Pretty Ruthless

Dark academia meets Southern Gothic in this emotionally intense prequel. Perfect for fans of Penelope Douglas, LJ Shen, Shantel Tessier, and Sierra Simone. At Ashford University, power doesn’t belong to the professors. It belongs to the students. The ones with the right names, the right connections. The ones who decide what happens behind closed doors. Becky Dawson doesn’t belong there. A scholarship kid, she doesn't have their pedigrees or trust funds. What she does have is a stack of newspaper clippings, unanswered questions, and one goal: Uncover the secret society known as The Order. Every clue leads back to one man: Carrson Ashford. Elusive golden boy. Groomed for leadership. Keeper of secrets. Tortured and untrusting. Everyone says he’s dangerous. They have no idea. Now Becky’s on the hunt. Studying him, following him, learning where he's weak and where he's strong. Because Carrson isn’t just a man. He’s a door. The heir to a world built on power, ambition, and survival. And Becky wants in. But Becky isn’t the only predator here. Carrson notices her and he pushes back. When he presses a blade to her throat, she doesn’t flinch. When he tells her to stay away, she steps closer. When he tells her to run, she waits to see if he’ll chase. The deeper Becky digs, the more dangerous the game becomes. Because some secrets were never meant to be discovered. But now that they are, Carrson will have to decide whether to destroy her… or make sure she never leaves. Before Pretty Vicious... there was Pretty Ruthless. Set in 1994, Pretty Ruthless is a Southern Gothic dark academia romance filled with secret societies, obsession, betrayal, and two people who definitely shouldn't fall for each other, but can't seem to stop themselves. GoodReads readers are falling for Pretty Ruthless “I finished this book in less than 24 hours because I could not put it down.” — M. Chapman, 5 stars “Dark, addictive, dramatic, and impossible to stop reading.