Title: Vicious
Series: Sinners of Saint #1
Author: L.J. Shen
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: January 1, 2017
On Sale $0.99 through January 13, 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.
“You’re pissing me off,” she said quietly, her eyes still searching my face.
“And that’s turning me on,” I retorted, my voice flat. “So you might wanna tone down the hate glares if you don’t wanna find yourself being fucked on this desk with the blinds still open.”
I was still staring at my screen, working on the merger deal I was eager to get signed before Christmas, but I could see from my peripheral that she had paled. I liked how—once again—I’d gotten under her skin. Quickly.
“You’re disgusting,” she muttered, still staring at me—but not in a way that suggested she was appalled.
I cracked my neck, opening my browser and checking the stocks on the screen, skimming through the greens and the reds. “That may well be, but I’m balls deep in your fucking head, Help, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
Her eyes glittered with rage, and fuck, I was so hard, and fuck, she was so beautiful. This was so on. I was going to fuck Dean’s ex-girlfriend, use her for my personal needs, and toss her away when I was done.
And after choosing the wrong guy, there was no doubt in my mind, she deserved it too.
“You just gave Floyd a lecture about the inter-office fraternization policy. No mixing business and pleasure.” She leaned forward. Her elbow touched my finger accidentally, and she jerked it away.
I met her halfway, erasing the space between us across the desk. “Correction—guys like Floyd won’t give you pleasure. Men like me would. Besides, the man likes Arrow,” I drawled, as if this alone was a reason to fire him.
To me, it was.
“You know what your problem is, Vicious? You still haven’t decided if you hate me or like me. That’s why you act like this every time I’m around other men.” There wasn’t a trace of embarrassment in her voice. She owned up to this.
What she didn’t know was that I knew exactly how I felt about her.
I hated her, but was attracted to her. It was really that simple.
“You know what I feel right now, Ms. LeBlanc? I feel like you need to pack a fucking bag and start making the necessary arrangements. You’re coming with me to California, whether you like it or not.”
"It was always fucking us and you know it”.
Addictive.
We all know that word. We say it for certain things that we find we can’t do without. This all consuming craving that borders on the point of insanity if you can’t get your next fix. This story was ADDICTIVE. These characters were ADDICTIVE. I was ADDICTED and I read this story so fast that my high was a crash and burn that I wasn’t prepared for. That’s what happens when you get Shend!( totally made that word up).
This author takes you on the illusive journey of some of the most effed up male characters I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading about and you think to yourself: Can I really love this a**hole at the end of it? My answer to you is YES. YES YOU CAN!
Baron Spencer a.k.a Vicious had the world at his feet ever since he took his first breath. Knowing you hold that kind of power would make anyone a entitled SOB who thinks he’s God gift to everything. Being one of the hot holes of his crew that consists of his three best friends, these guys are not only untouchable, they’re also feared. But there’s more to Viscous than you think and what you find will not only surprise you, it will leave you with just a touch of fear that only he can evoke.
“Lawyers had the potential to make the best criminals. That was a fact. The only that separated me from being an outlaw was opportunity. I had plenty of those within the law”.
Emilia LeBlanc has always been a fighter and after being around the “Hotholes”, you can’t really expect nothing less. But the number one pain in her rear has been and always will be Vicious Spencer. His arrogance is a turn on, his charm is all consuming, but his hatred? It’s down right suffocating. Crossing paths with him ten years later, Emilia is about to learn the cold hard truth with just how deep someone’s vengence can go. So when Vicious throws in an offer that Emilia can’t refuse, her battle between lust and hatred will go into an all out war. But who will win?
“Why are you doing this to me? I hissed out, searching his blank, stony face.
“Because I can”.
I loved that this was a slow burn story. Everything had a meticulous point and when the grand finale was approaching, you sat up and took notice because there was no way you was going to miss anything. Vicious and Emilia started out with bad blood that festered on for a decade but when those two got together? Cold showers became your friend! Their banter was foreplay, the sexual tension was downright sizzling, but their connection to each other was what made everything so pure and untainted.
But you know what made this read more special to me? Th e past flashbacks. It was FLAWLESS! Every single character had a voice that was screaming to be heard and I couldn’t help but picture their own stories and what mess they were going to get into. And you know what? I know they’re all getting their own books. One word. DEAN! Can someone give him his own reality show please?! I will NOT be so patiently waiting for his story Ms. Shen so you need to hurry up!
If you love a hot arrogant jerk with a feisty heroine that takes no bull, then this one is for you.
When her parents took a job working for the Spencer family,
Emilia LeBlanc was forced to live on the same premises as one of the rudest,
over-privileged hot assholes at her new high school, Baron Spencer a.k.a.
Vicious. In fact, he along with 3 of his best friends were known as the HotHoles
of All Saints High. They were attractive, arrogant jerks that every girl wanted
and every guy wanted to be. That made it all the more difficult for Emilia to
find friends her senior year. Vicious didn’t like her so that meant almost no
one else gave her a chance either. He went out of his way to make her life
miserable and to make sure she knew how much he disliked her. Never
understanding what she did to inspire such hatred, Emilia did her best to stay
out of his way until it was time for her to leave for college. That became
impossible when she began dating one of his friends which not only inserted her
more into his life, but also exponentially increased the cruelty he directed
her way.
Years later, Vicious and Emilia meet again. They both need
something from each other. To acquire it, they will have to spend lots of time
together. What happens when they are forced to face each other and the root of
their feelings after all of these years?
I read Sparrow in October of last year and fell in love with
it. Consequently, going into this book my expectations were extremely high, and
I could have easily been setting myself up for disappointment because of
that. Fortunately, that wasn’t the case.
Vicious far exceeded my expectations in every way!
They say there is a thin line between love and hate, and Vicious
and Emilia walked that line like a tightrope. Vicious’ touch made Emilia shiver
with both repulsion and delight. When she challenged him, it pissed him off and
turned him on with equal measure. Their heated glances contained both longing
and disgust, and their verbal exchanges were laced with frustration, anger, and
lust. All of these conflicting emotions made for some amazing sexual tension.
Not only that, it kept me interested to see why Vicious felt the way he did, what
was going to happen now that they had to confront what was going on between
them then and now, and how it all would end.
L. J. Shen firmly planted herself on my list of favorite
authors with this book. The woman can write a complicated hero like no other.
Vicious Spencer is broken, tortured, and cruel, and somehow she was able to
endear him to me. Maybe it was the way behaved as if nothing mattered to him,
but deep down everything did. Maybe it was that he never allowed himself to be
truly vulnerable except when he was with Emilia. I don’t know. All I know is
that she did it with absolute perfection. His redemption was flawless. He
changed and groveled just enough for you to fully love him without changing who
he was completely and unrealistically.
Emilia was a heroine that was easy to love. She was kind,
caring, selfless, quirky, creative, hardworking, playful, and beautiful. Watching
her put her dreams on hold to care for her sister was truly touching. The way
she endured so much hardship, but never let that keep her down was inspiring. Her
complete acceptance and enduring love for Vicious despite his many flaws was
moving.
Vicious frustrated me, thrilled me, captivated me, and entertained
me from beginning to end. It was a little bit of a slow burn, but I didn’t mind
in the least. When Emilia and Vicious were together, it was hot no matter what
they were doing. The plot was perfectly paced and brilliantly executed, the
writing was impeccable, and the characters were expertly crafted. If asshole
heroes are your thing, take my word for it, this is not be missed!
L.J. Shen resides in sunny California with her husband, son, chubby cat and wild, wild dreams.
Her passion is to write badass stories, sushi, UFC and her awesome family and friends (not in this order, though. Obviously, sushi comes before writing. Oh, and also the family part.)
She spend the first half of her twenties traveling the world and is now paying all the fun with extra shifts in front of her MacBook. Feel free to contact her on her Facebook page. She loves to hear from her readers.
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