Review: Bad Things by R.K. Lilley

Series: Tristan and Danika (Book #1)

Format: Ebook

Rating: 4 Stars

How I Got It: Purchased (free Kindle deal)

Genre: New Adult, Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Self-Published

Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads

Danika hasn’t had an easy life. Being insanely attracted to bad boys has never helped make it easier.

One look at Tristan, and every brain cell she possessed went up in smoke. This man was trouble with a capital T. It was a given.
She knew better. Bad boys were bad. Especially for her. Considering her history, it was crazy to think otherwise. So why did crazy have to feel so damn fine?

For as long as she could remember, Danika had been focused on the future with single-minded purpose. Tristan came along and taught her everything there was to know about letting go, and living in the present. She fell, hard and deep. Of course, that only made her impact with the ground that much more devastating.

Bad Things is about Tristan and Danika, and their train wreck of a love story. This series can be read as a standalone, or with the Up in the Air series.

 

Review

I have some conflicted feelings about this book. It sucked me in and was very gripping, but there were a few things that rubbed me the wrong way. That being said, I do plan on continuing the series because I want to know what happens to these characters.

This is a pretty angsty read and had a lot of soap opera drama. When, I’m in the mood for it that’s goods. But there was a little too much of the fighting and making up between them for me.

I like Danika and I want to get more into her backstory. Right now the story is hyper-focused on the romance, but a lot has been laid out. I’ll be disappointed if things like her family aren’t explored.

I like Tristan when he’s being sweet, but then he ruins it when he gets super aggressive. A little jealousy and chest beating doesn’t bother me, but pummeling someone nearly to death isn’t attractive. They’re just warning signs I don’t like. I am hopeful he’ll get better, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t.

I do really like a lot of the side characters. Frankie is probably my favorite. She’s an original and a good friend for Danika. I really want Danika to be more active in the other relationships she has than being so wrapped in Tristan.

One of my biggest issues is how dysfunctional they are. I want Tristan and Danika to be together and they have great chemistry. But they have some very unhealthy behaviors including rage and what I consider borderline suicide threats.

A lot of this review has been pretty negative, but I did like the story. And if you like a very angsty and some pretty explicit content you probably will too.

Thanks for reading!