorite R.E. Bond series! Let me just say, that of all the potential stories to come from these characters Cruz/Knox story and Marla’s stories are the two I’m looking forward to the most! If dark, crew romance are your thing then I recommend this series!
Profile Image for Karleigh McClain.
22 reviews3 followers
August 13, 2023
THIS DAMN BOOK!! 💥 I started reading it and there were a lot of characters and I was sort of lost, LIKE WHY THEY GOT SO MANY DADDIES?! The main characters very much so got on my nerves at first… BUT ONCE IT STARTED?! 👀 ONCE THE STORY WAS STORY-ING?!?! I didn’t put the damn thing down! My kindle died while I was reading.. I literally considered going out to buy a back up kindle in case that happened again because I was DEVASTATED!

CAN WE GIVE IT UP FOR THE
✨ CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT✨
like TOXIC WHO?! Not these ladies anymore! 😂🫶🏼

Luna really made me mad at first… LIKE WHY ARE YOU BEING A WEAK ASS BABY?!?! And then BOOM! She was a badass and I was here for all of it! Riley learning from her mess ups, and being so guarded and closed off to having a big ass group of friends?! And learning to trust people?! YASS! This book made me want to be apart of the friend group! 👩‍🍳 💋 Even though they are all still criminals idc, slap my ass and call me IN THERE! I want a bestie like turbo and Cruz 😂

THE SPICE! It was spice-ing!! 👀 I’d rate it 🌶️🌶️🌶️

This is my first FF book… and I’ll be reading more, and I’ll be reading more from this author as well. Before I even finished it I went online and ordered the new special edition from the baddie book box.. because this is TOP THREE OF THE YEAR FOR ME BABY! 🫶🏼

Highly, highly recommend.

I will say the writing style is different then my usual, but once I stoped being an asshole the story… she was there and she was ✨thriving✨ and now it’s going to be hard to pick my next read because I’m still like 🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹

Anyway… READ IT! And be open minded if it’s not your style at first!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
610 reviews1 follower
November 9, 2022
This will keep ya on your toes

First off, this book is FF. If that turns you off, find something else. If it doesn't, this book is for you.
Riley Donovan isn't your average girl. She just like her mom in certain ways, and if you know Rory, it explains it all.
Riley is different then all the kids. She's not as dark as the other siblings, but she packs a good punch with her bday she carries around.
She tough as nails, and takes nothing from the people who don't respect her
A little more about Riley, she does have a heart, and she's a big adrenaline junkie that her family doesn't know about.
With Riley being a lesbian, she doesn't hide. She's known to get around, pleasing the girls, and shooting down the guys. She knows what she wants and takes it.
Her best friend, and love of her life Luna is a different story. Luna is straight, it is she? She been dating Stan forever, and tried her hardest to please him, when in return he treats her like garbage which triggers Riley.
You get to experience their friendship first hand. The fun, the joy, the fights, the anger, and the love. Luna and Riley are good together, it's just going to take some time to convince Luna that Riley can give her what she needs.
New characters join, blood is she'd, adrenaline is pumping, and parents are happy. Do Riley and Luna get together? Read and find out.
Profile Image for Lucid Quill.
Author 8 books23 followers
January 26, 2023
Riley, I swear...

So, I knew going in that Riley was going to push my buttons and absolutely chap the tan right off my khakis. She's so much like so many of the wildcards in her family, I knew she was going to stress me. It's a given with anything by Bond really, you're going to feel it. You're going to find yourself irrational, you're going to screech and bellow, and you're going to love every second of it.

I have never once been disappointed with this series so far or with it's preceding series, I knew I would love this book no matter how mad I got at Riley. I must say, I was not expecting to get equally and maybe even more so angry with Luna. That girl set me off a couple times. These two, how to explain...you know that DVD menu screen where the little logo bounces around and you finally scream the room down when it hits a corner? It's that. They are that little logo getting in their own way and being butts.

I love them. I'm honestly at a total loss for my favorite of the next gens now. I mean, I found myself partial to Maddox, but I think Bond has perfected pulling the rug out. These characters grow so quickly it's impossible to take one look and have an opinion. They live off the page and keep us dying for more.

I can't wait to see this hardback collection on my shelf!! 😍
Profile Image for asia.
155 reviews
July 16, 2023
idek where to start…

beckett was an annoying ass bitch fuck her & everyone else who was against ander can suck my dick that means you raven, maddox, zane, jett, the mom, & the other irrelevants (i understand why beckett & raven are friends they’re both judgemental ass bitter annoying bitches)

ander, cruz, logan, drake, knox, reid, & ryder are the loml’s actually + skeeter & rage (they’re giving sexy vibes & i want them 🤭)

yeah the book was super long ngl + all these names & shit like ?? i was never gonna remember that. the family dynamic kinda ate tho but rh not for me & i prolly won’t stand any of the characters if i tried to read the others.

also, luna needs to grow abt 10 backbones, you staying with a man that’s saying all that abt you, your bsf, your mother & your family kinda crazy… also stop fucking crying omg 🤦 ruining the vibe with her ugly ass crying + tempest needs an ass whooping badly !

& riley was literally a guy like you can’t convince me you didn’t just change all the pronouns & added boring lesbian sex ☠️

oh yeah !! jett needs to leave beckett quickly & get with logan they’re just better & sexier 🤭 + i want more of knox & drake too.
221 reviews2 followers
October 27, 2022
I have been waiting for Riley and Luna’s story and Bond knocked it out of the park! The love these two have for each other is so overwhelming at times. Riley is definitely a Donovan through and through. I loved seeing her relationship with Rory and the little glimpses of the parents we got throughout. They prove that they are still a force to be reckoned with. Riley and Luna didn’t have an easy time with their story. There was heartbreak and secrets all over. But this story proved that when it is right it is right. And nothing would cause their demise but themselves. There were a few twists that were typical Bond and I loved them. Stan gets everything he deserves! I love the introduction to a few new characters and seeing the circle grow. The next generation is proving to be as captivating as the first generation was. Riley is a total softie when it comes to her family and friends and I was glad to see that side of her. And don’t think that just because this is a FF story that the steam isn’t there! The steam is on point and there is the perfect amount!
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