When I first started reading this series, I initially was thinking of having two reviews of the series since there were a total of four books. But because of how quickly I’ve been going through these books so far, I’ve decided against it and am going to do this one review where I talk about the whole series in this review, starting with the first book in the series, Kings of Quarantine.
Kings of Quarantine (Brutal Boys of Everlake Prep #1)
Rating: 4 stars
Cruel. Heartless. Quarantined. The ruthless boys of Everlake Prep never saw lockdown coming.
But the virus isn’t their number one enemy. I am.
And as if being confined to a boarding school for the elite wasn’t bad enough, now I’m stuck in isolation with the boys who hate me most too.
Saint, Kyan and Blake. The Night Keepers. Or so they call themselves. They’ve embodied the Native American legend which lives in this valley, taking on the role of the monsters who lurk in the forest. And though they act like beasts, they may also be the most tempting creatures I’ve ever seen.
With the virus escalating and my dad’s name splashed through the news, my entire world is falling apart. What he did has cast a dark shadow over me. And the Night Keepers want to make me pay for his crimes.
Then things went from bad to worse when I touched the sacred rock. A rock which supposedly holds a curse to bind me as the Night Keepers’ slave. And as crazy as it sounds, I decided to play along. Because there are things about me they don’t know. Things my dad has hidden from me for years. All I can be sure of is that I have to find a way to escape this school. But until then, those savage boys are making my life a living hell.
As the virus sweeps through the country and the world twists into something ugly and unknown, the kings of this school become true monarchs. Even the teachers bow to them now. And I’m kind of glad about that ‘stay six feet away from one another’ rule, because without it, I know they’d rip me apart.
At least there’s a silver lining. I’m cozying up to Coach Monroe. My hot as hell, brooding P.E. teacher who has a vendetta of his own against the Night Keepers. And with his help, I may succeed at doing more than escaping the clutches of these heartless fiends. I might even destroy them along the way.
My father taught me how to be strong. How to prepare for the end of the world. So this isn’t going to be the end of my world, mark my words. But if I’m able to use my mind and body to bring these assholes to their knees, it might just be the end of theirs.
This is a high school bully RH series with off the charts angst, dark themes and is not for the faint of heart. Prepare to enroll at Everlake Prep. Bring your hand sanitizer, face masks and toilet paper to barter with, but don’t expect to hold onto them for long. Because it’s time to go into quarantine with the Night Keepers. And everything you own now belongs to them.
Considering how much I’ve enjoyed reading the Zodiac Academy series by these authors, I’m not too surprised that Kings of Quarantine had me hooked from the beginning. I’m not sure if it’s a combination of the main female being a total badass despite what’s she going through at the hands of the Night Keepers, the Night Keepers themselves, or both, but I enjoyed reading this book immensely from beginning to end.
What I love about Tatum’s character is that despite how these guys treat her, she continues to pick herself back up. Yes, there are moments where you see her fall apart, but she always ends up picking herself back up in the end despite how things get. I also love that she talks back to them even though she knows doing so might make things worse for her. I also enjoyed reading Saint, Kyan, Blake, and Monroe’s perspectives because as the reader, I get to see things from their perspective and get an understanding of why they are the way they are. And I saw as I read this book that things aren’t necessarily what they seem. While I do find their treatment of Tatum abhorrent in this book, I also enjoyed seeing the dynamic between them and her as she becomes one of the few people who stands up to them and the comebacks she has are wonderful. I especially enjoyed her relationship with Coach Monroe here as once she tells him how these guys are treating her, it was wonderful to see that she had at least one ally on her side who was willing to help her come up with a plan to get back at them for everything they do to her.
I also enjoyed learning about the Native American legend that these boys were trying to embody as I found it to be a fascinating aspect of the story here. Especially once Tatum finds herself embroiled in it by touching the stone rock. I know that’s when her life basically became a living hell, but I still found the whole thing interesting anyway because I was wondering how it would truly end up affecting their relationship.
Another favorite aspect of Kings of Quarantine I enjoyed was learning about the Hades Virus, which is basically this series version of Covid-19. I felt bad for Tatum because of her father being blamed for the virus spreading into the world and killing people and becoming the most hated girl at Everlake Prep because of it. But the story of it and how its spread impacted the school in this book was eerily similar with regards to Covid-19. Especially when the Night Keepers take it upon themselves to squirrel away all of the toilet paper and most of the rest of the supplies from the school’s kitchen and what ends up happening as a result of that later in this book.
Overall, I enjoyed reading Kings of Quarantine despite how rough things were for Tatum and couldn’t wait to see how the ending impacted what happened in the next book in the series, Kings of Lockdown.
Kings of Lockdown (Brutal Boys of Everlake Prep #2)
Rating: 4 stars
The sex tape
The fish stew
The Unspeakables
The storm
The font
The bathtub
The ice
The gun
The clothes
The humiliation
The shower
The letters
THE VOW
I had my chance to run from these brutal boys and I didn’t take it. The bonds between us are too strong now. Bonds of blood, oaths, betrayal and vengeance. And I intend to make good on all of them. I’ve made my list. And I won’t stop until each and every one of their crimes has been paid for.
Divide and conquer. We’re going to tear them apart from the inside out. I won’t quit until I’ve had my pound of flesh and then some. These broken boys paint themselves up as kings and stand themselves on a pedestal above everybody else. But that only means they’ve got further to fall. And they’re going to fall hard.
I know their strength now, but I’ve learned their weaknesses too. And I might just be becoming their greatest one. My father taught me how to survive, and it’s time to use everything I know about predators to lure them into my own trap.
Lies, betrayal, seduction. I’ll use every weapon at my disposal to bring them to their knees and once I’m done with them, they won’t own me.
I’ll own them.
This is book 2 in a dark romance series with love-hate themes, scenes of intense bullying, sexual scenes and may have triggers for some readers. It is a reverse harem which means the main character will end up with multiple partners.
Like Kings of Quarantine, I couldn’t put this one down. I felt like the story does a wonderful job of picking up where its predecessor left off by showing us the impact of the choices the characters made by the end of the previous book. The story continues to show development between Tatum and her relationship with the Night Keepers. But here, she really stood her ground against them to where she had the power to make rules for all of them that if not followed she could then dole out whatever punishment she saw fit. And I loved that for her as she was finally able to find ways to get back at these guys for everything they did to her.
I enjoyed seeing Tatum and her relationships with Blake, Kyan, Saint, and Monroe continue to grow. I felt like I learned a lot more about these guys than I did before. Especially when the truth becomes revealed regarding the Unspeakables. I had originally felt sorry for them in Kings of Quarantine, but once Kyan tells Tatum the reason why the Night Keepers treat them the way they do, I felt like Tatum did. I also felt like it showed a better side of these guys as you realize they aren’t just looking out for themselves but their classmates who also attend Everlake Prep. I especially felt for Kyan here with regard to the information he reveals to Tatum regarding one of the Unspeakables in particular since what he shares is extremely personal. I especially enjoyed her relationships with Blake, Kyan, and Monroe here as with each of these guys, you can see how much all of them care about her and how much she cares about them. Not to say I don’t enjoy the development of her relationship with Saint, but there are times when their relationship feels so slow-moving.
I also enjoyed the overall plot of this book too. Besides Tatum working on getting her revenge on the Night Keepers with Monroe, there’s a stalker at the school who has their sights on Tatum. There’s also the continued storyline development regarding the Hades Virus where Tatum finally hears back from her father who wants to meet with her. That’s when the truth regarding who unleashed the virus gets revealed and some other details regarding the virus that weren’t originally known before. A lot happens in this book that kept me engaged, wanting to find out what would happen to Tatum and these guys next.
If I had to choose anything from Kings of Lockdown that I wasn’t too pleased about, it was the ending. I felt like it ended abruptly but also with a cliffhanger that if this book series wasn’t already complete, would’ve left me upset in wanting to know what would happen next. I also just found the ending in general terrible because I felt bad for Tatum for having to endure more terrible things and for her to lose someone she deeply cared about in that way. Especially because it happened right in front of her and there wasn’t anything she could do to stop it from happening.
Despite the ending though, I enjoyed reading Kings of Lockdown, and it made me excited to see what would happen in the next book in the series, Kings of Anarchy.
Kings of Anarchy (Brutal Boys of Everlake Prep #3)
Rating: 4 stars
My father always taught me to take care of myself. He made me strong, cunning, and calculating. But my Brutal Boys made me unbreakable.
Have you ever heard the saying that it takes one to know one? Because from the very first moment I met the men I’ve claimed as my tribe, I knew that I was looking into the faces of monsters. And that really should have been all it took for me to know that I was one too.
Hiding beneath my skin isn’t an innocent girl, waiting for someone to ride in on a white horse and rescue me from my demons. So I think it’s time I showed the world my claws.
I’m sick of people thinking they own me. My Night Keepers and now the members of this twisted club all need to learn a lesson in that.
I’m not a doll made to dance to their tune, I’m not a puppet intended to play a part and I’m certainly no plaything to be used and destroyed. I’m a warrior with a goal of my own. And everyone who wants to stand in my way had better get used to the idea of falling to ruin at my feet.
When everything you thought you could rely on is ripped away from you, you have no choice but to find out what you’re truly made of. And deep down in the depths of my soul, I know that I was made to survive.
I have suffered through torment, fought against my oppressors, and tamed the creatures who tried to bury me in the dark.
It’s time that everyone stopped underestimating me. I’m done being a queen without a crown. I’m ready for my coronation.
This is a high school bully romance series.
From the beginning, Kings of Anarchy gripped me. I don’t know if it was because Kings of Lockdown ended on such a cliffhanger that I was hooked to find out what happened next. And oh this book didn’t disappoint.
What I enjoyed with reading this book in the series is that we continue to get more backstory with the guys. And I love that at this point, the focus of the series is on growing Tatum’s relationship with these guys and finding out who’s really responsible for releasing the Hades Virus out into the world. At this point in the story, you see all of Tatum’s relationships coming together and everyone truly becoming a family and I’m here for it. I especially enjoyed her relationships with Blake and Kyan here as they are probably my favorite guys in the group. Not to say I don’t like Monroe and Saint because I do. I think I can just relate to Blake and Kyan more out of the guys Tatum loves because of the personal things they’ve both been through as some of them are things I’ve also been through, such as grief over losing someone you care about.
I love that this book focuses on Tatum’s grief and feel like her relationship with Kyan gets stronger in this book due to the club and him getting sick due to the Hades Virus. There’s something wonderful that happens in this book that I was extremely happy with too which I feel like also helped strengthen their relationship and was excited to see the other guy’s reactions to it even though I knew they probably weren’t going to be happy about it.
I also love that we get to see Saint’s intelligence here. Out of the Night Keepers, he’s truly the brains and he single-handedly is the one figuring things out regarding the Hades Virus and the terribly sick club that Kyan has a membership in due to his family. I honestly feel like if it wasn’t for Saint, they wouldn’t have been able to accomplish a lot of what happens in this book concerning the knowledge of the Hades Virus and the club. I also loved seeing his dynamic concerning Monroe in this book as he actually uncovers the truth regarding Monroe’s identity here. And I love that it ends up strengthening their brotherhood instead of weakening it as it turns out Saint has the same hatred that Monroe does.
I also enjoyed seeing the stalker and Justice Ninja storyline continue to play out here and see how it ends up connecting with everything else that’s going on. They still don’t figure out the identity of these individuals in this book, but they come dangerously close at the end, which definitely gave me an inkling as to who was involved.
Speaking of endings, the way Kings of Anarchy ends definitely shocked me as I wasn’t expecting it at all. I know I probably should’ve expected it considering everything that happens here, but I didn’t. But it also made sense too because I figured the character involved with how things go here would play a bigger role than he had until this point in the story. It also made sense just because someone with a lot of power had to be involved with the spread of the Hades Virus. But it also made me all the more eager to find out what happened next in the final book of this series, Queen of Quarantine.
Queen of Quarantine (Brutal Boys of Everlake Prep #4)
Rating: 4 stars
Once upon a time I met four monsters and thought the world would come to an end at their hands.
But I was a fool. Because I didn’t understand the bigger picture. That the enemies I thought I knew would become the reason for my entire existence. My strength. My pain. My life. My love.
The big bad wolf has teeth and claws as sharp as iron, and the danger before my eyes is blinding. So blinding that I didn’t see the true danger lurking in the dark.
But now my eyes are wide open, and I see it all.
Alone and afraid and running out of time, I’m not afraid of monsters anymore. I’m counting on them to come for me. Because if they don’t, this foolish girl might be lost forever in the dark.
Queen of Quarantine was a great way to end such an invigorating series. From start to finish, this book didn’t disappoint as I felt like all of the answers I had been hoping to get were finally delivered. And there was no end in sight to the intense action that took place in this book until the very end. Not only did I get an answer to who the stalker was (though that ended up being no surprise, considering everything about this character you heard about up to this point), but also found out who was responsible for the release of the Hades Virus and in charge of that terrible club, which were in fact connected as the person responsible for the release of the virus was also the one in charge of the club.
What I enjoyed with this book was how it hooked me into wanting to find out how everything would end. With the way Kings of Anarchy ended, I knew I was in for a ride as the guys went on their mission to save Tatum. But I definitely didn’t expect some of the twists that came along as once they saved her they found themselves in just as much danger too, maybe even more so. The story about the Hades Virus and how desperate companies in the world were to get a vaccine out into the world because of how many lives were lost because of it and how that resulted in some of the events that happened in this book was interesting. It didn’t remind me quite as much about Covid-19 considering how some of the people I know are regarding that vaccine and in this book, these companies are more interested in being the first company to create the vaccine so they can make money off of people’s desperation in getting it. Even if that means hurting people who’ve had the virus and are now immune to it by using them unwillingly to create more doses of the vaccine. But it was interesting to see this connection with Covid-19 by people staying indoors to avoid getting it and how quickly this virus spread due to the absence of a working vaccine.
There definitely were some tough moments in this book. Like when Tatum is held hostage in the beginning, when Kyan gets kidnapped by the stalker, and when everything comes to a head with the person responsible for the Hades Virus being released into the world and the terrible club. But I also found some good moments here too for the characters that I enjoyed reading. These good moments made this book enjoyable even when things were tough for the characters, and I didn’t know how this book would end. I also enjoyed the rough moments too though as I felt like I learned more about these characters and how they dealt with terrible situations. And that helped me see them differently and also understand their thoughts and what they were thinking.
I would also say I enjoyed the way this series ended too. However, I hated how long it took for them to get at the man solely responsible for everything they’d been through. The way it happened in the book threw me too because I felt like they were going to deliver him a lot of pain, but that’s not how it went down. If anything, I felt like his death was less than what he deserved. But I was happy to see all of these characters get the happy ending they deserved and that justice did get served.
But as a whole, I enjoyed reading this series. The different storylines and how they connected were enjoyable and kept me engaged in wanting to find out what happened next, and I enjoyed seeing Tatum’s relationship with these guys and how everything came together. These books were a good read and I’m sad to have finished this series, though I know I can always revisit these books again in the future whenever I choose. I highly recommend these books to anyone who’s enjoyed reading the Zodiac Academy series and anyone who’s read any other books by these authors. Also, recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading dark stories with really dark themes and doesn’t mind seeing reverse harem in the books they read.
Thank you for stopping by and reading my book review of the Brutal Boys of Everlake Prep series! If you enjoyed my review of this series, don’t hesitate to share your thoughts in the comments below or check out another one of my blog posts.
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