Review: Vicious (Sinners of Saint #1) by L.J. Shen
TITLE: Vicious
SERIES: Sinners of Saint #1 AUTHOR: L.J. Shen GENRE: Contemporary Romance
RELEASE DATE: December 27th, 2017
Emilia They say love and hate are the same feelings experienced under different circumstances, and it’s true. The man who comes to me in my dreams also haunts me in my nightmares. He is a brilliant lawyer. A skilled criminal. A beautiful liar. A bully and a savior, a monster and a lover. Ten years ago, he made me run away from the small town where we lived. Now, he came for me in New York, and he isn’t leaving until he takes me with him. Vicious She is a starving artist. Pretty and evasive like cherry blossom. Ten years ago, she barged into my life unannounced and turned everything upside down. She paid the price. Emilia LeBlanc is completely off-limits, my best friend’s ex-girlfriend. The woman who knows my darkest secret, and the daughter of the cheap Help we hired to take care of our estate. That should deter me from chasing her, but it doesn’t. So she hates me. Big fucking deal. She better get used to me.
Vicious was my first read by L.J. Shen and I was really impressed by this story. The hero was a real jerk, but under all these layers of bad boy I could see the guy hurting. Despite all the animosity between Baron “Vicious” Spencer and Emilia LeBlanc, one thing was clear all read long: their undeniable attraction.
“Vicious was vicious. It was too bad that my hate for him was dipped in a thin shell of something that felt like love.”
I appreciated the flashback to high school explaining how Vicious wronged Emilia back then and how it affected her life. But, nothing could keep them away from each other, because underneath it all they understood each other more than anyone else. The whole book was a passionate tell of discovering the man behind the asshole and the why behind his terrible actions toward Amelia. There’s secrets, jealousy and betrayal in this story, but also heartfelt moments when Vicious is more real than ever, showing his softer side.
Emilia or “Help” as Vicious always loves calling her is a strong heroine and it shows in the way she speaks and acts. Her greatest weakness is her conflicting feelings for Vicious! The dynamic between this couple but also between Vicious and his HotHoles friends was interesting and well developed. The sense of competition with Dean, one of Vicious' friend, brought tension and intensity to the story.
“I want to fuck you and watch your face while I do. To see you drown in me as I hurt you as much as it hurts me to see your goddamn face every day.”
It certainly won’t be my last read from this author. I really loved L.J. Shen’s writing style and the emotions this book made me feel. I’m now more than excited to read more about these HotHoles in the upcoming books of this fabulous series.
