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Imme [trying to crawl out of hiatus] van Gorp's Reviews > Scum
Scum (Wrong Side of the Tracks, #1)
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Imme [trying to crawl out of hiatus] van Gorp's review
bookshelves: 3rd-person-pov, age-gap, college, coming-out, contemporary, crime, dark, dual-pov, lgbtq, romance, ebook
Mar 09, 2023
bookshelves: 3rd-person-pov, age-gap, college, coming-out, contemporary, crime, dark, dual-pov, lgbtq, romance, ebook
Read 2 times. Last read October 6, 2024 to October 7, 2024.
|| 3.0 stars ||
➛First read: March 2023 | ★3.0 stars
➛Second read: October 2024 | ★3.0 stars
Okay, so this wasn’t amazing or anything, but it definitely wasn’t bad either.
It was extremely toxic, and it was insta-love with a connection mostly build on lust: those are things I usually don’t really appreciate. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed reading this and it was just... fun!
The book is about Rosen and Shane, who couldn’t possibly be any more different. Rosen is gentle and angelic, while Shane is rough around the edges. Rosen goes to college as an art student, while Shane just came out of prison and is already back to his usual criminal activity. These two would have normally never met or connected, but Shane has different plans. After all, it was Rosen’s father who falsely accused Shane of a crime he did not commit, which led to his 10 years in jail. Shane is out for revenge. And he wants to get it through Rosen. What he didn’t account for, however, was to fall in love with the boy in the process.
What I loved about this book is the fact that Shane was so adoring when it came to Rosen. He really thought the sun shone right out of his arse, which is just adorable. Nonetheless, Shane still treated Rosen badly from time to time, which annoyed me. Rosen was definitely a push-over and I would have liked him to be a little less naive. Then again, I found his trusting nature also quite endearing, so it wasn’t all bad.
There is a big betrayal in this book, obviously, so we do get some good groveling from Shane. I personally would have never forgiven him for what he did (I won’t spoil what it was, but it was truly bad), and I find it a little hard to believe that Rosen would either, but it was what it was. I did like that Shane was truly apologetic and he would have done anything to earn Rosen's forgiveness; he would have literally walked through fire to get Rosen’s trust and affections back.
All in all, I thought this book was very entertaining and it had some tropes I really like. Was it executed in the most hard-hitting way possible? No. But it was decent at what it tried to do, and the writing was addictive enough to have me enjoy this book quite a lot.
'Wrong Side of the Tracks' series:
1. Scum - 3.0 stars
2. Primal - 2.0 stars
3. D!ckhead - dnf
4. Grind - 4.0 stars
5. Wanted - 3.0 stars
Other K.A. Merikan books:
‘Sex & Mayhem’ series - var. ratings
Mr. Jaguar - 3.0 stars
Not Like Other Boys - 4.5 stars
‘Guns n’ Boys’ series - var. ratings
The Cattery - 3.5 stars
Break My Shell - 3.5 stars
The Black Sheep and The Rotten Apple - 3.5 stars
‘Kings of Hell MC’ series - var. ratings
Wrong Way Home - 4.0 star
➛First read: March 2023 | ★3.0 stars
➛Second read: October 2024 | ★3.0 stars
Okay, so this wasn’t amazing or anything, but it definitely wasn’t bad either.
It was extremely toxic, and it was insta-love with a connection mostly build on lust: those are things I usually don’t really appreciate. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed reading this and it was just... fun!
The book is about Rosen and Shane, who couldn’t possibly be any more different. Rosen is gentle and angelic, while Shane is rough around the edges. Rosen goes to college as an art student, while Shane just came out of prison and is already back to his usual criminal activity. These two would have normally never met or connected, but Shane has different plans. After all, it was Rosen’s father who falsely accused Shane of a crime he did not commit, which led to his 10 years in jail. Shane is out for revenge. And he wants to get it through Rosen. What he didn’t account for, however, was to fall in love with the boy in the process.
Ros was so cute it was impossible not to notice. Like a Disney Princess, he was sweet, and wished everyone well, and if he started singing in the woods, birds and rodents would flock to him as if he were made of grain.
Shane shouldn’t have liked it. But he did.
He just couldn’t understand what a guy like that saw in him.
What I loved about this book is the fact that Shane was so adoring when it came to Rosen. He really thought the sun shone right out of his arse, which is just adorable. Nonetheless, Shane still treated Rosen badly from time to time, which annoyed me. Rosen was definitely a push-over and I would have liked him to be a little less naive. Then again, I found his trusting nature also quite endearing, so it wasn’t all bad.
“You’re my first, my only, and I love you so much.”
“Me too, baby. You’re the only one who ever counted.”
There is a big betrayal in this book, obviously, so we do get some good groveling from Shane. I personally would have never forgiven him for what he did (I won’t spoil what it was, but it was truly bad), and I find it a little hard to believe that Rosen would either, but it was what it was. I did like that Shane was truly apologetic and he would have done anything to earn Rosen's forgiveness; he would have literally walked through fire to get Rosen’s trust and affections back.
All in all, I thought this book was very entertaining and it had some tropes I really like. Was it executed in the most hard-hitting way possible? No. But it was decent at what it tried to do, and the writing was addictive enough to have me enjoy this book quite a lot.
'Wrong Side of the Tracks' series:
1. Scum - 3.0 stars
2. Primal - 2.0 stars
3. D!ckhead - dnf
4. Grind - 4.0 stars
5. Wanted - 3.0 stars
Other K.A. Merikan books:
‘Sex & Mayhem’ series - var. ratings
Mr. Jaguar - 3.0 stars
Not Like Other Boys - 4.5 stars
‘Guns n’ Boys’ series - var. ratings
The Cattery - 3.5 stars
Break My Shell - 3.5 stars
The Black Sheep and The Rotten Apple - 3.5 stars
‘Kings of Hell MC’ series - var. ratings
Wrong Way Home - 4.0 star
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Reading Progress
March 9, 2023
–
Started Reading
March 9, 2023
– Shelved
March 9, 2023
–
Finished Reading
October 6, 2024
–
Started Reading
October 7, 2024
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-36 of 36 (36 new)
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Kati *☆･ﾟ
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Mar 09, 2023 08:30AM
Aw sorry Imme this couldn't live up to "Primal" - I always intended to read that one. But I'm happy you at found it entertaining enough to enjoy it 😍
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![Imme [trying to crawl out of hiatus] van Gorp](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1700013408p1/101358081.jpg)
@Kati — haha yea I initially even skipped this one to get to Primal, so it was a pleasant surprised how much I enjoyed it still. I’m actually very curious what you’d think of Primal🤔 It’s not something I particularly think would be your thing, but then again, it could be! I find it hard to predict tbh. It’s a really insane story though hahah
Do you need to read this to read Primal? or can they both be read as standalones?
@Kaity — Oh no they definitely work perfectly fine as standalones! I read Primal first too, and I had no issue with it ;)
I love your review 💗 I liked the playfulness of Rosen, but thought Shane was a dumb character. But this is the fun with K.A. Merikan‘s book, they like these strange characters.
@Drusilla — thank you❤️ and yes Shane was… questionable, for sure🤣 this author definitely writes strange but very entertaining characters hahah
you make me want to read this but i swore to never pick up another k.a. merikan book again💀
@martina — oh ahhaha I love K.A. Merikan, so if you don’t like their books, then I’m sure this won’t be any different🤣
Fair review, as always! I’m sorry it’s not a 100% win for, but thanks to you I’m weeding my tbr out. I really hope you stumble upon a 5* read soon ❤️
im so confused if i wanna read this now 😭 you said its fun and i was hooked but then the grovelling thing and you not forgiving him personally im kinda scared what the fuck did he do babe 🥹 glad you liked it tho and had fun!! 🩷
@Cat — Thankss, babe!! I’m glad I could be of help for your tbr😉🤣 This really was a fun read even if it wasn’t amazing. These type of books are exactly what I like to read in between other books❤️
@muskaan — hahahahaha yes I very much get that😂😂 If you want, I can tell you what happens? I mean, obviously it’s a spoiler, but I can see why you might want to know before possibly reading this, since it really is… bad💀 I mean, it kinda sounds even worse than it was in the book though
Greaaat reviewww🥰 grumpy x sunshine, unexpected love, groveling? EVERYTHING I LOVEE, it's in my tbr noww ^^
I’m so glad you enjoyed reading it, even if it wasn’t the best! Amazing review, babe! 💗
@muskaan — okay so I’m not sure how to explain without it sounding absolutely horrific (it sounds worse in my explanation than in the book, I think) but here we go lol… so, Shane obviously wants revenge on Ros’ father, and his father is a super conservative politician, so he kinda thinks making a sex tape with Ros would be good revenge cus then everyone would know that his son is gay. Which, I mean, already sounds pretty bad right? Yea… but it gets worse🥴 So after a while Shane obviously falls in love with Ros and he doesn’t reaaally feel like doing that anymore, cus he cares about Ros more than about revenge. Okay, nice. Good. Buuuut then something happens that makes Shane feel extremely rejected and he decides to… lure Ros into this weird basement place and he wants to sort of force Ros to have sex with him on tape. But it’s not just sex on camera, it would be NON CONSENSUAL sex on camera, because Ros definitely doesn’t want to. So Shane kinda gets going and wants to start and is like deadass trying to RAPE him and Ros is crying, but then Ros tells him that what he’s doing would be RAPE, and then Shane stops. Apparently he didn’t really realise what he was doing, and when it hits him he’s deeply ashamed and lets Ros go. So he never even got close to actually doing anything, cus he stopped before it really began, but it’s the intention that matters, you know? After that the big groveling begins because Shane KNOWS what he did was terrible and he doesn’t expect to ever be forgiven (which I would NOT), but Ros eventually does… so yea that’s it lolll
@Aliki — hahah yesss, those are some pretty awesome tropes in my book too😉❤️ I really hope you’ll enjoy <3
@Cecelia — Thank you!! It was actually quite a pleasant surprise ;) x
Oh this sounds like a great MM romance minus the "betrayal part". (Read the comment where you spoiled to Muskan that part) and I wouldn’t have forgiven him, too.. Anyway great review, hun! Glad you enjoyed some parts of it❤️❤️
@Lilyya — yess, it was pretty great for the most part! The betrayal really was quite heavy, and although I didn’t personally forgive him, I did have peace with them getting back together because I knew how much Shane changed his ways too. It’s hard to explain, but the grovel was good and I especially appreciated his introspection with regards to the situation; if he hadn’t realised how WRONG he was and he only begged for forgiveness cus Ros was angry, then I would have felt much worse about him. But because he hated what he did so much… I could live with his betrayal and eventual forgiveness a bit more
@Cara — thanks hun🥰🥰
![Megan [At The Cottage]](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1634561405p1/25103878.jpg)
I absolutely hated this book because I couldn’t get over what Shane did. It was also my first book by these authors and I didn’t really read stuff like this back then so it just wasn’t a good choice for me but I do wonder if I’d appreciate everything else going on now that I seem to be drawn to these books and love these authors. I won’t be rereading this though because I don’t really have any true triggers but what happened between these two was just no. It was taken too far and it ruined the whole book. I ranted like hell when I reviewed this 😂 Glad it worked for you though.
@Megan — ah yes, if you weren’t yet used to darker books I can only assume this must have been super shocking. I totally agree with you that what Shane did was just not okay, and I never forgave him. I can also see why it would ruin the whole book for you, but I kinda tried to just let it slide. I can totally imagine I just as well could have been outraged by this book and ranted😅 In any case, I’m glad these authors now work so much better for you😉❤️
Fab review Imme! ❤️ Like the insta-love, but not a fan of toxic.. 😬 But I know that this author writes highly angsty stories that’s why I have steered clear of her books 🤷♀️ Glad you enjoyed it though, despite the issues
ahh great review, Imme! i saw the spoiler comment too, but i might actually check this book out even after that lol bcs i'm curious 😂😭 i mean that doesn't really push my limits or anything, even tho it's bad lmao. plus i was excited to start on one of k.a.'s books, i see practically everyone reading them now! which one would you recommend to start with? i was thinking maybe the dig two graves duet or something? bcs also this one is mc romance, i think, right, and i don't usually read that 🤔 anyway, i'm glad you kind of enjoyed this one, love, especially with the groveling and all - that sounds really good! 💗
ahhh no this aint gonna work for me. this is so stupid hes so stupid why did it need to be spelled out for him to understand what he was gonna do ffs. first grovel for your non-existent brain cells my love then we'll decide on the other stuff. 😭 no but fr no amount of grovelling would make me forgive a fuck up at this level.
@Vanna — hmm no their stories are actually not that angsty… but they are usually on the darker side! So for that reason alone, I don’t think you’d like these much, no haha😅
@lila — Oh no, this isn’t a mc romance! Not at all! Shane is a criminal but it doesn’t have anything to do with a motorcycle club. And his criminal friends are all actually very wholesome and cute together; definitely like a found family vibe!😉 The third book in this series does feature a biker as one of the main characters, though! But book 1 and 2 don’t, so maybe it’s not a coincidence that those were much better than the third loll. In any case, I’m not sure if the dig two graves duet is any good. It’s on my tbr, but I haven’t read it yet. I really love these authors though, as I’ve already read over 20 books by them, so I’m curious what you’ll think about them! It really does differ greatly between each book; some are SOOO GOOD, but there are also a few I thought were awful💀 So I hope that whichever one you choose, it ends up being a good one for you ;)) x
@muskaan — hhhaha I completely understand, babe. I didn’t personally forgive him either, but I made peace with Ros forgiving him. I kind of understand why he did, especially because of the situation he was in afterwards of which Shane saved him. I can’t really explain it obviously, but Shane’s remorse and patience for forgiveness were pretty much what eventually made me okay with them getting back together. But I still think he’s a dumb idiot who I would PERSONALLY never forgive or feel safe with. But yea, that’s just me🤣
This Merikan sure likes to walk the extremely toxic road. Glad you could enjoy it, some. Great review Imme!
@Federico — Dark and toxic is kind of their brand, yes🤣 Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t. This time it worked pretty well, but they’ve definitely written other better ones! ;)
Yes on the good grovel from Shane!! Didn't you enjoy how Rosen kicked his ass though? I was so proud of him!!!
@Rain — hahaha yea Ros definitely showed then that he had a little fight in him at least ;))
@Nazanin — thanks!!💕
