A 90's, Friday Night Lights meets a Fifty Shades... only the town is the sadomasochist and the two young lovers its pawns.

July Elizabeth Edwards is stuck in the existence her pretentious, rural East Texas town has allotted her. A shift in social status junior year provokes unlikely ride or die friendships, others' secrets she's not allowed to tell, and an unexpected crush on the ambitious Adrian Reed. The result is far more insatiable than anyone anticipated.

Before cell phones and social media, walk the halls of Pure Pines High as they are set figuratively to a Soundtrack of Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Counting Crows, R.E.M., The Cranberries and Radiohead... When the preps were challenged by the grunge phase, and polo shirts and loafers were traded in for flannel shirts and name brand combat boots. Their world was changing, and it was hard to remain CLUELESS.

She’s known and competed with him her entire life. He was conceited and arrogant. She was treading water to survive Pure Pines. When circumstances strip them of cheerleading and football, the odds throw a replacement neither of them expects, and something the halls of Pure Pines High are certain to reject. One touch, an out of ordinary lingering stare, and something ignites that won't die down, only does it count if it's a secret? How long will it stay behind closed doors? When love is denied, lust becomes unapologetic.

So F*cking Special: 1996, Book one of the YA to New Adult 90's Series hit number one in #lusttolove on its Wattpad debut, and won first place in the Enemies to Lovers Category for 2024's Ultimate Romance Awards.

"Cruel intentions and My so Called Life, re-examined through a modern lens.”

"From best friends to boyfriends to bullying, sex and drugs, So F*cking Special is a coming-of-age story that demands to be read. It’s Pretty in Pink meets Pride and Prejudice. Raye Murphy writes an insightful, delightful tale that has readers fully invested in the futures of Adrian and July. I’m dying to read more.” — PJ Jones, author of The Cop Reporter, No Place for the Weak at Heart and The Evil I Have Seen

NOTE: So F*cking Special: 1996 is Book One of the YA to New Adult 90's Series, and is a Young Adult read that is age appropriate to the genre with trigger warnings applied. Books two and three of the series, So F*cking Special: 1998 and So F*cking Special: 2002, are New Adult reads for 18 + readers.