Bully by Penelope Douglas

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💔 Book Review: Bully by Penelope Douglas

⭐️ Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
📚 Genre: New Adult Romance / High School Enemies to Lovers
📖 Series: Fall Away, Book 1
📦 Buy on Amazon (affiliate link)

🥵 Let’s Talk About This Hot Mess of a Love Story...

I couldn’t put this book down. I devoured Bully in basically one sitting like it was a tray of fries after a breakup. It’s angsty. It’s dramatic. It’s filled with teenage hormones and trauma and, let’s be honest, a whole lot of predictable swoony tension.

Did I know from Chapter One that Tate was going to fall head over heels for her bully/next-door-neighbor Jared? Yep.
Did I mind? Not at all.
Was it kinda like every other dark high school romance I’ve read? Also yes.
But Bully still totally scratched that “bad boy redemption” itch in the most satisfying way.

🚨 Spoiler Alert! Full summary (with the steamy bits and twists) below. Stop scrolling if you want to read spoiler-free!

📚 Overview

Bully is the first book in the Fall Away series by Penelope Douglas, originally published back in 2013 and still beloved by fans of high school enemies-to-lovers romance. It follows Tate, a smart, resilient girl returning from a year abroad, and her childhood best friend turned tormentor, Jared—the boy next door with a dark past and a whole lot of unresolved sexual tension.

The story explores bullying, healing from trauma, and forgiveness, and while it doesn't reinvent the wheel, it delivers the drama, the steamy payoff, and just enough emotional depth to keep you flipping pages.

📝 Plot Summary (Full Spoilers)

From BFFs to Bullies

Tate and Jared used to be inseparable as kids—climbing the tree between their houses, sneaking into each other’s rooms, and being each other’s comfort after Tate’s mom died. But everything changed after Jared spent a summer with his abusive father. He came back angry and cold, and started bullying Tate publicly, privately, and relentlessly.

Cue: sabotage, name-calling, humiliation at school. And oh yeah—he throws her car keys in a pool at a party. Real classy stuff.

So when Tate comes back from a year abroad in France for senior year, she’s done being the victim. She punches the school golden boy (Madoc), threatens to call the cops on Jared’s party, and cuts the power to his house. Girl is DONE playing nice.

But Jared? He’s intrigued. And suddenly the torment starts to look a little… flirtatious?

Hate You So Much I Might Kiss You

Despite the toxic history, the chemistry between them is undeniable. They’re paired up in class. There’s intense eye contact. There’s locker room tension. There’s an almost-kiss. There’s a kiss. There’s a full-on makeout sesh. And then… they’re back to arguing again.

We learn that Jared has a secret soft side: He races cars, protects his half-brother from their abusive dad, and (surprise!) is actually still in love with Tate. His whole bully act? A coping mechanism. Classic bad boy with daddy issues energy.

Things heat up (literally and figuratively). There’s a dreamy night on the tree between their houses, a sexy scene that almost leads to more, and eventually... they go all the way at a party after the Homecoming dance. Sparks. Are. Flying.

Chaos, Confessions, and Closure

Right when things start to feel real, everything crashes. A video of their intimate moment gets leaked from Jared’s phone. Tate thinks he betrayed her and smashes his car in full “girlboss revenge” mode.

Turns out it was Piper, a jealous mean girl, who stole Jared’s phone and spread the video to humiliate them. Tate feels terrible, and the two finally have a real, honest conversation.

Jared reveals the full truth about the summer that changed him: his father abused both him and his younger half-brother, Jax. Jared’s spent years visiting Jax and even his imprisoned father, wrestling with his trauma. Once Tate knows everything, she sees the boy she once loved beneath the layers of pain.

They reconcile. He gives her a charm bracelet (😭), and Tate finally feels whole again. Enemies to lovers? Completed it.

💬 What Worked for Me

  • Instant chemistry. Tate and Jared’s sexual tension is through the roof.

  • Tate’s growth. She goes from passive to powerful and I was HERE for it.

  • Emotionally scarred bad boy. I’m weak for this trope, okay?

  • Fast-paced and addictive. This book is basically potato chips: salty, crunchy, can’t stop.

  • A little spice. Just enough steam to keep the pages sizzling.

🤷‍♀️ What Didn’t Work

  • Very predictable. You know exactly how this will end from page one.

  • Not groundbreaking. If you’ve read one bully romance, you’ve read a version of this.

  • Madoc’s early behavior. Oof. It’s borderline assault, and while he's redeemed in later books, it's hard to stomach here.

  • High schoolers acting like they’re 25. But honestly, this is every NA romance ever.

⚠️ Trigger Warnings

  • Bullying

  • Child abuse (off-page, described)

  • Sexual harassment

  • Emotional manipulation

  • Grief (death of parent)

  • Revenge porn (video leaked without consent)

  • Strong language

  • Some explicit scenes (spicy but not overly graphic)

🔗 Book Details

📘 Title: Bully
✍️ Author: Penelope Douglas
📅 Published: 2013
📚 Series: Fall Away, Book 1
📦 Buy on Amazon (affiliate link)

📚 You Might Also Like...

  • 🖤 Punk 57 by Penelope Douglas — anonymous pen pals turn enemies to lovers

  • 😈 Twisted Love by Ana Huang — grumpy/sunshine with sibling’s best friend drama

  • 🔥 The Deal by Elle Kennedy — fake dating and hockey romance with heart

  • 💔 Vicious by L.J. Shen — hot, toxic, complicated bad boy romance

💭 Final Thoughts

If you’re into angsty, addictive, enemies-to-lovers high school drama with a dark edge, Bully is going to scratch that itch perfectly. Sure, it’s not super original. But it’s fast, fun, spicy, and full of emotion.

I’m giving it a solid 4.5 out of 5 stars and I’ll definitely be diving into more Penelope Douglas books soon.

Have you read Bully? Did Jared win you over or make you want to throw things? Tell me below! 💬
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