Playing Through Every Choices Book, In Order (Part 68: Ride-Or-Die, A Bad Boy Romance)

Hey! Look at my other review I posted (Red Carpet Diaries 3) to see why I took a hiatus!

Anyways, today we join a criminal gang, help out with a heist, and date a reckless bad boy all with our dad being a literal cop. Will we come out of this with a clean record?

Next time, we learn about the environment in the most annoying way possible as we attempt to clean up our small seaside town (oh, and there's a hot reporter and lawyer too).

Link to previous reviews: https://www.reddit.com/user/stresseatingdog/comments/sj3s3m/all_choices_reviews_megapost/

Ride-Or-Die: A Bad Boy Romance

M/C: Maria

Final LI: Logan

Favorite Chapter: The Prom One

Favorite Character(s): Logan, Colt, Mona, Riya

Least Favorite Character(s): Jason, Other Corrupt Cops

Overall Rating: 9/10

Review:

I was actually surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. I went into it looking at the title and thinking it was going to be a cliche, forced “bad boy” romance trope, and I was wrong! Logan doesn’t really fit the bad boy stereotype as much as I thought he would. Honestly, Colt fits it more, but even he has some nuance to him. All three LI’s, in fact, are so enjoyable as characters and as romantic options. They all feel fleshed out and human, and all three have their own subplots that connect to the overarching story. Speaking of the story, the plot of this book really stood out as a highlight. The writing is pretty great, and the action is well paced with the drama. I love M/C, and her conflict with her father, friends, school, and wanting to stay with the gang is really well-handled. I like how you get the choice to either blow off school or blow off Logan, and how that affects the ending. Riya is a lovely friend character, although I was a bit annoyed at how I have to make amends with her when I took her side and never said anything rude to her. Darius is there too I guess. The twist with Jason and the other cops being the mysterious other gang was really well done, and something I wasn’t expecting. Speaking of Jason, I like how you can choose whether or not to help him, and how that specifically affects your relationship with Colt (should you choose to tell him). Mona switching to the other side was also a shock, but it fit with her character, and it also led to some really sweet moments with her and M/C. The ending is a real highlight too. It’s so bittersweet and poignant that it reminds me a bit of the three Endless Summer endings. There’s no way to get a romantic ending, as M/C cannot end up with any of the three LI’s. But a happy ending is still there in M/C’s academic future, and her mended relationships with her father and friends. Overall, I quite enjoyed this book, and the only reason I took off a point is, of course, the unecessary genderlock. I swear, so many of these books would have higher scores if only they weren't needlessly genderlocked...