Brutal Boys of Everlake Prep Book 1: Kings of Quarantine by Caroline Peckham & Susanne Valenti

Brutal Boys of Everlake Prep Book 1

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 bethe 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 kinda 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 cosying 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 enrol at Everlake Prep. Bring your hand sanitiser, 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. 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52775593-kings-of-quarantine

********

My Review: 3.5/5 Stars

I've read Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti's books before. I read their Solaria world books (Zodiac Academy, Ruthless Boys, and Darkmore). I knew their style and was warned what type of books these are. So warning upfront, if you aren't into bully romances you won't like this. Truthfully, it's not my thing either. I've read a few here and there. Zodiac Academy definitely started that way in the series but I have to say I think Everlake may be a tad worse in that aspect. It was a little challenging for me to get into the story. And with this series focusing on their own version of a pandemic, I wasn't sure if I was going to stick with story. With that said, I did finish it. And I'm intrigued enough to keep going. The characters are brutal in their own ways. But interesting monsters that make me want to know why they are the way they are. How they got shaped into this very different personalities. Also, what I really want to know and why I'm going to continue the series, is I want to see if they can be redeemed in anyway. How do their stories play out? Even after all the bad? The glimpses of good are there and I am curious to see more.

So to set the story up, we follow several points of view in this story, but our story starts with Tatum. Her father is dropping her off at a rich kid boarding school because he has to be somewhere for work where she can't go for once. Her father is a virologist and with a bad virus released, his job just got busy. Tatum has no idea what kind of school it truly is that she got dropped off at. First off, the school is run by three guys who call themselves the Night Keepers. Saint, Blake, and Kyan. She can see the darkness stirring in all three of them and feels a pull toward them. But her first few days of perhaps not making any enemies and trying to make friends for once comes crashing down when it is released that her father is the cause of the virus that has rapidly spread. Everyone turns on her despite her protests at the lies. But the ones who turn on her the most are the Night Keepers. Specifically Blake who lost his mother to the virus months earlier. Now all his grief and rage has been released and he found someone to take it out on: Tatum. Tatum doesn't break easily but the Night Keepers will test at every step and do whatever they can to destroy her. But underneath all the hate is a small layer that feels a pull toward Tatum. It's messy and complicated and you'll both hate and love these characters at their complexities. Tatum is kick ass and strong. If anyone can handle them, it's her. And when she finds an ally in Monroe, a young teacher with his own issue with the Night Keepers, she may find a way to fight back. 

Overall, the story was pretty good considering. And like I said earlier, I'm just too intrigued by these characters to not keep going. I want to see those redemption arcs and what that looks like for those who could show the deepest of cruelty but also the deepest of protectiveness. Guess we'll see!