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Laces: An Asylum Bully Romance Paperback – Jan. 28 2021

by Tempi Lark (Author)
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 4,115 ratings
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Welcome to Hawthorne Asylum.
Welcome to hell.
This place isn’t run by the doctors who make you talk or the orderlies who force you to swallow your pills.
It belongs to them, to the Infamous Four.
Tabloids, talk shows, documentaries—their faces have been plastered everywhere. Not because of their impressive rap sheets, but because of how they look.
And when I arrive, they take notice. Especially their king: Lincoln “Laces” Caster.
He’s dark and disturbed.
He’s controlling and possessive.
Exactly the kind of boy I should stay away from if I want to clear my name and get out of here.
*LACES is not intended for readers under seventeen. This book has strong language/cursing and triggering scenes (that might not be suitable for everybody). Laces is a slow burn that builds toward intimate scenes as the series progresses. This is book one in the Boys of Hawthorne Asylum series. Books 1-3 is Laces story.
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  1. Book 1 of 2
    Boys of Hawthorne Asylum
  2. Print length
    176 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publication date
    Jan. 28 2021
  5. Dimensions
    12.7 x 1.02 x 20.32 cm
  6. ISBN-13
    979-8701823325
  7. See all details
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Popular Highlights in this book
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  1. “What makes you think I read?” I could hear his pencil stop. “Your wrists.” I yawned. “What about them?” There was a long pause. “Scars like that make you want to escape the world.”
    Highlighted by 1,001 Kindle readers
  2. “There will come a point when I’ll get tired of waiting and I’ll take it with or without your consent. Is that what you want?!?!”
    Highlighted by 843 Kindle readers
  3. “Her hair is nothing but a tease, alright? If I’m going to do this, I want to fully commit.” Again, obsessive issues.
    Highlighted by 835 Kindle readers
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08VCQWVSR
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Independently published (Jan. 28 2021)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 176 pages
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8701823325
  • Item weight ‏ : ‎ 254 g
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 12.7 x 1.02 x 20.32 cm
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 4,115 ratings

About the author

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Tempi

Tempi

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Tempi Lark is a USA Today Bestselling author of New Adult and YA Romance. She lives in Tennessee with her husband, son, and enormous book collection. She enjoys binge-watching Netflix, dancing in her pajamas, and writing about crazy alphas that can't seem to get it together.

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
4,115 global ratings

Top reviews from Canada

Andrea Lee
5.0 out of 5 stars couldn’t stop reading
Reviewed in Canada on September 23, 2023
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ONG this book was soooo amazing I could not stop til I was done. Now off to find book 2.
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Bobby-Jo
4.0 out of 5 stars LOVEd
Reviewed in Canada on September 9, 2021
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I loved this book, it was a easy fun and entertaining read. I read it in one evening. Really looking forward to the next one. I am hoping Laces is everything I hope he is.
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Jenn
5.0 out of 5 stars So much fun!
Reviewed in Canada on July 12, 2023
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I can't wait to go deeper with this series, and I'm eagerly awaiting the next book! I feel like 3 won't be enough to satisfy my need for Laces story and to see what happens !!!
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Sarah
3.0 out of 5 stars Ok...but tame
Reviewed in Canada on October 5, 2021
This book kept appearing on my Tik Tok feed and after reading the warnings and synopsis, I was very intrigued. I polished it off in about 2 hours, its rather short and ends on a cliff-hanger. The concept of the story line is awesome, has a lot of great potential but its a little superficial. We only get a brief tasting of what is actually going on. How did the four legends end up in the institution? Who are they? Why is Laces such a bad boy? Why is he called Laces?

Spice? Triggers? Language? Um....I was expecting some ghost pepper heat and got maybe a some crushed chili flakes. The novel is not intended for readers under 17.....maybe in future books the content is more, but this novel is a YA; I'd let my 12 year old read it, its pretty tame.

Overall, it is a decent book. It has a lot of potential but too much hype.
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Amanda
5.0 out of 5 stars MUST READ
Reviewed in Canada on October 16, 2021
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Writing Style 5/5
Characters 5/5
Plot Development 5/5
Originality 5/5
Engagingness 5/5
Insightfulness N/A
Comprehensiveness 5/5
Impactfulness 5/5

I love this book. I'm dying for the second one. This is the first book that I have read that was set in an asylum. I will say I was a little worried if I would like it or not but IT WAS AMAZING. The book does say it contains some RH themes. I'm not sure if it will end up being an RH, I would love it if it does end up being RH and I would be okay if it wasn't, really it could go either way. The way the Main Male Characters are I would love love love it to be RH.
I am not someone who reads slow burns just because I really don't enjoy them, it feel like it drags on forever. But that is not the case for this book. Sure there was no smut but it kept you on the edge of your seat. SLOW BURN WORKS FOR THIS BOOK.
This is a really good read and I highly recommend.
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Ashley
5.0 out of 5 stars Was it the right thing?
Reviewed in Canada on January 19, 2022
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This is a hard hitting book on abuse, sexual assault, trying to do the right thing for a sister but getting a one way trip to an asylum for assessment, all because you told on the guy that is powerful.

Its about surviving a place you never think your gonna land. Finding friends in an unlikely place. Having met the 4 legends of your floor, a blue hair quirky girl, a paranoid, a model, and a psycho that can sketch a masterpiece (morbid but still beautiful). How they help her survive. How they try to make her a part of them. Trying to actually not go "crazy" cause you know they on the outside want her to.

And, that small bomb of an ending!!! I cannot wait for Lincoln to get some more insight, and come back to the psycho with the morbid beautiful eye.
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Power Librarian
4.0 out of 5 stars Enemies-to-lovers slow burn romance
Reviewed in Canada on January 31, 2021
Short Review: I recommend this book to those who love enemies-to-lovers romances with a strong mystery backstory.

Full Review:
Laces is the first book in the Boys of Hawthorne Asylum series, and it’s the first featuring Laces and Gambrielle as the couple. Laces is marketed as being like a high school bully romance, but the setting of an asylum is what truly makes it unique. That said, the “bully” elements are light, and this is more of a dark romance with enemies-to-lovers vibes.
The build-up of the relationship between Laces and Gambrielle is the definition of a slow burn romance. When Laces first sees Gambrielle, he’s intrigued by her, because she stands up to him and doesn’t let him get away with whatever he wants, which he’s used to, being one of the “Legends” of the asylum. Laces is model-level handsome, but Gambrielle is of a singular mindset -- she needs to get out and prove that her step-father murdered her sister.
As this is only the first book in the series, we don’t get the full story, and I’m eager to find out more about how she plans to go about with her own murder investigation. Lark has set up for a fascinating mystery, one that builds a great backstory for Gambrielle, making her a vulnerable, yet strong heroine that anyone can root for.

Laces’ backstory isn’t yet revealed in this novel, but it’s hinted at, and I know that once we get the full picture, there’s no going back. We already had sneak peeks into the reasons why the other Legends are at Hawthorne Asylum, and these reasons do not disappoint. Reyes and Thorne are both compelling characters, and I'm looking forward to reading their love stories.

I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again, there needs to be more romances set in mental institutions! The setting is really what makes the book so much more special than others in the genre. There’s no escape. Everyone thinks Gambrielle is insane, even though the reason she’s there is because she dared to testify against her step-father, the District Attorney. Everyone else, however, is clearly there for a more traditional reason, and while these reasons aren't obvious at first, they're constantly in the background, adding suspense as we don't know what other characters are going to do, or what will set them off.

The novel is fast-paced. There are a few inconsistencies in the plot, but they’re little things that I hope will be caught before the book is released. That said, the twist at the end/cliffhanger really made no sense whatsoever, and Tempi Lark has some ‘splaining to do in the second book! Even though the cliffhanger was confusing, it still made me want to count down the days to the release of Lincoln.

*I received an arc from Wildfire Marketing Solutions and chose to voluntarily give a review*
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Steph Mo
5.0 out of 5 stars OH MY GOD!
Reviewed in Canada on May 12, 2022
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So I was waiting to read this and Lincoln together. Plus I had like 30 other books I needed to read too. So I put it off and off. But MY GOD why did I do that to myself. I need more. Read it in like an hour. Couldn’t put it down. Joe wtf! The ending! Even more WTF! Tempi seriously so good. Probably gonna read it at least 4 more times before Lincoln.
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Top reviews from other countries

Luisa Andrade
5.0 out of 5 stars The best side of Crazy!!!
Reviewed in Brazil on October 12, 2021
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Oddly amazing!
The best part was the therapy sessions between Laces and Dr young! I have no idea of what his done to his ex, but I believe it’s something dark and I cannot wait to see the meaning behind his drawings. The FMC situation it’s absurd and I don’t know why she haven’t gone crazy yet. This book it’s disturbing, but in the best way possible. I love it!
The cliffhanger was bizarre and I have no clue how that was possible!
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Lucy H.
5.0 out of 5 stars cliff hanger
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 6, 2023
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Absolutely loved it it was full of different emotions and was sort of like a rollercoaster I can’t wait for the second book to come out
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Des
5.0 out of 5 stars Let the insanity consume you!
Reviewed in the United States on February 4, 2021
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Laces is one of those books where you think you know what to expect going in, but you're so wrong in the best possible ways. I was expecting a pretty girl to be committed and then to be bullied by the "crazy" yet oh so attractive guy. Fortunately Laces is so much more than that! This is a slow burn, angsty type of book that will leave you salivating for more. It didn't take me long to finish but these characters and their stories are going to stay with me for a very long time. This is the first asylum bully romance that I've read and I now feel sorry for all that come after because Tempi Lark has set the bar impossibly high!

Now that I've expressed how wonderful I feel that this book is, I've got to be honest with my criticisms. This book could've used a little more meat. I understand the author was dealing with illness and complications so that can be forgiven this time around, but her illness did affect the story. I feel like the characters' stories could've been fleshed out more and that the ending came abruptly. Granted, I don't think that I will ever have enough of these characters!! Still I feel as if the ending was equivalent of somebody ending their story in the middle of a sentence. The bright side of this though is that I now cannot wait to read what comes next! There were also quite a few wording errors/typos that I feel should've been caught prior to release. These errors don't detract from the overall story, but I feel like editors, beta readers, early reviewers, etc should've caught these and notified the author prior since they were quite noticeable.

Laces is definitely worth the click and read. No book can ever be "perfect," but this one is still easily a great read. The characters are nuanced and play well off each other. The setting is different and could be a story in and of itself. The story itself leaves you excited and wary about what comes next all while not wanting it to end anytime soon. If my criticisms have you thinking it's not worth it, rest assured Laces is most definitely worth the read! I highly recommend that you one click and get started as soon as possible because you're going to need some downtime to process what was read and return to sanity.
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Denise S.
5.0 out of 5 stars Boys of Hawthrone Asylum 🔥
Reviewed in Germany on January 31, 2021
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After I read the first three chapter a while ago, I was totally invested in this story!
And let me tell you, I am not disappointed!!
This story is really good.
To be honest, I laughed a lot during this book, I love Laces, Reyes and Thorne!
Don‘t get me started with Vala, love all of them!

Never guessed the turn over at the end of the book and I can’t wait for the next book.
Hope we will get it really soon.

Thank you for this story, never read anything like that before and I really loved it.
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Kyleigh
4.0 out of 5 stars Cliffhanger
Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2024
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The book was really good, I actually really enjoyed it! However personally I thought it was a slow start. But I'm still buying the second book once it's out and I can't wait to finish the story! The cliffhanger made my jaw drop!
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