Check out content warnings beforehand. There are very dark themes in this. One of many reasons I like Isaiah is that he seems like a bad guy when you first look at him, but you realize quite fast that he is a good guy in disguise, most of the time. He is protective of the people he cares about, and even though he denies it at first, he falls in love at his first encounter with Gemma. Ohhh and Gemma reminds me of Shannon (Boys of Tommen) when she first enters Tommen College. Her anxiety and her fear, and their vibes definitely do match. I would go as far as to say, if you like Shannon, you probably will like Gemma as well, and vise versa. (Though you should keep in mind Gemma has an even darker past, and Good Girls Never Rise is a dark romance while Boys of Tommen is not) What this book also does so well is the friends group of the girls. When Gemma comes to St. Mary‘s she truly doesn‘t trust anyone, but Sloane is one of the first people to coax her out of her shell, and their friendship is just so sweet. 4.5/5⭐️