Savage Start (Hid Sden Valley Elite Prequel) by Isla Vaughn – Review by Stephanie Chapman

Savage Start: A High School Bully Romance: Hidden Valley Elite Prequel by Isla Vaughn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Savage Start is a part of Isla Vaughn’s Hidden Valley Elite series. Featuring the alternating views of Riley Matthews and Cole Savage, the story begins with Riley moving to Santa Monica with her mother. They had always run cons, and rarely stayed in one place for very long. That evening, she tells her mother that she is going to the beach. Riley finds a party and slips in to see people her age. She goes into the house and enters a room. Seeing a library, she scans the room and finds a lighter made of gold. She turns to leave and runs into a guy. Cole asks who she is, and Riley attempts to lie. He threatens to call the police after he takes the lighter out of her back pocket. Riley attempts to taunt him, and he steps up to her challenge. He kisses her, and Riley is shocked. She makes a mad dash from the house. Neither of them knew the other, but they both wanted more.

This is a great prequel, and I liked watching Riley’s streetwise manners fly out the window when Cole caught her trying to steal. The underlying conflict is equal on both sides. Riley’s mother is trying to hide them from Riley’s father. Cole and his brother Damon have a father who cheats on their suicidal mother. The conclusion leads well into the sequel.

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