YMMV / Ride or Die: A Bad Boy Romance

• Abandon Shipping: As a result of the story's deconstruction of the love interest trope, this has caused players to go back and forth between each of the love interests.
  • Many players who were romancing Logan stop pursuing him in Chapter 10, when it's revealed that the only reason he befriended her in the first place was because he knew Ellie's dad was assigned to investigate the Mercy Park Crew, and that he called the cops during Brent's party and then helped her escape so that Ellie would "owe" him. To players, this makes him a Manipulative Bastard towards Ellie. This gets reversed in Chapter 12 for some players, when it's revealed that Colt kidnapped someone, and Logan decides to quit the Mercy Park Crew.
  • Mona and Ellie’s shippers were put off by her attitude after the reveal. If Ellie asks Mona if she knew, she says that if she did, she would have suggested to kidnap Ellie instead. Her lack of remorse is highlighted in Chapter 12 when Toby says that Colt only told her and Salazar about the plan to kidnap Detective Foley, saying that she wouldn't "bat an eye" at it, which players see her as borderline ruthless. She won back some players by Taking the Bullet for Ellie in Chapter 16.
  • Some players distanced themselves from Colt in Chapter 12. While he already acts rude and dismissive towards Ellie even if the player had been romancing him for the start, him telling Logan to "get rid of" Ellie so he can proceed with his risky move against the Brotherhood has left a bad taste in many players' mouths. They get back to him after witnessing his anguished reaction to his father's death, however.
• Alternative Character Interpretation:
  • Detective Jason Shaw is subject to this after he's revealed to be part of the Brotherhood. Does he still stand for justice by extorting criminals only, or has his job as a police officer gotten into his head that he only cares about abusing his power?
  • Toby when he warned Ellie about Colt's plan to confront the Mercy Park Crew in order to prove his credibility as a mob boss. Was he a Wide-Eyed Idealist who felt concern for Colt, or did he have an ulterior motive on playing the Mercy Park Crew and the Brotherhood? The next chapter shows the Mercy Park Crew garage in flames, causing players to suspect him of burning the place down.
• And You Thought It Would Fail: When the book was first announced, player response was extremely polarizing. Many people openly criticized the premise and some even went as far as to harass the writers with rude messages on social media. The first few chapters are also hated for its Cliché Storm and portraying Ellie as Too Dumb to Live for tagging along with a complete stranger even after learning that he's part of a criminal gang. However, the story has risen in popularity due to the cynicism espoused by the Mercy Park Crew, their conflict with the Brotherhood, and the fact that choices the players make do have an impact on the story. Even some detractors concede that the story is getting better or at least has some good parts.
• Audience-Alienating Premise: Prior to release, a significant number of players automatically labeled the story as terrible due to the clichéd premise: a good girl becomes interested in a bad boy who happens to be affiliated with criminals. Many believe that the story would have been more interesting if it is told from Logan's viewpoint or the player could choose Ellie and/or Logan's gender, an option which is available in some other books.
• Base-Breaking Character:
  • Ellie. Some players like her for developing into a street-smart character after having spent time with the Mercy Park Crew and a Guile Hero who outsmarts the Brotherhood towards the end of Book 1. Others dislike her for being an Audience Surrogate done poorly for tagging along with the Mercy Park Crew even after knowing that they're a criminal gang.
  • Logan is either adored for being a charming Nice Guy towards Ellie or despised for dragging Ellie to a nebulous concept of freedom and her desires that involve crime and expressing no remorse for his own. The revelation that he was using Ellie all along has split players between those who choose to abandon him for Colt or Mona or accept the revelation as necessary to add complexity to his motives.
  • Colt is either admired for his sincerity and having a solid characterization, with players seeing him as the real "bad boy" of the story, or disparaged for his frequently rude behavior towards other people, including Ellie, and for choosing a life of crime despite his father's efforts to push him away from it. In Chapter 11, his execution of a really dangerous plan to prove his capability as a criminal mastermind is disliked for being reckless, even if players admire the comparison to Icarus in the following chapter. His detractors also mock his statement that he and Ellie will rule Los Angeles together.
  • Mona is either liked for her pragmatism, survivalism, and distancing herself from Logan and Colt's arguments or disliked for her cold-bloodedness bordering on a ruthless personality, especially on her suggestion to kidnap Ellie if she knew about Teppei's plans and participation in Colt's plan. People became more split on her when she joins the Brotherhood in Chapter 14^note If she's Ellie's prom date, she turns herself in to the Brotherhood to allow Ellie to escape, only to join her officially. One side still likes her for staying true to her survivalist mentality even if it means siding with the enemy. It also helps that she praises Ellie laying a trap for the Brotherhood, indicating her ability to praise her opponents' skills and wits. Another side hates her for her disregard for the bonds she has formed with her teammates.
  • Detective Jason Shaw is either seen as honorable or contemptible, especially after he was revealed to be the Brotherhood's leader. For players who told him about the stadium job, they either see him as having an ulterior motive in keeping Ellie alive or think he really owed her his life. Players who like him think he still has a moral compass for extorting criminals only and has no desire to hurt Ellie or her father, while those who hate him view him as a Hypocrite for threatening Ellie's life when the latter threatened to have him locked behind bars. As a villainous cop, people either accept it as a logical explanation to his shadiness or oppose it because Choices has already had evil cops as villains such as Tommy Walsh, Jeff Duffy, and Abraham Kelley.
  • Ellie's dad is either beloved for being a supportive single father who truly loves his daughter or disliked for being a meddling parent who keeps Ellie naïve to the world around her and an inept cop who lets Jason manipulate his daughter and does nothing to warrant fear from the Mercy Park Crew.
  • Teppei Kaneko. Some players like him for trying to dissuade Colt from a life of crime, even if it means grooming Logan as successor so he'll have nothing to lose in case Logan gets arrested. Others dislike him for having a callous motive for grooming Logan and ordering him to spy on Ellie and manipulate her, as well as dragging the rest of the Mercy Park Crew along with him to defend him from the Brotherhood.
• Broken Base:
  • This book has become one of the most polarizing stories in Choices. On one hand, its fans are initially attracted by the whole "bad boy" appeal, and then find the characters and action-filled storyline engaging, the cynicism espoused by the Mercy Park Crew a welcome break from the idealism that's the standard in many Choices stories, and the twists well-executed. On the other hand, it has also been criticized for its immense Cliché Storm (especially in the early chapters) and uncomfortably heteronormative romance aspect, with Ellie always implied to have a crush on Logan even if the player never picks romantic choices with him, and the love triangle between them and Colt plays a huge role in the story while Mona is consistently sidelined.
    • The story's polarizing status has gotten to the point that supporters and detractors often argue with each other on its quality. On one side, supporters have called detractors out for trying to ruin their fun, quickly judging stories by their covers, and failing to understand the deconstruction of various tropes common in many Choices stories. On the other side, detractors have called supporters out for belittling players who simply don't like the story. Either way, both sides have been criticized for refusing to understand any valid points the other side presents.
  • Several consider Ellie's relationship with Ingrid to be this and feel they have no reason to feel hatred towards her other than she's Ellie's supposed rival. On the other hand, some argue that Ingrid earns the Hate Sink status after trying to throw herself at Logan, despite being very obvious that he is not interested in her.
• Cliché Storm: The first few chapters are full of this: the protagonist is a stereotypical nerdy girl who lives with her widower father, is infatuated with a flirty "bad boy" immediately after meeting him, is rivals with another girl, is clueless around parties, commits multiple criminal offenses to avoid getting grounded, sneaks off to an undisclosed location with said "bad boy" without properly knowing him, and refers to this escapade as a "date". And let’s not forget Dating What Daddy Hates when it turns out that her father is a detective.
• Creator's Pet: Logan is a major case for the first five chapters, as he is the only love interest who has gotten premium scenes, and even free options give the player several chances to be romantic with him. It's always implied that Ellie has feelings for him even if players pick non-romantic choices with him.
• Designated Villain: Calling Ingrid a villain is a huge stretch, but the narrative's attempt to depict her in negative light falls flat when readers are shown nothing of her behavior towards other students in school besides Ellie, with some players even rooting for her to become valedictorian instead.
• Ensemble Dark Horse:
  • Darius became this for being the Only Sane Man of Ellie's group of school friends who gives logical arguments on why Ellie is rushing things with Logan without knowing him long enough.
  • Ximena and Toby are highly beloved members of the Mercy Park Crew; the former for being a Gentle Giant who gives good hugs and the latter for being an Adorkable Nice Guy.
• Fan Nickname: A few detractors have referred to this story as "Ride or Die: A Heteronormative Romance" due to the protagonist being female only and the strong prominence of the love triangle between her, Logan, and Colt in the story while Mona remains consistently sidelined.
• Fan-Preferred Couple:
  • A number of players initially ship Logan and Colt together in defiance of the story's "bad boy" romance. Now they do so because they interpret the tension between them as Belligerent Sexual Tension.
  • Many players want Ximena to become a love interest due to her character design and Gentle Giant persona.
  • There are also players who want Ingrid to be a love interest because they think her dynamic with Ellie is a good start for a rivals-to-lovers storyline.
• Growing the Beard: While the first few chapters are criticized for containing a Cliché Storm on a "bad boy romance", the middle chapters onward are considered an improvement because of Colt's characterization and dynamic with his father, choices starting to have consequences (particularly on whether to act as Jason's informant), plot twists, and the deconstruction of typical Choices stories, such as love interests espousing Gray-and-Grey Morality mindsets and working against the protagonist.
• Hype Backlash: The story's immense popularity has resulted in a noticeable backlash against it. Its detractors argue that Ellie's fascination with the Mercy Park Crew comes across as shallow and there's nothing to get them to root for the Mercy Park Crew.
• I Knew It!: Many players knew the Brotherhood informant Kaneko met with is a member of Jason's task force because of their identical poses, and they're also not surprised that Jason is a member of the Brotherhood because of his suspicious behavior and a text message he sent to Ellie about investigating the Brotherhood without her telling him about them at first.
• Les Yay: Ingrid is introduced as giving a Death Glare at Ellie, who finds it dazzling that she can't look away. Chapter 5 gives Ellie an option to flirt with Ingrid.
• The Scrappy: Riya immediately becomes hated after commenting to Ellie how hot Logan is right in front of her boyfriend Darius, encouraging her friend to pursue Logan despite knowing nothing about him, and expressing excitement at her potential criminal lifestyle. Because of this, players consider her a Toxic Friend Influence who only gets Ellie in trouble. As the story progresses, players also hate her for being a Hypocrite who says that she misses Ellie and feel like she's blowing her and Darius off despite encouraging Ellie to hang out with the MPC in the first place. As a result, they view her as a useless character in the story and express their relief that she won't attend Langston with Ellie.
• Take That, Scrappy!: A premium scene in Chapter 9 has Ellie saying she's sick of everything she does revolving around Logan, a nod to his status as a forced love interest for Ellie.
• Tear Jerker: Teppei Kaneko's Heroic Sacrifice in Chapter 13, when he ran towards police barriers to chase the cops off as his car exploded, allowing the Mercy Park Crew to escape. Even though nobody else got hurt, Colt's anguished reaction allowed him to realize that his father ultimately respected his decisions.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: To many players, Mona is an underused character who can be taken out of the story, and it will still stay the same. While her joining the Brotherhood and shooting Ellie's car in Chapter 15 might seem like a moment to give her some relevance, some felt like it was a disingenuous move to force players to pursue Logan or Colt instead by making her seemingly evil.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: Some fans have said that the story could have worked better if it was told from Logan's point of view as a rookie in the gang while Ellie was completely erased from the story. The focus change would be a perfect opportunity to have a novel exclusively from a male point of view, an Anti-Hero protagonist, and a setting filled with Grey-and-Gray Morality.
• Unintentionally Unsympathetic: Ellie is supposed to be an Audience Surrogate struggling with an overprotective dad who keeps her sheltered to the world around her. The problem is that she has a loving family and supportive friends, yet she immediately trusts Logan, someone she doesn't even know, and goes along with him even after the revelation that he's part of a criminal gang. Not helping matters is that she ditched her father and came home late after a party even though she knew he had a nice surprise for her birthday. To many, these actions depict her as a Bratty Teenage Daughter who's Too Dumb to Live.