Author: Stylo Fantome
Genre: Contemporary, Dark Romance, Thriller
Rating: 5 stars
This is a beautiful bloody masterpiece.
The Bad Ones is not a novel for the weak hearted, or the strong hearted or basically anyone with a heart. There were moments where I couldn't physically finish this novel. But I did. And I am weirdly happy I did. In some ways, It was almost too easy to read... And that is what scared me. Usually, when beginning a novel, my mind is distracted and trails a bit. However, From the opening words "Ms. Travers", I found my new favourite novel of 2016.
What a beautiful darkness we are.
The Bad Ones is a story about Constantine Matthews and Dulcie Travers who find each other in the last years of high school. They both live in the small town of Fuller, but live opposite lives. Constantine is the mayors' son, the all star quarterback and most popular guy at school. On the other spectrum, Dulcie is a shy, withdrawn girl from the trailer park. She spends days drawing in her sketchbook and ignoring the short stick she drew in life. As simple as it sounds, both characters see the darkness within each other. This beautiful darkness is what threads their lives together.
She wanted his darkness to swallow her whole. She wanted to be a part of it. She wanted to give her own darkness back to him.
I was expecting dark N.A. or dark romance, but The Bad Ones is just DARK. It is a novel about the different shades of black. It is about finding your true, primal, raw self. I felt like I was walking through someones darkest thoughts. And even though there were moments where I was shocked, the story enthralled me. It captured my attention. I honestly don't know why I love dark novels so much, maybe its the fact that I believe its the closest thing we will get to the truth or reality.
“All I've ever wanted was to be myself, all the time,” her voice was shaky. “And for you to love me.”
The plot is out of this world. It felt like there were ten different mini stories occurring under the main one. From the cover photo, I can reveal that The Bad Ones is actually bloody, don't be fooled or naive going into this. (Small note about the cover art : in one picture, it captures what the story is about. Constantine. Dulcie. Blood.) I loved how the plot felt dynamic and flowing rather than static. The time line is spread out, which allows for character development and building up the tension all leading to the final BOOM.
She wanted to go, wanted to corner him somewhere, wanted to kick and scratch and bite until he recognized her for what she really was – his reflection.
Speaking of character development. For the first time in a long time, I was more interested in the heroine than the hero. Don't get me wrong Constantine is bad bad bad. He is a dark cloud that surrounds the town. He is more of an anti-hero. He has soo many faces; I don't I even think got to know the real him. It was disconcerting to have gone through the whole novel and still feel so blinded by a character...
I orchestrated it. Con is just the star of the show – I'm the producer.
...But he has nothing on Dulcie; she is such a kick ass raw character. Dulcie is a raw beating soul out in the open. She knew who she is, what she is meant to be in her world and is unashamedly herself. Her strength and intelligence inspired me. There were moments where I was actually rooting for her, which is fucked up when you think about the context ( but you actually have to read the novel to understand that).
“Of course you aren't scared of me. I'm not the wolf. You are.”
Stylo Fantome delivered a phenomenon piece of writing. I have never doubted her talents. Since reading The Kane Trilogy, I knew I would love anything she published. The Bad Ones attests to this.
“Do not paint me out to be the monster in this story. Your claws are just as bloody as mine.”
This is a beautiful bloody masterpiece.
The Bad Ones is not a novel for the weak hearted, or the strong hearted or basically anyone with a heart. There were moments where I couldn't physically finish this novel. But I did. And I am weirdly happy I did. In some ways, It was almost too easy to read... And that is what scared me. Usually, when beginning a novel, my mind is distracted and trails a bit. However, From the opening words "Ms. Travers", I found my new favourite novel of 2016.
What a beautiful darkness we are.
The Bad Ones is a story about Constantine Matthews and Dulcie Travers who find each other in the last years of high school. They both live in the small town of Fuller, but live opposite lives. Constantine is the mayors' son, the all star quarterback and most popular guy at school. On the other spectrum, Dulcie is a shy, withdrawn girl from the trailer park. She spends days drawing in her sketchbook and ignoring the short stick she drew in life. As simple as it sounds, both characters see the darkness within each other. This beautiful darkness is what threads their lives together.
She wanted his darkness to swallow her whole. She wanted to be a part of it. She wanted to give her own darkness back to him.
I was expecting dark N.A. or dark romance, but The Bad Ones is just DARK. It is a novel about the different shades of black. It is about finding your true, primal, raw self. I felt like I was walking through someones darkest thoughts. And even though there were moments where I was shocked, the story enthralled me. It captured my attention. I honestly don't know why I love dark novels so much, maybe its the fact that I believe its the closest thing we will get to the truth or reality.
“All I've ever wanted was to be myself, all the time,” her voice was shaky. “And for you to love me.”
The plot is out of this world. It felt like there were ten different mini stories occurring under the main one. From the cover photo, I can reveal that The Bad Ones is actually bloody, don't be fooled or naive going into this. (Small note about the cover art : in one picture, it captures what the story is about. Constantine. Dulcie. Blood.) I loved how the plot felt dynamic and flowing rather than static. The time line is spread out, which allows for character development and building up the tension all leading to the final BOOM.
She wanted to go, wanted to corner him somewhere, wanted to kick and scratch and bite until he recognized her for what she really was – his reflection.
Speaking of character development. For the first time in a long time, I was more interested in the heroine than the hero. Don't get me wrong Constantine is bad bad bad. He is a dark cloud that surrounds the town. He is more of an anti-hero. He has soo many faces; I don't I even think got to know the real him. It was disconcerting to have gone through the whole novel and still feel so blinded by a character...
I orchestrated it. Con is just the star of the show – I'm the producer.
...But he has nothing on Dulcie; she is such a kick ass raw character. Dulcie is a raw beating soul out in the open. She knew who she is, what she is meant to be in her world and is unashamedly herself. Her strength and intelligence inspired me. There were moments where I was actually rooting for her, which is fucked up when you think about the context ( but you actually have to read the novel to understand that).
“Of course you aren't scared of me. I'm not the wolf. You are.”
Stylo Fantome delivered a phenomenon piece of writing. I have never doubted her talents. Since reading The Kane Trilogy, I knew I would love anything she published. The Bad Ones attests to this.
“Do not paint me out to be the monster in this story. Your claws are just as bloody as mine.”
