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Delivering pizzas was supposed to be the safe kind of side hustle, until the night she witnesses a murder at Ashford House, the most elite and secretive fraternity on campus.
Now she’s a prisoner of The Order, a blood-bound society that controls everything from politics to police. They rule with ritual, obedience, and violence, and they’ve decided Laurel doesn’t get to leave.
Under the rules of The Order, he “bonds” her, marking Laurel as his.
Body. Mind. Soul.
But Laurel isn’t here to be claimed. Not without a fight.
To save her father and her future, Laurel must navigate a twisted realm of initiation rites, brutal secrets, and a bond that may destroy them both.
In this world, there’s one rule: obey or die.
But love doesn’t follow rules. And neither does Laurel.
Talking Point:
Pretty Vicious explores
several themes, but at its core is a question I couldn’t stop thinking about:
How much power, control, and even violence does a society
needs in order to function successfully?
Carrson Ashford was raised inside a secret society called
The Order. His world is built on loyalty, legacy, and control. He was taught
from childhood that love is weakness, vulnerability is dangerous, and survival
requires dominance.
Then the FMC of the story, Laurel crashes into his world.
She witnesses Carrson murder a rival, and under the rules of The Order, he “bonds” her to him. He does this to keep her silent, but also to keep her safe.
However, Laurel is no damsel in distress. She challenges
Carrson at every turn. She questions the system that shaped him. Carrson in
particular, doesn't know what to do with Laurels' questions, her curiosity. He
was raised for blind obedience. He also doesn't know what to do with the
feelings he develops for Laurel. He was trained for everything except for love.
I think it's this dynamic that fascinates readers about
morally gray heroes in secret society/dark academia romance novels. It isn’t
just their darkness. It’s the tension between who they were trained to be and
who they become when love forces them to choose differently.
Carrson believes he’s the villain.
Laurel refuses to let him be one.
Now feast your eyes on this GORGEOUS character art
Always surrounded by boys, Melissa lives with her doctor husband, three
amazing sons, and her adorable Siberian husky Buddy.
